“Cuts to our library are cuts to our future.”
This is what 10-year-old Poppy from Budleigh Salterton Primary School, a classmate of my son, said when the community packed into the Public Hall in January to discuss Devon County Council’s proposal to reduce staffing hours across Devon’s libraries.
How absolutely wonderful that the council’s cabinet decided last month NOT to cut hours but instead to invest £1m into our precious libraries!
I went along to the meeting in Budeigh Salterton earlier this year, as a resident of the town and as a passionate advocate for the accessibility of books and the role libraries play in communities for young and old alike.
I also went to support my fellow LibDem colleague Cllr Charlotte Fitzgerald, who organised the meeting, which was attended by various Democratic Alliance members from across East Devon including EDDC leader Cllr Paul Arnott.
And I went to support the event in my capacity as a professional photographer, giving my photos to Devon Live to support its coverage.
As a writer, journalist, author, and mother – I’ve read to my son, who is now 11, every single night for his whole life! – the power of books cannot be underestimated!
Books provide pleasure, escapism and knowledge, spark the imagination, inspire and provoke. I start my day and end my day with reading, providing much-needed calm.
Libraries democratise reading, enabling reading to be an affordable pastime, enhancing life.
Councillor Fran McElhone 