Camilla laments library closures in visit to Edinburgh community hub

Yahoo

16 hours ago

The Queen has lamented library closures across the country as she celebrated a thriving example in Edinburgh.
Camilla told a group of librarians, figures from the city's annual literary festival and leading writers that she 'wished' more people would open such facilities as she officially launched Ratho Library in Newbridge.
Her words were echoed by celebrated Scottish crime writer Sir Ian Rankin, who praised the resources his local centre provided when he was growing up, saying: 'Without libraries I wouldn't be here.'
The Queen, who has a passion for reading and officially supports a number of literary organisations, also chatted to Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, and told her: 'I'm very partial to crime novels.'
In an impromptu speech, she said her visit 'has just reinforced my belief in what wonderful places libraries are, literally from toddlers to pensioners – they manage to inspire a love of reading of books.
'And to actually see a new library like this… I wish a lot of other people would follow your example and open more libraries all over the country, because I think, sadly, a lot of them have been closing down.
'So to see something as wonderful as this being reopened is all to the credit to all of you who've made it happen.'
The BBC reported in September that more than 180 council-run libraries have either closed or been handed over to volunteer groups in the UK since 2016 after the corporation submitted Freedom of Information requests.
In contrast, Edinburgh City Council has made a commitment to its 28 public libraries to continue developing the resources as thriving community spaces.
Sir Ian, famed for his series of Inspector Rebus books, is also Deputy Lieutenant of Edinburgh, and said following the royal visit: 'Libraries are an easy cut and I can understand why councils do it – it's an invisible cut, almost.
'But it's such a crucial thing – libraries are crucial for every generation from the very beginning to the very end.'
Sir Ian added that to 'be a reader is to be a citizen of the world as fully as you can be'.
Camilla's visit also marked the launch of a five-year initiative by the Edinburgh International Book Festival in partnership with Edinburgh City Libraries.
Called Paper Trails, the project supported by Sir Ian will operate in five local libraries, including Ratho Library, to promote literature in local communities, including using the mobile library service to bring authors and artists into care homes.