Comedian Alexei Sayle once made the quip that the 2008 financial crash was ‘all the fault of librarians in Wolverhampton.’ Like all good jokes there’s a lot of truth behind it. While the billionaires are off to tax havens enjoying their ill-gotten gains, we citizens are left to pick up the proverbial dog mess.
And it’s all much the same when it comes to local authority cuts. The latest concern, the closure of our swimming pools and six local libraries. And our historic Woodside library is one of them.
Woodside library has been threatened before, and the case for retaining it has often been made. Its use as a resource by the nearby primary school alone justifies its existence. Its Bookbug sessions are well attended and pensioners and others, with limited access to computers frequent the place. It is an important social hub for the whole community (and your local librarian can be a useful source of information). The building itself is a historic gem, utterly unique, and of cultural importance and interest to all the citizens of Aberdeen and beyond. Its loss would be a tragedy. It’s difficult to put a price on these intangibles.
But it doesn’t even make much financial sense. Woodside library is lightly staffed, often with a single member of staff. Staff are to be moved sideways, so no savings there. The building is also used for storage, so heating will have to be maintained. It seems the only savings will be the use of lightbulbs. It’s penny foolish, pound crazy.
The building can’t even be sold. John Anderson, the founder of the library 140 years ago, specified in his will that the library belongs to the citizens of Woodside. To see the library boarded up and left to rot, like the Wallace Tower, would be a sad sight indeed. As the poet said, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.’
And so, the campaign to save our library and five other libraries across the city has begun. The protest meeting on Saturday 18th March to save the Woodside Library, was attended by well over a hundred people. You can find the links to each of the library petitions here: https://linktr.ee/saveabdnlibs and you can contact the campaign team via the Save Aberdeen Libraries Facebook page.
When asked to comment on the Library closures and the Campaign to save them, an Aberdeen City Council spokesperson said: “Ten branch libraries in locations across the city are to remain open. People can also access services at the Central Library in the city centre and via our website”.
Save the Libraries Campaigner Raquel Ojeda said “I have recently started treatment for cancer, I get tired very easily, but I know that a short walk to the library to join the book club will always cheer me up and help me find strength during this time.
“For those of us who can’t walk too far or too long like me, we know the library is here for us.
Save Our Library!
Doug Thomson
Photos by Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco
