The likes of Matthew Boulton and James Watt would be “turning in their graves” at the prospect of cuts to the Library of Birmingham, the current Lunar Society chairman claims.
Birmingham City Council recently announced the need to save £1.5 million from the library budget next year – and £4 million by 2018 – which will mean cutting opening hours from 73 to 40 hours per week.
Lunar Society chairman Waheed Saleem said the library was key to developing the city’s skills and education and presented a major blow to the city’s heritage.
He was speaking after the former head of Birmingham Libraries and Archives John Dolan OBE said the library was heading for a “spiral of decline”.
The Lunar Society was founded by the likes of Boulton, Watt, Joseph Priestley and Erasmus Darwin in the 18th century as a collection of prominent thinkers and Mr Saleem said the prospect of less access to education would have disturbed them.
He said: “The founders of the Lunar Society – which included some of the greatest minds of the 18th-century – will be turning in their graves with the prospect that a building that has achieved worldwide acclaim and brought huge prestige to Birmingham is, just 18 months after its opening, shutting down its services.
“It is even more worrying that this is happening at a time when employers in both the public and private sectors are saying that skills shortage is a significant barrier to their development. Libraries are a fundamental part of a civilised city committed to looking after its citizens and play a significant role in developing educational standards and understanding.
“All of us in Birmingham must work hard to find a resolution to the funding of the library and ensure the continuation of its service without any reduction at all in its opening hours.”
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Mr Saleem said a 3,000-strong petition against the library cuts showed the importance of the Library of Birmingham to the city’s people.
But the council remains under major cost pressure and needs to reduce the library’s £10 million annual running costs.
The proposals would see 100 of the 188 members of staff at the library made redundant.
Mr Saleem said he was encouraged by the prospects of talks with The British Library but a multiple approach was required.
“It is unlikely that there is a single silver bullet solution. The Lunar Society is keen to contribute its thinking, contacts and resources to enabling a resolution that assures the long-term security of a resource that is so important to the city,” he said.