Sir – County council leader, Keith Mitchell has enthusiastically used your publication to praise and “puff” LSSI as a potential contracted-out manager for Oxfordshire’s libraries.

All-for-profit LSSI’s reputation is not distinguished by universal praise from library users and public authorities in its USA home market, yet Mr Mitchell seems to have been so bowled over by them that he has clearly forgotten his public duty to deal impartially with, rather than promote the commercial interests of, an organisation with which the council is conducting negotiations.

Mr Mitchell’s commercial acumen might best be judged from his recent suggestion that authors have a vested interest in libraries staying open, when anyone with a grain of business sense knows the exact opposite is true.

While we library campaigners retain open, if very sceptical, minds about the LSSI option, let’s all hope that it is examined with stringent due diligence by experts, rather than politicians, before the council makes its decision; unlike Mr Mitchell who appears, somewhat worryingly, to have made up his mind already.

Friends of Summertown Library has more than 1,000 active members from a standing start on January 24 with more joining every day. It represents the views of more than 4,000 petitioners against library closures.

Jonathan Hood, Chairman, Friends of Summertown Library