The library — like working from home, but better

Imagine you’re sat at home watching Dragon’s Den. Onto the tiny stage comes a nervous young entrepreneur.

“I’ve come to pitch a national network of remote working hubs. We’re already set up with over 3,000 locations in every city and town and many rural communities. Safe, well-lit, on the High Street with good wifi and friendly well-trained staff.”

The Dragons lean forward. This young entrepreneur has got their attention. With more than 70% of the workforce working remotely from home, this could be big.

“Not just that, though. They’re set up so you can access business information, support on IP and trademarking from a globally-respected brand. You’ll be surrounded by other entrepreneurs and people running small businesses. Our locations support the most diverse demographic of any equivalent service.”

One of the Dragons raises an eyebrow. In a startup environment, access to that kind of business support could save tens of thousands of pounds.

“And many of our locations have access to fast prototyping equipment, software, coding skills and with a great support network in the local community. In fact, our evidence shows the success rate of startups in our locations — particularly those started by women — is better than that of any other incubator or enterprise catapult.”

The Dragons are ready to buy-in. One of them shuffles her pieces of paper, doing some quick arithmetic. She speaks:

“And how much do you charge per desk for access to these? Is it like a club? A subscription perhaps? Do you have a menu of top-up charges?”

The entrepreneur is unfazed:

“Nothing. It’s free. Completely free. Except maybe the cartridge for the 3D printer.”

One of the Dragons snorts in derision.

“You see, it’s good for everyone to have somewhere safe to work and study. It helps create local jobs, new connections, builds skills and encourages more people to learn and get on. It helps local economies recover from COVID and brings people together in a way that benefits the whole community. So instead of charging on the door, which might exclude some people who could go on to do amazing things, we pay for it through local taxes. So that way, everyone wins because everyone benefits.”

You could not invent a network of trusted locations with the power to help get the nation back on its feet like our public libraries. No commercial enterprise could achieve the same scale or reach, with the same impact as cost-effectively. Thanks to initiatives like the British Library’s business and IP Centres, no other network could leverage the same authoritative startup support, nor provide the same platform for inclusive local economic growth.

So let’s not reinvent the wheel. Let’s get to work in our fantastic libraries.