Andrew Dismore

Dear Editor,

The library is at the heart of any community- and that heart has been ripped out of Friern Barnet by the Conservatives, who again demonstrate just  how out of touch they are with ordinary people.

Any library is an important resource for adult and children alike. For students needing research. For pensioners wanting a good recreational story. For young children learning to read with their first books. For everyone.

Like many people, when I was a youngster I relied on my local library. I couldn’t afford to buy many books.  With the help of the recommendations of our well respected local librarian with his encyclopaedic knowledge, I was guided not just in my school studies, but also in the joy of reading for pleasure, a pleasure  that begins then and lasts a lifetime. But who will do that for children now, against the electronic distractions of computer games, with no library or librarians?

Conservative Barnet Council’s decision to close the Friern Barnet library is a disgrace. It is hypocrisy too, as the Council made absolutely sure there was no prospect of local people taking it over, while cynically leading them on just s they did for Church Farm Museum before  boarding it up.

This library closure is cultural vandalism of the worst kind that cannot be undone and will come back to haunt them as people remember when next they come to vote at elections.

 

Andrew Dismore

Labour London Assembly candidate for Barnet and Camden