Today has been very chaotic for many of the staff who run our Libraries. It was anounced this afternoon that Andy Burnham, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, will use his powers and order an inquiry into the Library closures in Wirral. We have been calling for the Secretary of state to use these powers for some time now and are very pleased that he has finally heeded our calls for an inquiry. This means that the Libraries will stay open until the inquiry has concluded.
As soon as I heard the news I hot footed it down to Wallasey Village Library, which was due to close at the weekend. The staff are naturally very pleased but don’t know why the decision had to made at the very last minute. They have already packed many of the books away and have even sold some of the crockery used by the Friend’s group!
I hope that the inquiry won’t be a whitewash and will share the view of many residents: the libraries should remain open.
