Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
1000 sign petition to save their library
Petersburn residents campaigning to save their local library have handed over a petition containing more than 1000 signatures.
They handed over the petition on the final day of Culture NL’s extended consultation period regarding their cost-cutting plans.
Petersburn and Old Monkland in Coatbridge are among four North Lanarkshire libraries earmarked to shut in August, along with seven community centres including Whifflet and Bargeddie.
Local resident Morag Hinds, centre, and Airdrie South councillor Agnes Coyle, left, handed over the petition to library staff in Motherwell.
Airdrie South representative Michael Coyle told the Advertiser: “There was a great response to the petition; it was signed in shops, by local pensioners and there were 200 supporters on Facebook.
“The people of Petersburn are very concerned about the future of the library – it’s very important to the area and is at the heart of the community.”
Neil Gray, the Airdrie & Shotts MP, has also submitted his official objection letter to Culture NL officials.
He asked that external funding and other income sources be explored and said: “All these centres are central to each community and would be desperately missed if they were closed.”
Mr Gray added: “For Culture NL to say that the libraries are not used enough, given the footfall numbers, seems ludicrous to me. Although the footfall figures may be lower than other libraries and the community centres used for less time than some, you cannot quantify the importance of these facilities to the people who use them.”