Library of Birmingham petition received
Councillor Penny Holbrook is today due to receive a petition from the Friends of the Library of Birmingham.
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The cabinet member for skills, learning and culture said: “I am pleased to accept this petition. I know a great deal of hard work – and passion – has gone into it.
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“We really do understand the concerns and we will consider all submissions about the proposals, but as a city we need to be realistic.
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“Yes, the proposed cuts to the Library of Birmingham are deeply upsetting, but we are not proposing closing it. However, we can’t continue to fund it as it is, and it is important to remember that library services are about more than one fantastic library.
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“Some of our poorest residents rely on community libraries so we cannot protect one world-class library at the expense of others.
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“So thank you again to those who have worked hard on this; cutting library hours is not something I want to do but I have to be as fair as I can within the context of the devastating cuts we are facing.â€
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