MADAM, The questionnaire circulated about this assumes
that combining the information service with the Library is
a good thing. Were the people of Ross asked about this?
I do not recall that they were and I believe most people
who have an interest in and value the Library service
would much prefer it to remain separate. Until the
wisdom of combining them is agreed a consideration of
the way in which it should be done is irrelevant.
The information service is useful and necessary for the job
it does but cannot be compared with the cultural heritage
represented by the Public Libraries run by highly trained
staff in a long standing and respected profession. The
ethos of the Libraries is quite different from that of an
information service and the facilities, and therefore
building design requirements, are quite different and
more demanding.
Combining the two services will inevitably lead to a
dilution of the professional Library service which is an
important part of the town's culture. To have both
services in the same building is no more appropriate than
would have been building the now excellent waste
disposal and recycling facility which Ross now has in the
hospital grounds.
Before embarking on a combination of these services it
would be well to consider the experience of other
communities who have gone down this route and whether
their schemes were viable and whether the people were
pleased with the result.
Leslie Smith, Ross