Watch out - our libraries are living on borrowed time

Duo to government’s cuts many libraries are going to be shut. In Oxfordshire alone the country council wants to axe 20 of its 43 libraries. There are plans to remove more than 400 libraries across the country. Most of them are local libraries; central libraries are most likely to stay. For some residents the thought of losing their local library can cause quite an extraordinary pain. For some of them the library is a second home. The councils’ defence is that people can run the libraries themselves if they want. But the government should not think of the libraries as just another public service. It is rather a place where you can find a cultural encounter which might have life changing effect on people, or simply a calm, quiet place to get some homework done.  Offering people access to a library is not just a public duty but also a statement of faith.

I understand why many libraries are not needed any more. I think it is because people are nowadays more likely to find what they are looking for on internet than in a library. However, I am against any cuts made to any thing that has an educative purpose. I think cuts of this kind are bound to worsen the crisis problem in the long term. I also agree that libraries are symbols of a modern society and removing them would be taking a step backwards. Today libraries offer more than only books, they also offer a lot of community services. I dislike the idée of passing this responsibility to the residents. Because then the only way to keep a library affordable is to commercialize it.

Source:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8272479/Watch-out-our-libraries-are-living-on-borrowed-time.html