SCOTLAND’S communities are at risk while the axe hangs over libraries, Green MSP Mark Ruskell has warned.

The member for Mid-Scotland and Fife made the remarks as seven libraries in Perthshire, seven in Moray and 13 in Aberdeenshire face the axe as councils prepare their budget over the coming weeks. 

Mr Ruskell said: “Public libraries offer much more than book borrowing.

“They provide a warm, welcoming hub to spend time in with no spending obligation — a vital lifeline for those who find themselves homeless or struggling financially and under pressure to pay to exist in every other space.

“But they need to be supported if they are to survive.

“Our cities, towns and villages would be far poorer without our libraries.”

Mr Ruskell said closing libraries “takes the heart and soul out of communities,” adding: “That is why the voices of local people are so central to protecting their future.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said that it will be for councils to determine how and where to allocate resources.

But urging those decisions to be made “extremely carefully,” they added: “Local authorities should work in partnership with communities to explore new ways of delivering services.”