A long, long letter in this week's "Catty Examiner" from the chair of the Friends of Noddy Library calling upon the shade of Andrew Carnegie to smite the council from beyond the grave for daring to imagine that it might move the library from the present picturesquely-decrepit building into shared premises in the community centre 150 yards down the road.
Of course, they can't see that the options are to move the library and try and use the savings in premises costs to improve services locally or close the whole thing down and save a whole pot of money for the council and ease some of the strain on the library service's resources by having one less service point to resource and staff. I can't say that I'm entirely enamoured of the idea of moving the library into the community centre — they have strange ways — but I'm even less enamoured of closing this particular library as I think that even though it's generally underperforming there is scope for renewal.
I happen to know that that view isn't universally shared: this was one of the libraries in the frame for closure proposals earlier this year. I don't think it's on the final hit-list/wish-list that's currently being looked at by our local equivalent of the great and the good. In times like these it's a relief not to know who's on the chopping block.
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