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Nicola Emery, Bembridge
I am in complete agreement with Mike Starke’s letter in last week’s CP, that the Isle of Wight Council have offered us nothing more than a well timed sop in an attempt to reduce public anger over the proposals to our library service.
21 hours of opening for Sandown, Freshwater, Cowes and Ventnor libraries is obviously better than 7, but it is not enough. Firstly there are no guarantees about how long this so called reprieve will last and secondly, for the hard-working, experienced library staff standing to lose their jobs, it is no reprieve at all.
The ‘lucky’ few who remain employed will be expected to train and assist the volunteers who, if we are to believe George Brown and David Pugh, are lining up to take their place.
Stay of execution
This stay of execution for libraries was announced just 24 hours after the period of ‘consultation’ ended, no where near enough time for the opinions and suggestions of the general public to have been considered and acted on.
Instead, the Isle of Wight Council, unable to ignore the blatant public outrage at their decimation of our library service and fearing for their votes, simply renamed ‘Libraries Local’ – a name that’s become almost as reviled as their own -‘Community Libraries’ and crossed their fingers hoping that we would be taken in.
We have not been taken in.
Libraries are a soft target for council
Coalition cuts are taking effect across the country, but our council is determined to cut more jobs and services than other comparable councils.
In Hampshire, despite budget cuts, no libraries are closing. Portsmouth Councillors are preserving their library service in its entirety. In Swindon there are no plans for closure and in Reading they are looking to extend existing opening times. Windsor and Maidenhead need to make savings but front-line services are being protected and in West Berkshire there will be no library closures.
If the Isle of Wight Council refuse to act on the needs of their community, we, the community, will act to preserve our legal rights to a comprehensive and efficient library service.
Take part in march against cuts
Attend the March to Save Our Services on the 19th February. Make sure you’re outside County Hall on the 23rd February and above all, keep those letters and emails flooding in to councillors.
Libraries should not be a soft target and Isle of Wight residents should not be considered a soft touch.
