Welcome to Libraries Week, 4 to 10 October

That the Parliament recognises, during Libraries Week 2021, the significant contribution that libraries make to communities across Scotland, and the role of the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) in supporting them; notes that library staff across Scotland have shown great dedication and resilience to continue to provide services throughout the pandemic, and welcomes the work of SLIC to recognise this effort by delivering a SLIC Award, set to be announced later this year; acknowledges the important role libraries play as Scotland moves towards its social and economic recovery, and that they have the ability to support, as outlined in SLIC’s recently published five-year strategy, Forward, the collective endeavour to improve literacy, close the attainment gap, promote health, champion wellbeing, pioneer sustainability, tackle social isolation, reduce inequality, and close the digital divide, and believes that libraries are well-placed to deliver against the outcomes identified in the National Performance Framework, including cultural regeneration, data poverty and digital exclusion, economic recovery, health communities, literacy and learning and reducing inequalities.