Richard Charkin argues that public libraries are in crisis:
Expenditure on books has fallen from 14.4% to 8.5% of the budget over the past decade... The collection has been reduced in the same period by 20 million books... 100 libraries have been threatened with closure this year... 1,000 library buildings in England are no longer fit for use (30% of the total)... Libraries are chronically short of books, and those with poor stock fail to attract users.