I WRITE to express my grave concern about the future of Dinas Powys library.

In a year when this valuable and much loved asset should be celebrating its fiftieth birthday, the dark cloud of uncertainty hangs over the building.

The library is not just a place of education and learning. It is a community hub where residents can borrow books, read newspapers and use the internet with all it offers under the care of qualified staff.

It is a hugely valuable resource which we as a village population can simply not afford to lose.

Too many people, especially the elderly in our community, find it is a place to socialise and enjoy the company of fellow villagers with staff who confidently support them. In a crazy and unprecedented move, the council are soon to announce that all the staff be replaced, by unpaid, untrained volunteers who will have full access to sensitive personal information for thousands of borrowers without any consultation.

This surely is a portend to closure, as this is not a hobby, it is a valued service that needs to be run with the skill and sensitivity of a paid and qualified staff.

I feel I must appeal to the local councillors who represent the people of Dinas Powys to do everything in their power to keep this facility open complete with the knowledgeable and well trained staff in situ. The amount of council tax we pay continues to rise steeply year after year, yet the services that are provided seem to diminish exponentially. It is time for common sense to prevail and if cuts need to be made, make them elsewhere. Save our library staff and the service which they have provided for 50 years.

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