The Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has today published written evidence submitted to its inquiry into library cuts. It can be read here
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmcumeds/writev/library/library.pdf
As well as our own submission, submissions were sent by a group of former Gloucestershire Librarians, Flying Author John Dougherty, three stonking offerings were submitted by Lechlade and District Civic Society, Lechlade Town Council Library Working Group and Newnham Library support Group. To our delight Public Interest Lawyers, the firm who won the judicial review for Gloucestershire residents, have also sent a strongly worded submission. The Society of Authors quoted our letter to Ed Vaizey at length in their submission and our judicial review and the judges ruling are quoted many times in other submissions.
We are very proud of the impact that Gloucestershire residents have had on the national dialogue regarding unprecedented, eye-watering library cuts. Let’s hope that, unlike GCC, the Select Committee listen to us. Thank you to everyone who made submissions and those who supported us with the JR.
Gloucestershire County Council also submitted evidence but it is rather baffling as it just seems to refer to duties they were ruled to be in breach of in the high court. One wonders after reading it why they did not take these duties into consideration when drawing up their plans. Why did they insist on wasting our time and money by fighting in the high court instead of doing things properly? Maybe their submission is so weak because they were distracted by their urgency to get the “new” plans out and the consultation started.
The investigation begins tomorrow with oral evidence from The Reading Agency director Miranda McKearney, Abigail Barker of Voices for the Library, The Library Campaign, and Sue Charteris, author of the Charteris report, proceedings can be viewed live online via www.parliamentlive.tv.
Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries 