Geminio! Rowling’s magic touch multiplies signatures on library petition

J.K. Rowling has arguably done more for books and reading than anyone else this side of Johannes Gutenberg, but her work is never done.  On Saturday, October 27, Rowling tweeted a petition to preserve government funding for libraries.  Four days later, the petition had reached 10,000 signatures.

We need more signatures to protect government funding for libraries!
Petition: Protect library services by ringfencing government funding for libraries. https://t.co/qftTqCXjFG

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 27, 2018

According to UK law, a petition must be responded to by the government when it reaches 10,000 signatures.  If it reaches 100,000 signatures by March 24, 2019, it must be debated in Parliament.  In addition to J.K. Rowling, other UK authors including Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, Malorie Blackman, Joanne Harris, and Frank Cottrell Boyce have promoted the petition.

The text of the petition, started by Frances Belbin, states:

“Libraries across the country are being closed, cut back and/or outsourced to volunteers as a result of government cuts to local authority budgets. Councils are unable to keep staffed library services open when faced with the competing demands of social care, child protection etc. Local libraries are a vital resource for the promotion of reading, literature and culture. They are a necessity for the digitally excluded who need to go online to access benefits, health, education and employment resources. While the commitment of volunteers is welcomed, volunteer-run library services are unsustainable long-term. The government must ringfence funding to ensure councils can fulfil their statutory duty to keep libraries services available to the general public.”