THE librarian at one of Scotland's top private colleges has warned that school library facilities are "standing on the edge of a cliff".
Duncan Wright, librarian of £20,000-a-year Stewart's Melville College in Edinburgh, has started a Facebook campaign page to save school libraries.
The page highlights a crisis in the library profession as cash-strapped councils axe posts to save money.
Mr Wright and teaching unions say the move fails to recognise "the importance of the school library in developing lifelong learning skills in our children."
School library services appear to present a "soft target" for cutbacks.
East Renfrewshire hopes to save £131,000 replacing school librarians with senior pupils and self-service machines.
Mr Wright's page, called Save Scotland's School Libraries, highlights cutbacks in school libraries.
Mr Wright said: "The school library service in Scotland is currently standing on the edge of a cliff.
"We believe that access to quality school library provision, including a specialist school librarian, supports children and young people's learning and achievement across the curriculum."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Research by Robert Gordon University, commissioned by the Scottish Library and Information Council and published earlier this year, showed that almost all Scottish secondary schools have a library and professional librarian.
"That report clearly set out the benefits of having libraries in schools and the value they bring to the learning experience but the recruitment and deployment of staff is a matter for individual local authorities."
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