As the final day of the consultation looms closer, campaigners have been working harder than ever to save their libraries.
Last month, Moray Council proposed the closure of seven library branches: Burghead, Cullen, Dufftown, Keith, Lossiemouth, Fochabers, and Tomintoul.
In their place, the council plans to introduce replaced a new rural community outreach service.
The consultation period was initially set to run from November 13 to December 1. However, due to technical issues that caused the consultation to close prematurely, the council has extended the survey until 11.59pm on Tuesday, December 3.
The Press and Journal spoke with several prominent members of the library campaign to gain insight into the situation. They shared their concerns about –
- how the closure of local libraries will leave many stranded due to the distance and lack of public transport options
- how communities are losing vital services, making libraries an “easy target” for cuts
- how lower-income families and individuals without access to IT could face limited opportunities to access the internet.
‘Burghead library feels like an easy target’
Located within the local primary school, Burghead library is open eight hours a week and is a well-used service in the town – especially to those without access to IT.
Jamie Campbell, who lives in the town, says he believes their library is an “easy target” for the council.
“The town of Burghead has lost so much,” he said.
“We’ve lost our pubs, our surgeries, our post office, our bank and mobile bank – there’s hardly anything left.
“It just seems like an easy target for the council. We’re just getting abandoned by everybody.
“If the council think we’re going to take this without fighting, they’ll be sorely mistaken.”
He added that many were “outraged” by the consultation only being open for under three weeks – in comparison to the Scottish Government’s advice of 12 weeks.
Many Tomintoul residents will be ‘stranded’ from libraries if cuts are made
In Tomintoul, Ellie Richardson, 55, says the closures will have a detrimental impact on the rural community – especially due to the high population of elderly residents who do not drive and have no access to a computer or online facilities.
Operating from within the village’s primary school, Tomintoul library is open for 11 hours a week.
Ellie, a retired banker, told The Press and Journal: “They’re expecting people to do a 45 mile round trip to the library when we have one within walking distance in the village.
“The library is the community’s opportunity to come together and see each other.
“That’s sometimes hard in a rural area – but now the opportunity to do that may be taken away.”
She said public transport to libraries is also inconvenient for Tomintoul residents as there is only one bus service a week to Elgin.
As well as being the chairperson of the Kirkmichael and Tomintoul Community Association, Ellie is a member of the local book group who are afraid the group will cease if proposals are finalised.
Cullen campaigners ‘ready to fight’ for their library
After living in Bristol, campaigner Georgina Barker moved to Portknockie in 2020 with her wife, enjoying the close proximity to Cullen library.
When she learned of the proposed closures, Mrs. Barker said she was “devastated.”
The 36-year-old shared that she had always dreamed of her future children having access to the library, but now, that dream seemed uncertain.
“In the next few years, we’re planning to have a child. I want to be able to take them to the local library,” she said.
“It’s not nearly so appealing when you can’t get there on foot or by bike – and have to travel to Buckie.”
Georgina, with the help of Cullen and Deskford Community Council member Leslie Tarr among others, has organised various demonstrations and door-to-door leafleting in the town.
Leslie added: “The community council put a leaflet through every door in Cullen explaining that we’re supporting the campaign against the closure of the library.
“We’re having a public meeting on December 6 in the community centre where we’re going to try and get as many residents as possible together to try and galvanise the campaign.”
Lossiemouth library acts as a ‘social hub’
In Lossiemouth, Carolle Ralph and Peter White are leading the campaign to save their local library.
Carolle, chairperson of Lossiemouth Community Council, revealed that this is the third time the library has been under threat during her tenure.
“As soon as we heard, and we realised there was only a short period of time to consult, we urged people to come to the library’s activities room,” she said.
“We had 120 people appear with only a days notice.
“Our library is so well-used with so many different clubs.”
She emphasised the public support they’ve had, especially when setting up local events and going door-to-door with their petition.
“I’m aware of a lady, who lives quite close to the library, and doesn’t have a car or a bus pass,” Carolle added.
“She’s got grandchildren she has to look after but she says she just physically can’t take them to Elgin.
“As well as this, she goes to the local knitting group.
“The library is a social hub and, if the cuts go through, this’ll be taken away.”
Keith campaigners say ‘whole community is behind us’
Mary Philps is leading the campaign to oppose the proposal of closing Keith library – something she says the community is “not happy” about at all.
“We have a fairly high level of social and economic deprivation in Keith. The library is a well-used facility, and children use it a lot – we have the whole community behind us for this campaign,” she said.
“We’ve also had an increase of potentially 4,000 in this last year visiting the library.”
Another concern raised by campaigners is Moray Council’s focus on the number of people within a 20-minute drive of a library.
For Keith, this figure stands at 15,110, while Aberlour has only 5,581 — a statistic that campaigners find particularly troubling, as Keith library is one of those proposed for closure.
Mary, a local campaigner, shared with The Press and Journal that local children are currently knitting thousands of poppies in preparation for the 80th anniversary of VE Day next year, while the council meets to discuss the future of library services.
Dufftown library closure is ‘nonsensical’
Frankie Barton, a resident of Dufftown, expressed his frustration with the council’s “nonsensical” proposals.
Along with other locals, he is working to raise awareness about the situation and urging as many people as possible to complete the survey.
An avid user of the library himself, Frankie relies on it for downloading materials for an online educational course.
“It’s going to be low-income families that are the ones most affected,” he said.
“If you’re financially secure, the library doesn’t really matter. Generally you can afford books and go online.
“Libraries serve such a great purpose for the average person who isn’t lucky to be in that financial position.”
Leading campaigners say the fight is still on to locate a Fochabers library representative.
If this could be you, contact Save our Libraries Moray on Facebook.
Response to library consultation has been ‘exceptional’, says Moray Council
A Moray Council spokesperson said: “The response to the most recent consultation on the future of library and information services in Moray has been exceptional and we’re grateful to everyone who has taken the time to share their views with us.
“Due to a technical issue with the closing time on the survey we have extended it to 11.59pm on Tuesday 3 December and look forward to receiving more responses over the next couple of days.
“After two previous rounds of engagement on the future of library services, the next stage of the process is for the feedback from the latest survey to be analysed and reported to elected members in order to make an informed decision on the current proposals early in the new year.
“At this point we’ll be able to respond to the specific issues raised, how any alternative service offering would serve our communities, and any amended proposals that come as a result of the feedback we’ve received.”
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