Middle Park residents fight council over library plans

A group of Middle Park residents are opposing the City of Port Phillip’s plan to remove hundreds of books from their local library, reports the Age.

Middle Park resident James Woollett​ and a group of six other people have handed out around 1000 leaflets in the neighbourhood to oppose the council’s plans. Woolett also started an online petition to protest the move.

As previously reported by Books+Publishing, the Port Phillip council voted to remove Middle Park Library’s collection of 4500 books to neighbouring Albert Park library in order to make more space for desks and laptops. The $47,000 redevelopment proposal has been released for public consultation.

Woollett described the library as a ‘hidden secret’ and ‘the glue that holds the community together’. He argued that removing the books would mean it was no longer a library. ‘A library, in every dictionary I’ve ever looked up, is a collection of books,’ he said.

The City of Port Phillip maintains that the library’s low visitor numbers means that its operation is not sustainable.

Category: Library news