There is an evil genius in Peckham Library. Not among the patrons: the book stock is sound enough, but, were you researching a plan for world domination, you’d want more extensive reference
shelves and perhaps quicker Wi-Fi.
No, the evil genius is on the staff. He or she was responsible for the offer that marked the library’s 10th anniversary: a free canvas bag for any user who withdrew ten books in one go.
Some readers may already be snorting at the spendthrift generosity of this. But Peckham Library’s anniversary is worth marking – it is, for better or worse, an icon of regeneration. And the
offer is more cunning than it initially seems.
The effect of the free canvas bag is to make people – by ‘people’, in this context, I mean ‘me’ – borrow many more books than they usually would; more than they can get
through in the four-week loan period.
Peter Robins
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