Schoolchildren brought postcards to Parliament to protest changes to their libraries.

The children from Martin Primary School, East End Walk, East Finchley, made postcards as part of World Book Day to call for action against changes to Barnet libraries, which they fear will mean their access to the resources will become more limited.

The pupils then took these 440 postcards to the offices of the Culture Secretary, Karen Bradley MP, to have their say.

Zara Lobley, a Year Six pupil at the school, also wrote to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Finchley and Golders Green MP Mike Freer in April to ask for a meeting along with the postcard presentation, but this request was not fulfilled.

She said: "My friends and I are very worried about the ongoing changes to our libraries in Barnet which mean that we are going to miss out on so much.

"Over 440 children have designed postcards addressed to the Culture Secretary so that she can understand what the library means to us."

The changes have seen a number of librarians lose their jobs and the staffed hours in some libraries cut to around 15 hours a week, with the local authority calling on groups in the area to staff them.

During unstaffed hours children under 15 will not be allowed to enter unaccompanied and those between 16 and 18 will be required to get a PIN code using a parental permission slip, while facilities such as toilets will be closed during these times.

A local action group was founded to campaign against these changes, Save Barnet Libraries.

Barnet councillor Reuben Thompstone, chairman of the Children, Education, Libraries & Safeguarding Committee, said the changes have allowed all 14 libraries to remain open whilst delivering savings, and followed consultation with residents.

Cllr Thompstone also said there is no change to access for children during staffed hours and schools can register to use the libraries during unstaffed hours and provide accompaniment to children during this time.

He said: "Our libraries are part of a universal and unique service that offers learning opportunities to all from early years through to retirement. 

"Our ongoing ambition is for libraries to continue helping all children in Barnet to have the best start in life: developing essential language, literacy and learning skills, and developing a love of reading from an early age."