Doesn't it make you despair, when, in their almighty wisdom or lack thereof, governments say free book borrowing and little local community libraries are a luxury society can no longer afford.
It's more a case of, can society afford to lose their libraries? In this world where random violence, teenage pregnancy and school truanting are endemic, shouldn't we be encouraging the escapist and educational joys of reading. Even primary and junior schools are no longer spending their budgets on employing teacher librarians. How ignorant is that? It is these specialists who foster the life long benefits of learning to read. In a world in which we are bombarded with noise, learning how to savour silence and to contemplate, is an art we ought to be throwing money at. Think about it!
Read Jan Merry's latest release, Time to Spare
