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Delighted at recycling of our library ; LETTERS . [Bristol Evening Post (England)]
[October 22, 2014]

Delighted at recycling of our library ; LETTERS . [Bristol Evening Post (England)]


(Bristol Evening Post (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) CONTRARY to Lin Merchant ("Stop this plan for a school in our library" Bristol Post October 13) who is opposed to Bristol Cathedral Primary School's occupation of the two lower floors of the Central Library; I am delighted at this innovative architectural recycling of a library rapidly approaching its sell-by date. Moreover, she might like to consider herself lucky that Bristol's public libraries have survived so for long. However, in Sheffield eleven libraries have been threatened with closure, and are now operated by volunteers. Furthermore, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy have reported a net closure of some 270 libraries nationwide since 2010. This has seen a loss of some 3000 library staff whose jobs last year were replaced by a 44.5 per cent increase in volunteers. Despite being a life-long bibliophile it is my opinion that the closure of all Bristol's public libraries is long overdue, and that they should be replaced with a multiplicity of book lending units situated in places such as: stores/shops/garages. This would provide a greater localised service , and more pertinently be entirely staffed by volunteers. Current library staff could then be phased out through natural wastage/ early retirement/attractive redundancy packages at huge savings to the council tax payer.



Mrs/Ms Merchant laboured the point that children for the new school would have to travel from surrounding areas which might detract from Bristol's (fatuous) position as the holder of the European Green [Capital] City 2015. She has obviously ignored the point that the Central Library area is hardly overpopulated with domestic dwellings, and that many of its visitors would be using some form of polluting transport to get there. The central question surrounding public libraries seems to be; can they survive in the age of the ubiquitous home computer/digitalised internet, and "e" books etc? The answer surely is that they areas dead as the proverbial Dodo! Mrs/Ms Merchant's first paragraph was an example of the anarchistic time consuming physicality of borrowing books, for she wrote: "A couple of weeks ago I visited our Central Library to see if I could take out any books of Laurie Lee's poetry. The Librarian went down to the base-ment and returned a few minutes later with three books for me to take out." Lin Merchant might like to consider an alternative cheap, and easy way for obtaining similar books without leaving her own home. Namely, search on-line book sites where such books that she requested can be delivered to her own home for as little as 1p plus Pounds 2.81 postage. So, for Pounds 2.82 a used ('recycled') version of Laurie Lee's work can come through her letter box without having to laboriously/ mechanically visit a public library, or indeed add to Bristol's carbon footprint.

R L Smith Knowle (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.

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