LIBRARIES and museums staff have taken their jobs fight to the steps of Bradford City Hall.

The library service is facing cuts of £1.05 million in the next financial year - a reduction that is sure to have a significant impact.

Libraries throughout the country have been disproportionately hit by austerity.

Legal obligations on councils to provide a meaningful library service are somewhat woolly unlike, say, children’s services, and that has made lending libraries easy pickings for town hall mandarins looking to save a few quid.

Bradford has escaped the worst of it so far but the fear is next year’s cuts will do irreversible damage.

We deeply regret that libraries are seen as low hanging fruit in the search for savings.

It’s not as if there isn’t a demand. Across Bradford last year there were 1.5 million visits to libraries. Users borrowed more than a million books and media items.

Libraries also act as valuable community hubs. They host parent and toddler groups, help the unemployed find new jobs, and provide a venue for talks and local clubs. They also encourage people of all ages to discover the joy of reading a good book.

It would be a terrible shame if library service were to be hollowed out.

But that’s just our view - and now you have a chance to make the council aware of yours.

If you care about the library service - or even if you don’t - make sure you have your say in the long-awaited public consultation now underway.

You can’t complain about the loss of services if you don’t tell the council what you want.