HAMPSHIRE library chiefs came under fire at a county council select committee for spending only 6p of every £1 of their budget on books.

The vast majority of the £21m library and information service budget goes on staff costs, buildings and administration.

Amanda Field, a Gosport resident and former company boss, said no business could succeed if it spent 94 per cent of its budget on overheads and only six per cent on stock.

In a report to the committee, she said: "Libraries are unique in offering free access to and free loan of books. Effort and spending needs to be focused on this unique selling proposition."

She accused bosses of losing sight of their mission to promote literacy.

Mrs Field called for a huge increase in book stock, longer opening hours, including Sundays and silent study areas.

She said: "This, combined with smarter business processes, good marketing and better staff training will reverse the decline."

Mrs Field warned the library service should abandon DVD and CD rentals as a "dying business" and plan for "pay as you download" stations for audio books, music and film.

She said Hampshire should follow the lead of university libraries which offer free use of the internet but focus on subscribing to services that students could not otherwise afford, such as technical and specialist journals only available on-line. Mrs Field was one of four expert witnesses called by the all-party panel to give evidence last Friday (June 8).

The review comes as Hampshire has seen the biggest decline in loans per 1,000 population of any English county in 2005/6, a fall of 36 per cent.

Book stocks have declined by 18 per cent over the last five years despite a 30 per cent increase in council taxpayers' money over the same period.

The figures were quoted by Winchester resident, Desmond Clarke, chairman of library charity Libri.

Mr Clarke praised the council for improving library buildings and co-locating libraries with other services such as coffee shops and further education classes to attract visitors.

But he said the service was under-performing and failed to achieve five out of ten of the national public library standards, according to a report from local government watchdog CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy).

* THE Tory councillor in charge of the review of Hampshire library service has admitted he rarely reads books Cllr Keith Chapman told the panel: "I spend most of my time reading council minutes. I rarely get time to read a book. That is my sad life."