Community Uproar as Whiteinch Library Faces Closure by Council
Whiteinch Library in Glasgow. Photo by Robbie McAvenue.
In just a year and a half, a building known as a centrepiece in Glasgow’s heritage stands shuttered and abandoned.
Since 1926, Whiteinch Library has served its community as an information hub, a community centre and a classroom. However, budget cuts proposed by a post-pandemic city council could see the building’s future left on the shelf.
In April, the council confirmed via Glasgow Life that no plans had been made to reopen Whiteinch Library. A council spokesperson said:“Whiteinch Library is not one of the facilities planned to reopen, however Glasgow Life is exploring how the community library provision can be supported in another venue as part of the city’s approach to community hubs.”
Despite the council’s efforts, community-led campaign “Save Whiteinch Library” is refusing to let the facility gather dust.
Campaign spokesperson Robert Mellish said: “We’ve been protesting every week now since April, we’ve had MSPs speak, we’ve had petitions and flag designs, and our group has a very active Facebook page.
“We have a few goals. The first is that we would like to see the library re-open as a city run library, not community run. We also want the library in its original building, not Scotstoun Leisure Centre.”
Posters put up on the library gates by campaigners. Photo by Robbie McAvenue.
According to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, Whiteinch sits in the country’s bottom 20% poorest areas. By comparison, Hillhead Library, which the council is keeping open, serves affluent areas like Kelvingrove and Hyndland, both part of Scotland’s top 1%.
“Whiteinch is an old shipbuilding area. It’s an area of deprivation. From a justice and equality point of view, poorer people need libraries not just for books. It’s a place for people to meet, so the council is actually depriving a needy area of a good resource” Mellish said.
These proposals are potentially damaging the communities mental health, especially for vulnerable residents.
One local said: “When you have mobility difficulties, you need something to make you get out of the house. Coming to the library is one of those things and now I can’t do it, so it’s a great loss.”
In the face of tight budgets, the council have had to make difficult choices about how the city’s services are funded, though campaigners have questioned the council’s priorities.
“The council’s motivation for shutting the library is money. Their revenues have gone down and libraries don’t tend to make any money, so they’ve cut the library. It’s a matter of priorities” says Mellish.