Sunday Times’ best-selling author Matt Haig praises Newark Library

A best-selling author from Newark has taken to social media to praise the town’s library and staff.

Matt Haig, whose novels include How to Stop Time and The Midnight Library wrote on his Instagram account with a thank you and shout out post to Newark Library.

In his post, Matt said that he discovered the library, on London Road, as a “lost teenage delinquent” and used to spend hours in there after school.

“It helped centre me and calm me and let me discover some really bl**dy scary Stephen King books.”

Matt described libraries in his post as a “cultural lifeline” but can feel like a luxury in some parts of the country.

“[I] Have read a lot of articles recently about the decline in literacy in young people and in particular among boys,” he said, “I think this is a bigger deal than some others seem to.

“Maybe because I know how thin that line is. When something as simple and fragile as a library is the difference between a life that is good and one that isn’t.”

Matt’s post then went on to say that “Books matter. Readers matter. Culture matters. Cinema matters. The arts are ESSENTIAL for a good life”:

“We need to value them and fund them. Let’s try and include EVERYONE in book culture. Even in the forgotten places, beyond London.

”And thank god for libraries. Let’s cherish what we have.”

Newark Library is one of the county’s libraries that was included in Nottinghamshire County Council’s new library strategy, which sees libraries split into three tiers to organise the network and give best value for money.

Tier one libraries serve major towns and offer services for at least six days a week with paid staff, and Newark Library is in this tier, along with Bingham and Southwell’s libraries.