Letter.

I have just read your editorial and the `Dividends, the value of public libraries in Australia' proposal. It is a great idea to produce something like this in Australia. I have regular contact with several state and federal politicians and feel sure that `Dividends ...' would be welcomed. My experience is that politicians are not opposed to libraries per se, but they are often overwhelmed with detailed, highly technical, information which often contains a hidden agenda. Politicians also have a natural reluctance to being shown to be poorly briefed. `Dividends ...' would overcome all these problems because it pulls together the tons of data which we use and assume it somehow makes sense to everybody else.

Good luck with your campaign.

Peter Mansfield CEO Central Highlands Regional Library Corporation Vic