Sheffield suburb 'deserves and desperately needs a staffed library' - Reader's letter
Matthew Smith has his say on library provision...
2026 marks 10 years since Sheffield City Council in it's infinite wisdom decided to withdraw staffed library facilities in Tinsley, forcing the people in the area - which has some of the worst deprivation statistics in the city - to travel to nearby Rotherham if they want or need to access staffed library provision.
A quick perusal of the options for travelling via public transport reveals that residents in Tinsley are now nearer to Rotherham central library than the nearest Sheffield branch library at Darnall, adding to journey times, cost of living and pollution with people having to travel via fossil fuel powered transport for longer journeys to the remaining library provision.
The Labour Party which instigated the 2014 restructure which withdrew library provision at a rate not seen in neighbouring towns and cities which have seen similar if not bigger cuts than Sheffield to it's budget from central government.
The Greens in Sheffield offer no alternative to Labour's volunteer libraries and cuts to staffed library provision, nothing is expected from Reform in this regard, in fact only the LibDems mention libraries in their latest budget amendment as a priority.
Tinsley deserves and desperately needs a staffed library.
It is a shame those on the council do not deem it worthy of one, Labour, Green or otherwise.