It’s eerily quiet here... With such a high profile day for UK public libraries yesterday I was expecting to see much more comment and opinion on this of all lists. Is there some filter operating that prevents my reading my colleague’s opinions whilst I’m out of the country or is this news not perhaps as momentous as the press would have me believe?

Or is everyone overwhelmed with the demand from a “newly-enfranchised” public?

One small concern – among the many that spring to mind about the SCL initiative – is the question of who now pays for online services? Should I now be lobbying Oxfordshire to cancel their subscription to online information services because I, and everyone else in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, can now access them by joining say, Manchester online?

How will the companies providing these services stay in business if only one authority pays a sub? I’m grateful to Manchester for giving me access to BSI data but worried that the BSI may not be able to afford to live with this state of affairs. Will Manchester council tax payers be prepared to pick up the tab for the whole country?

Or am I missing something?

Mick Fortune

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