Zephaniah backs librarians

Poet Benjamin Zephaniah has come out in support of librarians, saying they “protect us from ignorance and take personal care of our knowledge”.

His comments came as the AUT launched its manifesto for academic staff – including librarians, archivists and lab managers – calling for more pay, reduced hours and extra staff.

Jim Guild, AUT academic staff committee chair, said that staff needed to be better valued: “Librarians at Bangor University were recently told that their unique contribution to the university could be delivered through students using the internet. This cavalier attitude has to stop and we hope that the manifesto will help ensure our members are properly valued”.

Mr Zephaniah added: “The physical space we call the library cannot be digitised, and the guardians of that precious space should not be undervalued.”