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March 1, 2008
What should we do?
If you set aside all the flap and flannel about Strategies and Visions and Purposes of Public Libraries and the Public Library Service, the sensible question, as one commenter on this blog pointed out this week, is: "What should we (a local council) do?"
The answer is : Take one of your libraries; Wash it and clean it thoroughly; Put one person in charge of it like the landlord of a pub; allow that person to choose (with guidance from others) and buy 50,000 pounds worth of new copies of front list and backlist book stock (and other materials, computers etc); display them smartly; arrange the rota so the library is open from 9am to 9pm and see what happens.
You will find that use of the library explodes to double its current level; membership will widen to embrace a far wider cross section of the local community and it will be very popular.
Having done one you will then understand exactly what to do with the rest. It's easy. The benefits will be such that you will wish to do others as quickly as you can- and soon the library service will be useful again.
(Perkins had a protracted visit to the Vet this week. Thank you to all the wonderful medical staff involved and to all who have sent good wishes and done kind things)
Posted by Perkins at March 1, 2008 11:12 AM