‘Why my library has been my lifeline’

Kriti, who was just 11 at the time, began to call into Prettygate library on her way home from school and before long its staff recognised her.

“I was comfortable with the library and it got to the point where the librarians recognised me when I walked in,” she said.

Therefore, two years ago, it was “a natural transition” for Krithi, who previously lived in Newcastle, to start to volunteer at the library on Saturdays and sometimes after school too.

Over that time she has used it to work towards Duke of Edinburgh awards, and has gone from helping to shelve books to more important duties.

So Krithi, 16, was left “deeply saddened” when she heard the library is on a hit list of Essex County Council closures.

“I thought I was being lied to at first,” she admitted.

“I emailed the manager to see if it was true, me and my friends were panicking.”

She added: “It was the reason that I first started to feel at home here, in Colchester.

“When I got into Colchester County High School for Girls my whole family moved down here.

“I didn’t really like Colchester at first because it was such a big change,” said Krithi, who is now in the first year of her sixth form studies.

Krithi and her friends started an online petition which gathered more than 1,800 signatures in a matter of days.

“I think the best way to way to do it would be to keep the library space open but maybe add to it such as adding a cafe for extra revenue. I am not sure the community will be able to keep it open by running it themselves though,” she added.

The council wants to close 25 of its 74 libraries.

Other libraries across Colchester and Tendring face closure within two years unless volunteers are willing to run them, or will have reduced opening times.

The reorganisation of library services could save the council £2 million a year but it has said its consultation is not about saving money.

Instead it says traditional library use has “collapsed” in the past ten years and wants to move to a more internet-based service.

Opponents, like Krithi, say libraries are important for people of all ages and for many reasons.

Across town,Wivenhoe library is not on the shortlist for closure but the council says it could shut if volunteers don’t come forward to help within two years.

It is among 19 libraries across the county in this situation.

Gill Strudwick, is vice chair of the Wivenhoe History Group, and said that library had been useful to its members for research and as a social space.

“I feel for some of our history group members that is a way of accessing the internet if they don’t have the means and there are quite a lot of older people who like to access ancestry.com,” she said.

Mrs Strudwick was recently allowed to display information for free in Wivenhoe library about the town’s High Street heritage weekend.

“To get into Colchester is all right for people who are fairly active but for other members of the community it is a support for them, it is a communal place.”

Manningtree library is another which needs community members to opt to run it.

Manningtree Museum and Local History Group rents a small room at the back of the library, which opens to the public for three sessions a week, supervised by volunteer stewards.

It has been there for more than 30 years.

Group member Peter Gant said: “We have enjoyed mutual co-operation with the library staff and have provided information and research assistance to students and, through our website, to inquirers worldwide.

“We would regret any loss of accommodation and any consequent reduction in the interaction with local people we have had for many years and on whom we depend for historical information and objects of local interest.

“Our collection of historical objects is stored in the museum ready to take to schools and exhibitions and our digitised archive is available to visitors.

“The community would be the poorer for the loss of this facility.”

UNISON Eastern regional manager Tim Roberts even went as far as saying the council “is threatening to rip the heart out of our communities”.

“If the only thing libraries did was make knowledge available to all, then these closures would be an act of cultural vandalism – but the fact is they do so much more, from children’s story times to helping elderly and vulnerable people connect with the world around them,” he said.

“And we can’t run a high-quality and accountable library service on goodwill alone If we want our kids to fall in love with reading, we need properly trained, properly paid staff to guide them through the process in properly resourced libraries.

“Instead the council is telling our children that their futures don’t matter.”

About 800 people work at the county’s libraries - which annually cost £11 million to run. Job losses have not been ruled out.

But Susan Barker, Essex County Council’s cabinet member for customer services, said she wanted libraries to serve more as “hubs”.

She added: “This is a consultation and until we have spoken to all our communities, come up with ideas, improvements and solutions we don’t know but we will be asking staff to work in a different way.”

Mrs Barker said library visitors borrowing items barely spoke to staff due to self-service facilities currently on offer.

“I need those staff to be out there more, helping people, visiting pre-schools or play groups, trying to encourage them to read,” she added.

Mrs Barker also said the proposals were about “co-locating” with other organisations to use the buildings in more diverse ways and gave the NHS as one example where it could give flu jabs.

“It could be anything - we are leaving nothing out, everything is on the table.”

Consultation findings will be published and any changes proposed considered in June. Drop in sessions will be held at every library to learn more. Alternatively visit www.essex.gov.uk/libraries-consultation for further information or to complete the consultation online.