I was delighted to read last week that the House of Commons’ Culture, Media and Sport Committee has announced an inquiry into library services.  The Committee – made up of backbench MPs – will be looking at the impact of library closures on local communities, as well as asking what a 21st century library service should look like.  There’s more detail about the inquiry here.

Libraries are something I have been interested in for a long time. Back before I became an MP, when I worked in local government, I helped set up the London Libraries Development Agency.  And of course, they’re back in the news a lot at the moment, as the Government’s cuts start to bite. Over in Brent, there has been a high profile legal challenge to the decision to shut libraries, so I’m pleased that in our own borough of Newham, the Council have committed themselves to keeping all our libraries open.

This isn’t the first time that the Committee has looked at public libraries. Back in a 2005 report, it pointed out that “libraries are an important national resource with a vital role to play in establishing, nurturing and nourishing people’s love of reading.” But even then, in better times, the Committee felt that the service was patchy across the country, and that there was a need for libraries to focus on their “fundamental role in promoting reading”.

Now, with the Coalition’s cuts wrecking the economic recovery, it is going to be harder than ever for libraries to spread a love of reading and learning in our local communities, and particularly amongst our children. But with youth unemployment hitting 1 million, it is more important than ever that they succeed.

Write to Lyn Brown MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA email brownl@parliament.uk or call 020 7219 6999.