Letter to Residents – Save the St. James Library

With all the hard work that has been done over the last couple of months I was filled with pride that this Residents’ Association handed in a petition of over 1000 names to the County Council, and the outcome of the St. James Library is now in the hands of the Council’s decision makers. It is this Chairman’s hope that they see wisdom in keeping open our library and remember the enormous support shown by the residents of St. James. Your Residents’ Association has once again stood up for what was right and fair for the residents of an already deprived and forgotten area by both County and Borough Councils. All any of us can do now is wait and see if our children’s futures are going to be safe or destroyed.
I believe a Chairman’s job can be easy or difficult depending on the committee they have at their disposal. I can honestly say that my job as Chairman has been made easy by an exceptionally dedicated and hardworking committee that any Chairman would be proud to work with. I cannot emphasise just how much work your committee has put into producing a complete document showing all the flaws in the Council’s arguments for closure and workable options to keep our library open. I feel at times that the hard work the SJRA committee does for this area is not often seen, and from a group of volunteers who always give freely of their time and knowledge I would like to publicly take this opportunity to express my gratitude for everything they have done.
Of course it goes without saying that in such times we all need support and the SJRA is no different. We have been overwhelmed by not only having the support from our residents but also the support from Head Teachers, Councillors and both of the Sports Clubs in the area. A very big thank you goes out to the Saints and The Cobblers for adding their voice to this campaign. Not only does this add weight to our campaign but shows all their young fans that libraries are an important part of their community. I also would like to publicly thank Mary Clarke for her contribution on the document that was handed into the County Council. Without people like Mary working in the back ground supporting the SJRA our jobs as a committee would be made much more difficult. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Chronicle & Echo and BBC Radio Northampton for their fantastic coverage of the threat of closure to our library. I could spend at least a whole page thanking everyone that comes to mind but I would fear that I would induce sleep in whoever reads this letter. So I will simply say that I have never been more proud of St. James and the people who live here. I hope that the County Council finally see that this is not just a gateway in and out of this town, but is in fact a strong and thriving community.
Before I can end this letter I cannot forget to mention one more person. Mr. Alan Moore. For those of you who do not know Mr. Moore then I would recommend that you Wikipedia the vast and amazing career this incredible and local writer has had and is still having. For those of you who know Alan or who met him for the first time on Saturday 5th February at the read in at the St. James Library then you would have been treated to an excellent story and talk from Mr. Moore. Everyone was given a real treat to speak to this world famous author who was happy to spend time with the public. Mr. Moore was happy for people to have their picture taken with him and sign many books. I have to admit that I was one of those who walked away that day with kind words written in one of my favourite books and Mr. Moore’s signature. I was truly overwhelmed at Mr. Moore and how he gave of his time in defence of library closures everywhere. So I would also like to publicly thank Mr. Alan Moore for not only entertaining us that day but also for being a friend to the SJRA and of the residents of St. James.
So as the SJRA wait for the County Council to come to their decision I can promise the residents of St. James that the SJRA will continue to fight wherever we see injustice being carried out. The potential cuts that we all face will affect areas like St. James in a massive way as it’s already an area suffering from years of cuts. This is why as I end this letter I call on all St. James residents to unite and stand together and support your local Residents’ Association by attending meetings and making your voices heard.

Best Regards
John Connolly
Chair – St James Residents’ Association