Did we even need library?

DEAR Editor, Last week’s letter referring to the shortage of books in the new library and the proposed spending on Chamberlain Square, posed the question of prioritisation of resources.

I would have preferred it to question whether we needed a new library at all, and why this was not a consideration at the planning stage.

This contentious addition to the civic buildings inventory is of dubious architectural merit, and is proving a financial drain on city ratepayers.

The existence of public libraries in our major cities, owes much to reformers and philanthropists like Andrew Carnegie, intent on bringing enlightenment to the poor and disadvantaged via book borrowing, and access to works of reference – and they succeeded.

But times have changed, and books are now more likely to be read on a “tablet”, rather than in the form of the traditional paper paged item, that has sufficed for hundreds of years.

Now, only a small percentage of the population doesn’t own a smart phone (I don’t) which can access just about every published work, while Wikipedia is the universal reference source. Perhaps our councillors should be seeking an alternative use for this £189 million white elephant – at least it is ideally located. Peter McHugh

Alvechurch, Worcestershire