The cuts in public spending pose threats to many aspects of life at the moment. Today will be
a day of action to protest against the possibility that up to 400 libraries might close. It's all very polite - as you would expect from the library service. Read-ins, storytelling sessions, and a library where everyone has been asked to turn up and borrow their maximum allowance to empty the shelves are some of the eye-catchingly discreet protests.
In the midst of the flashmob book-reading and other protests, there's a serious point. Libraries have had to change as technology, access to information and culture moves on. But libraries give people access to a huge resource, and they are places where people find new possibilities. There is strong evidence that children, in particular, benefit greatly from access to public libraries.
Whisper it, if you must, but save our libraries.
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