The more general point I was probably trying to make
On reflection, my reaction to the 'what's wrong with public libraries' question boiled down to the same reaction I've had to similar phenomena in other spheres. It's not so much that I'm saying 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' or that outreach per se or extension of services is a bad thing, but that what I perceive is a failure to engage with a core user constituency already using whatever the service is, or to examine existing strengths and build on those. Instead there's a whoring after some presumed group 'out there' rather than the fuddy-duddy regulars who are already in situ, and a neglect of this existing user base, even unto the implementation of policies that are to their detriment.
And that is why, my darlings, this Tonstant Weader (who at one point belonged to 4 public libraries and visited each of them once a week) seldom steps inside either of the local libraries that she has reader's tickets for.