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April 12, 2007
Consultations a go-go
Blow me over but the MLA have launched yet another consultation document to send out to weary chief librarians
This one is about the same subject that the last three have been about in the past six months viz "What shall we do all day long?"
I am told that the press offices in not only DCMS and MLA, but also No 10 Downing street all read this blog before their elevenses.. The shame is that they never take on board any of the messages.
Consultation is not a subsitute for a determined effort to understand what the public wants from its libraries and until they do comprehensive market research on "use and attitude to the service" they have no sensible basis for any of the "performance measures" or "library standards" or "blueprints for the future" or anything else upon which they send out these consultations.. Nor is a "consultation" conducted on the MLA website a useful or valid exercise for doing anything (and neither is bringing coach loads of librarians to their office)
Goodness knows how often one has to say this. But perhaps if the Prime Minister is reading this he can explain it to Andrew Stevens, John Dolan, Sue Wilkinson, Chris Batt and Sarah Wilkie as they stand round the office kettle trying to think what set of questions to send out next. You would think that politicians at least understood the value of trying to assess what the people in the country were thinking-- and would realise that the MLA website is not the means with which to do it
Posted by Tim Coates at April 12, 2007 9:25 AM
Comments
I eagerly await a comment from No. 10. Notice that this blog is designed to show comments on the initial screen (thanks to Trevor Young of Berkshire Publishing for this design), so any comment from Whitehall will be front and centre. In fact, we would be glad to provide a special color or border for any official commentary. Right, Tim?
Seriously, the point of this blog is to provide a place where important library service issues are discussed publicly, and there'd be nothing better than to find ways to make Britain's libraries as excellent as they really ought to be.
Posted by: Karen Christensen at April 12, 2007 12:20 PM
It is encouraging here to learn that residents are asking Election candidates on the doorstep about libraries after the big to-do to save Hove Library.
Posted by: Christopher Hawtree at April 12, 2007 1:02 PM