On 3 May 2004, at 18:03, Mark Benjamin wrote:
> Frances
>
> Sorry, I may have misunderstood - but are you seriously suggesting
> that, if only in staffing terms, we should be more like McDonalds?
> Have you not heard the derisive term "McJobs" to imply underpaid and
> unmotivated posts?
>
> More seriously, some authorities currently have barely enough staff to
> keep the branch network open and not enough to keep the mobiles on the
> road. I currently provide two thirds of the professional cover for
> the entire west of Northumberland and our senior management team, with
> responsibility for arts and heritage in addition to 38 brances and
> mobiles, consists of 3 - efficient enough, I would think, for even
> Laser and Tim Coates. Not, however, a model that I would think of
> recommending to anybody and certainly not one that will allow
> developments such as extending opening hours - however much we might
> wish to do so.
Well put, Mark.
I support Tim Coates on the bookstock deterioration points, but fear
that he misunderstands local government funding along with many users
who seem to believe that we sold off our books to fund computers! Of
course the prevalence of this view wasn't stemmed when some of us had
to reduce our stock-holding capacities, in some libraries, in order to
accommodate space for the PN PCs and the H & S issues they quite
rightly brought with them.
In no way do these thoughts diminish my admiration and support for the
way in which the PN has revolutionised the perception of the public
library service across a broad spectrum of users and former non-users.
I still believe, though, that we need a centrally-funded "People's
Bookshelf" initiative, but of course the image (and therefore the
votes) is probably against such thinking.
The job's only half done without it, however.
I must admit I buy more than borrow these days, but had to wait 6
months for John Keay's "Sowing the wind: the seeds of conflict in the
Middle East" which was eventually bought by my local authority, having
been unable to obtain it on ILL apparently.
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