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 THE MAYOR'S DRAFT CULTURAL STRATEGY - COMMENT

LLL welcomes the celebration of diversity featured in the draft cultural strategy, but we consider that equal weight should be given to celebrating unity and the commonality of being Londoners

 

We are surprised that while the culture of minorities is rightly highlighted, the indigenous culture of the majority is virtually ignored.

 

We find it regrettable that little account is taken of books and literature, or of London's history, its important buildings, and its long-standing traditions.

 

The role of libraries in our cultural life also gets a pretty poor showing.The last secretary of state for culture called public libraries street corner universities. They are places where books - both non-fiction and works of the imagination � can be discovered and borrowed, as well as providing electronic access to a wealth of information.Libraries provide services for people of all ages, of all levels of education, and of all ethnic origins, and are used by the whole community.They offer a safe and welcoming environment the many single people who live in London whose needs are not well-catered for, to newcomers, to ethnic minority women, and to the elderly.

 

In areas where commerce and entertainment continue late into the night libraries and art galleries should also be open late.

Late night and week-end opening of libraries should be encouraged in all areas.Where libraries are open on Sundays they are well-used. We should also like to see libraries in buildings which

offer other services as recommended in the recent CABE/Resource report.

 

London is remarkable in having a wealth of special libraries, many of which are open to the public, and provide a rich cultural resource.

 

We hope the final document will give a more realistic assessment of the importance of libraries in the cultural life of London.

 

KF Sep. 2003