There's been a bit of discussion about Margaret Hodge's speech to the Public Library Association the other week, wherein she posited a clutch of innovative blue skies ideas that the public library world could do well to consider. Most of the discussion has been along the lines of "but we already do that!"
"Which of you are going to be the first to provide libraries in shopping centres?" she asked. Well, we have for the best part of two decades and we were by no means the first. The day we're innovative leaders in this particular context the Pope will be baring his bum at the Vatican.
She then went on to suggest that we should try and attract young male readers by stocking comics and Manga books. Again, old news. We were very late into this game, only starting stocking graphic novels (which are mostly, but not exclusively, comics collected into book form) and Manga as part of a project aimed at young adult males just before the Millennium. (I'd be happy for us not to stock Manga, too much of which I find to be quite misogynistic, but the market's there right enough.)
She'll be telling us next that we might like to have a few computers about the place and do story times for pre-school children.
I could understand the minister responsible for the nuclear industry not being up to speed on the latest technological developments but you'd like to think that the minister responsible for libraries would have at least the educated lay person's idea of what's happening in a service that is provided most every day to most every community. (I can say that with some confidence seeing as we're all required to have at least one service point within a mile's radius of 95% of the population).
We keep wittering on about the lack of national leadership. Is it any wonder...
5 comments:
Cheesetown's library supplies WINE at book club evenings. That's how forward thinking Cheesetown are.
That's why I'm hanging on in there
I should imagine 'a bit of discussion' is rather an understatement.
I picked up on this speech from the latest issue of Private Eye - astonishing really but, when one considers how divorced from reality most of our politics are, probably one shouldn't be surprised.
I recently went to the library in March, Cambs. Delightful little place with a coffee area, computers, news-stands, jigsaw puzzling table (yes, really), plenty of good books - and lots of well-behaved young people in there.
Perhaps it's not the libraries that need change, but the parents.........
It is depressing yet amazing how many of the adult population have not set foot in a library since high school.
Macy: very wise. We get away with similar about once a year.
Kaz: imagine an NUT rally in the eighties...
Affer: lovely description of what goes on in libraries all over the country.
Ms Cow: I've done the graph locally. Depressing is the word!
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