THE ongoing controversy about the future of our libraries needs to be based on real facts and figures.
It is often said there are lies, damn lies and statistics.
The figures produced for book loans and visitors to the libraries are meaningless unless you know the background.
Take the Orford hub. Is the 126,511 given by LiveWire the number of people using the hub including all its facilities or just the number using the library?
Just look at the figures in detail.
According to LiveWire, Orford had 126,511 visitors but issued only 49,923 books.
Contrast this with the ‘traditional’ libraries.
Stockton Heath had 57,631 visitors and issued 114,098 books, Penketh had 55,953 visitors and issued 78,507 books.
It’s a constant theme in all cases that traditional libraries issued more books than visitors.
This shows that books are not being cooked but the figures are being slanted to give the results desired. Come on let’s have real facts not just figures manipulated to justify a bad decision for the public in Warrington now and in the future.
Or are we living in a town where our leaders know the cost of everything and the value of nothing?
CHRISTOPHER LEE Penketh
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