As of today, 8th January, 341 people have already signed the online petition to save Headington Library at Bury Knowle Park, and 428 people have signed the sister petition to save all the twenty threatened libraries.
More people are signing every day.
That gives this campaign a strong democratic case for facing the council and demanding that no hasty decisions are taken without sufficient time to consider and pursue some alternatives to closure.
I like the letter written by the Kennington campaigners to Mr Vaizey and I suggest that a group of campaigners in Headington write a similar collective letter to him and try to get him involved in this issue.
I note that Ms Nicola Blackwood seems unsympathetic to the cause and hope that this will be remembered next time she is up for election.
It is just not realistic to say that Headington residents can use the Westgate Library. Even if you live very close to a bus stop, the journey can easily take half an hour in each direction, or more for those who live outside the ring road. If you don't live close to a bus stop, you would have to put aside well over one and half hours for a library visit. Busy people cannot find that extra time, those with prams would have to struggle to get them on and off the bus and young children could not go to the library without their parents.
Libraries should not only exist for the city's university students, numerous and welcome though they are. They should be there for the whole population including the less advantaged.
Both of my own children made good use of Bury Knowle Library. I want that amenity to be available for future generations.
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