Pubs. Shops. Doctor's offices.
From a story in the Independent...
Libraries axed under coalition spending cuts could be resurrected in pubs, shops and GPs' surgeries if radical proposals being studied by ministers are put into action.
Councils have already invited Starbucks to open coffee bars between the book shelves to generate funds, while people in rural areas are being told that they can keep up their reading by borrowing e-books.
With local authorities ordered to save millions of pounds this year, libraries were quickly singled out for closure. For several, including some in London, this is imminent. But after an angry backlash from readers and authors, a blueprint for the library of the future is being developed.
It envisions sharing sites with the police, NHS and legal advisers, lending books through pubs and generating funds by selling branded coffee. Bradford council is looking at siting library services in a shopping centre. Even supporters of the modernisation programme admit it risks angering traditionalists, who see the essence of a library as a quiet space being undermined in the drive to save money.
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