I feel amazed and horrified that we are so passively accepting the destruction of our libraries. All the discussions and consultations mean nothing and soon it will be too late and we will be deprived of one of our most valuable assets. When we came to England as refugees from Nazi Germany in 1939, my family had no money for books or even newspapers. As soon as I could read I made my way to our local library and never looked back. I had found a warm, interesting place with a superb child-friendly librarian who read us stories twice a week. I began to borrow books weekly and was soon a fluent reader. Not only I, but other poor and cold people came into the library’s reading room to read the papers they could not afford to buy. Later, when revising for O Levels my friends and I found a haven there. Not only were there books to consult, but it was warm and peaceful, away from our mostly cold and noisy homes. I refuse to believe that there are not children today who, equally, cannot afford to buy books and who need the quiet and studious atmosphere to encourage them to read and study. Then there are the elderly, of whom I am now one, who value their visits to the local library to choose books and chat with the friendly librarian.

People who need large print can access these books and also talking books at the library. Another valuable asset for the elderly or young mothers at home was the mobile library, which seems already to have been axed.

I would most strongly urge residents of Barnet to come together in a demonstration, adults, children and elderly, irrespective of politics, to protest at being robbed of such a precious asset, which previous generations struggled to achieve. Once lost, our libraries will never be regained.

Thea Valman

Bridge Lane, Temple Fortune