There's a lobby of Lewisham Council's Mayor and Cabinet meeting tomorrow (Wednesday 13 July) in protest against cuts to library services in the borough. Another lobby is planned for the following Wednesday's full Council meeting.
Campaigners say: 'Lewisham Council has made a decision to cut £1 million from the libraries budget. The Council’s preferred option is to remove staff from 4 of our libraries: Catford, Forest Hill, Manor House and Torridon Road. The council hopes that these libraries will then be run by local volunteer organisations. Unison, (the library staff's trade union) believes that if these plans are implemented then:
- Professional staff will not be available in these libraries
-Opening times will be reduced
- If there are not enough volunteers, then libraries will close
-Library usage and services to the community will be reduced
- Vulnerable users won’t be able to access library services'.
Action so far has included a strike by library workers on 5th July that closed three of the libraries under threat - Manor House, Torridon Road and Forest Hill, and a march on 21 May that saw hundreds of protestors march to the Town Hall in Catford:
More information from: http://savelewishamlibraries.blogspot.co.uk
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