At the same time as CILIP nationally is preparing guidelines on what makes a good public library service, to be presented to the Public Library Authorities conference in October, my local library service, East Sussex, is asking its users and non-users what they want from the service. I shall certainly contribute my views and I hope the Friends of Seaford Library* will do so too. East Sussex's services are primitive, and that's putting it kindly.
I am alarmed though at the suggestion that the CILIP guidelines need to be ‘in a language that speaks to senior councillors'. It might be better to write them in good, clear English, for those who use, or could use, public libraries.
* or FOSL, pronounced, in a dig at the town's reputation as having an ageing population, as fossil
