Save our Libraries

Today is Save Our Libraries Day:

http://www.voicesforthelibrary.org.uk/wordpress/

This has been something that has been very much on our minds here in recent weeks. Glastonbury has mounted a huge campaign to save our town library from closure - a library that is well-used and is host to many different services. It looks as though the campaign has been successful - which is obviously great news. But the campaign was founded on the principle that Glastonbury did not want its library to be saved at the expense of another one, and so the fight goes on.

Libraries have been a big part of my life, both as an academic, and as a student. When I was a teenager, back in the 70s and early 80s, visiting the local library was a treat. I found Andre Norton, Jack Vance, Isaac Asimov, and Ray Bradbury. I found Miss Read and Dorothy Sayers. I found too many authors to mention - authors whom I still read today and who are central to my career as a writer myself. And of course, my own books are in libraries throughout the UK.

So this is an important day.