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Will the proposed Northern Assembly become a library authority ... Adrian Smith, Headingley ---------------------------------------------------- Prescott election pledge Jun 24 2004 Bill Doult, Evening Gazette "Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has vowed that voters in the region will decide whether a Northern Assembly goes ahead. "Fears that the regional referendum, due in the autumn, could be shelved came after warnings that the Electoral Commission might halt the planned all-postal vote. Etc etc http://icteesside.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/ -----Original Message----- From: Chartered Library and Information Professionals [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Briggs Sent: 24 June 2004 14:55 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Libraries debated in Parliament John Hughes wrote: > On 24 Jun 2004, at 09:44, Hanstock, Terry wrote: > >> There was a debate on Libraries in Parliament (Westminster Hall) >> yesterday. > > Quite enlightening and good to see a fairly comprehensive assessment > of the current national position, if basically from a London > standpoint. > > Estelle Morris's response was as supportive as necessary, although she > appears to have taken some of Coates' arguments too much to heart and > the "leadership/management" programme needs to be extended to direct > service level, in my view, if it is to be truly effective. > > If Hansard is a spotlight, it's nice to see the service in it. > > Thanks to Terry for the prompt. > Well, I suppose so, but I would hardly call it a debate. There was a speech by the proponent (one of our own), followed by a reply from the Minister, with one intervention by the proponent! Linda Perham obviously knows what she is talking about - although if I was asked for the "FBI Handbook" I would think first of the CIA World Factbook. But the Minister's speech didn't give me any confidence that she understood what she was reading (and the sly "street corner universities" reference went completely over her head). She seems to think that "libraries" have been around for 150 years, for example. Both sides concentrated on "Framework for the Future", which had completely underwhelmed me. The only glimmer of thinking, albeit woolly, from the government came in the suggestion that local authorities might work together "perhaps on a regional or sub-regional basis". It is blindingly obvious that public library funding should be coordinated on a regional basis, but sub-regions would appear to be a non-starter, as they can cut through counties. John Briggs