Schools standards
Sir: Those of your readers who may have been a little sceptical of Sir Alec Clegg's claim (Letters, January 13) of 17,000 per cent increase in County library borrowings since he first learnt to read i can be reassured. The claim s an understatement; the actual percentage increase is infinite since there were no County libraries when Sir Alec was first struggling with "The cat sat on the mat," the Act empowering County Councils to establish a library service not having been passed until 1919.
Most County libraries were started in the early 'twenties, but the service offered in the early days was a very limited one, as naturally it took time to build up the present network of branch and mobile libraries.
So if one takes the percentage increase in library borrowings from their first year of operation to the present day, which is presumably what Sir Alec had in mind, the figures he quotes merely measure the expansion of County library services, not the increase in literacy.
It is worth noting that the commercial lending libraries which once flourished all over the country have now virtually all disappeared. By Sir Alec's logic this implies a vast increase in illiteracy among the middle classes, who were the chief supporters of these libraries. In fact those who once patronised these libraries have transferred their allegiance to the greatly expanded and improved Municipal and County libraries. It is a well-worn statistical trick to quote impressive percentage increases without disclosing the smallness of the original base or all the factors that have contributed to the increase but it is a trick that is surely unworthy of Sir Alec's high reputation.
J. W. Walker Yew Tree Cottage, Darley Dale, Derbyshire
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