"rather than having to travel further afield"...that would have been a logical reason for their choice if it had been applied on a nationwide basis, but it wasn't, and so it limits access for most non metropolitan, and even for many metropolitan areas of the country.
"it may be that they were the only ones that were willing to pay" well yes, perhaps maybe, but there are a huge number of libraries in the country, and how much would it cost to duplicate records printed on plastic, and stick in an outdated microfiche reader in a few more of even the main ones, and if it was for just about any other purpose, the lotto would have been raided to pay for it, and or they could have charged a modest access fee, and after all, it is one of the most historically valuable and in demand national record sources that there is.
Can Bridgend and Plymouth Libraries really be such unexpectedly well funded institutions in comparison with the rest of what is, appearances and media reports to the contrary, still one of the wealthiest countries in the world, although granted the foreseeable future crop of new and unrepaired winter potholes might suggest otherwise. ?
