Dan visited Westbourne Library in North-West Ipswich to see for himself the great work the staff do there for their community. Over 77,000 people visited Westbourne Library in 2009-2010. It is a great resource for the people of North West Ipswich and for surrounding villages like Claydon and Witnesham. Libraries are a hugely important part of our social fabric and provide a very valuable service, especially to the young and the elderly, the very groups we should be doing our best to protect in these difficult times.
Dan is uneasy about the County Council’s proposed closure of most Suffolk libraries, and particularly Westbourne Library in North-West Ipswich. Dan is a big supporter of the Government’s Big Society agenda, and community-run library services can work well. But he is not sure that the current community infrastructure in North-West Ipswich is strong enough to run a library. The County Council cannot cut and run in North-West Ipswich – we need Westbourne Library!