Young people are having their say on the future of Pensby Library after it was saved from closure

Jun 3 2009 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

COULD the next generation of bookworms be the key to retaining our libraries?

Staff and supporters of Pensby Library think so – and are working with an enthusiastic group of youngsters to keep the much-loved library thriving well into the future.

Pensby was on Wirral Council’s original list of proposed library closures but councillors later decided it should be retained, along with Upton Library.

Claire Sanderson, of Pensby Library User Group, said members had been “bowled over” by the determination and commitment shown by young people who wrote letters and attended public meetings in a bid to save their library.

A Junior Library User Group has now been set up to give young people more of a say in how the library is run.

The five 9 to 15 year -olds had their first meeting last month and have already suggested a string of improvements to make the library more user-friendly, plus a year-round programme of activities and reading themes.

Claire Sanderson of Pensby Library Users Group said: “When the council’s Strategic Asset Review was announced in November, our young people really were distraught that the library might close because it means so much to them.

“They wrote letters and brought them in to show the library staff and we were amazed at the very mature, sensible, caring views they expressed.

“They knew what they wanted from their library and what they could give.

“I myself have been using the library for 21 years, since I was 10. Pensby Library was the reason I started reading and it’s the same for many of our young people.”

The group have asked for beanbags to make reading in the library more comfortable for young people and wall space to create displays.

They also told library staff they wanted the Wirral Libraries’ summer reading scheme to be all-year round.

Another idea was to hold a “Graham Day” dedicated to Graham Ashdown.

Mr Ashdown, 64, who died in January, set up his first youth club in Moreton 40 years ago and was the driving force behind the Pensby Club.

Ms Sanderson said: “The library is as much for junior members of the public as it is for adults and we hope the group will go from strength to strength.

“They were ecstatic and were literally dancing around when we found out the library was staying open.

“We had the crisis when it looked like the library would close and now is a new start for us.

“The council officers who say young people don’t use the libraries obviously haven’t been to Pensby Library!”