§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consideration has been given to the special circumstances in Wales in the preparation of the Aslib report on the development of regional hyper-libraries; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RichardsThe review of the Public Library Service in England and Wales, commissioned by the Department of National Heritage from Aslib, included a case study of the Gwynedd library service. The draft report was published in September and has been circulated for comment to a wide range of library interests.
The Library and Information Service Council (Wales), which has statutory responsibility to advise the Secretary of State on library matters, has considered the draft report in full, including the recommendations relating to regional hyper-libraries, and has submitted comments to Aslib.