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February 3, 2008
Will Basingstoke Ban the Booker?
One would hope to hear the head of the library service in one of the largest English counties encouraging the reading of fiction. Yet here is Yinnon Ezra who does that job in Hampshire, tootling off again in the Observer today. Why does he do it?
" if the modern public library service were only to depend on the mass loan of fiction without looking to broaden its customer base and do other things that local communities demand, that would be the end of the service.
Yinnon Ezra, Director of recreation and heritage, Hampshire County Council"
No more stories for children in Hampshire, then. What does he want libraries to do? Sell ice cream? Will somebody tell him that it's a library service he is supposed to be running, not a poodle parlour. What does he mean by the sinister and unpleasant expression 'mass loan of fiction'?
Where are these demanding "local communities" in Hampshire, of which he speaks- is Liphook the place that insists upon an end to the novel? Is Winchester putting authors in the stocks? Will Basingstoke ban the Booker?
A councillor might have a quiet word, perhaps? Who, by mistake, put him into this job? One has to feel there are other jobs which would suit him better. He begins to sound like Gerald Ratner and the 'crap' jewellery.
Posted by Perkins at February 3, 2008 9:50 PM
Comments
Unless I have misunderstood the quote, Ezra is not suggesting the banning of fiction in his libraries, he is pointing out that libraries need to expand into other areas in order to ensure library use increases. It is a sad fact of life that library use is declining and library staff are put under a great deal of pressure to come up with imaginative ways of attracting users.
Whilst I agree that libraries should never turn their back on supplying good quality fiction, it cannot be denied that many library users are only interested in using the free computers which most libraries now provide. Public Libraries have to reach out to all communities not just white, middle class, middle aged users.
Posted by: James at February 5, 2008 6:11 AM
Yes-- but the point is that during his dominion in Hampshire (and also when he was in charge in Kent) Ezra has reduced the stock of books of all kinds to half the level it was. There is barely anything left to read. That is why the people in the communities in Hampshire no longer find the book collections useful. If he were to try to raise the quality of the stock on offer he would find that everybody would use the library in abundance- as they do in those parts of the country where book lending increases (just over 50 councils). The way to attract users to libraries, as they know, is to improve the basic service, not to change it. What one has said, all the way along, is that until we put books back in libraries we are no position to say that people no longer want them. Computers are fine, so are electric light bulbs, but they are not books.
Use of books and reading of fiction have nothing to do with being white, middle class and middle aged! What an extraordinary and blind thing to say! Please. Who are you?
Posted by: perkins at February 5, 2008 7:26 AM