Thank you so much for signing my petition. Now you could help even more by clicking here to urge your local County Councillor to do all they can to stop Suffolk County Council wrecking our fabulous local libraries before the 18th of March.

The link will take you to a special ‘Email Your Councillor’ page that matches your postcode to your particular Councillor with a ready to go message that you can send directly or customise if you wish.  

Using the link takes just a few moments. But the effect of hundreds of people from across Suffolk doing this will have a huge impact on the campaign and stop Suffolk County Council making a hasty decision and wrecking our library services.  Plus if you have time, it would be brilliant if you could spread the word and get as many people as possible to use the link and, crucially, urge them to also sign the petition itself.

If you do not live in Suffolk but want to support Suffolk Libraries, please write to the Suffolk County Council Leader using the suggested message below which you can edit to your choosing.

Email: matthew.hicks@suffolk.gov.uk

Dear Councillor Hicks, 

I am writing to you with a request that you reconsider the decision to take the running of the precious Suffolk library service away from the charity that has run it so successfully for the last 12 years.

The charity has transformed our libraries into true community hubs offering a wide range of services, particularly relied on by families, children and some of the more vulnerable members of our community. Remarkably, the service now costs £3 million pounds less now than it did in 2011 whilst offering so much more to local people. All 45 libraries across Suffolk have stayed open with local Friends groups enhancing the offering, representing real value for money. And independent research has shown that when managed by the charity, Suffolk’s libraries generate £41m worth of social value, translating to £6 social value for every £1 invested and saving NHS services in Suffolk an amazing £542K every year.

During these uncertain times, and when many financial pressures are rife, I do not believe at this juncture we should disrupt the running of our libraries and make such a significant decision in haste.

I thank you for your time and consideration and I hope to hear back from you soon.

Yours sincerely,