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Colin McGeoch, of Whiteinch, Glasgow, told Scotland on Sunday that his recovery from a rare solitary plasmacytoma and Poems Syndrome had been “massively helped” by Macmillan volunteers he met at his local library.
“It’s a quiet place somewhere”
“Often times, people with cancer can’t or don’t want to talk to family members about it because they don’t want to harass them,” he said.
“But you go to a library and it’s a quiet place, you can talk to someone who’s been through it.
“Macmillan encourages you to get help and offers other advice.
The 54-year-old local council, who is now volunteering for the charity, said aggressive treatments for cancer can leave patients’ brains “pulped”.
“Filling out forms and paying bills can actually be very difficult and very stressful because you are so exhausted.
“A local library is a place someone can go to sort these things out – GPs just don’t have time,†he added.
“It is good for your sanity to be able to do this physically, to go out and go to a quiet place and get help.”
“Many will have felt very alone”
Gordon McLean of Macmillan Cancer Support told Scotland on Sunday that it was important that the charity’s volunteers are seen “in the heart of the communities”.
“It is thanks to the hard work of our employees and partners that many of our information and support centers in all libraries are back in operation and that we can again support people personally,” he explained.
“Cancer is harsh and many people will have felt very alone with their illness during the pandemic and will not be able to see friends and family.
“We want them to know we are there for them – if they are talking to someone or need information about cancer, we are here to provide emotional, practical, and financial support.
“People can access Macmillan over the phone, but it’s also important for us to be seen and to be in the heart of the communities in libraries and hospitals – even when it comes to setting up the kettle and listening.”
‘Lack of accountability’
Despite the lifting of most of the Covid-19 restrictions in Scotland, Glasgow Life, which provides cultural and recreational services on behalf of Glasgow City Council, has no plans to reopen five of the 33 libraries under its control – including Colin’s Local in Whiteinch.
The charity said the pandemic “forced significant changes in the way Glasgow Life works”.
Across Scotland, 61 of the country’s 481 public libraries have been closed since the first lockdown began.
At a rally in front of the Scottish Parliament Thursday, organized by Glasgow Against Closures, Colin said the failure to reopen libraries was “ridiculous” and complained of “a lack of accountability” in the decision-making process.
“The people of Glasgow are angry at the total disregard for the communities in crisis.
“Politicians should take note,” added Colin, “our campaigns will not stop, but will continue through the winter until next year’s council elections – then people will decide who best manages our cultural services and venues.”
“The dosh has to come from somewhere”
At the protest, Maryhill-based actor David Anderson said it was “shameful” that people were being kept out of public buildings.
The 76-year-old, known for his roles in Gregory’s Girl and The Steamie, told Scotland on Sunday that he regularly took his granddaughter to the Maryhill Library before it closed.
“Not only are libraries closing, but health centers, preschool centers and museums – the Gallery of Modern Art – for God’s sake.
“Something has been done about it – the dosh has to come from somewhere.”
Campaigner Jim Monaghan said libraries, museums and sports venues are not “extras or add-ons”.
“These are essential services that are just as important as social work, education, health – and without them, all of this becomes more difficult.
“The revenue Glazov Life lost during the pandemic is around £ 40 million at most, which is actually a very, very small amount of money.
“We can find those £ 40 million very easily,” argued Jim, referring to the hundreds of millions of pounds in the Scottish government budget that have not been officially allocated.
“Simply unforgivable”
In a brief address to the demonstrators on Thursday, Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar called the ongoing closure of libraries “simply unforgivable”.
“We have a First Minister almost every week who tweets what books she reads, while children in Glasgow are not given access to the books they want to read.
“[Ministers] I cannot pretend that this is not related to the annual cuts that this Parliament has delivered to local authorities across the country. “
Later, on the First Minister’s questions, Ms. Sturgeon insisted that “the vast majority of libraries” in Glasgow have reopened since the pandemic began, and “where the small number of libraries are not open there are reasons that I know that the Council is on its way. “
She said the Scottish government has already given the councils an additional $ 1.25 million in financial assistance.
Ms. Sturgeon added that in the upcoming talks with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) ahead of the budget announcement in early December, Ministers “will be as fair as possible to local government”.
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