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May 31, 2006
Lack of financial control in Devon
I was contacted by one of the groups trying to protest about the closure of their local library in Devon. This caused me to read the documents put out by Devon County Council relating to their planned reorganisation of the service.
If you close a library, reduce its hours, reduce the book fund or access to other facilities, then you are making the service worse. People might reasonably understand a financial case for that if you presented them with a clear explanation of how much money is available, how it is spent and what will be saved by making these changes . They have paid for the service and it is their money.
However none of the documents relating to the proposed closure of libraries in Devon contain one single figure of any kind about money. Nor do they mention other significant points about the library service in Devon which are included in the national figures for public libraries
How can councillors, who represent the people involved, have let themselves be persuaded? It is very bizarre. Why does the District Auditor for Devon allow the council to behave in this way with public funds?
Councillors and MP's in Devon should beware; Brighton and other examples have shown that this kind of mismanagement of public libraries can cost them their seats at elections
Posted by Perkins at May 31, 2006 9:26 AM