Big Issue founder John Bird will speak at a mass rally outside the British Library in London this weekend in support of libraries.
Lord Bird, a vocal champion of literacy, will speak as part of The Big Issue’s commitment to libraries at Saturday’s National Libraries, Museums & Galleries demonstration.
He will call for chancellor Philip Hammond to include relief-funding for libraries in his autumn budget statement on November 23, and to support school libraries.
This comes as libraries across the country are gripped by a crisis of closures and cutbacks. Since 2010, 343 libraries have closed in Britain and around 8,000 paid and trained library workers have been lost.
Users, staff, campaigners and unions need to unite and fight before it’s too late
“We have to fight for literacy, we have to protect libraries,” said Lord Bird.
“This is a crisis and not an opportunity,” organisers said. “Users, staff, campaigners and unions need to unite and fight before it’s too late.