Campaigners fight to save library

16 January 2011, 08:16

All the books at Stony Stratford library have now been checked out - as campaigners fight plans to close the facility.

As part of a "Wot No Books" protest The Friends of Stony Stratford Library in Milton Keynes asked all its members to take out their maximum allocation of 15 books over the last week.

16,000 books are now out on loan and the shelves there are empty.

The library, which is the third busiest in the city, is under threat after Milton Keynes council in Bucks announced that a decision on its possible closure was going out to consultation.

Emily Malleson, of FOSSL, told Heart: "It is our way of letting the council know what an important facility it is.

"It is not just about books. We have internet facilities for people to apply for jobs, we hold summer reading camps for children and the schools come here to get extra books out.

"If we lost the library, it would be devastating."

The Wot No Books campaign has its own Facebook page.
 
In a statement Milton Keynes council said: "These proposals are part of the wider consultation on Milton Keynes Council's proposed budget for the coming financial year, and will be decided by the full council on February 22nd.

"As yet no final decision has been taken. However, we are having provisional talks with the local town council to try and see how we could provide some kind of alternative library service in Stony Stratford, if it became necessary. The same applies to Woburn Sands library, which is also listed in the proposals.

"Councils up and down the country are facing unprecedented pressures due to significant cuts in government funding. We have put a number of efficiencies in place and are already seeing projected savings, but much more needs to be done."