The first cut is the deepest

Not a good morning for those library workers/users who happened to tune into the Beeb first thing. CUTS! Libraries and leisure are the first in line for the chop - I half wondered if the padlocks would be out when I got to work, and a closed sign on the door.
Yes, OK, can't cut health, can't cut schools, got to have rubbish collected. But where do people go for information on that tricky health condition (I've been shown a few rashes in my time!), where do kids go to do their homework, who do you complain to when your bin hasn't been collected - the library!
Salami tactics they call it - slice a bit off at a time, and no one will notice. I read of one library service that won't be buying any books this year. At all. Another authority suggest that the public can use self service libraries, and just have volunteers to tidy the place up a bit. Self service! Have you ever had good food from a vending machine? It's just chocolate, pop, cheap sugar thrills. Have you ever got through one of those supermarket auto tills without being scolded electronically or beeped at at least once? If we are not careful we will be left with the library equivalent of zero nutrition, zero humanity.
Run down the service, then no-one will use it, then you have a perfect excuse to close it down.
But, you don't know what you got til it's gone, like the gal said. Let's be sure we don't all wake up one morning and realise that we are in a post library era.