Campaigners to fight council plans to replace librarians with volunteers (UK)

Hundreds of community campaigners and residents have joined forces to fight plans by a council to axe paid librarians and replace them with volunteers. Town hall bosses in Trafford say they want to put in place a 'volunteer army' of unpaid workers to replace staff in a bid to save over £16m next year. Under draft budget proposals Bowfell and Greatstone libraries will become fully self-service, and Hale and Old Trafford libraries will be staffed by volunteers. Now 23 community leaders - representing scores of different voluntary groups - have teamed up and sent an open letter to all councillors calling on them to scrap their 'unpopular' plans for the facility in Old Trafford. They have vowed not to co-operate with any move that would see paid roles scrapped and replaced by volunteers at the library