This week's Bookseller has a headline which may mark a turning point for the better in the sad saga of the decline of the British public library system: 'Tim Coates to save Hillingdon £260,000'.

Tim has reproduced the article in full on his Good Library blog but here is an extract:

Library campaigner Tim Coates has designed a major overhaul of Hillingdon libraries that is projected to increase opening hours and book stocks, and save £260,000.
The plans have been approved by the borough council and are expected to be implemented from September. They will see all 17 libraries in the borough entirely refurbished, Starbucks coffee made available in every branch, opening hours extended and the supply chain simplified.

Tim has made himself rather unpopular among the mandarins of the public library service by pointing out uncomfortable truths, by challenging politically correct but absurd views on the role of libraries, and by being consistently rude and abrasive. This unpopularity has from time to time set his campaign back. There are those in positions of power who would vote against absolutely anything Tim suggests.

However, perhaps his approach is correct. Perhaps campaigners need to be obnoxious from time to time. Perhaps civil servants and politicians need to be insulted. In any event I believe the tide may be turning for the public library service and that Tim's ideas will be seen to be sensible.

The objective is to have libraries better stocked with books (radical idea), open when people want them to be open (seems sensible), in a safe and clean environment (sound thinking), managed by front-line librarians ( they understand how libraries work) and at no extra cost to the taxpayer (phew). All pretty straightforward but there are those who want to see libraries as something else - as tools of social change, as outreach centres, as vehicles for diversity - just take a few minutes to scroll through some of the stories on the Good Library Guide and be horrified.

Here is a reminder of the simplistic but hard-hitting Occam's Razor version of his views which I originally wrote about in January:

-  The library service is for people and its only purpose is to respond to their needs  (currently it does not do this adequately)

-  It is essentially about reading  (currently it is not sufficiently so)

-  Its operation must be simple (because at present it is too complex)

-- Those responsible for providing the service are those who work in the libraries (currently they are not able to be).

-- Those accountable to the public are councillors  (currently they do not account).