Politics Show South soaks up the timeless ambiance of the local library.
 The search for knowledge in libraries going hi-tech |
Temples of research, tradition and tranquillity, still standing firm amidst the frantic pressures of life in the 21st century.
Really? Don't we have TV, radio, the internet and a dizzying array of bookshops, who needs libraries?
Perhaps we cantankerous consumers only want books if they come complete with steaming cappuccino, croissant and comfy chair.
Must libraries become more like coffee shops to survive?
Politics Show South investigates.
We spend a day with Hampshire's library service starting with a mobile unit, on duty in the suburbs of Basingstoke.
It is a service greatly appreciated by those who use it.
Is it time for change?
Key centres in Winchester, Havant, Gosport and Alton are set to become Discovery Centres with coffee on tap and huge banks of computers.
It has already happened in Bournemouth.
Sixty years ago the library was derided as the second worst in the country.
Now a new scheme, funded by PFI and combining shops and a cafe, has been given the Prime Minister's Best Public Building Award.
Visitor numbers have increased threefold.
We talk to Chris Batt, acting chief executive of Resource, the government body in overall control of libraries.
He believes "libraries are the public service of the 21st century."
Resource is striving to make libraries the key resource for creativity, lifelong learning, economic development and enjoyment.
People's Network
They are particularly proud of The People's Network, a �120m lottery-funded programme to get every library online, and give staff and technology-shy members of the public vital computer skills .
But the library service has its fair share of critics. We talk to Tim Coates, the former managing director of Waterstones.
He estimates �900m is spent on the system, in his view a scandalous waste of public money.
He believes the public wants a better range of books and longer opening hours.
Instead we are likely to get cafes and computers. This will be like having hotels without beds, or stations without trains. No-one is listening. 
We also talk to Christopher Hawtree, a local Hove author and authority on libraries.
I think an obsession with razzmatazz dominates government thinking rather than concern with day-to-day running. He believes there is no need to clutter up the space with computers when soon every household will have one.
As for cafes, if you want a coffee go to a coffee shop. Libraries in his view are a retreat from the world.
The Politics Show
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