There's so much joy to be had in browsing a shelf of books

Richard Ovenden rightly focuses on the threat to community libraries in Britain's largest and oldest functioning local authority, Birmingham (click here for article https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/books/67177/on-borrowed-time). However he may be a little too scathing about the alternative proposal of volunteer-led libraries. The biggest problem is that Birmingham City Council has been making noises about library "transformation" for years but a total absence of leadership has meant there has been no community engagement and no public discussion until draconian budget cuts forced the issue this year.

In my community, the library once used by the teenaged Lee Child was already down to opening three days a week - and heaven forbid anyone should propose any out of hours activity. Its brilliant staff however filled those six half days with activity that drew in the elderly and young families. Our newly formed Friends group (galvanised by the present threat) could hold the keys and enable book groups, author visits and local history sessions amongst other possibilities.

Secondly, in response to Richard, the modern age demands a rethink on how people engage with books in the modern age. When we had a "read in" at the library, participants much preferred to sit around a table and talk to three local and not at all famous writers about how they put together books. Literary festivals may attract the wealthy middle classes but in the communities there are many people who love books and stories but not necessarily having to read them. It's similar to the resurgence of vinyl records. We should teach people how to browse - not to feel you have to read every book from cover to cover. As an example, the wonderful movie of Little Women might inspire people to pick up a Louise Alcott novel and read a chapter or a part chapter, to get a feel for the writer and how she expressed her characters without having to read the whole thing. Nobody should feel embarrassed about owning or borrowing a book and not having completed it.

Similarly, publishers could help if they refocused book tours on community libraries. Well integrated groups of volunteers may prove more accessible than councils. Book ownership and acquaintanceship with books needs to become desirable again - as it was for aspiring families a century ago.

I write as a member of the Private Libraries Association and a trustee of a member library of the Independent Libraries Association.

Cllr Jon Hunt 

Perry Barr ward, Birmingham city council