Top Fife author pleads to keep libraries open

McDermid says they were what encouraged her to be a writer

Fife author Val McDermid has made an impassioned plea for the continued funding of public libraries – saying they were what encouraged her to be a writer.

The best-selling Kirkcaldy-raised writer was a guest speaker at the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals’ (CILIP) Scotland annual conference in Dundee, where she spoke of the importance of universal access to reading material.

And she warned of a “generation of narrow minds” if libraries are not properly funded.

“Personally, I can say that I would not be a writer if it wasn’t for the public library system,” she said.

“I’m from a working class family and we couldn’t afford books, so I understand completely the value of reading.

“My mother used to take me to the library in Kirkcaldy when I was a child. My life was changed by the library system and I know plenty of other writers just like me.

“A door was opened that allowed me to become a writer.”

McDermid, whose best-selling books include A Place of Execution, Fever of the Bone and The Mermaids Singing, added that universal access to reading material encouraged the creation of a more equal society.

“So often the people who get the most out of libraries are the people at the bottom of the pile,” she added. “It’s vital that everyone has this opportunity and I will shout until my dying breath to keep them funded.”

CILIP policy and digital officer Sean McNamara said he was grateful for the author’s words and described her as a “brilliant supporter” of libraries.

Picture: Mhairi Edwards. Val McDermid giving her speech in support of libraries to a Dundee conference.