Letter: The need for leadership in libraries

From Mr Chris Diddams

Sir: The Public Review report published by Aslib (Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux) and covered by Marianne Macdonald ("On borrowed time in Libraryland", 17 May) is probably the last chance this country will have to save its public library service.

Published at a time when the Government is also looking into the possibility of contracting out library services, only a clear message from the 33 million current users and thoughtful research will persuade the Government of the value of developing those services, rather than reducing them to a money-making side-show.

One of the main messages to come from Aslib's report reflects the very high regard in which the majority of the population holds its libraries, but published performance indicators all relate to quantitative measurement. Before the Public Library Review process is completed and before any changes are made, the Government should ensure that a qualitative method of measurement is in place so that the library service can be properly valued.

Aslib's report gives some indications of what the public library service could achieve, given effective leadership. It was hoped that the recently established Library & Information Commission would provide that leadership but its terms of reference indicate that it will have no direct responsibilities for public libraries - why did the Government turn its back on this golden opportunity?

As for Charles Landry's article ("The cultural institutions of the 21st century", 17 May), he is right that the challenge for the future must be grasped firmly but his references to "public libraries" and "librarians" in terms which infer that they are masters of their own fate are misleading. Few chief librarians are first-tier officers and, although many would agree with him and have begun to manage change constructively, he underestimates the dead weight of ignorance and inertia which have to be shifted before the potential of the library service can be realised.

Yours sincerely,

CHRIS DIDDAMS

Cullercoats, Tyne & Wear