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The following arose from a conversation on Twitter re. Gloucestershire whose communities "will be able to buy a Library in a Box package"[1] (whatever that means!). My comment was that every community is different, has different values, and a community should use its library strategically accordingly. Every library is essentially different (I know this personally from having worked in all of Liverpool's community libraries at one point or another). I hope Gloucestershire's boxes are not too rigid! One mistake I think the libraries have made in the past (if I may criticise our librarians!) is to deskill the frontline, managing from the centre with a more-or-less one size fits all of the authority's communities formula. The net result is Frank Skinner writing in his column libraries are "musty, uninspiring places"[2]. When the 'twister' that is currently devasting our libraries moves off our land and back out to sea, maybe library leaders will learn from the past, and say OK, this time we are going to offer the public whom we serve a library (strategically) taylored to your community. They could also add onto that that we now have the Internet, mobile computing, e-books (etc.) and we will be offering you a library service in the future orders of magnitude better than we've been able to offer on the past using this technology (and the best library service on the planet :) So a community library should be strategically managed, an OSS doesn't have this dimension to consider. Links: [1] Gloucestershire County Council cuts - 11 libraries may close unless you take them over, this is Gloucestershire, November 12, 2010, http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/news/Gloucestershire-County-Council-cuts-11-libraries-close-unless/article-2883155-detail/article.html [2] Church Street library wins over Frank Skinner, Hampstead and Highgate Express, 8 October, 2010, http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/church_street_library_wins_over_frank_skinner_1_675917 Gareth Osler Library Web http://libraryweb.info