Wednesday 15 December 2010

An Invitation to Robert Rams

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 7:06 PM
Subject: Extremely Urgent : Library consultation

Dear Councillor Rams,
 
I believe that you are the person ultimately responsible for the review of Libraries in Barnet. You may (or you may not) be aware that your proposals are extremely unpopular. I have heard that you have been saying that "No petition has been handed in to you". The reason for this is that we have been collecting signatures on a daily basis and so we wanted to give people every opportunity to sign the petition. As the petition formally closes on the 17th of December, I believe that now is the time for the petition to be formally handed over.
 
As the petition has been signed by thousands of Barnet Council Tax payers, I believe that it would be extremely rude of me not to hand the petition over to you in person, in the full glare of the press. To facilitate this process, I formally invite you  to the Adam and Eve pub in Mill Hill tomorrrow Evening (Thursday 16th December) at 10 pm to receive the petition. I am sure that you would wish to ensure that all of the people who have taken the time to sign the petitions views are considered. You will be pleased to know that I will be most happy to buy you a beverage of your choice, in recognition of your efforts to take time out of your busy schedule to receive this important petition.
 
In the event that you are unable or unwilling to accept my generous offer, please make alternative arrangements to receive this petition, so that I can ensure that the moment is recorded for posterity. Please reply by email so that all interested parties are able to attend.
 
I am sure that you will be only too keen for all of the people who signed, including many local Conservative members, to see that you are treating the matter with the utmost seriousness.
 
Approximately 10% of the signatures can be viewed online at http://www.gopetition.com/petition/39319/signatures.html - to save time, taxpayers money and bureaucracy, please accept this link as formal submission of the electronic part of the petition.
 
The formal text of the petition is as follows :-
 
We the Undersigned, are totally opposed to the closure, sell off or downgrading of the Library service in the London Borough of Barnet.

We believe that Libraries are a vital part of the Borough and recognise the importance of having trained Libraries run by trained librarians. We believe that it is vital to have "quiet space" for students to study.

We believe that closure of the service would cause untold damage to the citizens of Barnet and is totally opposed by the vast majority of the population.
 
I hope that take the strong local opposition to your proposals seriously and reconsider your scheme. I have copied the local press and would appreciate it if you could copy all parties into your response, to facilitate a smooth handover of this popular petition.

Regards

Roger M. Tichborne
 
Coordinator of the Save Barnet Libraries Campaign.
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