Meaningless self-serving statistics. Public lending libraries are a tired anachronism utterly irrelevant in the modern world. Who needs them? The middle class can afford to buy books, the poor use them to access the internet and the old to stay warm.

Lets give the poor free PCs/web access at home and give the old free books and/or a bigger pension. Let the middle class go use Waterstones and the indies they claim they love.

I haven't used a library in 20yrs, why should pay for them?!

Yes, it is obvious that Adam12345 hasn't been inside a library, never mind used one for 20 years! As well as books, DVDs, CDs, audio books and internet access, libraries are the hub of local information where you can be sure you are fully informed of what is going on locally, ours provides a book group and is one of the main focuses of village life. Yes, children and the elderly and the poor - all of whom are likely to be hard hit by library closures but so do the waged, book buyers and even publishers!

Adam - I actually feel a little bit envious of you, because you have such a great experience in store if you do decide to break your 20 years of self-imposed exile and go to your local library.

The statistics are not meaningless and self-serving, they are part of a long-term government investigation of how people use leisure and cultural services. How exactly is that self-serving?

The many people (me included) who do use their local libraries on a weekly basis do not think of them as a tired anachronism but an important part of our lives. They are far from irrelevant in the modern world since they help people acquire information and skills that enhance their lives in important ways.

Whether or not people can afford to buy books is somewhat beside the point because having them available through the library encourages them to take risks and try different things in a way they might not be able to do with their own money at stake, especially at times when everyone's disposable income is a bit tight. Put simply, libraries broaden people's horizons in a really important way. And have you any notion of how many picture books a toddler can get through, and how much they would cost to buy new?

As for your statements about the poor, the old and the middle class, I think that this is where your lack of recent visiting experience might be showing through. Pop along and you may find that users are from a broader age and social group than you expect, especially when it comes to children and teenagers.

Why should you pay for libraries? Because they are a vital mechanism for social cohesion that is underpinning your community. And where should this argument stop? Do you feel prepared to pay taxes for education, social care or healthcare that doesn't benefit you directly? What do you suppose would happen if we all decided to opt out of society in this way?

I sincerely suggest that you keep an open mind, join your local library and see what it has to offer you. You might then find you are getting surprising value for the money that you contribute. Good luck, and I hope you give it a try.

Point Proven!

Libraries are fantastic, if you can get the books that you want. I can't afford to buy all the books I read in a year.

"Lets give the poor free PCs/web access at home."

Too expensive. More expensive than keeping open all our existing libraries actually:

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=164623156918548

"I haven't used a library in 20yrs, why should pay for them?!"

I dare say I haven't used the motorways or trunk roads near where you live. Why should I pay to maintain them? An utterly pathetic, self-serving argument. Perhaps if you had visited them in the past 20 years you wouldn't have such appalling grammar and be able to construct a decent argument. Just a thought.