Skegness Magazine

Source: Skegness Standard 4th February, 1931

Skegness will shortly possess a Public Free Lending Library, similar to those which have been established elsewhere under the Lindsey County Council’s scheme.
At the January meeting of the Skegness Council, the first to be held in the reconstructed Town Hall, it was decided to provide a room in the Town Hall for the purposes of the library, which would be open for two hours on two nights each week.

The Lindsey County Council scheme was considered by the Skegness Council in December, 1927, when a controversy arose concerning the inclusion or otherwise of fiction in the library. On that occasion Dr. Sweeten expressed the opinion that a great deal of the fiction read at the present time was unfit for “untrained intelligences,” and, if the Council fathered anything of that sort —unless they had proper supervision—they might unwittingly do more harm than good. The Doctor added that everybody knew that nowadays a considerable amount of so-called fiction had no educational advantages, and had a distinctly detrimental effect on untrained intelligences.

Trained intelligences regarded such works contemptuously, but the untrained were not in a position to discriminate and looked upon their contents as gospel, except in the case of the local newspapers. (The last observation, naturally, was greeted with loud laughter.—Ed.),

The Council of that day adopted the scheme, and elected a sub-committee to make the necessary arrangements. However, a few weeks later the Town Hall was gutted by fire, and it was decided to wait until a room could be provided in the new building before proceeding further.