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January 1, 2010
Margaret Hodge is determined to close libraries and ruin the public library service
I watched this Channel 4 news item last night and wondered who on Earth is telling Margaret Hodge all the nonsense she spouts about publishing? I have heard enough of what she says, over a long enough period, to believe she is apparently not able to understand or reason with the issues. Nothing will change her views. People speak highly of her political skills, but on this subject it is hard to see why. As minister for libraries, with such an opportunity to do and say important things to restore the service, I cannot comprehend why she is so keen to close them down.
It is particularly irresponsible to talk in the way she does. A Public Review and hearing in the Wirral demonstrated that both the public will and the logic of provision of the service call for sustenance of small community libraries. Yet at the same time council chief execuitives are hanging on every word she says for the opportunity to close libraries to which they have stifled resources over the years- on this film they will only hear her approval of their plans for closures.
Long suffering readers of this blog will recall that almost her first utterance was to describe the work in Hillingdon with derision when she had not even troubled to find out what the work was about-- and yet it has been the one most successful project in the public library service showing that people are still desperately keen to read and use libraries and that the service can be restored and run at less cost.
On the same programme it is good to see Roy Clare saying that people's needs are the starting point. If he can articulate what those needs are, in a way that they recognise and understand, then we will make progress.
Incidentally where are CILIP while all this goes on?
Posted by Perkins at January 1, 2010 9:51 AM
Comments
To answer your "incidentally" question: CILIP is probably in the same place it has been for the last however many years, contemplating its corporate navel and wondering why its losing members.
Posted by: Hazel Edmunds at January 1, 2010 11:11 AM