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bunn Caught a section on the radio earlier today about the library closure protests. They were saying: use them or lose them.
This is a call to action that works well for, say, local pubs or milkmen. I don't think it should necessarily apply to libraries though. I live in a rural area, and am currently, relatively time-poor and shelf-rich. It makes sense for me to buy books rather than driving to a library during opening hours. I am not a customer that particularly needs a library at present: in fact, using one would be something of a pain.
However, I have certainly been shelf-poor and time-rich (or more conveniently located) in the past, and very likely will be again in future. The fact that I am not using the library much *now* should not be interpreted as a vote to close the place!
I'm not using the local primary school, police station, hospital or prison either, but nobody thinks that means I never will. Surely public services should be used primarily by those that need them, not by those that merely think that they should remain open...?
This is a call to action that works well for, say, local pubs or milkmen. I don't think it should necessarily apply to libraries though. I live in a rural area, and am currently, relatively time-poor and shelf-rich. It makes sense for me to buy books rather than driving to a library during opening hours. I am not a customer that particularly needs a library at present: in fact, using one would be something of a pain.
However, I have certainly been shelf-poor and time-rich (or more conveniently located) in the past, and very likely will be again in future. The fact that I am not using the library much *now* should not be interpreted as a vote to close the place!
I'm not using the local primary school, police station, hospital or prison either, but nobody thinks that means I never will. Surely public services should be used primarily by those that need them, not by those that merely think that they should remain open...?
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Date: 2011-01-24 12:28 pm (UTC)So many poor people kept going in conditions where if you treated your dog that way, it would very likely be an RSPCA case that you kept the poor beast lingering in such a state rather than let him go with love :-( My friend's mother is going through that just now, and it's just awful. Length of life is such a crap metric sometimes...
I like local shops and given free choice and time, would far rather shop in them than Tesco/Coop. Tesco in particular is utterly depressing, and for the stuff I buy, quality often very poor. Also, supermarkets have such sophisticated systems for persuading you to buy extra stuff that they often aren't as cheap as they should be. I am too suggestible... Much cheaper to go to a greengrocer where I can only impulse buy grapes or garlic! Not as quick, though.