It would be a mistake to read too much gloom into the failure of Bradford's libraries and museums to meet the annual targets set for them under the 2020 Vision strategy. It is disappointing, certainly, that both of them have under-achieved, with the museums appearing to have done particularly badly.
However there is consolation to be had from the fact that they are now doing less badly than they were. The drop in the number of visits to the libraries is reported to be the lowest for eight years, thanks largely to the service moving with the times and offering internet facilities. And the new money the Council is putting into it over the next five years should help to make the service more tempting to a greater number of people.
The failure of museums to attract people in sufficient numbers to come near the target could have something to do with the way Bradford tends to hide its light under a bushel.
We have a fine art gallery at Cartwright Hall, a fascinating natural-history and geology collection at Cliffe Castle, and a wealth of material relating to Bradford's manufacturing past at the Industrial Museum.
Part of the problem could be that too few local people, and particularly visitors to Bradford, are aware of them.
The head of museums has said that action is being taken to market them better and improve information and signposting. That, along with a few more lively exhibitions like last year's hot-metal motorbike show at the Industrial Museum, might be enough to push the service much closer to its target next year.
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