Brought to book - Library closure in Sligo

IT is a sad comment on the priorities of Sligo County Council when over three hundred people were left with no choice but to protest yesterday over the threatened closure of the Sligo town branch library and the feared reduction of library services elsewhere in the county.

The public library may be a silent place but the loud heartbeat of its books and stories can be heard right across the local community. From the oldest citizen to the child learning to read, a library is a priceless reservoir of culture. Ever since the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie donated funds for the building of over 60 libraries in Ireland, the service has been one of society’s most important sources of learning and entertainment.

Despite the irresistible march of technology which enables a person to carry a virtual library in one’s pocket, the books on a shelf continue to play an important role as a source of self-enlightenment. For past and future generations of readers, the local library was and will be a place of wonder. To close it would be the act of a philistine.