Cllr Angela Dobbins.
Cutbacks which have led to the loss of jobs within the library service in Derry, have been slammed by SDLP Cllr Angela Dobbins.
Cllr Dobbins said to reduce “vital staff” at the city’s five libraries was an “utter disgrace” and “shameful.”
She said: “This is an age where households are stuggling to make ends meet.
“It is becoming harder to manage a household and feed a family never mind having to find funds for computer packages to aid school work or entertainment.
“Recently I was asked to present – on behalf of our Mayor – certificates to children and adults who were part of a summer reading scheme.
“The children and the adults who took part thoroughly enjoyed the scheme. One adult stated that library membership was something that she did when she was little, when her parents couldn’t afford trips to the cinema or day trips away.
“This mother added that history was repeating itself and that the opportunity for her children to avail of library services meant that she was not stretched to find the cost of occupying her children throughout the summer with visits to bowling alley etc and they were in a safe, supervised environment.”
Cllr Dobbins: “Another young mother said she had forgotten how enjoyable reading was and that now her kids have regular visits to the library and this limits their time on playstation and game consoles etc.”
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