The Independent had several library related articles over the weekend. Firstly on Saturday there was a report about a town in Buckinghamshire taking action to protest against the possible closure of their library. Members of the public showed their support by taking out their maximum allowance of books, emptying the shelves of all 16,000 books in a week.
The following day The Independent on Sunday contained a leading article entitled Books for all, not just the wealthy which describes the impact library closures will have on deprived areas. This article ran in conjunction with an article in the newspaper's new book section which described in depth the government's plans for library closures across England and Wales. It is of course depressing reading with massive job cuts, the de-professionalisation of a service and the loss of community based services. A stand out quote comes from the chief executive of CILIP who states:
"This is not just about what libraries do, it is about what they represent: free access to knowledge and information for everyone. It feels Orwellian that we'll wake up one day and a third of all the libraries are gone. Is that the type of society we want?"
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