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June 26, 2006
Regional Delay Centres
Despite my attempts to close them down I am told that "Delay", the Department of Libraries and Archives, are recruiting staff for 96 regional offices. Each will have a staff of 8,000. Applications to the Department of Common Sense (DCMS) are arriving by the lorry load. Quick, don't miss out. The nation is desperately short of administrators of libraries and archives.
Posted by Tim Coates at June 26, 2006 7:55 PM
Comments
This a is pyramid upside down...parallel with the NHS. Too many chiefs, not enough indians.
The old, old story!
Posted by: Margo Harker at June 26, 2006 8:49 PM
Tim,
You may know I live in Bishop's Stortford? A market town that is rapidly expanding, due to it's location. It is now mainly a commuter town; convenient for Stansted Airport, M11,M25, corridor and Liverpool St station..40 mins away, are the main attractions.
At present, there is alot of building work going on, revamping the town centre. There, still standing proud, in it's 1970's time warp, is our Library!
It has served not only as a library, but also a community centre for the residents of Bishop's Stortford.
For many of the young mother's in the town, it is an oasis. Forget the architecture, it is abysmal. Inside it is a different world. Toddler friendly, great staff, a welcoming place for all.
I know of one male member of staff who gave up a successful banking career to work in the Library!
Such dedication.
I will check out the local rag, keep you updated on it's prognosis?
I'm ashamed to say, I'm a very "lapsed" user of late.
Posted by: Margo Harker at June 26, 2006 10:30 PM
I don't know anything about the NHS, but nobody should be fooled into thinking that the MLA has any admnistrative or management role in the public library service. I am not pretending when I say that if it all closed tomorrow the library service would not be affected. The administration of the public library service lies entirely with local councils, to which the MLA is not connected in any way.
People on the outside find this hard to understand and when I advocate its closure they say - but you would have to replace it somehow. Well, no, you wouldn't- ask any local council what value the MLA adds to their library service and they will tell you that it plays no part
There are many contributions it could make- and I would like to see a supporting agency available to help and assist individual libraries make the most of their resources, but the MLA does not do any of this work.
The idea of it having regional offices is just a joke - and the people who must take the responsibility for allowing this wanton waste of public funds are the DCMS, the Chairman, Board and the chief executive of the MLA. They should all be dismissed tomorrow.
We have layers within layers of the management of Government which become so isolated that they are completely unaccountable to the public or the holders of public purse strings. It is truly shocking to behold
Posted by: Tim at June 26, 2006 10:33 PM