Election candidates supporting the city’s libraries

Labour candidates gathered outside Leith Library on Saturday to show their support for the library service, saying it is one of the most popular services councils provide.

The group – Fred Hessler (Almond), Katrina Faccenda (Leith), Margaret Graham (City Centre), Mhairi Munro-Brian (Inverleith), Nkechi Okoro (Drum Brae/Gyle), and Richard Parker (Corstorphine/Murrayfield) held a “read in” reading aloud from a selection of books and a poem written specially for the occasion.

The would-be councillors point out that libraries are not just about books, although they are important, they also provide a welcoming (and warm!) place to go, with free access to other services like computers, toddlers’ rhyme-time, newspapers and so on.

Ian Rankin said: “Libraries have been a crucial part of my life since I was a kid. There weren’t many books in my house but my parents encouraged me to use the local library. I’ve been using them ever since – for fun and to research my own books. I’d be lost without them.”

Labour’s candidates in the 2022 election are determined to continue their support for the cherished service.

L-R Mhairi Munro-Brian (Inverleith) Richard Parker (Corstorphine/Murrayfield), Nkechi Okoro (Drum Brae/Gyle) and Fred Hessler (Almond) at the read in

All of them support the #LibrariesAreEssential campaign, which has the following aims:

Support the funding of all libraries to ensure they can continue to support education, digital and information literacy, health and wellbeing, economic wellbeing and access to information.
Agree that misinformation is damaging society and eroding democracy, that libraries and information professionals are vital in combating this and that they should be valued and supported.
Ensure Local Government has the support required to ensure that they can deliver the new National Strategy for Public Libraries.
Ensure that school libraries and librarians are key components of curriculum delivery, as outlined in Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools, and that all school pupils have access to a trained librarian.

The candidates recognise that it will not be easy, saying that year-on-year cuts delivered by the SNP to local government has resulted in deep cuts to Edinburgh’s library service, and they also demand full and fair funding for local government.