These temples of learning have been under attack for years – depleted of professionals and filled with council money-spinners

I have been a member of my local library since I was four. I am still using the library card I was given when I first joined (its authenticity is proven by the fact that it is signed by my mum, not me), and it is probably the public service that I make the most use of. Despite this, I wasn’t as enthusiastic as many about Philip Pullman’s call to arms in defence of libraries against funding cuts. Last year I worked part-time in a small branch library, and what I found there was a service which, after a long process of erosion, no longer offers what many think our public libraries should…

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