I WAS disappointed to read your article last week (‘Union fights to save final few libraries’).
Just to put a few facts on record – Waltham Forest has 10 libraries, the same number as Havering, Newham or Islington for example, and four more than Kensington and Chelsea.
Residents can also make use of our 24/7 library service either online or by phone. There continues to be an extensive refurbishment programme to make Waltham Forest Libraries better and brighter places to visit.
Leyton and Lea Bridge are the next two libraries to undergo major refurbishment. I agree with Norman Cousins, the respected American liberal writer and world peace campaigner who said: ‘The library is not a shrine for the worship of books. It is not a temple where literary incense must be burned or where one’s devotion to the bound book is expressed in ritual. A library, to modify the famous metaphor of Socrates, should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas – a place where history comes to life.’ I am proud that it is this vision that continues to shape Waltham Forest’s library service and strongly encourage all residents to support our determination to keep libraries at the heart of our local community, promoting and strengthening democracy.
Cllr Adam Gladstone,
William Morris ward.
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