by David Greene
Nearly 100 local officials wrote a letter to the Times of London saying the government's austerity measures are too hard to swallow, and they are being forced to cut critical services.
Stony Stratford Library, in a small town near Milton Keynes, may be closing. Last month, customers checked out all 16,000 books as a protest against the proposed closure.
Among the toughest decisions the local politicians face is whether to shut down their public libraries. About 400 or so have been targeted for closure already ... sparking an outcry from communities across the country.
There was a time in Britain, say 160 years ago, when some in Parliament didn't believe in public libraries at all. The worry was, if the working class read books, it would get dangerous ideas and rise up against the government.
That's not the debate today. But this is still sensitive ground for politicians.
