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The Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust has joined the campaign against school librarian cutbacks in the city. Director Ali Bowden this morning (18th December) condemned the proposals on BBC Radio 4’s "Today".
Bowden said that Edinburgh City Council's proposal to share each school librarian between two institutions in a bid to save funds “just does not make sense” given that Edinburgh is a UNESCO-designated city of literature.
“Our title is based on the fact that we are a literature city of excellence . . . we invest in literature, it’s part of our reputation,” she said.
Bowden said librarians are the superheroes of the book world who can really make a difference in turning a child into an active and engaged reader. “You can have books in libraries but you’re not going to get kids reading and being active readers their entire life if you don’t have someone who’s passionate and who can convey that passion, she said. “That’s what school librarians do.”
The Society of Authors in Scotland has also protested against the plans. Earlier this week chair Lin Anderson wrote an open letter to Sue Bruce, chief executive of the council, calling for it to protect the services librarians offer to pupils.
In her letter, Anderson said that the campaigners are “deeply concerned” by the proposals and referred to studies which have found “that children who read for pleasure do significantly better at maths, vocabulary and spelling, compared to those who rarely read”.
The letter was backed by author Ian Rankin, who said: "Proposing to cut school library services in the first-ever designated Unesco City of Literature? I despair".
The consultation period on the decision continues until 20th December.