LIBRARY campaigners met with the council leader to discuss promoting library use in Brent.
Members of Friends of Preston Library met Councillor Muhammed Butt on Monday to discuss library services after the Labour-run council closed six of the borough’s 12 libraries last year.
Philip Bromberg of the Friends said: “In what was a very friendly meeting, we spent an hour or so discussing the future of Preston Library and agreed to meet again in the very near future to continue the discussion.”
The meeting followed discussions with Dan Jarvis MP, Labour’s shadow minister for libraries, and campaigners at Westminster on Tuesday last week.
A spokesman for Brent SOS (Save Our Seven) Libraries said: “We urged Mr Jarvis to support a complete change of approach by Brent Council, which involves them engaging with and listening to local communities and working with those communities to help them achieve what they want from their library service.”
The spokesman said they support a ‘publicly-funded service’ with community involvement, but do not support the idea that communities should be forced to run their own library services.
After the meeting, Mr Jarvis said: “It is imperative that both the campaigners and the council sit down together to discuss a way forward, and I am confident the meeting with the Brent Council leader will be a constructive step in that process.”
Friends of Barham Park Library set up outside Daniels Estate Agents in Wembley High Road to offer books during the French Market on Friday last week.
Sudbury resident Francis Henry said: “Friends of Barham Library had another fantastic event and received a great deal of support from local people who would like Barham Library reopened.”
The Friends are running a Volunteer Library at in an old nursery at Barham Primary School in Danethorpe Road, Wembley, on Saturdays, from 11am to 2pm.
However, they need to vacate the premises before the end of July and are launching an Appeal for Help to find new premises in the Sudbury area. Contact Councillor Paul Lorber on 020 8937 1130 or email barhamlibrary@hotmail.com.
