Women’s Library under threat – thousands sign petition

Lucy Miller
WVoN co-editor

A petition to save the Women’s Library has been signed by 5000 people.

The library, home to the largest collection of women’s writing in Europe, will see its opening hours slashed if it can’t secure extra funds by the end of the year.

A petition to save the library was created after the board of governors said that it may be able to open just one day per week from December.

The search is now on to find a new owner or backer.

The library, part of the London Metropolitan University, was opened in 1926 and houses over 60,000 books and pamphlets.

The university is trying to save £1m across its two specialist libraries – the Women’s Library and the Trade Union Congress Library.

Part of the collection in the Women’s Library includes first editions of works by Mary Wollstonecraft, Virginia Woolf and the Brontes.

The petition calls on Michael Gove, Education Secretary, to ensure that the library does not suffer as a result of the university’s troubles.

In the past it has benefited greatly from Lottery funding.

Vice Chancellor of London Metropolitan University, Malcolm Gillies, says that the university will “zealously seek a new home, owner or sponsor of the collection.”