SINCE the announcement that the people of Thame are to be consulted about converting their town hall into a library, the idea has not attracted much support locally.
Local author, Sarah Hayes, who has written more than twenty books for children and was the originator of the “Fimbles”, has added her voice to opposers of the idea.
She has written to the Town Clerk and the Mayor: “I write as someone who loves Thame and as a professional writer. In both capacities I urge Thame Town Council not to make a hasty decision about the siting of Thame’s long-awaited new library. The capital allocated by Oxfordshire County Council should be used to create a purpose-built library for the twenty-first century, not one that is carved out of an unsuitable nineteenth-century building. OCC has the ability to delay the allocated capital spend. It is vital, therefore, that our local authorities take time to achieve the most suitable site for Thame’s new library instead of opting for the ‘quick fix’ offered by the Town Hall or OCC’s two other preferred sites.
The Town Hall is not appropriate for change of use to a library for the following reasons:
1. National library surveys have shown a decline in the use of libraries in all areas of the country. In some counties library hours have been reduced; in others book buying has been cut. The places where libraries are thriving are those where libraries are new built and given added value or combined with other facilities and attractions to bring the public through the doors.
2. Today’s successful libraries are busy, welcoming places, frequently offering an on-site caf
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