When will we find out what's happening with our library?

When will we see the timescale for remedial repairs, how much it will cost and when it is likely to reopen again?

It has been closed now for nearly a year then people wonder why visitor numbers for the borough’s libraries are down 30 per cent.

We need that back in use to encourage literacy and learning and I always worry when I hear people saying, people don’t use libraries any more as it is all on the internet.

When I left school and was unemployed in the 1980s I did all of my learning in the Central Library – borrowing the books, the reference library and especially the local history section.

I used to see pensioners in there every day, reading and keeping their minds active. 

It is the same with children, the Central Library should be like the one in Liverpool – a great selection of books, but with a dedicated young section where parents can help their young ones be inspired by reading.

The library should be the centrepiece of the experience of going to town – not just about shopping.

That building was given to our town more than 120 years ago. It is a precious asset that we need to preserve as a functioning library, not just wait until people simply get used to it not being open and shut it without protest.

It is something we all should have a say in deciding. 

Can we not be presented with the hard facts and be allowed to make our views known on what we would like to see happen based on those costings?

If the costs are sky high, let us decide whether it is worth being put to a local referendum to pay more to repair and retain it.

Mike Crawford
Dentons Green