Libraries Week Highlights Lifeline Services

That the Parliament welcomes UK Libraries Week, which takes place between 5 and 10 October 2020; understands that this is to celebrate the pivotal role of libraries in communities across the UK; acknowledges the Shetland Library, which is relied upon by people throughout the islands for free and friendly access to learning, connectivity and entertainment; considers that the value of these services has been underlined by the pandemic, which illustrated that access to learning, connectivity and entertainment must be understood as a necessity as opposed to a luxury, and that libraries should therefore be recognised as lifeline services; recognises the tremendous effort by staff to develop a safe system of working in the midst of a pandemic, and thanks the staff for their work; notes that, since reopening, it has continued to loan thousands of books every week; further notes the Shetland Library’s thoroughly successful Twitter account @ShetlandLibrary, which boasts a following that is almost equivalent to the whole population of Shetland; recognises the light-hearted sparring against the Orkney Library equivalent, and commends the Shetland Library’s efforts in that contest.