People would be able to chat, drink coffee and watch videos in English libraries under a new government proposal, The Independent has learnt. Andy Burnham, the Secretary of State for Culture, will today launch a consultation on changing the face of libraries which he believes are out of touch.
Under the proposals, libraries could install coffee franchises, book shops and film centres. Noise bans will also be reviewed. Mr Burnham will tell the Public Library Authorities conference in Liverpool that libraries must "look beyond the bookcase and not sleepwalk into the era of the e-book".
Does Mr Burnham understand what a library is for? As the name suggests, a library is primarily about books. I don't mind libraries providing internet access, or lending out cds and dvds, providing it is done quietly. (My own local library keeps its computers in a separate room.) But adding a coffee shop and lifting noise bans are surely steps too far. If you want to have a coffee and a chat, there are plenty other places to go.
3 comments:
Amen to that. Having worked in the Scottish book trade for 11 years I have bitter memories about the damage done by half-wits wanting to sell coffee, Xmas cards, pot noodles and every sort of plastic junk.
From a librarian repesentative:
"Of course, we will provide quiet space for study but if we walk into a library and it’s noisy then it will be a joyful thing. It will be the sound of people having fun and maybe, just maybe, they might come back."
Give me strength!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/letters/article4812000.ece
someone once called me a philistine but I couldn't find it in the dictionary under F!!!
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