It was absolutely fantastic to be at the official opening of Stockroom on Friday evening, a fruition of an idea and plan born under a Labour administration.
Thank you to everyone at SMBC who worked so hard to make this become a reality.
A detractor on Facebook rather crassly described it as “A middle class wet dream”, however he has really missed the point in my opinion. There are really only two spaces in the modern towns and cities at which people can spend time for free, they are our libraries and our parks.
Neither of these spaces care if you have money, what grades you got at school, what job you do or anything else, they just welcome you with open arms.
The libraries of the future offer access to the internet & computers, they provide a front door to council services, the provide somewhere warm, somewhere quiet and somewhere to be. Stockroom will also be able to host events, workshops and more, however it will always primarily be a place for all of our community. But yes you can also read a book.
Stockport’s Central Library, which will be finding a new role as the home of Stockport Music Service was paid for by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, and one of his quotes is fitting.
“A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.”
Stockroom is a new spring for our town and another step forward in our journey.
🌹📖
