Library project an attempt to mislead public

Published: 6 May, 2010

• MIKE Clarke, head of libraries in Camden, upbraided the newspaper (Facts about libraries, Letters, April 22) for getting a few of the facts wrong about the library staff redundancy programme.
However, he failed to address the question of why these figures were incorrect and preferred to imply that it was just carelessness.
The cause of much inaccurate reporting about the activities of Camden Council is the culture of secrecy which has pervaded that organisation for many years.
The council’s attitude is that what the public doesn’t know, it cannot complain about.
Further, if the public is ignorant of the facts, the council can misrepresent them with impunity.
I am sure that Camden’s Library Service is not the worse department when it comes to spinning.
However, the Growing Your Library project is a good case of an attempt to mislead the public about the council’s intentions.
It was presented as a programme to improve services to the public, whereas it was simply a cost reduction exercise.
Reducing costs is not against the public interest and it would have been far more honest to present the project in these terms.
ALAN TEMPLETON
Chair, Camden Public Libraries Users Group
Honeybourne Road, NW6