Dear Libraries Minister…
The election of Liz Truss as Prime Minister has heralded a new Cabinet and with it a new slate of Ministerial responsibilities. As we bid farewell to Lord Parkinson, we welcome to the role of Libraries Minister the Rt Hon. Stuart Andrew MP, Member of Parliament for Pudsey, Horsforth and Aireborough.
So, what does an incoming Libraries Minister need to know about this complex but hugely important and rewarding brief? What, if we had the Minister’s ear, would we ask him to focus on in his first 100 days? My answer would go something like this…
We have world-class libraries
The UK is home to a world-class library sector. We have some of the most beautiful, innovative and inspiring libraries in the world, maintained and led by a professional community dedicated to changing people’s lives for the better.
In recent years, new library buildings and services such as the Story House in Chester and the Hive in Worcester have been rightly lauded around the world for the freshness of their approach, the beauty and sustainability of their architecture and the positive impact they provide for local businesses and the community.
On a smaller scale, local communities across the UK benefit from access to high-quality, professionally-run local libraries which provide a wide range of benefits for local people — whether onsite, at home or via mobile library services.
A young, diverse audience
According to research from the Carnegie UK Trust, the fastest-growing audience for library services is young people aged 15–24. Not only this, but libraries serve the most diverse audience of any local service, with a strong and growing representation of C2DE families, new professionals and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Evidence from Libraries Week 2021 shows that young people are turning to the library as a place to relax and recharge, to work (including homework),. to socialise with friends and to get involved in the community.
The perfect platform for local participation
Libraries have always been the platform for local civic participation and democratic engagement — it is one reason why to this day the majority of MP’s use the local library as the location for their regular clinics.
Evidence from the UK and US highlights 5 key roles that libraries can play in strengthening local participation and democracy:
- As a ‘civic educator’ — raising awareness of local policy matters and helping people to understand their role as engaged citizens;
- As a hub for community conversations — identifying local issues of common concern, providing a safe and inclusive platform for evidence-based debate and developing shared action plans;
- As a ‘community bridge’ — bringing diverse people — including local government representatives and organisations with different perspectives together to build stronger communities;
- As a place for the community to come together to develop a broad and inclusive vision for the future;
- As a location for community engagement and activism, including promoting participation in electoral processes.
Libraries are all digital now
The digital transformation of libraries began in 2001 with the Government-backed ‘Peoples Network’ programme — at its time the largest initiative to connect the public to the Internet through open-access terminals in libraries.
Fast-forward to 2022 and this transformation has continued to gather momentum. 99% of public libraries now offer public internet access via a combination of Wifi and fixed terminals, including through fleets of Wifi-enabled mobile libraries in hard-to-reach areas.
Every library service across the UK now offers access to a rich array of digital content, including e-magazines, e-books and newspapers that users can download to their e-reader or tablet using their library card. The most popular of these platforms provide access to tens of thousands of up-to-date titles.
Libraries are taking it further, providing regular community-based training sessions to help close the digital divide and improve people’s media and information literacy. Our ambition is to ensure that libraries everywhere play their part in helping people to lead happier, healthier and safer lives online (take a look at http://www.mila.org.uk for details).
A platform for community-based health and wellbeing
In recent years, a significant body of new evidence and research has highlighted the profoundly important role libraries are playing in enhancing and extending health and social care provision across the UK.
From community prescribing to providing health information and screening which alleviates pressure (and saves money) for the NHS, local libraries have emerged from the pandemic as a vital extension to hard-pressed health and care services.
A new Health and Digital Literacy Partnership of library-sector organisations with NHS Health Education England is pioneering new approaches to extending this central role of libraries in the health of our communities, both in-person and online.
An accelerator for local business and enterprise
The British Library’s hugely successful network of Business and IP Centres have highlighted the importance of a strong local library offer in supporting local inclusive economic growth.
The BL report ‘Democratising Entrepreneurship’ (sponsored by the Arts Council England) highlights some pretty startling wins for the network of business support centres:
- The BIPC Network supports 43,000 business people and 50,000 enquiries each year
- The BIPC Network has enabled the creation of 12,288 businesses, 47% of which are in the Northern Powerhouse
- Net additional sales growth for the businesses supported by the BIPC Network was in excess of £239m
As the nation looks ahead to boosting productivity and generating new growth across our towns, cities and villages, libraries are stepping up to provide a C21st platform for enterprise and innovation.
Books, and so much more…
We hope that this post has given our new Libraries Minister a flavour of the jewel that is the UK’s public library network. We have only covered a fraction of the millions of life-changing activities, interactions and services that happen in local libraries every single day.
From baby bounce to rhyme times, reminiscence sessions to crafty cafes, ‘death positive’ conversations and community meetings, there is something for everyone in your friendly, welcoming local library.
How you can help
As Libraries Minister, you are uniquely-placed to champion the UK’s world-leading libraries across Government. Whatever your policy priorities — from Levelling Up to boosting next-gen innovation and tech — libraries are already there, making a difference in their local communities.
Our biggest challenge is that after more than a decade of reductions in Local Government spending, we are seeing the emergence of a two-tier library service in which richer areas are maintaining or developing their libraries where less well-funded areas cannot.
We think that everyone everywhere deserves the same access to opportunity, learning, digital skills and health and wellbeing support that they can get from a quality local library service.
That’s why we want to put together a new National Library Plan — to ensure that we are building the right library services in the right places to support everyone that needs them. Our ambition is to re-map the UK’s changing landscape, reflecting our changing demographics, new town centres and changing patterns of use to build a new library network that is fit for the future.
We hope you will find the role of Libraries Minister interesting and rewarding. We look forward to working with you and the DCMS libraries team to help ensure that everyone, everywhere can benefit from a great local library.
Remember, #BuildFuturesBuildLibraries
