Libraries - amenities or necessities?

A many as 400 local libraries are at risk from closure as a result of Con Dem austerity cuts. See voices for the library blog for up-to date news on local library campaigns and closures:http://www.voicesforthelibrary.org.uk/wordpress/

Christopher Caldwell writing in today's Financial Times has an interesting article on the fate of libraries in the UK and elsewhere: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/784d85f8-6790-11e0-9138-00144feab49a.html#axzz1JgV7Iyim

'The distinguished US librarian Eleanor Jo Rodger addressed this question head-on in a magnificent essay in American Libraries magazine. In a time of straitened budgets, government is urged to focus on necessities and cut frills. But are libraries a necessity or an amenity? The answer, Ms Rodger showed, is that they are both.'