Lismore community call to 'Save our libraries'

LISMORE City Council to make significant budget cuts to local libraries, unless the community can band together to stop it.

Greens MP Dawn Walker and Lismore Councillor Adam Guise fight together with the local community to save funding for Goonellabah Library. Picture: Samantha Library

LOCAL community members of Lismore are fighting for their library services after the proposed council budget revealed further cuts to library funding.

Lismore Councillor Adam Guise, who formerly worked for Lismore library, said he sees the diversity of people that depend on libraries and worries about the future of this public resource.

"Making budget cuts to libraries hollows out library services and means the quality of service drops and they're less available to the community,” Cr Guise said.

"I always think of libraries as important public places that are free and open to anyone and we don't have many of them left in the community.”

"They provide an essential service in terms of computers, for people who don't access to internet at home, they have books and DVDs that people love and they offer lots of extra curricular activities.”

When Greens MP, Dawn Walker heard about the cuts she immediately went to Parliament to address federal and state funding for library resources.

"I am very concerned about libraries being used as a soft target for budget cuts,” Mrs Walker said.

"I called on the government to speak to Lismore Council to reverse these cuts which I understand to be level of $80 000 a year from the library services.”

The proposed funding cuts will mean staffing cuts in libraries across the region, Goonellabah Library will have to close on a Wednesday and Lismore Library will have to reduce opening hours.

While the Lismore City Council budget is on exhibition, there is an opportunity for the community to put in a submission to express their concerns about the proposed budget cuts to their local libraries.

"Write a submission to Lismore Council include all the councillors in your submission and tell them you don't want the 5% cuts to go ahead,” Cr Guise said.

"Our libraries are too important, they mean too much to the community and we want libraries to be there providing for our next generation for years to come.”

Submissions close June 7.