Whilst we’re on the subject of libraries, the man who drafted the Bill which became the 1964 Public Libraries Act, Francis Bennion, has an interesting letter in The Times today.
Francis Bennion’s letter is titled “Public libraries are ‘Protected by Law'” and follows journalist, Caitlin Moran’s article of 13th August in defence of public libraries.
The letter is hidden behind the paywall, but thanks to library campaigner from , Shirley Burnham, we have a snippet of the letter below.
Francis’ letter concludes, “It does not appear that the statutory duties I have mentioned are being adequately fulfilled at present. The Act does not contain any provision for reduction of the duties because of a need for ‘cuts’.”
Francis is a fascinating man with a wealth of knowledge and experience in this area. We’d highly recommend checking out his Website which has links to the many papers he has produced over the years.
Update 14.01: Thanks to Martin Roberts for letting us know that the full letter to The Times can be found on Francis’ website
Image: Francis Bennion in 1965 just after the 1964 Public Libraries Act was passed
