Campaigners are protesting against the closure of 3 local libraries, including Blantyre’s.
The second ‘Save Our Libraries’ protest will take place on Thursday, May 9, at 11am outside of the Cambuslang library in the midst of South Lanarkshire Council plans to close each library.
Local resident, Tracey Macrury, has organised both protests, and she spoke about why another demonstration is necessary. She said: “Our last protest was a reactionary one, but this time around, we are hoping for an even bigger turnout to show the community opposes this closure.”
“Our aim is to gather 10,000 signatures and we are well on our way to getting up there. The communication from the council has been poor and the library staff have told us that they have no clue what is happening either.”
A South Lanarkshire Council meeting on Friday, April 26, detailed how talks are going with each library.
For Blantyre Library, it was reported that there is no interest in a community asset transfer and investigations to date have focussed on the possibility of relocating some library services to Blantyre Leisure Centre.
Other alternative locations considered included; the David Dale House, which was not a viable option as the building is currently at capacity; Blantyre Life, which is already operating at a high capacity and may not be suitable; and Non-Council properties within the area, such as the David Livingstone Centre, are also being assessed for suitability.
You can add your name to the petition here: https://www.change.org/SaveOurLibraries
Find out more about the protest here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1153261369350149/
