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October 25, 2006
Down hill in Milton Keynes
Does anyone understand the logic of the Councillor in Milton Keynes who appears to be in charge ?
Posted by Tim Coates at October 25, 2006 2:57 PM
Comments
What a mad remark to say 'libraries are not used as much for books as they used to be' - of course not, when there are fewer books and a preponderance of videos etc and the emphasis is on computers. What are these other forms of publication on which expenditure has increased? Council pamphlets? Janet Irons has hit the nail on the head in saying 'this cabinet cares very little about our libraries..'
Posted by: peg at October 25, 2006 5:56 PM
Cllr Isobel's logic is flawless. She knows zip about libraries and spins any old yarn she gets from her chief librarian to cover up a sorry story!
Phil
Posted by: Philip Kerridge at October 25, 2006 6:22 PM
Phil: are you saying that even Lib Dem councillors can be fooled by their chief librarians?
Posted by: Tim at October 25, 2006 7:04 PM
Tim
That's the sort of the sort of thing I'd be careful not to mention at home!
Phil
Well we know that the Tory councillors of Barsetshire were fooled by two donuts, so there's no surprises really. Tim
Posted by: Philip Kerridge at October 25, 2006 7:23 PM
If anybody wanted a definition of a self-fulfilling prophecy, then this behaviour in Milton Keynes is all that's needed.
I have just been reading the new Local Government White Paper, and it looks as if its centralisation-by-other-means tack could give individual councillors even less chance to voice their objections to cuts decided by one form of "visionary" leader-and-executive or other.
It is worth studying this White Paper with an eye on libraries. In all its ghastly language and happy-clappy pictures of people in streets (why does such a document need these?, it can be downloaded at
http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1503999
Posted by: Christopher Hawtree at October 26, 2006 5:57 PM