DON MOODY, of Liverton, writes: Soppy slogans are not arguments. 'Keep our libraries an open book' and 'Just say no' are media mush and not meaningful. Quoting an author in support of libraries is not an argument, either. Any idiot can work out that the producer of any goods or services is in favour of the continued existence of its biggest customer. No amount of hysteria and hype could, or should, influence decisions on expenditure of taxpayers' money. Merely because some things were delivered very usefully in a particular way 50 or 100 years ago, it does not follow that the same things have to be delivered in the same way now. Nor does it follow that what is easily delivered in town centres with good transport links is also easily delivered in rural areas with no transport. Nor does it follow that the poor and the rich need the same provision. Nor does it follow that those without computers acquire information in the same way as those with broadband. There is no one answer to delivery of information and entertainment. The inappropriateness of centralisation is obvious to anyone from a rural area who needs must use a car to get to Exeter Central Library. The fact is that the old system has collapsed, or is about to, and senseless calls for its preservation will be unheard. The county is actually at a very inspiring point in that it has effectively got a clean sheet. It can look at what particular groups of people need and what are the best delivery routes to satisfy those needs, from scratch. Real thinking can be done. Let us have some, and ditch the pointless hysteria.
