FORGET Harry Potter, for 1982 was the year when a different bespectacled youth won the hearts of the nation.

Twenty-five years ago this week, a spotty teenager called Adrian Mole and his unrequited love for Pandora was captivating young readers along with snozcumbers and big, friendly giants.

However, attention was briefly turned away from books to a cumbersome computer which, by today's standards, resembled a character from a 'Star Wars' film.

Oldham Library Service was introducing the latest "space-age" technology to Chadderton Library with an all-singing, all-dancing automated book loaning system. The machine gave warnings when the borrower took out more than his or her entitlement, simultaneously preparing overdue notices, printing statistics and flashing lights to library assistants when fines were owed.

The computer marked the beginning of a new era in which computers would become so integral to our libraries they would be lost without them.

The biggest single technological change has, of course, been the introduction of the Internet and email. It has helped libraries communicate with each other and order the latest stock, while visitors can also search the library catalogue, access an expansive reference facility, keep track of their borrowing themselves, reserve items and check membership details, all at the click of a button.

Recent advances mean visitors can now issue and return their own books at self-service terminals at Oldham Library, while a new membership card scheme is soon to be launched to embrace the latest technology.

With Oldham Council trying to juggle expansion and efficiency within a dwindling budget, the Library Service has undergone radical changes since the "space-age" monster turned up in 1982.

Alt Library made way for a mobile library, while in 2005 Delph Library was replaced with a centre run by volunteers from Delph Community Association, while Chadderton and Broadway libraries could face closure to make way for a new state-of-the-art building.

Investment in recent years has seen Crompton Library move into new premises, Stoneleigh Library moved out of the pavilion in the park to a shared site at the school, Limehurst Library moved to share a site with the Oldham Primary Care Trust, and Oldham moved to its impressive home at the Library and Lifelong Learning Centre site.

Technology has also led to staff cut backs. Today the Library Service employs 90 staff over its 13 libraries. Although the traditional role of a librarian - information requests and keeping the 345,000-strong stock of books and media in order - still remains, few would argue technology hasn't made their jobs easier, and a librarian's role is constantly evolving. All staff are encouraged to improve their IT skills by taking their European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) qualification.

Still, the age of technology has not proved the end of books as many feared. The good news is that the borough's libraries are as popular as ever. Last year a record 1.4 million visitors borrowed more than a million books, while Oldham's virtual library recorded 120,000 visits - a figure on the rise in this age of machines.

One can only wonder if, in another 25 years, there will be another unlikely teenage hero inspiring record-levels of page turning ...

In the news, 25 years ago …

CONSUMER watchdogs in Manchester issued a warning to Oldham shops to stop selling 'highly dangerous' toy darts. Tests on Dive Bomb Darts - which were being sold for 9p - found that removing a plastic cap revealed a gun powder cap which could shoot up to 50 feet in the air and explode. There had been reports of yobs throwing the darts at pensioners.

FISHERMEN helped move 50,000 fish from the Strinesdale Reservoir in Waterhead to the Ogden Reservoir as drought impacted on the borough. Among the catch after Strinesdale was drained were a 10-pound carp, a four-pound bream and a three-pound pike.

ONLY 19 jobs had been created in Oldham by a Greater Manchester scheme to get people off the dole. Operation Job Boost was established to create 6,000 jobs in three years in the region by giving companies a financial incentive to take on unemployed people. Oldham's figures were particularly poor in comparison to Manchester, which had created 550 jobs, and Tameside which had created 160.

VOLUNTEERS from the Waterway Recovery Group and the Huddersfield Canal Society began work to clear out and re-open a narrow canal at Uppermill. Work included drilling through a three-inch concrete cap which covered the old lock and to dig down 14 feet removing infill sand, clay and rubble.

OLDHAM Council gave assurances that action was being taken to ease the odour from six pig farms in the area which had blighted Woodhouses residents for years.

MONTHS after the national union decided to shelve local rugby union leagues for five years, a referendum in Lancashire showed a large majority of clubs, including Oldham, in favour of setting up their own league. It was hoped to bring in cash, encourage competition among players and attract scouts for players to be considered for higher honours.

TEXTILE firm Werneth Ring Mills Ltd wrote to Oldham West MP Michael Meacher asking him to take up its complaint that local firms were getting the cold shoulder in terms of special investment from the Government.
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