There was substantial support for the campaign to save threatened Southampton libraries on Wednesday lunchtime. 'Read more' to see lots of pictures and hear audio from the day.
• Call for 'full, thorough & open investigation' into library options
Use the audio player below or click here to listen to protesters talking about why they support libraries (4:21), and scroll down for audio of Rachel Hickman addressing the council.
Protesters gather at the Bargate dressed in black
Protesters assembled dressed in black at the Bargate before walking single file to the council offices carrying books, to greet councillors arriving for a full council meeting – at which it was revealed that there had been 6,300 responses to the recent consultation.
£99,000 for heating upgrade at Cobbett
In a surreal twist, it also emerged at the council meeting that £99K is being spent on upgrading the heating system at Cobbett Road Library in Bitterne Park – one of the libraries that could be closed under current proposals.
Shutting it would save around £52K a year
The 'silent' (apart from someone with a loud megaphone) protest snaked single-file from the Bargate to the civic centre, creating considerable interest as it went
Rachel Hickman, secretary of the Friends of Cobbett Road Library (FOCRL), and Sarah Dockree from the Burgess Road Library Buddies, both spoke to the full council chamber, because their petitions had had such high levels of support.
Burgess Road as well as Cobbett has been earmarked for possible closure.
You can hear Rachel's speech to council, followed by her chatting to a reporter, using the audio player below, or by clicking here.
You can hear Sarah Dockree using the audio player below, or by clicking here.
‘You are the custodians of these public assets, and you have a responsibility to keep them safe for future generations’
Rachel Hickman told council that well over 2,000 people have signed petitions to save Southampton libraries. She said the number of consultations returned show the strength of feeling for supposedly 'less used' libraries.
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She also said that the report on libraries had not been written in a way that considers the "everyday meaning of libraries, such as Cobbett, for its community".
"The groups, the people who regularly come in to ask questions, to chat with others, read the papers, look for jobs online, do homework, the coffee morning, the toddler group, the art group... both rooms of the library are open to all members of the community, a place where social cohesion occurs," she said.
Here's just one of the many adapted 'books' people carried
"You are the custodians of these public assets, and you have a responsibility to keep them safe for future generations".
"Before the election we want a cross-party commitment to look properly at options from the consultation: not just community asset transfer or closure. We want a long-term solutions for the future of Cobbett and other city libraries."
She said FOCRL had worked with councilors and MP candidates from both Labour and Conservative, and that viable options for Cobbett had been identified.
"We need a willingness from Southampton council, and a desire to do the best for Southampton's libraries," she said. "We want a commitment from the council that they will proactively look at options before making any decision, and work with the community towards keeing the libraries council run and staffed."
Protesters gathered outside the council offices before the meeting
We spotted Tory, Lib Dem, Green and Councillors Against the Cuts supporters, candidates or councillors on the protest
The media were also out in force. Here are some of, ahem, us, filming each other. We saw Meridian (who also filmed in the council meeting), possibly That's Solent, the BBC, the Daily Echo and numerous journalism students. Radio 5 Live were also thought to be researching, because they're interested in Itchen as a key marginal constituency, although we don't think they were actually covering the protest.
Taking the 'read in' into the Civic Centre
• We expect to update this story again shortly so stay tuned...