Trouble in store for Fife libraries

Sir, - In a timely soundbite on the end of statutory library services at Abbeyview in Dunfermline and Glenwood in Glenrothes, Councillor Julie Ford says that “first it is foodbanks, now it is book banks” (October 19).

It is a serious point. These facilities exist in the midst of two communities in Fife which do not have their problems to seek.

It has been a disgrace that Fife Council and Fife Cultural Trust between them could not find the money to keep the libraries going as a professional service.

Let’s make no mistake, the voluntary effort to be set up to replace them can never be an adequate substitute for dedicated staff who know how to provide and improve a much-valued public service.

The people who will suffer are the job seekers, the researchers, the elderly clientele who want to read their favourite authors’ books almost as soon as they come out, the avid newspaper readers, and the people who simply want the reassurance that local, national and international information will be on hand when they want it.

The situation in Glenwood is a particular worry since the facility is located in an area which is already run down and sometimes crime-ridden.

If Fife Council simply abandons its responsibilities to volunteers, social problems, like security of the building and the helpers, might get worse.

Volunteers do come and go and it may be difficult to ensure effective management in the long run.

The local authority may yet come to realise that the supposed savings in the closure of the existing libraries was a false economy, and that

closing schools and libraries so close to one another is simply asking for the contempt of the community. Bob Taylor. 24 Shiel Court, Glenrothes.