We had an amazing turnout at Arbury Court Library's Read-In today as part of the national 'Save Our Libraries’ day.Children and pensioners were among the dozens of library users who held an hour-long Read-In to demonstrate just how much the branch means to them. The event was also attended by Cambridge MP Julian Huppert. Plenty of books were checked out, and it was great to see so many people enjoying their local library - meanwhile the wonderful staff (who no volunteer could adequately replace) were very gracious about us descending on them for an hour.
During the day, people across the UK took part in similar actions in response to cuts and closures facing library services up and down the country. Other actions included a reading flashmob in Cambridge’s city centre, organised by library users angry about proposed cuts of £3.2m in Cambridgeshire.
Cambridgeshire County Council plans could see the county’s library service transferred to a trust, with fewer staff and an increased use of volunteers at branches.
At the same time, 13 of the county’s 25 community libraries are ‘under review’, and although Arbury Court is not among them, we are anxious about the impact these changes could have on library users across the city and county. We are pledging to oppose any reduction of library facilities or services.
Arbury Court Library is a vital facility for its community, as are all branch libraries across the county, providing access for all to essential resources and knowledgeable, trained staff. Any reduction in that service would be a disaster for residents, and we're delighted that so many of them turned out today to make their voices heard.
The library is always busy, but today it was absolutely buzzing. Thanks to all who came out to show their support!
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