Those who are dusting down their copies of the last report of The Culture Select Committee into the public library service in anticipation of further inquiries this Autumn, will recollect how The DCMS, MLA, CILIP, SCL ACL etc etc pinned so much faith in the ability of the Audit Commission to solve all the problems of the service.

It didn't happen, did it, and now with the very public revelations of librarians fiddling their performance figures one wonders how the Audit Commission will answer the questions about what they have been doing all this time.

Here on this blog we remember being told very firmly how wrong we were in all we said- by same Audit Commission. Not so, I'm afraid. We were right

On Lis Pub Libs it is confession time for library management

"At meetings I attend in (XXX), libraries discussed how to inflate and massage usage statistics

One practice to attract lapsed borrowers back to the library, was to print leaflets which were posted off to the lapsed borrowers. The leaflets had barcodes and were added to the library management system. Prior to posting each one out, the leaflet (which didn't have a due date) was checked out to each of the lapsed borrowers. The result? The library no longer had any lapsed borrowers and several hundred more active borrowers, and the leaflets were counted in the borrowing stats! "

Not that much different to photocopying ten pound notes really.

From Lis Pub Libs over the weekend

...#.When you bury deep you can find some locations where only 2 in 5 issues involve a member of the public ..other 'issues' are staff or housekeeping. I have come across locations where a staff of 9 are generating the same issues as a population of several thousand....one individual issuing and discharging the same item to himself twice a day for a month.

Nowadays methods have been found to create fake issues electronically ...generating 'issues' as part of a stock check..giving new stock an 'issue' to determine arrival at location...issuing stock to display..repairs etc etcSome of these customs have a very sensible housekeeping side to them ..but in practice few are ever filtered out to give a really honest figure of public use. I have come across Authorities which have encouraged staff to borrow a lot of stock to improve 'performance'. After all its a lot easier to create false stats. than to it is to spend real effort in encouraging increased use.Counting a renewal as an 'issue' is more legit. than the above practices. I have found collections where only one in 3 issues involve a member of the public!!!"

And then a correspondent says 'This reliance on stats has a mendacious effect on the public library service." No, sweetheart, the mendacity is on the part of the people who are lying, not the people who rely on the information to know how well their money is being spent.

And just because you believe the police do the same thing is not an excuse for librarians to do it... dear, oh dear.