Libraries – it’s about the books

Why are councils closing libraries or ignoring the books?

Let's start with suggesting some principles – challenge them, if you want

1 Reading is a Good Thing and therefore to be encouraged

2 Reading books (as well as other things, such as newspapers, blogs, instructions from above and ASBOs) is a Good Thing and therefore to be encouraged

3 Reading books is, perhaps, an area where quantity matters almost as much as quality – range matters

4 That said, quality matters, too, and people should be encouraged to try tough books as well as reading what they know they like – again, range matters

5 An educated or well-read population can create a better democracy and society than an ignorant one

6 All the qbove are assisted by the continued existence of well-funded and well-staffed local libraries that focus on books

7 'A library is supposed to be about the things you can't find in a … station bookshop as well as the things you can. You don't always know what you want until you see it' -Christopher Hawtree

What point am I missing? Why are libraries in peril, when they should be cherished?