Ealing Council has stepped back from consideration of any library closures.
The lobby of the full council meeting last night (Tuesday) was an impressive display of opposition, and was boosted by the attendance of national libraries campaigner and children’s author Alan Gibbons.
Ealing Alliance for Public Services (EAPS) has supported campaigns to save the libraries and will continue to press for improved library services.
However, EAPS is very concerned by the council’s intention to employ an army of unpaid volunteers to staff our libraries. This threatens the jobs of qualified librarians.
‘Ealing deserves high-quality, paid, professionals in its libraries, as much as in other services,’ said Nick Grant, convenor of EAPS. ‘Whilst welcoming the withdrawal of outright closure we will now campaign to hold on to quality staff. A volunteer-based system is unworkable and will produce unreliability and eventual deterioration in the service.’
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