A new government report says UK public libraries are in dreadful shape and need major lottery funding. “The report by the Commons select committee on culture, media and sport indicts 50% of library services as “persistently below standard” after decades of underfunding – an explanation for steadily falling book loans and visitor numbers over the past 15 years. The committee cites estimates that between a quarter and more than two-thirds of a billion pounds would be needed to wipe out the backlog of building repairs and refurbishments.”