Closed petition Keep libraries open as essential services.

Closed on 13 July 2021

Class libraries as essential so they can remain open. Books are a lifeline for those who cannot afford to buy and with homeschooling thrust upon children, libraries are an essential resource education wise. With test and trace and other safety measures in place libraries are as safe as supermarkets.

Libraries are essential to many home educators, especially to the those unable to buy new or second hand. The benefits of reading on mental health are also well documented. In this extraordinary time of homeschooling and social isolation, libraries are a lifeline to many people and closing them affects only the poorest in society. With strict measures already in place, e.g limiting numbers, test and trace, one ways systems, and quarantining books, libraries pose less of a risk than supermarkets.