Great set of photos of the sit-in : CARNEGIE LIBRARY OCCUPATION

A press release by the library campaigners explained the action:

Carnegie library users thwart Lambeth council closure plans

Lambeth council had planned to lock the doors of Carnegie Library to the public at 6.00.pm on Thursday night. Instead library users refused to leave and vowed to keep the library in the hands of the community.

A spokesperson for the stay-in protesters said “This is not Lambeth Council’s library to close after 110 years, it belongs to the locality. We are staying here to publicise just what Lambeth’s Labour council is doing to our local libraries – ripping the heart out of them to turn them into unwanted gyms.”

Protesters have already festooned the Carnegie library with posters and banners showing the community will resist shutting our library. The aim is to turn the user controlled Carnegie library into a beacon of resistance to library cuts and closures across Lambeth and the country.

Laura Swaffield, Chair of Friends of Lambeth Libraries said:

We’ve had tremendous support from the community but nothing from Lambeth Council addressing the issues we raised. All they are interested in is getting us out.”

We, on the other hand, are enjoying our library as the community resource we should be. People have been reading, debating, studying and enjoying the garden. We still hope that Lambeth Council will negotiate with us and stop this disastrous plan.

With Lambeth Council reportedly applying for a court order, the campaigners have responded saying that they are, “very disappointed that this is the kind of resolution a cash-strapped Labour council seeks against this community action.”