Sir – I am astounded at the leader of the county council, Keith R Mitchell’s personal attacks on several of your readers’ genuine concerns about the closure of local libraries in these pages last week.
In particular his suggestion that Dr Diana Sanders’ “love of library buildings, collections, reference books and maps doesn’t extend to human beings young and vulnerable, old, disabled, with learning disabilities or mental health problems” . . . couldn’t be further from the truth.
Yet again he makes huge assumptions about people and has not checked his facts. Dr Sanders has worked as a clinician in mental health services at the John Radcliffe and other local hospitals for over 20 years and has a real, and proven, concern for those Mr Mitchell supposes she knows nothing about. Stories about her life have even appeared here, in The Oxford Times.
Her comments the previous week were made to correct a previous assumption that councillor Mitchell had made in your letters page about authors having a vested interest in keeping libraries open due to the income they make from library loans — which as Dr Sanders explained, is limited by law. This was another incorrect assumption on Mr Mitchell’s part.
And now to the crux of the matter: I am extremely disturbed and concerned that Mr Mitchell appears to act and make decisions based on his own assumptions — rather than doing the research and checking the facts.
Malcolm Chandler, Oxford
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