Blame the librarians
From Mr Edgar Crook Sir: As a librarian, albeit one who has escaped from England to the literature-loving shores of Australia. I wholeheartedly support Julia Lewis (`An axe to the roots of our culture', 15/22 December).
The only point I would wish to make is that it should, to a certain extent, be the librarians' job to protect libraries from political ideology. Unfortunately, librarians and their governing body — the Library Association — have desperately followed, and in some cases led, the Blairite policy of 'social inclusion' in an attempt to garner extra funding. Of course, 'social inclusion' in this context means destruction of the dominant culture and all its works, without regard to the consequences. Librarians who used to be known for conservatism, severity and quietude are now more likely to be found politically on the loud, far-Left, libertarian fringe. It is therefore no surprise to me that they are discarding the classics from the shelves, for often they have no knowledge or regard for them or the culture to which they belong.
Libraries do need to weed out the books that nobody reads and to replenish shelves with new and updated fiction and information, as they are not archives but living organisms. However, this should never be done for financial or political reasons, and never to the core collection of books or other media that represent the highest distillation of the wisdom and culture of a people.
Edgar Crook
Canberra, Australia
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