CLOSING libraries across Scotland will “destroy communities", the Scottish Greens have said as they called for more support for the “vital lifeline” for local residents.
Libraries across the country have been on the chopping block as councils have been trying to cut costs.
In November the Tory-run council in Aberdeenshire announced it could close 13 libraries, with seven more in Moray and Perthshire also threatened with closure in the coming months.
Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell, who represents Central Scotland, has been a vocal supporter of a campaign aiming to save the seven local libraries across his region.
He said the buildings offer more than just books as they are also a means of connection for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Public libraries offer much more than book borrowing. They provide a warm, welcoming hub to spend time in with no spending obligation – a vital lifeline for those who find themselves homeless or struggling financially and under pressure to pay to exist in every other space,” Ruskell (below) said.
“Access to the internet and computer classes are available for those who have no other means of connection. Applications for jobs, colleges, and funding grants to help people prosper are completed in libraries every day. But they need to be supported if they are to survive.
“Our cities, towns and villages would be far poorer without our libraries. They offer a warm and vibrant space for local groups to meet and form; they are community hubs. The misconception of them as harsh and silent spaces needs to end to really see their value.”
Ruskell added that one example of the importance of libraries in offering spaces for communities to come together in his area is that a remembering group meets in Scone Library.
He said the group aims to combat loneliness in the older generations in the community by sharing nostalgia and lived experiences through storytelling.
He said it’s one of the few opportunities that older people in the area have to share their memories with others their own age.
“Closing libraries takes the heart and soul out of communities,” Ruskell said.
“That is why the voices of local people are so central to protecting their future. That is exactly what we have been trying to achieve in Perthshire with recent rallies and campaigning.”
