Barbarian blunders that ruined our libraries

AS Shadow Minister for Culture, Dan Jarvis should be a champion for libraries, not an apologist (Yorkshire Post, March 24).

What remains of Barnsley’s children’s library from the days when it held hundreds, if not thousands of books catering for toddlers to 11-plus – at which age one transferred to the adult library – is a pale reflection aimed at toddlers, infants and young juniors. More importantly, where does our MP stand on the devastating changes made to adult libraries after the preposterous Libraries and Technology Commission report; one of Tony Blair’s first barbarian blunders?

Labour’s implementation of the report resulted in a Barnsley library dominated by computers, mainly used by immigrants. Its collection of ageing and culled textbooks is a disgrace to its past when, for the grammar school son of a miner on a council estate, it was a major educational resource. When I gave up using it in despair, the staff were as dedicated as ever and were highly embarrassed when asked for a book that would previously have been on the shelf. They can order one but one shouldn’t be ordering TLS reviewed, definitive texts.

Ted Hughes, who was scientifically well-read, was commissioned to write a verse introduction to the report. Based on American research since confirmed and expanded, he wrote verses highly critical of the dumbing-down effects of new technology. The chairman of the Commission censored those verses. When the Times asked him where they were, he said he did not know. I tried to weasel a copy out of Ted and failed. His final comment on the subject was: “Armageddon will take care of it.” There’s nowt so sure unless politicians begin to take scientific advice.