Skylette.L
25 Coco Road
14/4/25

Dear Councillor Johnstone,

I hope this letter finds you well. But I write to you with a heart of pure desolation regarding the council’s outrageous proposition to demolish our community’s irreplaceable library, putting in its place yet another complete commercial horror. As a student whose academic growth has been fostered within this two tiered hall, I vigorously desire to voice my deepest contention against the council’s decision. Do you believe that destroying labyrinth of sacred shelved-volumes will succour neighbours in need of intelligence? I firmly encourage you, with the persuasion of all humans inhabiting Earth, to reconsider before a catastrophic mistake is committed against our community’s cultural legacy.

Public libraries are essential building blocks of schooling and society, offering free access to reliable and trustworthy information. Everyday, according to a recent research task held in 2024, over 70% of local students utilise the library, with more than 50 000 visits alone these 4 months, underlining the value of education to students living in this community. Previously, when the great Westside Library was demolished in 2020, three local schools originally surrounding it had experienced a significant 22% drop in student achievement levels. Is this what you want to happen to our gold standard benchmarks?Demolishing this library would not only erase buildings, but access of shared learning.

Our library stands timeless as ever- a sleeping giant, a guardian of knowledge. Its very presence in our neighbourhood is a testament to our community’s intellectual dreams and aspirations. Outside, the pale grey walls, touched with specks of moss like it has been quietly aging, tell silent stories, waiting for the next person to grant information to. Inside, the tall, crystalline windows ricochet ribbons of light off its surface across the time-worn floorboards. The familiar aroma of crisp pages, polished wood and a hint of sweet vanilla essence paints the enchanting hall and the people within in the scent of education. The oak-made tables, scared by the pens scribbles of generations past hold whispers of hushed determination. What commercial structure, even the most luxurious, could possibly restore the history and multi-sensory perfection held in this room?

First, before you make this fatal flaw, visualise this agonising situation, bulldozers like metal rapacious creatures, piercing our community’s soul, tearing a gaping wound in the library’s significant illusion. Their enormous controlled arms penetrating everything in its way, the cacophonous symphony of destruction- stone cracking like bones, fragile glass shattering like the sense of peace, wood splintering like trust. Each beloved novel snatched from its rightful place on each carefully organised shelf, each author’s wise words drowned out by the sound of the dreadful drilling of dreams destroyed. Is this really the legacy you wish to bear responsibility for?

Opposition of the preservation of our library may argue that demolishing it will stimulate economic growth and provide new job opportunities. While that development can be beneficial and I absolutely acknowledge that every community should balance economic gain with cultural preservation, but it should not come at the cost of destroying a vital community establishment. Experts like Dr Clara Hamilton, from the Library of Congress, argue that “Libraries are sources of energy that fuel imagination, opening up windows to better quality of life, not just collections of books,” highlighting the importance of having and keeping libraries around everywhere, including in this very town. Unlike shopping centres, libraries possess and provide educational resources without expensive costs, quiet study spaces for all researches and most important of all, inclusion. 

I implore you, with all my analytical passion, to reject the council’s proposal that would affect the whole community for another commercial monstrosity. How morally bankrupt are we if you truly agree on trading our intellectual heritage for the hollow promise of retail prosperity? I beg you to stand on the side of us students, families and those thirsty for knowledge by not just merely rejecting the concept of demolishing the collective beating heart of this town, but by championing the celebration and expansion of this wonderful book collection space. Please, please preserve the library.

Yours in profound concern,
Skylette.L