Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Burning questions

So the blood is still drying on the pre-election broadcast contracts, and somewhere deep in Westminster Gordon Brown is limbering up for those curved-ball questions from whichever heavyweight broadcaster happens to be in the hot seat. I wonder if anyone will ask about libraries?
The announcements of probable cuts to the library service last week raised barely a murmur outside of library land, and in a rather depressing interview for the Guardian, Margaret Hodge trotted out the usual stuff about modernisation, Tescoisation, and Starbucks invasion. And she wants volunteers to staff libraries. Is that because they are cheaper than properly trained staff?
There seem to be a few flagship libraries springing up - Newcastle, and the proposed new Birmingham library, but what of the beleaguered branch libraries? We need a plan and we need one soon. More people visit libraries each week than go to football matches or visit the cinema - I think there would be more of an outcry if we were to shut the gates at all the grounds on a Saturday afternoon.
What would you ask the prospective Prime Minister if you could?

2 comments:

  1. Is it really true that more people visit libraries than football matches and cinemas?

    I think that education and libraries being lower on the government's priority list than Trident, terrorism and bankers is my main gripe.

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  2. The top 5 libraries amass over 6 million visits each year. That's an awful lot of folk...

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