Gruffalo writer backs campaign to save libraries
The author of The Gruffalo has added her voice to a national campaign championing Scotland’s library services to protect them from further cuts.
Julia Donaldson is supporting the Libraries Matter campaign from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland (CILIPS).
The campaign warns cuts mean only 11 out of 32 local authorities have a full-time qualified librarian operating in secondary schools across Scotland.
The campaign asks candidates standing in the local government elections this May to protect the library budget and support professionally staffed school libraries.
Donaldson said: “Reading broadens the mind, stimulates the imagination and increases literacy. And librarians and libraries are the most important people and places for fostering a love of reading.
“In particular, school librarians, who develop close relationships with the pupils, often can suggest just the right book to a child from a home where there are few or no books, instilling what can become a lifelong love of reading.”
Donaldson wrote an open letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last year, despairing about the closure of Argyll and Bute’s school libraries.
The Libraries Matter campaign also calls on those who use or work in libraries to get involved in advocating the benefits they can deliver.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Libraries play a vital role in developing literacy, supporting attainment and encouraging people of all ages to develop and maintain a love of reading. We have committed to investing in the National Libraries Strategy, including initiatives like coding clubs and First World War history projects and we will ensure that every child in Scotland receives a library membership.
“It is the responsibility of local authorities to determine the requirements for their school libraries.”