Peacefully defending our Carnegie Library


Our boys don't need Carnegie Library. We've been going since they were babies enjoying Wriggle and Rhyme, but they could probably live without it. Our shelves are bursting with books which they devour at such a rate that we've had to get a Kindle as well. We also have a variety of ways to connect to the internet, and a computer and quiet space for homework. We are lucky.

Other children and families are not as lucky. I'm acutely aware of this because throughout my career I have worked with some of the country's most deprived schools, including a number in Lambeth. For some of the children in these schools, homes are filled not with books, but with chaos. It can be difficult for these children to find a quiet space to read, think and do school work, or an adult with the time and inclination to encourage them to do so. Sometimes home is not a safe place to be, the lives of those in them blighted by abuse, violence and addiction.

That is why libraries, like Carnegie Library, are important. It is why the librarians that run them are crucial too. Librarians like the award-winning Caroline and her team.


For some of the most vulnerable children (and adults) in our society, libraries can be a place of refuge. A safe and calm space to do homework, to read and benefit from the care and guidance of librarians who are experts in books, computers and people.

Although our boys don't need Carnegie Library, we go regularly. The children's library with its colourful displays of books and audio books (their latest passion) is like a sweet shop to them (and literally so when we went to the Easter egg hunt among the shelves earlier this week). Visiting with their school a couple of times means they are more confident that we are with the machines and count the librarians who inspired them on those trips as their friends. For all our books, I'll never be the knowledgeable custodian of children's literature that Caroline and her colleagues are.

The warmth and expertise of our wonderful librarians isn't the only thing that has struck me in our library visits. Whenever we've gone, we've seen classmates and children from other primary schools, similarly inspired and from the range of backgrounds typical of Lambeth schools, enjoying all Carnegie has to offer. We've seen older children studying, and constant demand from adults for the handful of computers that might be their only way of accessing the services they need, so many of which are now online. For vulnerable people, libraries like Carnegie are a social service.

So when I took the boys to occupy the library on Thursday evening and when we've visited those still in occupation everyday since finding ourselves locked out, it wasn't so much for what we stand to lose, as for what those less fortunate stand to lose - which is much, much more. It's also because I want my boys to grow up understanding how important it is that we stand up for each other and the things we believe in. I want them to grow up in a country where they, their classmates and their future children can benefit from excellent libraries and librarians like those found at Carnegie Library.

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