Earlier this year, the removal of thousands of books to make room for renovations at Melbourne’s City Library prompted an outcry. Removing the books was “an absolute act of vandalism,” librarian Alice Bluer told The Age.
The City of Melbourne argued the space was needed for other in-demand uses, such as “community meetings, study and co-working”. The collection would be “refreshed”, taking into account “community feedback and borrowing trends”. Books not retained would be dispersed across the library network, donated or recycled.
