Nobody comes into local government to make services worse or to deliver cuts that affect their local communities. And yet, the reality is rising costs from social care, special educational needs and disability, and homelessness, on top of the ongoing impact of austerity policies on local authority budgets, mean local services continue to face cuts to balance the books. While we assume statutory services should be the best protected, this is often not the case for public libraries – a statutory service since the 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act was introduced.

At [the library and information association] CILIP, we've seen how library services have too often been disproportionately affected by budget choices, with cuts of 53% since 2010. Buildings have been closed, opening hours reduced, and crucially – trained professional staff roles cut. Are these easier decisions to make? Considering the alternatives, perhaps.