A heartfelt plea has been made to save a Reading library that is due to shut down within days.
The Reading Central Library has served users since 1985, functioning as a place for borrowing books and toys, study and IT services.
The building, which is run by Reading Borough Council, will close for the last time on Monday, March 11.
Felicitas Wappler has made a plea for the library to be saved.
She said: “This closure would not just erase a building — it would dismantle a civic cornerstone.
“It is a quiet powerhouse of community life used daily by students revising for exams, job seekers polishing CVs, parents introducing children to their first stories and older residents seeking companionship and calm.
“Libraries are not relics of a bygone age. They are living, breathing spaces that adapt to modern life.”
A new library is being created after the council succeeded in receiving funding from the previous Conservative government for an £8.6 million project to upgrade its Civic Centre.
While Ms Wappler acknowledged that a new library will be provided, she argued that it will be inferior to the one that is closing.
She said: “My concern is that Reading risks losing far more than a building. The Central Library is a civic anchor: a study space, a quiet refuge, a digital access point, a learning hub, and a place where people of all ages come for support, connection and opportunity.
“The move raises several serious issues that haven’t been openly discussed.”
She went on to claim there will be a 50 per cent reduction in books, “with confirmation that thousands of volumes will simply be disposed of”, severely restricted opening hours, including late starts, early Saturday closures and full closure on Wednesdays and Sundays, and “a complete gap in provision” when the current library closes at a peak exam season for students.
Ms Wappler said: “My worry is that an iconic, well‑used public asset is being off‑loaded without meaningful scrutiny or a clear plan to protect what makes it so valuable. A library is not just a room with shelves — it is social infrastructure that supports education, wellbeing, inclusion, connection, networking and community life.
“Any replacement should meet or exceed the standard of the existing Central Library, not fall short of it.”
Finally, she made complaints that all of the public toilets in the library have been locked, with notices stating that this is “due to toilet roll theft”, and computers have already been moved ahead of the closure.
A full council response will be published.
In response, a council spokesperson replied that the new library will, in fact, offer extended opening hours.
On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, it will open an hour earlier in the mornings, with access to self‑service library facilities.
Furthermore, they stated that some books have not been loaned out for decades and date back to when the library in the Town Hall was the library headquarters for Berkshire.
