IT IS hard to over-estimate the importance of a library. Just ask the people of Trentham in Hepburn Shire.A mobile bus is supposed to visit for two hours once a week but residents say its appearance has been sporadic.Locals are lobbying for a permanent library, saying it would become a community hub providing a range of services, activities and opportunities.They recognise libraries are more than just places to borrow books, as important as that is.Our libraries provide internet access and meeting rooms, newspapers and magazines and the ability to not only borrow a book from its shelves, but from the shelves of dozens of other libraries both near and far.Through libraries we access history, the arts, culture, literature and current affairs.If we now live in the information age, then libraries are an integral part of that.And all this is provided at no direct cost to us. You don’t pay anything to join. Libraries welcome people of all demographic levels. It almost seems miraculous.And library staff are one of the last bastions of genuine helpfulness.A good librarian is a good thing indeed, a font of local and general knowledge. And when was the last time you came across a grumpy librarian, or one unwilling to assist on a bewildering diversity of issues?So it raises deep concern that the City of Ballarat is tampering with our libraries.And in these economically uncertain times, it is more worrying that library staff are in limbo over their future.Earlier this week we reported on changes to the Central Highlands Library Corporation.Nineteen administration and mobile library service staff had yet to receive notification their jobs would be safe when the corporation folds at the end of this month.Ballarat City Council has announced it will withdraw from the corporation on June 30 to start its own shared service model.Council chief executive officer Anthony Schinck has made reassuring noises, saying the issue is not time critical – but we disagree.For library staff, or staff of any organisation, any sense of uncertainty is a critical issue and must be resolved as soon as possible.