I love libraries, and I love librarians. Librarians changed the course of my life, introduced me to ideas and literature, taught me about the value and the fragility of freedom and civil liberties. I never want to lose sight of that, even as we look to dark and difficult days ahead, I want to keep sight of the fact that we have brilliant libraries, full of brilliant people. That across the country today, right now, our libraries are changing lives for the better.

via Speak up for Libraries Speech – Nick Poole | CILIP.

I was fortunate to attend this year’s Speak Up For Libraries conference, held at the CILIP headquarters in London. It was a great opportunity to meet other supporters of public libraries, and to engage with the government’s Libraries Taskforce. The event began with a rousing speech by Nick Poole, the Chief Executive of CILIP. Click the link above for the full text of his speech.