Zadie Smith commendably pays tribute to the staff who make available the wonderful cultural gems in the British Library (Does Britain value culture any more? Ask the striking workers at the British Library, 11 November). For decades, libraries all round Britain have suffered successive cuts, which have meant many have closed or are run by volunteers.
Librarians do not have a single high-profile trade union looking out for their pay and working conditions. So, unlike teachers, for example, they are unable to exert pressure to be paid on a similar level, given that the professional qualifications required are equally rigorous, and in some institutions exceed those of other professionals.
It’s time to value all library workers and reinstate good, well-stocked libraries as envisaged by our Victorian predecessors, who saw libraries as vital to the education and cultural life of this country.
Jane Ghosh
Retired librarian, Bristol
• I’ve been a reader at the British Library since 1984 and recently renewed my pass for another three years. Zadie Smith is spot-on that the recent strike of library workers over low pay also points to a wider lack of respect for those who work hard to keep one of the country’s great cultural resources going. It points to a country that not only has a market economy but a market society, where things that don’t make a profit are not valued. Still, perhaps the local MP can help. His name? Keir Starmer.
Keith Flett
Tottenham, London
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