'Spellow Library changed my life'

When Spellow Library was forced to close after it was set alight amid unrest which swept across the country following the stabbings in Southport, it left locals shocked.

In the aftermath of the attack on 3 August, those living near the institution in Walton, Liverpool, soon started working to make sure it reopened.

Just over four months later, an official ceremony which included readings from Liverpool poet Levi Tafari and a letter from Queen Camilla marked its re-opening.

For those who use it regularly, it was a moment of pure celebration and since then, some of them have reflected on why they were so determined to see it come back.

Manicurist Alex McCormick said she was sitting at home alone when she decided to start an online fundraiser to repair the damage done by vandals.

"After seeing the library destroyed, my initial plan was to raise £500," she said.

"I didn't think beyond that."

She had no idea that four months later, she would be the guest of honour at the Spellow reopening ceremony, having raised £250,000.

She has become the public face of the library – something completely new to her, catapulting her on to TV and radio.

She said she was "so overwhelmed" by the response and hoped it would spark a wider conversation about the importance of libraries to communities.

"Clearly people value these spaces," she said.

"If this doesn't prove that we value these libraries then nothing will."

It is a sentiment echoed by author and screen writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who grew up in neighbouring Kirkdale.

"It's not just about books, libraries are safe places for people to come," he said, warning about the impact of the closure of a number of libraries.

"This is the one that caught the imagination because it's so dark to burn a library down, but we've lost another thousand of those libraries across the country this year," he added.

Sean Fitzsimmons, assistant headteacher of Arnott St Mary Primary School which overlooks Spellow, grew up in the area and used the library as a boy.

He said watching the riots unfold was a dark moment, but "deep down, I knew that the scenes that were playing out over the summer were not a true reflection of the Walton I know and love".

Mr Fitzsimmons said he credited the library with informing not just his own love of books, but also his career choice.

"This library has influenced generations of children around Walton," he said.

"I am happy to say that – in many little ways – it helped me in the pathway that I have chosen in life."

PJ Smith was at the reopening celebration and told the gathering the library had been an inspiration.

The writer, who grew up in Walton, said "two life-changing things" happened to him in the building, which had been "significant" in his upbringing.

The poet said he had feared the worst when he watched the news in the summer, thinking "it would never open again", but when people were needed, "they showed their true colours and dug in and helped".

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