IT’S SAD but true that as a nation we’re using libraries less than in the past, and there may be a price to pay, quite soon, for this dwindling interest.

Having said that, in the past year a total of 300m books have been lent out in the UK, which is an awful lot of books and proves that some of us are still taking advantage of this most civilised of institutions.

Several dozen of these many volumes found their way into the Stelfox household during 2010 as The Man-in-Charge likes to get his Bernard Cornwell fix from our local library and I’ve been known to join him in browsing the shelves.

He has discovered that even if they don’t have the novel he wants the librarians will scour all the authority’s libraries until they pin one down. Then they ring up and tell him it’s ready for collection.

This service is provided entirely free of charge, much to his continuing astonishment.

When the Offspring were small we spent many a contented afternoon at our little library, with me perched on a tiny chair in the children’s section helping them to choose a week’s worth of books. With it’s cosy panelled wood and bookish smell it was the perfect place to hide out on a cold, rainy day. And, once again, entirely free of charge (or, perhaps we should say, ‘additional charge’ as we are council tax payers).

We’d walk home with the books, snuggle up on the sofa and read them together. It was my favourite way to interact with my children because looking at the pictures and sharing the text with them opened up whole new worlds beyond their everyday experiences.

We talked about what we saw; I explained what they didn’t understand and they soaked it all up the way that toddlers do.

I remember being taken on weekly trips to the library by my own parents – it’s where I acquired my addiction to science fiction.

In those days, I suspect, libraries were generally busier because Amazon, Waterstones, Blockbuster, videos, DVDs and the internet were yet to be invented; we only had two television channels and there was no money to buy books.

But over the last couple of decades or so there has been a huge sea change in reading habits, affecting everything from printed newspapers to book publishing.

Although Firstborn still reads books, his preferred method of gleaning information and printed entertainment is via the internet.

He is not alone because his generation has embraced this medium so enthusiastically and totally that it’s surprising they still buy books at all.

Since those early days of library usage I suspect the only library he’s been in more recently is the one at his university - and even then I may be wrong as he can get lectures and papers on line. In fact, for a scientist, the internet is probably the best place to get up-to-date information.

The Girl is also a heavy net user, although she has taken to reading last thing at night before going to sleep. I hope she is acquiring a lifelong habit as there’s no finer end to a day than a good book. But with so much competing media I wonder if my hopes are in vain.

So where does this leave our libraries? Are we to concede that they are slowly becoming redundant and, therefore, when Government-enforced budget cuts lead to local authorities closing libraries we should simply accept the inevitability of it all?

Or should those of us who know that libraries are a mark of an enlightened society, and believe they still have an important part to play, begin campaigning now BEFORE closures are announced? Perhaps we could all start thinking of ways to help libraries pay for themselves and pull in the punters. I for one wouldn’t mind paying a nominal fee for every borrowed book - as long as children’s books and those taken out by OAPs remained free.

I want to see town libraries and village libraries survive for future generations because once gone we will never get them back. And, it could just be that during the austerity years ahead, when family budgets are tight, our libraries will come into their own once again.

Libraries have changed immeasurably since the days when I took out my first Isaac Asimov from Hendon Library in Sunderland.

They have computer terminals, meeting rooms, readers’ groups, DVD and talking book collections. Librarians organise activities, host children’s events during the holidays and are helpful rather than faintly disapproving.

This may be the 11th hour, but it is not too late to start supporting and using your local library - and being vigilant.

On February 23, Kirklees Council will hold its budget meeting, at which proposed cuts will be debated. It is likely that libraries will be one of the topics under consideration as it is thought that as many as 800 local libraries, particularly those in rural locations, (a fifth of the total in the UK) will be under threat. Details of the proposals will be available to view at kirklees.gov.uk (council/annual calendar of council meetings) a week or so before. If you don’t have a computer go along to your local library and use theirs - while you still can.