There have been many letters about the threat to local libraries and I have agreed with most of them, but there is one area that has not been mentioned.

Many people believe that old people only need libraries to borrow books or have a little social experience.

Older people, perhaps over 70, had their education interrupted by the war. We often had to change schools by moving to different areas. There were no young teachers. Nearly all the young people were in the forces or doing war work. Mothers who were trained teachers but had young children at home, didn’t go out to work.

I, like thousands of others, felt we had missed the chance of a good education. So, when the Open University began and accepted older people with no formal qualifications, it really was a Godsend.

We could work in our own time with postal contact with tutors, a few weekend lectures and usually an annual summer school.

Thus, the libraries were of vital importance. Not just for borrowing books, but for doing research in the reference library and asking for help and guidance of the very knowledgeable librarians. Cutting the library hours from 8pm daily to 5pm, except for one day a week was a terrible punishment and burden. Secondary school pupils in examination classes were also badly affected. I joined the OU when I retired from work and judging from the number of thousands of people at the Royal Festival Hall auditorium on graduation days, many people much older than I had suffered the same disrupted education. Without these library facilities, gaining a degree would have been impossible.

The young people need all the help they can get, but please don’t let the councillors throw the older people on the rubbish tip.

Mrs Rina Ben-Ami

Woodside Park Road, North Finchley