“No-one needs Libraries anymore – close the public ones and put the books into schools” So tweeted Andre Walker, journalist and Conservative Party Aide. The result was a storm of over 100,000 tweets in response debunking his view and telling him he was talking rubbish. He was forced to issue a tweet backing down, saying that Libraries were more popular than he realised. How many of our political masters are equally ignorant?
This resulted in an article in the Guardian, by writer Rhiannon Lucy Goslett debunking his tweet , which is well worth reading.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/26/no-one-use-libraries-any-more-rubbish-sanctuaries--enrich-communities
Her article contains two (to me) significant quotes: “These sanctuaries enrich our lives and communities in so many ways. Without their magical world, I would never have become a writer.”
The second is well worth wider dissemination:
“Libraries may be needed more by poor people but many comfortably off people use them too. Regardless of class background, libraries plug us into our communities, reminding us that there is life beyond our living rooms, that there’s more to our daily existences than work and coming home, and the same again tomorrow. We are not all atomised in front of our glowing screens. Libraries don’t just mean us, they mean other people too. No wonder we fiercely protective of them. They are priceless. Maybe that’s why they are so busy!”
This resulted in an article in the Guardian, by writer Rhiannon Lucy Goslett debunking his tweet , which is well worth reading.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/26/no-one-use-libraries-any-more-rubbish-sanctuaries--enrich-communities
Her article contains two (to me) significant quotes: “These sanctuaries enrich our lives and communities in so many ways. Without their magical world, I would never have become a writer.”
The second is well worth wider dissemination:
“Libraries may be needed more by poor people but many comfortably off people use them too. Regardless of class background, libraries plug us into our communities, reminding us that there is life beyond our living rooms, that there’s more to our daily existences than work and coming home, and the same again tomorrow. We are not all atomised in front of our glowing screens. Libraries don’t just mean us, they mean other people too. No wonder we fiercely protective of them. They are priceless. Maybe that’s why they are so busy!”
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