The Guardian: 'Speak up before there's nothing left': Authors Rally for National Libraries Day

'Speak up before there's nothing left': authors rally for National Libraries Day

A week of events tied to the nationwide celebration on 6 February is drawing support from writers and campaigners, as libraries face closure around the UK.

By Alison Flood
January 28, 2016

The bestselling children’s author Philip Ardagh has called on book lovers to “speak up for libraries before there’s nothing left to shout about”, as writers and campaigners prepare for a week of events celebrating the UK’s libraries in the build-up to National Libraries Day on Saturday 6 February.

The annual nationwide celebration of libraries is the latest move by campaigners to highlight the importance of a public service that is being hit by cuts up and down the country. Ann Cleeves, author of the bestselling Vera and Shetland crime series, has been named National Libraries Day ambassador and has urged people to go out and join their local library next week.

“Libraries matter. If we believe in equality of opportunity we must fight, not just for the buildings but for the range of books inside and the skilled staff who can promote reading in all its forms,” said the novelist. “Not only do libraries encourage us to be more tolerant and better informed, they contribute enormously to the wealth of the nation.”

Cleeves added that she “wouldn’t be a writer without a library, and lots of authors will tell you the same thing”. “They’re magic places,” she said. “And we need them for democracy – there should be equal access to books, information and facts for everybody.”

Grubtown Tales author Philip Ardagh, who will be joining campaigners lobbying parliament on 9 February, called the local library “a port of call for books, local information, human contact, internet access, newspapers and magazines; a safe environment, a quiet environment, help with form-filling, advice, and the countless other little things that all add up to bigger things … Speak up for libraries before there’s nothing left to shout about.”

With more than 100 libraries closing in England, Wales and Scotland last year, local communities will be joined next week by authors and illustrators including Roger McGough and Nick Sharratt to celebrate the ones that remain. More than 400 events are planned for the week leading up to the main events on Saturday.

The celebration was originally called for by the children’s author and campaigner Alan Gibbons, who said on Thursday that the public library service is in the middle of its worst ever crisis, with action “urgently needed to secure its future”.

The event is run by organisations including the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals and the Reading Agency. Cilip is also currently running a campaign, My Library By Right, calling on the government to “fulfil their statutory responsibilities to taxpayers” and keep libraries open. More than 11,000 people have signed its petition, supported by authors including Neil Gaiman and Joanna Trollope, asking the government to “take clear and decisive action in situations where services are being put at risk”.

Authors will also come together on 9 February to join a lobby of parliament led by the Speak Up for Libraries group, calling on government to acknowledge the importance of public libraries. Speakers including Ardagh, Gibbons, crime author Jake Arnott and young adult author Cathy Cassidy will join a public rally at Central Hall, Westminster, with campaigners from around the country then planning to “descend on the Commons to lobby MPs to focus on the root cause of libraries’ grim situation – apathy and ignorance in local and central government”, said organisers.

“These people are fighting hard locally to keep libraries alive. They are desperate to show this is a major issue for the whole nation,” said campaigner Laura Swaffield. “And it’s not too late for others to join us.”

Arnott, author of He Kills Coppers, said that “throughout our history, the library has proved to be the most effective and resilient memory system for our culture and civilisation. The public library creates a collective consciousness. Any attack on it simply adds to a social dementia.”

Cassidy called the closure of libraries “a national scandal”, and called on the public to “stand together against these closures, for the sake of our children and the future of our country”.

Source: The Guardian