Faced with conflicting priorities, from social services and schooling to collecting the bins, councils have frequently viewed the library service as an easy place to find savings. Spending on libraries has fallen by almost half (47.9%) since 2010.
The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 places a legal duty on councils to “provide a comprehensive and efficient library service” but does not define what that means in practice, leading Andrew Green, formerly of the National Library of Wales to brand it “toothless”.
“For the last 10 years libraries have had to do more with less,” adds James Gray, marketing and advocacy manager for Libraries Connected, the charity that represents England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“There comes a point where there’s no fat left to trim.”
An investment not a cost
Joseph Coelho knows more than almost anyone…
