Good Library blog.....missing the point.....as usual

I'm always interested in what Tim Coates Good library blog says. Sometimes I will agree with him, but not very often. But as I'm often to quote F.Scott Fitzgerald statement:-

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.

So I read with interest the post If these libraries were any good councils wouldn't be closing them

The piece is just full of so many defiecencies and sweeping generalisations. His statements such as thus:-

If they were all as good as the good ones then councils and councillors wouldn't think of closing them.

Sorry? So councillors are closing these libraries because they are rubbish then? Councillors are just nice people with no political agenda? Sorry, a councillor usually becomes a councillor for political reasons Mr Coates (not all the times, but they do have a political agenda).

He then proceeds to blame public library closures on librarians saying:-

public libraries, they have an awful lot to answer for, and instead of looking in my direction, it would be better if they faced and tackled their own problems.

So, lets look at these two points again. Councillors are nice people, just trying to get rid of the crud in the local area? So when Johanna Bo Anderson's Blog pointed out in a post entitled Librarians Gagged that was not the councillors trying to stop freedom of speech? Or how about this post here, where three middle aged librarians where physically accosted for being on library property, because they were protesting against there terms and conditions that were being pushed on them?

His second point that libraries (and librarians I assume) have created this problem because we are only interested in digital formats rather than books an buildings is rubbish. Sorry Tim, some users want digital formats as well as books. He also seems to indicate that librarians have done nothing to help themselves but follow a policy of futerism, not caring about reading and books etc and therefore are deserving of losing there roles. Well, sorry Tim many librarians (who don't work in public libraries) are trying to stop the cultural vandalism of the present government with advocacy sites like Voices for the Library.

Christ, I left a comment on his post, but he has yet to answer. Oh well, thats a change?