Across political parties, MPs have called for a National Strategy for Public Libraries to unlock the full potential of library services across England following a recent Westminster Hall debate, tabled by Jonathan Davies MP.

Public libraries are vital civic infrastructure, but for over a decade they have been undermined by sustained cuts, closures and a lack of strategic direction.

We are backing this call at CILIP along with Libraries Connected and ASCEL (the Association of Senior Children's and Education Librarians), who represent the public library workforce, heads of service, and children and young people's library service leaders.

Modern public library services, encompassing books and much more, are uniquely placed to support some of the country's most urgent policy priorities – including economic growth, digital inclusion, early years development, public health, and community resilience – but their ability to deliver is being hampered by years of under-investment and fragmented national infrastructure.

"Public libraries are one of our country's most trusted and transformative services. They foster curiosity and provide knowledge, but also connect communities, unlock opportunity, and boost our economy — often quietly, and always with deep impact. They are already contributing so much to this government's missions, but that contribution is not fully understood or acknowledged. I called this debate to make the case for a national data hub to help us understand the enormous contributions that libraries make, and for a joined-up, long-term strategy that gives public libraries the recognition and investment they deserve."

— Jonathan Davies MP

England's public libraries contribute at least £3.4 billion in value to the economy each year (University of East Anglia), while also supporting digital access, early literacy, jobseekers, health literacy, and more.

However, data shows:

• Public library funding has fallen 53% since 2010
• There has been a net loss of 276 libraries since 2016, at a rate of about 40 a year
• Poorer areas are four times more likely to lose a library, where libraries are often the last remaining free and trusted local service anybody can just walk into
• Over 2,200 professional library jobs have been lost

The sector is now united in calling on government for a cross-departmental national strategy that outlines a clear vision for libraries, provides a sustainable funding model, and enables collaboration across government departments, communities, and different types of library service. It looks forward to working with Baroness Twycross, the new Lords Minister responsible for public libraries.

"Today's public library services underpin strong communities by empowering people to thrive in the face of some the country's biggest challenges – from low literacy rates and disinformation, to sluggish economic growth and poor mental health. But their potential is being systematically undermined by the lack of joined-up national leadership and proper investment. We welcome this debate and look forward to continuing to work with the sector, partners and government to deliver meaningful action to protect and strengthen one of the UK's most valuable and treasured public services."

— Louis Coiffait-Gunn, CILIP CEO

The proposed national strategy should include:

• Sustained investment in digital infrastructure and skills with DSIT
• Expansion of early literacy and education programmes with DfE
• Support for library-based business and innovation hubs with DBT
• Formal partnerships between the NHS and public health services with DHSC
• Funding to enable cross-sector collaboration between different types of libraries
• A sustainable, place-based investment model
• Stronger ministerial leadership and cross-government coordination
• Clearer accountability for government's statutory superintendence and improvement duties
• Public consultation to shape the future of public library services

MPs from all parties are being urged to show their support for public library services in a Westminster Hall Debate in the House of Parliament on Wednesday 14 May. The debate has been tabled by Jonathan Davies MP, who will call for "a joined-up strategy that invests in libraries as platforms for opportunity, connection and growth".

The debate follows growing concern from across Parliament and the library sector that without coordinated action, the UK risks losing a vital national resource. A similar House of Lords debate in September 2024 was so oversubscribed that contributions were limited to just one minute.

Taking place on Wednesday 14 May at 9:30am, the debate follows growing concern from across Parliament and the library sector that without coordinated action, the UK risks losing a vital national resource. A similar House of Lords debate in September 2024 was so oversubscribed that contributions were limited to just one minute.

The debate is seen as a key opportunity to press the government for a long-term plan that unlocks the full potential of libraries in delivering national and local priorities, from digital inclusion and economic growth to early years development and public health.

CILIP wants to encourage MPs from across political spectrum to participate in this debate and has asked members and its wider community to email their local MP and encourage them to attend and speak at the debate. MPs prioritise emails from their constituents, so you may also want to get in touch with your MP and encourage them to get involved.

You can find email address for your MP’s by using this simple online tool at Find Your MP.

Jonathan Davies MP said: “Public libraries are one of the UK’s most trusted and impactful public services — but they are too often overlooked in national policymaking. I’ve tabled this debate because I believe we urgently need a joined-up strategy that invests in libraries as platforms for opportunity, connection and growth. If we are serious about building stronger communities and levelling up, we must treat libraries as the strategic infrastructure they are.”

Louis Coiffait-Gunn, CEO at CILIP said: “This is a crucial opportunity to raise awareness in Parliament of the urgent need for stronger leadership, strategic investment, and cross-government support for our vital library services. With public libraries under growing pressure, this debate could be a turning point in securing their future.”

Watch the debate here from 9.30am on Wednesday 14 May.

Invitation to tender: Delivery of anti-racist library collections training to public library staff in Wales

Indicative contract fee: £22,000

Timescale for delivery: 1st September – 30th November

CILIP is looking for external providers to deliver anti-racist library collection training to public library staff across Wales. Applications are welcome from individuals, organisations and/or institutions, in what is the third and final phase of the Anti-Racist Library Collections: A Training Plan for Public Libraries in Wales project.

The development and delivery of the training plan will build on previous work to support the Welsh Government’s Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan, aimed at eradicating institutional and systemic racism.

The successful tender will work with a steering group of library staff at all levels and from across Wales to develop and implement the most appropriate training model and content. The training will enable librarians to confidently shape and share library collections along clear anti-racist principles.

In phase one, we appointed a consultancy firm to undertake a survey, interviews and literature reviews into training formats and into anti-racist training content. The results are presented in two reports:

• Inclusive Future: A Training Model for Anti-Racist Collections in Wales3
• Inclusive Futures: A Guide for Anti-Racist Library Collections in Wales4

The recommendations in both reports, as well as a request from Welsh Government to include a preliminary module, were taken forward as the basis for Phase two of this project (now completed), the development of the training content for the four modules that make up the training package:

• 1. Preliminary module on anti-racism
• 2. Stock Acquisitions and Collections
• 3. Cataloguing and Classification
• 4. Community Engagement and Outreach

A facilitator guide has also been developed for each of these four modules.

The objective of phase 3 of Anti-Racist Library Collections is for a trainer/s to deliver the training content developed in phase 2 to public library staff in Wales so that they can then cascade the training through a “train the trainer” model.

The successful contractor will deliver the training at 8 half-day online workshops (each of the four modules will be delivered twice). These training sessions will be followed up approximately 10 days later with eight, hour-long online sessions (delivered twice for each of the four modules), where delegates work through the facilitator guides with the contractor. This is to prepare the delegates to deliver the training themselves in their own library authority and potentially in other library authorities in Wales as well.

There will be two places per authority available.

The successful contractor will report to Sioned Jacques, CILIP Cymru Wales Community Development Manager. Please direct any queries about this invitation to tender to them. Proposals must be submitted by email to sioned.jacques@cilip.org.uk

Download the full tender document here

A General Election is just round the corner and its outcome will affect us all, with a new government and potentially hundreds of new MPs taking their seats in the House of Commons.

Trust Libraries: Our pledge to the public and the next government is CILIP’s call to incoming politicians to trust libraries to deliver ten key pledges, whatever political parties are represented in the Government of tomorrow.

Trust Libraries Pledges:

1. To deliver trustworthy information and access to culture
2. To inform better decisions (including in business, health and government)
3. To offer a warm welcome and a safe place for all
4. To champion the right to read and intellectual freedom
5. To enable learning at the heart of communities and institutions (from high streets, online, and in prisons, to schools, colleges and universities)
6. To open a world of opportunities, inspiration and ideas
7. To fuel the future green economy with data and skills
8. To support diverse and resilient start-ups
9. To help unlock new research and innovation
10. To be ethical partners committed to social justice

Find out more about the pledges and what libraries are doing right now to make sure they are kept.

Trust Libraries highlights 10 areas where you and your services can support policy development and delivery, and places librarians, information professionals and knowledge managers at the heart of positive change to empower sector professionals to join the political conversation.

CILIP Chief Executive Louis Coiffait-Gunn said:

“The election is just the start, of all those who end up being elected to Parliament on the 4 July many will be brand new to Westminster and new to the wonderful world of knowledge and information professionals. Our job will be to find advocates and help demonstrate how the sector can help them achieve benefits for the public.”

25 January 2023

Welcome to Libraries - an induction pack for frontline public library staff

Welcome to Libraries - your guide to working in public libraries is available as a digital publication and in a limited print format. The magazine-style pack celebrates public libraries as an indispensable part of local communities, and was funded by Arts Council England.

Library leaders want their service to reflect the rich diversity of the populations they serve, be free at the point of contact, and be welcoming and inclusive to all. This guide was created with those priorities in mind and with the help and expertise of members of staff in public libraries across England.

Welcome to Libraries was created to impart valuable insights and links for frontline public library staff and to welcome them into their new roles by providing the information they need as they begin their career journeys.

Key aspects of working in public libraries covered by Welcome to Libraries include:

• The variety of roles played by a modern public library service
• History and context of the public library sector in England
• Library ethics and their connection to public service
• Library science, including evidence-based
• Key elements of building diverse and inclusive collections, buildings and services
• Universal library offers: Reading, Creativity and Culture, Health and Well-being, and Information and Digital

According to the Ipsos Mori 2021 Veracity Poll, public library staff are trusted by 93 per cent of the population to tell the truth and give accurate information. Working as a member of library staff is one of the most rewarding and well-regarded professions with a strong identity, clear ethics and values.

CILIP's Chief Development Officer, Jo Cornish, is thrilled that the pack has been launched and commented:

"I know first-hand from my experience working in public libraries, that they are an invaluable resource in a local community, and an exciting and wide-ranging place to work. Public libraries are constantly evolving in order to meet the needs of their communities. They provide space, inspiration, resources, sanctuary and human connection. This could not be achieved without a committed, professional workforce. I am so proud to have been part of the team that created this guide. Welcome to Libraries will support the next generation of public library staff to pursue fulfilling and rewarding careers."

Watch Jo's introductory video to find out more about Welcome to Libraries.

The launch of Welcome to Libraries aligns with our We are CILIP strategy and action plan, to unite, support and empower information professionals in all sectors and to be the leading professional membership association for people working in information knowledge, libraries and related disciplines.

Download the induction pack now

CILIP, the library and information association has today (11 October 2022) published a set of guidelines: ‘A Warm Welcome. Setting up a warm space in your community’. These guidelines stemmed from a tweet in early September by Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert, asking if there were any UK charities who could come forward and write a best practice guidance document for setting up warm spaces in the community.

Public libraries were invited to submit their best practice guidance from advice on issues such as safeguarding and accessibility, to the practicalities of health and safety, accessibility and risk assessments - but at all times remembering that these spaces should be welcoming, warm and safe.

This is a role that libraries and librarians have quietly undertaken for decades, but during this cost of living crisis the sector and CILIP knew that need was going to markedly increase and were already discussing what could be done.

As the leading voice for the library profession, CILIP stepped forward and undertook to produce the guidelines as a matter of urgency. ‘A Warm Welcome’ is the result, compiled by CILIP using their links to public libraries to share best practice ideas on how to support and welcome communities this coming winter.

CILIP would like to thank Martin Lewis on behalf of libraries and other community hubs for his generous funding and for providing the spark to turn this guidance around in a matter of weeks. These guidelines started as a public library initiative, but we hope they will prove helpful to all organisations that would like to set up a warm, safe and welcoming space within the community this winter.

CILIP CEO Nick Poole said “CILIP has produced these guidelines for setting up Warm Spaces, and thank Martin Lewis for the commission and funding. We were well positioned to create best practice guidelines on setting up warm spaces; given our close relationship with libraries across the country who were already planning to create warm spaces this winter. We hope the information contained in this guidance will be useful to any organisation wanting to set up warm spaces for their communities this year and that they will help people to stay warm and safe”

Martin Lewis said; In early July 2022, while the sun was blazing, I was sitting at my desk, doing some numbers, starting to feel overcome with a sense of dread about the coming winter. It looked like the price cap rates for energy, which most of us pay, would be nearly doubling, leaving possibly 100,000s with the now almost cliched choice between heating and eating.

While mulling, I tweeted, 'Can't believe I'm writing this, but I wonder if this winter we’ll need 'warm banks', the equivalent of 'food banks' where people who can't afford heating are invited to spend their days, at no cost, with heating (e.g. in libraries, public buildings, etc.)' I wasn’t the only one thinking it. I was both saddened and gladdened to quickly hear from a few councils and libraries already planning to do just that, as well as many organisations who wanted to help, but were asking how to do it.

This guide is the culmination of that. I asked CILIP to research and collate best practice information, on how to do it, and I am delighted that they accepted the commission. It's not just for libraries, it’s for any organisation wanting to set up a warm space (the name has rightly changed too, a warm space is a far more approachable place than a warm bank). I do hope you find it useful.

Read the full set of guidelines at: www.cilip.org.uk/warmspaces

The Green Libraries Partnership with support from Arts Council England and in partnership with British Library, Libraries Connected and Julie’s Bicycle is pleased to announce fifteen selected projects under the £40,000 grant fund for public library services in England to support environmental activity.

Selected projects include a range of innovative ideas that will enable libraries to demonstrate environmental understanding and action through local partnerships, community engagement activities and staff, stock and space interventions. Projects will take place between August–October 2022 and the outcomes will be shared at the Green Libraries Conference and through the website www.cilip.org.uk/GreenLibraries.

For updates on the Green Libraries Partnership and ongoing activities, follow @CILIPinfo and #GreenLibraries on Twitter or visit www.cilip.org.uk/GreenLibraries.

The Green Libraries Partnership is developed in response to COP26 and the long-term climate commitments made by libraries and local authorities across England.

We believe that public libraries are hubs of sustainability. Reusing and recycling books and providing information to communities to underpin their own climate action, is at the core to what we do. The Green Libraries Partnership aims to:

• discover and harness the existing work going on in libraries relating to Sustainability
• build and support environmental understanding and action within libraries so they can play their full part in creating a better future for planet and people
• enable libraries to work with their communities to continue to build environmental understanding and action
• position libraries at the heart of local environmental programmes including those led by Local Authorities

CILIP is supported in delivering the Programme by Arts Council England, the British Library, Libraries Connected and Julie’s Bicycle. The Partnership is Chaired by Emma Noyce, Assistant Director of Culture and Leisure Services at Hampshire County Council

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk.

Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of the bodies responsible for administering the Government’s unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19.

Green Libraries Grant Fund 2022 - Full list of selected libraries and projects:

1. Inspire Midlands Libraries
   LOGGS (Library Outdoor Green Garden Spaces)
   A library garden with outdoor classroom facilities for the development of a high impact environmental programme of activities in Bircotes rural library. The work will act as a pilot generating data on community awareness and engagement with the environment through the garden, to explore creating a rolling programme in other rural libraries.
2. Staffordshire Libraries
   Changing Climates Changing Lifestyles toolkit
   A toolkit of resources for the Climate Change Library Champions in Staffordshire’s 43 libraries developed with the help of local artist Juneau Projects. The project will support behaviour change by creating a craft kit on a recycling theme and deliver two workshops in Area North Libraries and Area South Libraries for families on the theme of recycling.
3. Bi-borough (Westminster-Kensington & Chelsea) Libraries
   Cleaner greener bi-borough libraries and archives
   A series of interactive training sessions in partnership with Groundworks London for libraries and archives staff to help acquire a greater understanding of ESG principles and practices. The training will culminate in an interactive workshop with residents to help identify greening projects for the libraries and archives.
4. Barnsley Libraries
   Bees in Barnsley
   A month-long festival celebrating all things bees and highlighting how essential they are within our ecosystem. The festival will use engaging activities and events to raise awareness of the environmental challenges we’re facing due to the declining bee numbers and what we can do as individuals to combat this.
5. Kirklees Libraries
   Discovering the Secret Garden
   Developing the unused garden behind Golcar library into an accessible, environmentally sustainable area for community use with the help of three local schools and a local artist. The theme of the artwork would be sustainable gardens for native wildlife, plantings and habitats.
6. Hampshire Libraries
   Sparking Conversations with Children & Families
   Activities for children, young people and families at 40 libraries, focusing on the environmental sustainability challenge of engagement and education. Activities include worksheets for young children, and delivery of three education sessions with Southampton Scrapstore, a local recycling charity.
7. Eltham Libraries
   Wishing Well - Eltham Library’s Community Garden
   An intergenerational project to design and construct a library community garden using sustainable materials and skills sharing between local primary school children and Age UK’s Men/Women in Sheds group.
8. Blackburn with Darwen Libraries
   Environmental activities at the Blackburn with Darwen Children’s Literature Festival 2022
   Authors, poets and illustrators will draw on their ‘green work’ to create an underlying theme of the importance of looking after our environment, using their published work, e.g. the rap poem, Save Us From Plastic, which focuses on the devastating impact plastic pollution has in our rivers and oceans, and Felicity Fly in the Garden, which educates children about pollinators and their important role in the eco-cycle.
9. Lancashire Libraries
   Planet Savers - workshops for children & families
   A series of workshops for children and their families during the national Fun Palace weekend in 5 libraries, all based around the idea of environmental sustainability – one of the core principles of Planet Savers - Lancashire Libraries’ in-house designed summer reading scheme.
10. Dudley Libraries
    Enzo & Loca - Environmental action figures looking for ways to achieve net zero
    Each month, Enzo and Loca will provide simple suggestions that children can follow to help the environment, reducing the amount of waste they make, reusing items so that they don’t have to throw them out, and recycling by using waste materials to make new products. The libraries will hold Green sessions, highlighting books about biodiversity and sustainability, and offering activities such as creative craft sessions using recycled materials.
11. Wiltshire Libraries
    Interpretation boards demonstrating environmental activity in the library
    The displays will communicate to the public what has already been done by Wiltshire council to reduce energy wastage, generate and use renewable energy and increase recycling in libraries. The display will include examples of sustainable swaps from Sustainable Devizes and information on the future Wiltshire Council plans e.g. solar panel and air heat pump installation and LED lighting and direct people to the collection on Climate books to find out more.
12. Wakefield Libraries
    Encouraging sustainable transport to our libraries
    Enabling sustainable transport access to the library through a programme of analysing and upgrading the information to promote non-car travel options twinned with the provision of cycle repair equipment at our branches in addition to existing cycle racks.
13. Surrey Libraries
    Learning to Deliver Zero Carbon
    Training for 200+ library staff to increase their awareness of the benefits of going Net Zero and how they can support the delivery of the Surrey County Council Net Zero Programme.
14. Lambeth Libraries
    Save the planet, pounds and pennies
    Activities addressing the cost of living crisis and showing how a greener lifestyle can also save money. Activities ve local community groips and will run across all 10 libraries and then be embedded in the core delivery, making the libraries a central place to find out about a green lifestyle.
15. Newcastle Libraries
    Greening of Princess Square
    Changing the way we think about and manage small areas of planting in an urban setting. The project intends to redevelop an abandoned urban planting area outside Newcastle City Library to demonstrate how to increase biodiversity in the city centre and to raise awareness of eco-friendly urban gardening techniques.

 

Here at CILIP we are delighted to announce that following a successful tender process, we will be working with Artefacto to create an e-Learning ‘Digital Leadership in Libraries’ programme for the Public Library workforce. It is an incredibly exciting project, made possible with funding from Arts Council England (ACE), and is the result of discussions with Libraries Connected and ACE about the implementation of the Public Library Workforce and Skills Strategy (previously, the Public Library Skills Strategy).

These discussions recognised the need for library staff and leadership to consolidate the ‘digital pivot’ made during COVID-19 into a ‘future-ready workforce’ with the digital skills needed to engage with an increasingly online (and mobile) audience. Arts Council England have provided a grant towards the cost of commissioning a Digital Leadership for Libraries programme of open-source, freely-available online learning modules, complementing the existing Digital Skills resources provided by Libraries Connected in Learning Pool.

Artefacto will work with CILIP, and a team of sector experts, to develop five open-access eLearning modules as part of ‘Digital Leadership for Libraries’. These modules are intended to create engagement with the principles and values of being a digital leader. They will unlock that potential for all public library workers, and their services, to be confident digital leaders.

CILIP Chief Development Officer, Jo Cornish explains:

“With thanks to the Arts Council, we are delighted to have this opportunity to create this resource for the sector. Being a digital leader is about mind-set and being inspired by the “art of the possible”. These modules will allow us to connect the workforce with the right knowledge, tools and confidence to be digital leaders. We are certain that this will equip them with the skills to empower their communities and enrich their services for today and the future.”

Kate Lomax, Artefacto Founder said:

“We are passionate about the digital transformation of libraries and finding new ways to make learning digital skills more engaging and accessible. Much of our work is dedicated to exploring the impact and potential of digital technologies so we're excited to work with CILIP to help bring this project to fruition".

About Artefacto

Artefacto is a digital agency that works with libraries and other cultural sector organisations on a range of digital projects, including web development, user experience, training and consultancy.

The technology and people underpinning the Library Consortium’s new game changing LMS explained by heads of service at Sutton, Kelly Saini Badwal, and Merton, Anthony Hopkins.

The Library Consortium (until recently the London Library Consortium) has existed since 2002. It started with two London boroughs and now is made up of 18 local authorities, of which 17 are London Boroughs. Next year it will expand further outside the capital when it is joined by Essex and Thurrock with other authorities in the process of joining too.

From 2002 to 2019, the consortium’s library management system was hosted by Axiell. But it has now been replaced by SirsiDynix. The new LMS has been in place and operational since March 2019 and it is now about to enter a revolutionary stage – the implementation of the Library Services Platform (LSP). This will link together the various apps and digital services that currently run independently of each other and provide customers with an exciting new front end to access online services.

"Ebooks have not been treated in the same way as print books and there is a bit of a disconnect between different parts of the supply chain."

Kelly Saini Badwal, Head of Cultural Services at Sutton Council, which is the Consortium’s lead authority, said: “At the moment if a customer wants to use digital stock, if they want to borrow an ebook or magazine or audio book, they have to use a different App for each one. The aim is to bring all that together. It’s very exciting because it is very customer driven. Customers will be using it in the same way that they use other apps like Amazon and Netflix, and it’ll give them their top reads, recommendations and, for example, if they’ve read a book, they’ll be told if there’s an event from that author.”

Anthony Hopkins, Head of Library, Heritage and Adult Education Services for the London Borough of Merton said that the Library Services Platform (LSP) had been developed by SOLUS, a SirsiDynix development partner and that, in addition to connecting existing services, it opened the door for other council services beyond the library and potentially even to commercial services. “It allows us to use ‘best of breed’,” Anthony said, “So that we don’t have to develop our own systems – if there’s something out there that people are used to using, like for example Eventbrite or Google Calendars, we can just bring it in and plug it into the platform.”

Aim and fire

The consortium explored uncharted territory in its search for a new LMS. It was able to do so mainly because of its collective financial power and collaborative working with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Both Kelly and Anthony acknowledge that this power was an important factor. Anthony, who sits on the Library Consortium’s Strategy Group and was involved in selecting a new LMS, said: “When you take into account all the authorities it is a multi-million-pound contract, giving us strength in numbers in terms of procurement. When we went through the procurement process we really pushed the market in a way that I don’t think the sector has ever done in the UK. This was because we were not just thinking about purchasing an LMS, we were looking at the next generation of technology and a platform and having far better services and systems for our customers to access.

“We engaged with a lot of providers outside of the library network,” he said, “We went to the Googles, the Amazons and the Microsofts and gathered their thoughts and ideas as part of the soft market testing – all of which we built into our specification.”

Cost and value

Value for money for management systems is a moving target because an LMS does far more now than it ever did, and usually costs less. Not only has the office been revolutionised allowing the sharing of content and access to content the consortium was looking for, but it has revolutionised the way customers access library collections, becoming the digital front door and front desk.

Kelly and Anthony estimate that the size of their LMS budgets are around 15-18 per cent of their stock budgets. But the relationship and value of the LMS in a public library ecosystem has changed. Kelly said: “Yes it has changed a lot. It is driving a lot of our IT now. Before it was a process driven function, there to process the books. Originally it was set up to replicate an inhouse process but now it is an interactive tool and the impact is huge.” She said that the costs had also dropped, saving authorities thousands – “but we’re not spending anything like that now”. Compared to its predecessor Anthony said: “This is a cheaper product and we’re getting a lot more in terms of system offer and the LSP. The strength is in the numbers, so the more people in the consortium, the cheaper it is for everybody.”

Back to front

The consortium’s vision for Ebook management shows how the system could be integrated. Anthony says: “Overdrive doesn’t communicate with the LMS at the moment, it provides some data and information but there’s not a direct interface with the LMS. But it’s one of the things that we expect to be moving to with the LSP, the platform, the front-facing part that customers see and access. So, while the LMS feeds into the LSP (library services platform), the LSP is also drawing in data and information and services from a raft of different things, such as Overdrive.” These connections will enable smoother interactions with customers. “At the moment waiting lists are managed in overdrive but they will be moved onto the LSP,” he says. For Kelly in Sutton, the consortium means her users have access to over 6 million books rather than 150,000. And Anthony points out that what Merton spends on ebooks would give it access to 10,000 books while membership of the consortium bumps that up to closer to 150,000. One of the key purposes of the LMS/LSP is the management of the complexity of sharing and access across nearly 20 library services. But a side product of the scaling up of services is the scaling up of data generation – potentially making it more powerful.

Data

The integration of the LMS, the LSP and all the apps and digital services will generate a lot of data about users. Kelly said: “At the moment public library leaders don’t use data as well as they could. They tend not to consider their own data or what value it has. We tend to rely on global, national information. But that’s something that’s changing. We’ve been looking at the data that the library consortium has now. I’ve got a colleague working on this - for instance looking at how customers use the LMS, what they are searching for, if they find it or if they don’t, and why or how that happens. This is going to give us a lot of insight into what we need to purchase for our customers and where we lose our customers. We’ve always had data like this but now we are actually doing something with it. For example, recent feedback on the website found that customers get to a certain point in downloading an ebook and then get stuck when the process shifts to ¬another organisation’s platform. So, they’ve found the book but when they move to the provider’s platform they go “Oh no, now I’ve got to re-log back in again,” and we’ve lost them.”

There is also a lot of untapped data coming in from the existing apps. It remains untapped because it is not integrated. Anthony said: “The platform will just be a lot more integrated at the back end. At the moment its bespoke separate reports … with this we can potentially share it with other systems to improve the picture of the customer and what people are using, how they relate and engage. This is the kind of work that’s going on at the moment.”

While this could unlock many possibilities, Anthony says: “Sometimes the way the data is merged is quite complex, so if we all worked in isolation we’d really struggle, but the fact that we all work together means that we can manipulate it, read it better, and share challenges and problems. What the system can do is pretty advanced and we will need to get a better grip on it because there’s a lot more that it can do for us.”

People sharing

Technology and finance often dominate the digital agenda. But if the people and the institutions who use them don’t also change, the new tools won’t work. In a world where local authorities are struggling to provide basic services, aligning work forces with new technology is going to be difficult. It’s a problem that a consortium may be able to overcome. Anthony says: “Public libraries in England and the UK budget wise have shrunk. It means a lot of our officers need to be multi-skilled and it means that in every authority there will be someone with an element of expertise in development or data management. In a consortium it’s going to be what we’ve got collectively, that we need to build up. We don’t all have LMS expertise and none of us has anyone whose only role is to support the LMS. So, it’s how we bring it all together, that’s where we get the efficiency and the expertise.”

Because of the breadth of skills needed, new specifications rather than new posts may be needed. For example Kelly say’s Sutton’s data analyst role is not new: “It’s a post that we’ve always had. It was there to support our stock purchasing but now so many processes have become automated that she has the capacity to grow the role. We’re very lucky that data is something that she’s interested in, so we’ve progressed it to become a data analyst’s role.”

Kelly points out that there is “a bit of give and take” when it comes to time freed up by central LMS “because some staff spend more time working in the consortium, for example the chair of the stock and user group works for Sutton but he spends about 50 per cent of his time on the consortium.”

Knowledge share

Kelly says that right from the start joining the consortium opens a reassuring peer to peer communication that doesn’t just require collaboration, but also demonstrates its value.

“When a new authority joins, an existing authority will hold their hand and staff will go on site for a couple of days to get used to the system, the new terminology, new layout. When Hounslow joined, Croydon staff went and supported them because Croydon had just joined and they would remember the problems, the things they had to get over, and they got to share that knowledge. That’s really powerful. Staff get someone at their level telling them it works. It is much more powerful than me, as head of service, doing it.”

She says: “The biggest thing for me has been the knowledge sharing with heads of service. We come together and say “this hasn’t worked for me” or “my customers are complaining about this” and we help each other. Just talking to other heads about the challenges we face really helps. It’s an added bonus that you can’t quantify financially. I can get advice that otherwise wouldn’t be readily available.”

Originally published in CILIP's Annual Directory 2021 Buyers' Guide.

Book your free place at CILIP's Supplier Showcase on 12 May in London.

As economists predict a period of high inflation and a cost-of-living crisis, Paul Howarth, Head of Content & Resource Development at Suffolk Libraries, discusses some the problems and solutions for public library services.

Higher inflation could create challenges for public libraries on many different fronts but Paul Howarth believes the role of the buyer has changed giving them new solutions: “The role is becoming ever more complex because it is reflecting what libraries are doing. In terms of lending resources there’s only so much we can do to meet a crisis like this, but there is potential in our information resources – resources that we develop or bring together. This comes under my remit. Other services may separate it out into discreet areas, but for many who are responsible for buying, it is becoming an ever more complex role in terms of the range of demands.”

Threats

“Obviously if there is high inflation in books,” Paul says, “One impact is that you will be able to buy less, but this also means your buying power shrinks, which means you may have less influence over prices and terms from suppliers. We work with our suppliers to negotiate the best discounts we can and that helps mitigate the impact of price increases, but there will be only so much we can do.”

Cost pressures will also mount on the communities libraries serve. “If there is a cost-of-living crisis there could be a lot more people who were once happy buying books who now need to borrow them.” He adds: “The range of formats, the range of other things we’re expected to buy, is also increasing, particularly with the growth in digital lending. All services are dealing with this as a result of Covid. Increased demand is a good problem to have, but I can’t imagine many are getting additional budget to cover it. So, we have price increases, lower discounts and new formats. But despite this impact, it is not necessarily a catastrophe, and will encourage us to be smarter in our selection.”

Where is the flexibility?

“Buying follows publishing patterns, with peaks at various points, particularly in September and October when new titles are published for the Christmas market. Even with inflation, we have to follow these patterns. With ever tighter budgets, the flexibility only really lies in how we balance high-demand, front-end (published this year) buying with the broader stock offer. The discounts we receive are based around what discount the suppliers can get themselves and the quantities in which they are ordering. Trading at the front-end we often get bigger discounts, but you do have to be careful because you can end up with a narrower selection and once the peak of demand passes, you’re stuck with books people don’t want anymore.”

Lending limitations

“Buying smart will mean more evidence-based decisions, looking at lending data and where demand is.” However, Paul adds: “There is a danger in only following the data. Where we have a pattern of decline in physical lending, the data we have relates to a shrinking audience, and focusing on that means you run the risk of perpetuating decline.

“So, we also have to think forward strategically and think who and what are our priorities. Getting your head around what is happening in lending is one thing, but also looking at how we fit in with other trends in the community also opens up opportunities.”

Broader remit

Paul’s wider remit helps keep the library connected to the community and also influences stock buying. “There’s been a shift over the last decade from research, reference enquiries to much more life critical information. This comes under my remit. As well as books, I cover information resources. This is quite broad and includes tangible resources as well as support. And we not only evaluate and curate resources but make staff aware of them and train them how to use resources. And the buying we do isn’t done in isolation. If the selecting of core general library stock was separate, I think it would be a lot easier in some ways, but the end result would be that the stock would be out of touch. That would show in terms of engagement. You might have a nice well-rounded collection of library stock that meets a demographic or core audience, but it would be disconnected from everything else that is going on in the library, and the library service needs to be coherent.”

Example

“We put a lot of effort into collecting and supporting information resources. The most recent has been around personal finance. We’re not offering expert advice, we’re helping people navigate these areas. One of the earliest examples was Universal Credit. We anticipated that people would be coming into libraries to apply because people use our computers. And we anticipated that people wouldn’t necessarily know what to do so we looked at how to navigate it and where to get more guidance. A large part of my team’s role was to support our staff who would be dealing with people asking these questions. We made sure they were equipped and confident – they don’t have to know all about everything, but do need to know where to go to find it. Members of my team did a lot of research and worked with DWP to make sure what we had was correct and up to date. Working alongside the DWP we put a package together for our staff and a toolkit for people applying for universal credit. We provided training sessions for staff, and we keep in touch with DWP in case there’s anything new we need to know about.

Result

“Anecdotally the libraries are seeing more and more demand in that area,” Paul says. “This could be down to a general demand – more people applying for Universal Credit – but it could also be due to growing public awareness that you can get support from the libraries.”

He said: “Alongside these immediate financial, employment and benefits enquiries, we also do the same with mental health and wellbeing. All of these elements have been developing strongly in libraries anyway and I think they will do even more so, as we see the impact of the challenges our communities face.”

The role also provides opportunities for putting their collections in front of new audiences: “Most obvious is that we’re very conscious of selecting and acquiring stock that is around or about mental health and wellbeing. While this can be self-help, information about conditions, the non-fiction side of it, there is also great scope for that softer side, creating collections that include fiction that helps people maintain wellbeing. This is very much a factor in your mind when you’re making selections.”

New costs and revenue

But undertaking these tasks comes at a cost. They require time and new skills and building new relationships with new funders like central government departments. “What we and other libraries are looking at is how we can increase funding and income from other channels for ways to enhance what we’re doing, develop the service and meet growing needs. We need to fund this through partnerships. There is potential for income from commercial activities like running shops and cafes, but the big money – and more significantly the effect of advocating for that funding, showing the impact that the library can have on various social agendas, whether it be employment or public health or anything else – is in funding streams from Government.”

This is an area that CILIP is looking at – and which Bruce Leeke, Chief Executive of Suffolk Libraries has been involved in – and CILIP has initiated an Independent Review of Public Library Financing, funded by Arts Council England, to look at how public libraries can do this more effectively. To understand the challenges of the existing “structural funding model for local library services, which depend entirely on Council budgets that have been reduced by up to 50 per cent since 2008, despite facing increased pressure on adult social care and child protection” and “to identify the opportunities and risks inherent in our current model for the resourcing and funding of public libraries; to identify under-exploited opportunities to secure a more diverse and sustainable funding base for the future.”

Arts Council England has awarded £163,000 to CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, to launch the Green Libraries programme, which aims to help libraries address their environmental impact.

CILIP will be supported in delivering the programme by the British Library, public library membership organisation Libraries Connected and environmental charity Julie’s Bicycle. Developed in response to COP26 and the long-term climate commitments made by libraries and local authorities across England, the project aims to reduce the carbon footprint of library assets including physical and digital content, buildings and vehicles, enable libraries to help their users engage with environmental issues, and position libraries at the heart of local environmental programmes.

Starting in February, the programme will begin by exploring the different ways that libraries are already tackling environmental issues, and considering how these good practices can be shared more widely, as well as examining how approaches from other sectors could be used to help libraries achieve their environmental goals.

The programme will then share and build on this knowledge in various ways, including developing a Green Libraries Partnership hub where libraries can access information and support on environmental issues, establishing a £40,000 Green Libraries Grant Fund to support environmental activity in libraries, and commissioning research into environmental issues affecting libraries and their users.

CILIP will also publish an evaluation report, summarising the lessons learnt from the programme, and providing evidence-based recommendations to inform future policies in the area.

Sue Williamson, Director, Libraries at Arts Council England said “Libraries are at the heart of communities throughout the country, and we’re delighted to fund this programme which will help position them as hubs for the local action that will be vital in making England’s society and economy sustainable and fit for the future.”

Nick Poole, CEO of CILIP said “I am delighted that CILIP is leading on this exciting and important initiative to support libraries achieve their environmental goals, engage the public and take a lead role in our national response to the climate crisis. Sustainability is a major theme for CILIP over the next five years, and we are pleased to be working with partners such as the Arts Council England, Libraries Connected, Julie’s Bicycle and the British Library to establish this ambitious Green Libraries programme.”

The programme will help libraries respond to the Arts Council’s 10 year strategy, Let’s Create, which requires the organisations it funds to address the environmental impact of their work.

For more information please contact:
Nathan Dean, Communications Officer, Arts Council England
Tel: 0207 268 9648 / Email: Nathan.Dean@artscouncil.org.uk

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision.

Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of the bodies administering the Government’s unprecedented £1.96 billion Culture Recovery Funds.

CILIP
CILIP, the library and information association, is the leading voice for the information, knowledge management and library profession. Our goal is to put information and library skills and professional values at the heart of a democratic, equal and prosperous society. CILIP is a registered charity, no. 313014.

The British Library

We are the national library of the UK and we are here for everyone. Our shelves hold over 170 million items – a living collection that gets bigger every day. Although our roots extend back centuries, we aim to collect everything published in the UK today, tomorrow and far into the future. Our trusted experts care for this collection and open it up for everyone to spark new discoveries, ideas and to help people do incredible things.

We have millions of books, and much more besides. Our London and Yorkshire sites hold collections ranging from newspapers and maps to sound recordings, patents, academic journals, as well as a copy of every UK domain website and blog. Our public spaces provide a place to research, to meet friends, to start up a new business or simply to get inspired by visiting our galleries and events. We work with partners and libraries across the UK and the world to make sure that as many people as possible have the chance to use and explore our collections, events and expertise. And we’re always open online, along with more and more of our digitised collection.

Libraries Connected is a membership organisation, representing heads of library services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We take a leading role in the development of public libraries through advocating for the power of libraries, sharing best practice and helping to shape the public library service now and in the future.

Julie’s Bicycle is a pioneering nonprofit organisation, mobilising the arts and culture to take action on the climate and ecological crisis. Founded by the music industry in 2007, JB now works across the arts and culture, in the UK and internationally, focusing on four themes: justice and fairness; decarbonisation; nature; and circularity and a regenerative economy.

Working alongside over 2,000 organisations, NGOs and governments worldwide, Julie’s Bicycle blends cultural and environmental expertise and delivers research, training, consultancy, policy development and international advocacy.

JB leads strategic responses from the arts and culture sector and develops resources, networks and unique methods to scale and accelerate the movement and transform the conversation. Clients and partners include: Arts Council England, Universal Music, Curzon Cinema Group, Festival Republic; National Theatre, V&A and Somerset House.

This Libraries Week (4-10 October 2021) libraries across the UK showcase their vital role in supporting active and engaged communities as we celebrate the transformative impact libraries can have on people’s lives, circumstances, and on the wider community

• As drivers for inclusion, sustainability, social mobility and community cohesion, this Libraries Week will explore how libraries are taking action to support and engage their communities. From guerrilla gardening to virtual reality, community action to book groups, we will be celebrating all that libraries do to help people take part and make a difference.
• We are inviting people to #ShareTheChange this Libraries Week by taking part in CILIP’s photo campaign to get the nation sharing stories of the change the library has made to their life or how the library has enabled them to make a positive impact on their community.
• Penguin Random House Children’s, in partnership with Authors Aloud UK, help us kick off Libraries Week with a special book event with author Femi Fadugba, talking about his new book The Upper World, a game-changing YA thriller that defies space and time and in which the library has a part to play!
• On Wednesday 6 October, The Reading Agency reveals their new free, online reading for pleasure game, The Reading Adventure, piloting in Islington as part of the Get Islington Reading Programme.
• We explore future leadership in the library, information and knowledge sector in the second CILIP #ChangingLives Seminar on Thursday 7 October with a keynote presentation from Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata.
• On Friday 8 October, ahead of #WorldHomelessnessDay on Sunday, The Reading Agency, in partnership with Libraries Connected, invites libraries to join No Fixed Abode - Building the Public Library Offer, with insights from a panel of experts including The Big Issue’s Lord Bird, alongside discussion and sharing of public library best practice.
• Join the conversation and take action with your library this #LibrariesWeek!

This October, communities and librarians across the country are taking part in a week-long celebration of the nation’s much-loved libraries. Libraries Week 2021 takes place between the 4 and 10 October and celebrates the vital role of libraries in supporting active and engaged communities.

From health and wellbeing initiatives to combatting social isolation, providing support for vulnerable groups to digital inclusion, and climate action, the library is a place for coming together and taking action.

Libraries Week is organised by CILIP, the UK’s library and information association. Nick Poole, Chief Executive said:

“During the pandemic libraries became a very visible lifeline for many, an essential service helping to reduce isolation for thousands of vulnerable people. As communities focus on rebuilding post-Covid, libraries continue to have a vital role to play in supporting economic, cultural and academic recovery.

This year, I am proud to celebrate the innovative and creative ways that libraries have risen to the challenges presented by the pandemic and the noticeable renaissance they are having in driving forward positive change with and for the diverse communities they serve.

Libraries offer an incredible platform for people of all ages and walks of life to share ideas, make connections and take action to improve the places and spaces where they live and work. This Libraries Week, we want everyone to get involved and discover how they can take action through their library.”

Libraries Week Events and Activities

To celebrate this year’s theme, Taking Action, Changing Lives, those working in and using libraries and information services will be encouraged to think about and share their experiences of the positive impact libraries have on people’s lives. Launching on social media on Monday 4 October, the first day of Libraries Week, we are inviting people to #ShareTheChange by taking part in CILIP’s photo campaign to get the nation sharing stories of the change the library has made to their life or how the library has enabled them to make a positive impact on their community. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the impact libraries and individuals can make to their communities and inspire others to take action.

Each day of Libraries Week, CILIP will be crowd sourcing contributions to CILIP’s #Changing Lives Reading List with books to educate and inspire on a range of topics from Anti-racism, LGBTQ+ and Disability to mental health, well-being and climate change. We are seeking contributions from librarians on these important topics to add to the list.

Penguin Random House Children’s, in partnership with Authors Aloud UK, help us to celebrate the launch of Libraries Week with a special online event with author Femi Fadugba in conversation with Annie Everall on Monday evening. Femi will be talking about his new book The Upper World a game-changing YA thriller that defies space and time and in which the library has a part to play! Soon to be a major Netflix movie starring Oscar-winning Daniel Kaluuya, the book is a breathtakingly ambitious exploration of free will, the physics of time-travel and the capacity of two teenagers to see a future worth fighting for.

Monday 4 October sees the launch of two exciting new exhibitions in libraries from projects funded by the Arts Council. Danielle Teale Dance launches the exhibition for Collective IDentity (CID Project), which brings expressive, moving, and creative dance opportunities to people with Parkinson's both online and in-person. The exhibition features three commissioned artists who will present new creations alongside photographic work captured in dancers' homes and the screening of excerpts from a documentary film, with the aim of shifting and evolving ideas surrounding care, identity, and compassion. It will tour 14-venues across the UK, including libraries, hospitals and arts centres starting across two locations in East London, Poplar Union and Ideas Store Bow.

Danielle Teale, Artistic Director of the CID Project commented:

"Working with CILIP for the national expansion of the CID Project has given the work a new platform through which to connect with people with Parkinson's up and down the country who might be harder to reach and isolated due to the pandemic. Libraries are an invaluable community space where people can engage with art and culture in a friendly and accessible way. Providing the perfect space to showcase our work to even greater numbers, our new exhibition, Who we are now, and then… will share perspectives on identity from the lives of dancers with Parkinson’s, which we are proud to be launching during Libraries Week.”

And Bella Milroy’s creative project, Mob-Shop, launches its artistic exhibition in Derbyshire Libraries. Bella’s Mob-Shop project commissioned disabled artists to respond speculatively to the concept of the mobility shop and explore the practices of the aids and devices disabled people use every day. The exhibition is a series of newly created artworks, writing, workshops and podcasts.

Bella Milroy commented:

“Mobility shops are a fascinating way of examining disabled experiences and disability culture; it felt really important for that to occur in a space that could make room for, focus in on and celebrate just some of what it means to exist as a disabled person today. Libraries facilitated this ease of access, space and safety for this to happen in the way I always wanted it to, and the project is so much better for it.”

On Wednesday 6 October, The Reading Agency reveals their new free, online reading for pleasure game, The Reading Adventure. The game is piloting in Islington as part of the Get Islington Reading Programme and The Reading Agency have been developing the game closely with the Islington Library service. The game invites children in year 6 and 7 to select a reading adventure based on six interest areas, including sport, music, art and crafts, science and technology, nature and the environment and cooking. Find out more and sign up your child, class or group at The Reading Adventure.

On the Wednesday evening the Public & Mobile Libraries Group in Scotland are hosting a fantastic free virtual celebration: Scotland’s public libraries: beating hearts of their local communities. Showcasing some of the incredible work that is taking place in libraries across the nation: from promoting literacy, learning, health and wellbeing, to championing climate action and spreading small acts of kindness that add up to a big difference.

The second of CILIP’s #ChangingLives Seminar Series, hosted by Shirley Yearwood-Jackman, Chair of the CILIP BAME Network, takes place on Thursday 7 October. Focusing on the theme of Future Leaders in the Library, Information and Knowledge sector, this evening seminar will include lightning talks from a diverse range of information professionals alongside a keynote from Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata, University Librarian of the National University of Lesotho.

On Friday 8 October, ahead of #WorldHomelessnessDay on Sunday, The Reading Agency invites libraries to join No Fixed Abode - Building the Public Library Offer. In partnership with Libraries Connected, this session will kick off with insights from a panel of experts including The Big Issue’s Lord Bird, alongside the sharing of public library best practice and a discussion of how we can work together to remove barriers to reading and libraries for this vulnerable community. Library staff can sign up to the event here.

Karen Napier, CEO at the Reading Agency, said:

“Libraries are very special to The Reading Agency as core partners. They are fundamental community anchor organisations which provide democratic access points to reading, and we highly value and appreciate the special relationship we have had over our 20 years.

Throughout the pandemic, we've worked with libraries across the country to help to tackle loneliness and support mental health, mobilising to reach those who were most in need of social connectivity. This Libraries Week, we want to celebrate their tireless work and their spirit of collaboration.”

This year, Libraries Week is sponsored by Nielsen Book and Bolinda UK Ltd. As a leading provider of services to the book industry, Nielsen Book has been at the heart of the book industry for more than 100 years, working with libraries around the world to support the discovery and purchase, distribution and measurement of book borrowing to help libraries meet the needs of their users. In the lead up to this year's Libraries Week, Nielsen Book has launched the CILIP recognised Data-Driven Librarian course to empower librarians to use data more effectively and with confidence. They are also running special promotions on their leading library services throughout the month of October and supporting CILIP’s #ChangingLives Reading List with a virtual bookshelf to look inside each title powered by their Book2Look service.

Bolinda have joined forces with CILIP as a supporter of Libraries Week in 2021. Bolinda provides public libraries with the number one solution for eBooks and eAudiobooks, delivering the best range of UK and International publishers directly to library users through BorrowBox, your library in one app. Bolinda is proud to support Libraries Week this October, celebrating the essential role of libraries within their communities and the power of great stories to change lives! As part of their contribution, Bolinda is offering a vast range of inspiring eBooks and eAudiobooks around inclusion, recovery, sustainability, social change and mental health support, including multi-access copies so that even more library users can benefit from this powerful content. They are also creating bespoke media assets, collaborating with key library authors on fantastic videos and launching a nationwide branch competition to help libraries create engaging and impactful multi-channel campaigns!

With a range of fantastic and meaningful events and activities taking place in libraries across the UK, including fun palaces, rhymetimes, reading groups, author talks, wellbeing workshops and social activities, there is plenty to get involved in this #LibrariesWeek.

Join in the #LibrariesWeek conversation and take action with your library today!

Press contact

Natalie Jones
natalie.jones@cilip.org.uk
0202 7255 0518

Download Libraries Week Graphics

Notes for editors

1. Libraries Week

Libraries Week is organised by CILIP, the library and information association, and supported by partners including Arts Council England, The Reading Agency, Libraries Connected, London Libraries and the School Library Association. www.librariesweek.org.uk

2. CILIP

CILIP, the library and information association, is the leading voice for the information, knowledge management and library profession. Our goal is to put information and library skills and professional values at the heart of a democratic, equal and prosperous society. CILIP is a registered charity, no. 313014. www.cilip.org.uk

3. Nielsen Book

Nielsen Book is a leading provider of search, discovery, commerce, consumer research and retail sales analysis services globally. Nielsen runs the Registration Agencies (ISBN and SAN Agencies for UK & Ireland), provides search and discovery products through its Nielsen BookData product range, electronic trading via Nielsen BookNet and PubEasy services, retail sales analysis via Nielsen BookScan and consumer research through its Books and Consumer Survey. The company is wholly owned by Nielsen. For more information, please visit: www.nielsenbook.co.uk.

4. Bolinda UK Ltd

Bolinda is a recognised leader in the field of audio books and the creator of BorrowBox – your library in one app - the UK’s leading eBook & eAudiobook download solution in public libraries. Follow Bolinda audio @bolindaaudio, @borrowbox or Libraries go to www.bolindalibrary.com/uk, and www.borrowbox.com and for consumers shop at: bolinda.com/uk, audible.co.uk, itunes.com, googleplay store globally.

5. The Reading Agency

The Reading Agency is the leading charity tackling life’s big challenges through the proven power of reading. The Reading Agency is funded by Arts Council England. www.readingagency.org.uk.

6. Arts Council England

Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

7. Libraries Connected

Libraries Connected is a membership organisation, representing heads of library services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We take a leading role in the development of public libraries through advocating for the power of libraries, sharing best practice and helping to shape the public library service now and in the future. www.librariesconnected.org.uk

8. London Libraries

London Libraries is the London region of Libraries Connected and has membership of all 32 boroughs in the City of London. It works collaboratively to promote London’s public library network and delivers regional campaigns and annual events including the London Libraries Festival ‘World of Possibilities’ which takes place on the Saturday of National Libraries Week.

9. School Library Association (SLA)

The SLA is a UK focused charity which supports everyone involved in school libraries. They believe that every pupil is entitled to effective school library provision and the educational, emotional and developmental benefits that come with it. The SLA is committed to supporting, promoting and sustaining high quality reading and teaching and learning opportunities for all in a diverse and changing world. www.sla.org.uk.

CILIP is delighted to announce the expert members of the recently established Independent Review of Public Library Financing Panel. The purpose of this review is to identify the opportunities and risks inherent in the current model for the resourcing and funding of public libraries, to identify under-exploited opportunities to secure a more diverse and sustainable funding base for the future and to set out a roadmap or recommendations for how this might be achieved.

All eight members of this panel have extensive experience in public and academic libraries, local government, lifelong learning and the cultural sector.

Sue Williamson, Arts Council England
Professor Stephen Broomhead, Warrington Borough Council
Maggie Rae, Public Health England
Sarah Davidson, Carnegie UK Trust
Sue Ball, Staffordshire Libraries
Fran Sanderson, NESTA
Richard Leeming, Independent
Dr Florian Gebreiter, Birmingham University

Public libraries are a vital part of the fabric of daily life for millions of people across the UK every day. Used across all demographic and socio-economic groups, they represent an extremely important aspect of creating strong localities, strong communities and strong local economies.

In recent years, libraries have found their creative identity – harnessing events, activities, digital platforms and channels to strengthen relationships with existing user groups and reach out to new communities. During COVID-19, libraries have once again demonstrated their value as essential services – helping to keep people entertained, safe, connected and informed during the pandemic.

Through the work of organisations such as CILIP, Arts Council England, Libraries Connected, Carnegie UK Trust and the Local Government Association, libraries have moved up the political agenda in local and central Government.

Despite this tremendous momentum and energy, libraries continue to face a complex challenge which in many cases has either put services at risk or has resulted in their partial or complete closure. An estimated 10% of library branches have closed since 2010, with at least 500 more being transferred from statutory Council provision to informal ‘community management’.

The components of this challenge include:

• A perception that digital technologies have eroded or replaced the core function of the library
• Changing patterns of consumer behaviour placing different demands on physical space
• A failure on the part of the library sector to secure buy-in to its new role in a connected society
• The structural funding model for local library services, which depend entirely on Council budgets that have been reduced by up to 50% since 2008, despite facing increased pressure on adult social care and child protection.

Work is underway to target the first three of these challenges which centre on advocating for libraries with a refreshed and compelling vision of their place at the heart of people’s physical, digital and intellectual lives.

The purpose of this Independent Review is to address the fourth – to identify the opportunities and risks inherent in our current model for the resourcing and funding of public libraries; to identify under-exploited opportunities to secure a more diverse and sustainable funding base for the future and to set out a roadmap of recommendations for how this might be achieved.

Banner image: Peckham Library photographed by quisnovus, (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Maintaining the status quo for public libraries – to build collections, preserve and lend them – is now seen as a radical and frightening mission, according Ben White, PhD researcher at the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management, Bournemouth University and co-founder of KnowledgeRights21. Here he speaks to Rob Mackinlay about why not challenging the methods used by publishers to protect their content will damage not only libraries, but also threatens research and innovation.

“Publishers can’t refuse to sell paper books to libraries, but they can and do refuse to sell them eBooks. And all we want to do is to be allowed to do what we’ve always done, to keep the status quo, to be allowed to build collections, preserve and lend, so it is strange that the solution sounds a bit frightening and radical,” says Ben White who has been immersed in the legal minutiae of intellectual property across Europe for decades.

He was Head of Intellectual Property at the British Library from 2005 to 2019 and now, while researching for a PhD in AI and intellectual property, he chairs LIBER’s Copyright and Legal Matters Working Group and has an advisory position at the UK Intellectual Property Office, LACA and IFLA. He sees licensing as an existential threat to libraries, saying: “I’m serious when I say we’re looking at the death of the public library as we know it. Digital has changed the dynamics because rights holders have decided that they will not rely on copyright law in the digital age. This has undermined libraries’ position in law and their societal function. We’re just asking for those positions to be reinstated by allowing libraries to purchase, lend and preserve digital content as they have done for millennia.”

The law, or our understanding of it, is the biggest threat to a fragile status quo, Ben says: “The goal posts have been moved, sometimes by licensing and sometimes by less-than-helpful law changes, particularly in the UK.”

Which is why he, Barbara Stratton – LACA’s (UK Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance) international spokesperson, Stephen Wyber from IFLA and Vanessa Proudman from SPARC Europe, are setting up the KnowledgeRights21 programme (KR21). KR21 will operate in Europe, including the UK, and has already received €3m funding from Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin in what Ben describes as “the biggest grant ever for libraries to work on intellectual property policy.” One of KR21’s work streams will focus on eLending, including eBook prices, licensing and legislation. Other workstreams include rights retention and legislation to enable OA, making the case for an open copyright norm as exists in Japan, Singapore and the US and ensuring that the flexibilities in copyright law are not undermined by licences or technical protection measures.

Bottom of the pile

The situation in the UK is particularly bad and illustrates why KR21’s work is needed. Firstly, Ben says that the UK is the English-speaking state whose public libraries are most adversely affected by eBook pricing and restrictions: “There are two pieces of research from Monash University (Australia) and both of them found the UK having the worst eBook provision in public libraries.”

The research compared the availability of eBook titles in public libraries in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the UK and Ben said: “Not only was the UK found to have the lowest number of eBooks available, it also had the highest average cost per loan.”

It goes on to conclude that: “Overall, the UK has the least attractive licence terms, the highest prices, and the lowest availability.” 1,2

The second, separate problem in the UK is that public libraries are in a weak position, legally, to do anything about this. In 2017, when the UK amended its law and extended Public Lending Right (PLR) payments to authors for eLending– the law made it clear that only licensed eBook PLR payments could be made.

“It is a law that locks our public libraries into only being able to lend licensed eBooks,” says Ben, adding: “And it’s a particular frustration because it undermined a pre-existing European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgement that potentially opened the door for controlled digital lending. This would allow libraries to digitise physical books and lend them digitally on a one-book-one-user basis) – a freedom that remains available to all EU public libraries but, now, not the UK. Away from issues of undermining access to the work of authors, it also doesn’t help authors who will receive no PLR payments if a publisher chooses not to license to a library as we see with Hachette.

“The UK’s failure to use the ECJ ruling to push for better copyright laws and develop comprehensive eLending models underlines the importance for the global library community to invest in legal and policy activities and expertise.”

He said the lack of focus on copyright and legal policy has left the community and the public in a worse position regarding eBooks than would otherwise have been the case. He said this happened despite input into the process from many relevant UK library bodies, including the BL, CILIP and Libraries Connected, and DCMS – the responsible ministry for public libraries in England. However, he hopes KR21 will go some way to keeping the wider profession informed and coordinated in its actions.”

Dutch courage

The door to potential controlled digital lending (CDL) in European public libraries was first pushed open by the Dutch Public Library Association (VOB). It took action when the Dutch government drafted a law for the creation of a digital library lending platform – based on research that claimed that it was not lawful for Dutch libraries to lend eBooks. VOB (Vereniging van Openbare Bibliotheken) challenged this, saying it was already lawful for libraries to lend any eBook and took the case all the way to the ECJ. The final 2016 verdict was in favour of VOB.

And while the judgement appears to make CDL possible, Ben said: “There are still lots of unanswered questions, the ruling doesn’t refer to how libraries acquire the books, only that they are acquired lawfully and are downloaded from the library servers on a ‘one copy, one user’ basis in order to mimic the loan of physical books. And I’m not aware of any European-based controlled digital lending service having been launched as a result of this ruling.”

He said that the library profession in Europe could have done more to maximise their own interests as a result of this landmark case, but again he hopes KR21 will go some way to helping libraries across Europe understand their rights and the level of risk they face if publishers make legal challenges. He said that KR21 will encourage this boundary pushing activity, but added: “We see a CDL law as the best solution for libraries because it creates the right for libraries to do what they’ve done for thousands of years – which is to undertake collection development and lend in the way they should. Without being undermined by issues like DRMs, bundling, refusal to license, and exorbitantly high prices.

“So, KR21 is focusing on legislative change across Europe. In the case of eBooks the library sector should be advocating for libraries to be able to function as libraries in the digital era which means freedom to purchase, collection development and lending and that’s to be found through CDL. We are planning for our first webinar to be on eBooks and I will be talking about the ECJ ruling in the VOB case, we will have a colleague from #eBookSOS who will be talking about that excellent campaign and Chris Freeland from the Internet Archive will be talking about Controlled Digital Lending.”

Publisher watching

Ebook licensing is one of the four areas that KnowledgeRights21 will look at. Another is the closely related issue of making sure existing exemptions under copyright law are not undermined by publishers’ licensing contracts or technological protection measures (TPMs). Copyright exceptions are an area of particular interest to Ben whose PhD is a comparative study of intellectual property law in Europe, Japan and the US regarding the future of AI. He worked on a two-year European Commission funded project looking at the barriers to further uptake in Europe of data analytics and AI technologies and in 2008 he was the first person in Europe to call for a copyright exception for text and data mining.

He gives Pearson as a recent example, saying: “At the end of last year it announced that new subscribers to eBooks would not be allowed to make any copies even though UK copyright law clearly allows researchers to make copies under limitations and exceptions. Pearson has backtracked after being challenged by London South Bank University, and my understanding is that Pearson is actually changing their entire policy for universities and reinstating the ability to make copies.

“The point now is not just that this happened, but that although Pearson did the right thing, the UK Government couldn’t have enforced it. We found this out a number of years ago when LACA supported a researcher at LSE who wanted to do text and data mining of a website and the Captcha technology was preventing it.

“At that time EU law prevented the UK government from intervening. In the new EU Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive passed in 2019 that is supposed to enter into force in June, the bit of EU law that prevents governments from intervening is amended and no longer relevant thanks to European library lobbying citing the LACA supported case. However, due to Brexit, the UK will not transpose the new Directive, so its copyright law still has this contradictory provision for exceptions to TPMs.

“So, for text and data mining and analytics using AI, the government still can’t intervene to allow data mining of Pearson books if Pearson had said no. It means that a body of knowledge held by libraries and used by data miners who come to libraries for access can still be removed at any time by publishers.”

Joined up

Another factor is the extent to which these problems affect other sectors and their combined economic impact. Ben says studies have been done into the economic value of making information accessible – one suggesting that the absence of academic research to SMEs adds an average 2.2 years to product development3 – and although hard to calculate, the combined effect of eBook licensing policies on the effectiveness of government spending and the ability of science and business to innovate is likely to be significant.

Reiterating the research finding that “the UK has the least attractive licence terms, the highest prices, and the lowest availability” for public libraries, he says: “Wherever the UK stands in terms of university libraries they face eBooks at 10 times the price of paper books for a single seat licence, refusals to license, the bundling of titles and this all puts huge pressure on university library budgets.

“So, difficult decisions on acquisitions are going to be made by universities which are going to have an impact on research. If a library cannot purchase a book then an individual has to buy it. In my own case I needed a particular book for my research but OUP refused to license this book – ironically on open source software – to Bournemouth University. This was in the middle of a pandemic. So I had to either buy it for £120 or, what I actually ended up doing, buy it second hand for £60.

“Multiply me, my time, my money, across a lot disciplines and you can imagine there are significant costs and barriers created by this. It all adds up to not a very rosy picture, the antithesis of quick and open access to knowledge that theoretically digital heralds. This is why of course many in the library sector support open access and controlled digital lending.”

What next?

The law is unclear. It either needs to be tested in the courts by librarians, or to be clarified by government. Or the law must be changed. These are the challenging options that face the library sector if it wants to maintain the vanishing status quo. Despite the current problems, the complexity and the lack of resources, Ben is optimistic.

“Librarians traditionally have been loath to get involved in policy but, thanks to LACA’s entirely voluntary efforts we’ve had amazing success in the 2014 copyright reforms; the pan-European library bodies like LIBER and SPARC Europe and IFLA were also successful in the 2019 Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive. Librarians’ lobbying also led to the 2012 Orphan Works Directive, and we achieved important changes to the directives concerning public sector information. So, we have a great track record of effecting legislative change.”

He also points out that “copyright law is updated continuously. For example, Brexit caused the loss of the EU cross-border orphan works exception, so UK copyright law was amended in 2018 with effect from 1 January 2021 to remove it. We are also aware that the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), because of Brexit, is likely to do a consultation and update on the UK copyright law having left the EU. So now is a good time for people to write to MPs and the IPO and to keep up the pressure.

“The big target is for libraries to get CDL rights, but the removal of the link between PLR and licensed eBooks only would at least put the UK on a par with some other EU states, giving its public libraries the opportunity to benefit from the content of the VOB’s ECJ ruling when and if it is tested.”

Another strand that is being pursued by #eBookSOS, with some support from CILIP, and which Ben says will also be taken up by KR21 “is that this clearly is not a well-functioning market. A licensed, copyright-law-based monopoly, sometimes choosing to sell to a consumer that has to buy and sometimes choosing not to. Libraries can’t suddenly decide to change their business model – they have to buy books. So we don’t have a well-functioning market in the digital era and KR21 will encourage the relevant regulators to look into it.” IP

1. Giblin, R. et al. Available, but not accessible? Investigating publishers’ e-lending licensing practices. Information Research. 2019, 24(3), paper 837.

2. Giblin, R. et al. What can 100,000 books tell us about the international public library e-lending landscape?. Information Research. 2019, 24(3), paper 838.

3. Access to Research and Technical Information in Denmark

We asked you what you thought about the use of library fines and you didn’t disappoint. 460 of you took part and the result was less black and white than you might have expected

There were a number of recurrent themes. Those for the retention of fines thought that this was a means of maintaining fairness to other users by keeping books in circulation and retrieving books that might otherwise be lost to the library. Another view, and probably the most repeated opinion, was that fines serve as a barrier to access, especially for those on a low income. There were questions about the loss of fines for income generation and the use of fines to offset running costs, some respondents offered solutions such as fine amnesties or methods that didn’t involve a financial transaction such as freezing an individual’s account until the book was returned.

Here is a representative selection of your thoughts and concerns.

“All fines do is scare people, especially those on low-incomes from accessing the library. There should be no barriers to accessing books and other resources but a replacement cost for books when lost or damaged.”

“Adding to library funds is not the key issue, and fines should not be counted upon to top up budgets. Their role is to encourage considerate behaviour: if borrowers can be influenced to return library materials punctually, other users benefit from them.”

“I've never liked the idea of charging fines and then relying on them as an income stream. It affects the disadvantaged in society the most. It’s outrageous that the government has not invested in libraries as it should, but fines penalise the poorest the most.”

“Fines should never exceed the cost of the book.”

“Fine amnesties used to be a great way to regather lost books.”

“If no fines some people wouldn't bother to return books.”

“Better to automatically renew items unless they are required by another user.”

“Many public library services rely on fines income to offset running costs. Abolishing fines would require councils to increase funding for libraries which may be difficult to achieve. In one authority that I worked in the total fines income each year was more than the running costs of a small branch library.”

“Children have little control over the return of their library books and can be unfairly penalised. Equally low income and chaotic households can also be penalised.”

“I think also that the use of the term 'fine' should be discouraged and 'late return charge' used instead.”

“Children have little control over the return of their library books and can be unfairly penalised. Equally low income and chaotic households can also be penalised.”

The majority of those polled disagree with the concept of fining borrowers. There are some compelling arguments from other voters. There is no black and white answer to this question, the resulting discussion points are nuanced and multifarious. While most participants acknowledged some of the principles of having a fines system, ultimately the dominant opinion was that free access to libraries should be the norm.

CILIP is pleased to announce that Bolinda UK Ltd, the creators of BorrowBox, has joined forces with CILIP as a supporter for Libraries Week 2021 alongside Nielsen Book. Libraries Week is a celebration of the nation’s much-loved libraries with a focus this year on celebrating how libraries support active and engaged communities. Bolinda provides public libraries with the number one solution for eBooks and eAudiobooks, delivering the best range of UK and International publishers directly to library users through BorrowBox, your library in one app.

Libraries Week, organised by CILIP, is a nationwide showcase of the amazing work done by libraries and librarians throughout the country. This year Libraries Week will take place between the 4th and 10th October and will focus on the central role that libraries play in their community as a driver for inclusion, sustainability, social mobility and community cohesion.

Helen Bower, Commercial Director at Bolinda, commented; “The Bolinda team are continually impressed by the strength and resilience of library staff, who have pivoted their services so effectively to meet the changing needs of their local communities. We are therefore especially delighted to be sponsoring Libraries Week this year, to help celebrate and promote the role of libraries and their increasingly essential digital collections.”

Nick Poole, Chief Executive of CILIP added; “Libraries are uniquely placed, in the heart of our communities, to support not only economic recovery but helping to build stronger and more resilient communities. As we celebrate the active role of libraries in providing platforms for their communities this Libraries Week, CILIP is delighted to be supported by Bolinda who go above and beyond to ensure they are providing libraries, their users and the wider community with access to top quality, entertaining digital content and the very best customer support.”

Join in the #LibrariesWeek conversation and find out more at www.librariesweek.org.uk.

CILIP welcomes the recognition of libraries as essential services and library staff as ‘key workers’ in the Government’s pandemic response, demonstrating the vital role public libraries have to play in our national recovery.

Although many library services have been ‘open’ to some extent since the introduction of new Regulations in January, we welcome the inclusion of libraries in ‘Stage 2’ of the roadmap, enabling them to re-open partial services no earlier than the 12th April.

We further welcome steps by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to provide clarification of the precise services that libraries will be able to provide in this stage, working with our colleagues at Libraries Connected.

5 ‘key principles’ for a successful re-opening of public libraries:

1. Safety first

We want to ensure that libraries are welcoming, inclusive and safe for both library staff and the public. As part of this, Local Authorities will want to ensure that staff have access to COVID-19 vaccinations as a priority alongside other ‘COVID-secure’ measures.

2. Embrace the digital

Libraries have demonstrated their tremendous potential for digital engagement, e-learning and e-reading support as well as access to digital public services. We will need to work together to preserve these gains and ensure that they become a permanent part of the ‘digital library offer’.

3. Spaces and places

Looking ahead, our national network of trusted, welcoming and inclusive library spaces are the perfect platform for social and economic recovery and the regeneration of our High Streets. We need to work together with Local Government to protect and modernise library spaces as an essential infrastructure for growth.

4. Catching up

We can work together with our colleagues in schools and colleges to help a generation of learners make up for time lost due to COVID-19. We need Government to ensure that public libraries have the resources and capacity to make a real difference to learning beyond the classroom.

5. Build back better

The pandemic has demonstrated the vital role of local libraries in connecting and supporting their communities. We want to look ahead with optimism and ambition to a future in which libraries help everyone, everywhere to achieve their potential. We encourage central and local Government to take the opportunity to invest in libraries to help every member of society to ‘build back better’

Public library staff are an integral part of library services and arguably its most vital asset. Our new research Making a Difference: Libraries, Lockdown and Looking Ahead has made this, among other things, abundantly clear.

There can be no doubt that public library services had a positive and supportive role to play during the Covid-19 lockdown. Our representative public poll of 2,196 adults across the UK reveals that of the 3 in 10 UK adults (an estimated 15 million adults) who turned to library services in lockdown, 68% said it provided them with useful information, 64% said it had a positive impact on their wellbeing, 63% said it helped them (or their children) avoid boredom and 60% said it helped them feel less alone.

Services made an increased number of e-resources available, developed new digital activities and events for people of all a

ges, conducted welfare calls, delivered books and tech, and repurposed library buildings where possible. Only, services don’t develop and deliver themselves; and the research shows how staff innovated and flexed to meet emerging needs in their communities in challenging times. Meanwhile, staff that were redeployed to other local authority services worked hard to support their communities through Covid-19 or Shielding phone lines, food or other parcel distribution, care homes support and so much more.

In our staff survey, we drew on CILIP’s Professional Skills and Knowledge Base framework to gauge which skills, if any, came to the fore during lockdown. Unsurprisingly, we found that staff within services drew heavily on their adaptability and innovation skill set. We also found a massive increase in those who developed digital skills during lockdown.

In terms of those that were redeployed, we found that some of the specialist outreach services implemented by local authorities in lockdown required or mirrored the core skill set that library staff deployed day-to-day pre-Covid-19. For example, around 90% of redeployed staff drew on empathy and general customer service skills, whilst 81% drew on their organising and managing knowledge and information skills.

Research findings also revealed how those that remained in services had less opportunity to draw on pre-existing skill sets relating to customer service, identifying vulnerable people and supporting literacy. This begs the question of whether there is a limit to what can be achieved digitally – at least, in terms of how digital offers were conceived of and delivered during lockdown. It also perhaps points to how the library building is an outreach service in itself: a space where staff can proactively identify and approach those who might otherwise be reticent to approach a support service.

Our report outlines key areas where public library services have huge potential to support individuals and communities as they navigate the ongoing impact of Covid-19 and lockdown – and eight action areas to ensure services are enabled to fulfil that potential. Given the centrality of staff to the service, it is perhaps unsurprising that one of these action areas is valuing and investing in staff, and another is building positive organisational culture than supports leadership at all levels. It is a matter of increasing urgency and importance that these – and other areas for action – are addressed in order to enable public library services to fulfil their potential and deliver for the individuals and communities they serve.

The National Shelf Service, a daily YouTube broadcast featuring book recommendations from professional librarians and run by CILIP and the Youth Libraries Group, has announced a special World Book Night series of broadcasts. The special programme will feature a live bedtime story reading from award winning poet and author Joseph Coelho at 7pm for World Book Night Reading hour.

Run by The Reading Agency, World Book Night will see people coming together on the 23rd April to celebrate the difference that reading makes to people’s lives. The National Shelf Service’s special day of programming will feature ten broadcasts, one every hour, starting at 11am, with eBook recommendations for children and young people from professional librarians. The celebrations will be supported online by the Youth Libraries Group Twitter account (@youthlibraries), who will be answering questions and giving reading recommendations all day under the #DrBook hashtag.

Stepping into Leadership covers a range of topics including creativity and innovation; influencing skills and power; systems and complexity; leading transformation; and continuing development. They draw on non-academic sources and input from outside the library sector, yet are clearly framed to resonate within the public library context.

Speaking about the National Shelf Service, Joseph Coelho said, “"In all uncertain time books provide not only an escape but also a means to find hope, companionship and comfort. As always libraries are essential in providing much needed access. The National Shelf Service is a wonderful reminder that during the current difficulties books can still be borrowed from your local library digitally and with them access to a universe of comfort, companionship and hope.”

Jake Hope, Chair of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards and children’s librarian, commented; “We are delighted to have Joseph Coelho on board for the World Book Night celebrations, he has been an incredible supporter of libraries for a number of years now, both through his library joining marathon last year and his commitment to young people and literacy. World Book Night is an amazing national celebration of books and reading and we are very proud to able to mark it in this way.”

Alison Brumwell, Chair of the CILIP Youth Libraries Group, added; “We know that this is a difficult time for many families and the Youth Libraries Group is pleased to be able to offer support and guidance for anyone looking to discover great reads. The #DrBook service is here to help connect readers with a world of diverse reading experiences.”

Subscribe to the National Shelf Service here: https://www.cilip.org.uk/nationalshelfservice.

The full programme for World Book Night is available here.

Notes for Editors

The National Shelf Service is a daily YouTube broadcast featuring ebook recommendations from professional librarians. Launched by CILIP and the Youth Libraries Group the daily videos will focus on helping children and families discover new, diverse reading experiences. The broadcast will run Monday to Friday at 11.00am each day at https://www.cilip.org.uk/nationalshelfservice.

CILIP is the professional association for librarians and information professionals. Our mission is to help our profession change lives through information, reading and literacy. More information about our work is available from http://www.cilip.org.uk

CILIP is responsible for the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards, the oldest and most prestigious children’s book awards. The awards are overseen by the CILIP Youth Libraries Group which includes professional librarians with experience in supporting children and young people to become readers. For more information about the Awards, see http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk

World Book Night is run by The Reading Agency, a national charity that tackles life’s big challenges through the proven power of reading. World Book Night brings people from all backgrounds together for one reason – to inspire others to read more. Organisations and individuals hold events up and down the country to celebrate the difference that reading makes to our lives, from book themed parties at home to books swaps in offices. Organisations can volunteer to hand out books from our annual list to people who don’t read for pleasure or own books. www.worldbooknight.org

The National Shelf Service is supported by Nielsen Book, OverDrive, RB Digtial, Bolinda and Libraries Connected.

Surrey County Council has become the latest major employer to join the Premium tier of CILIP’s Employer Partner scheme.

Surrey County Council operates nearly 60 libraries across Surrey and will be working with CILIP to develop and support a workforce that delivers a first-class service to the residents of the county.

CILIP CEO Nick Poole said “I am delighted to welcome Surrey County Council as a Premium Employer Partner. It is no secret that public libraries have had an extremely tough few years, but the service they provide is absolutely invaluable to our society and it is only made possible by the dedication and expertise of their staff. We are really looking forward to working with Surrey County Council to further develop and support their already excellent workforce.

The CILIP Employer Partner scheme is not just about supporting individual employers, although we have excellent resources to do that, it is also about coming together as a sector to nurture the talent we have and advocate for the ideals and ethics that are at the heart of our profession.”

Sue Wills, Libraries & Heritage Manager Surrey County Council, said “We are very excited to be working with CILIP as a Premium Employer Partner. We are immensely proud of the work we do at Surrey County Council and by partnering with CILIP we hope to further drive the development of our service by supporting our workforce though schemes like CILIP Chartership and sharing best practice.”

The Employer Partner scheme was launched by CILIP towards the end of 2018. Employers are offered a package to support the development of their workforce including training needs analysis, workshops on professional registration, free webinars for all staff, account management, strategic networking opportunities, inclusive places at CILIP’s annual employer forum, individual membership packages including Leaders Network membership, discounts on training, recruitment and conferences and more.

Visit our Employer Partner Scheme page or contact Andrew Grave (andrew.grave@cilip.org.uk) if you would like to find out more about the programme.

About the Library

The 2nd Air Division USAAF Memorial Library is a unique organisation in the UK – it is both a war memorial and a public library. One of our challenges is very simply explaining what we are to our British audience because the concept of a memorial library is so quintessentially American.

The 2nd Air Division USAAF Memorial Trust is an international partnership now in its 75th year & the library it supports has been operational since 1963.

USAAF is the United States Army Air Forces, the 2nd Air were a division based predominantly in Norfolk and Suffolk during WWII. On their departure from England in 1945 there were many men missing and over 6,000 confirmed dead. The officers of the Division came together to establish the Memorial Trust to honour these men and to celebrate the special relationship between the US personnel and the people of Norfolk.

The veterans fundraised and entered into a partnership with the local authorities in Norfolk which is still going strong today. The Memorial Trust were instrumental in supporting the local authorities to open, in 1963, the Norwich Central Library in which the first American Room was located.

A devastating fire in 1994 destroyed this Central library and The Memorial Library has since 2001 occupied space inside the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library at the Forum – a millennium project building.

The Memorial Trust collections can be divided into sub-collections.

• The Library Stock Collection
• The 2nd Air Division Archive Collection
• The 2nd Air Division Object Collection

We are currently in the midst of a transformation project, which will see the library closed for 8 weeks in spring 2020 & reopened with a new brand identity & up to date interpretation.

Stakeholders Versus Audience

We occupy a somewhat unusual position in that many of our stakeholders are people who will never physically visit our library. This is of course common for large national institutions but quite different for a local library in a regional city. Our stakeholders also have real tangible life connections to our history. We need to sensitively address the concerns of those individuals and families while also meeting the needs the c.48,000 visitor who come through the library doors annually. As part of our transformation project we have carried out audience engagement work & included local users and non-users as well as remote stakeholders in online surveys and interviews conducted over telephone/skype.

Reaching Across the Pond

We work very closely with the Heritage League of the 2nd Air Division – an organisation for veterans & their families in the USA. We welcome the League to Norwich every 5 years for their annual convention. In June this year, we welcomed 60 delegates for a weeklong trip. The Trust Librarian also attends reunions in the USA bi annually. In the intervening years we update the League on our activity through their Heritage Herald newsletter and we welcome submissions from them to our regular email updates. The opportunities provided by meeting face to face cannot be over emphasised, even if it is only a rare opportunity.

UK/USA local partners

We are unique but we are certainly not the only organisation who work with American collections or collaborate on culture across the Atlantic. We work closely with partners like the American Air Museum in IWM Duxford and the Cambridge American Cemetery & Memorial.

Last year the most successful lecture delivered in library was delivered by Professor Susan Schulten of the University of Denver who was on a British Library speaking tour of the UK. We collaborated with the Eccles Centre for American Studies at the BL and our local partners the American Studies Department of the UEA. Finding other organisations with similar interest in the Americas has further enhanced our reach across the Atlantic and provides greater resilience & robustness in our programming.

Community based organisations are also key – we are developing our partnership currently with the Daughters of the American Revolution who while USA headquartered have two UK based chapters.

The meaning of words

We are known as various shortened versions of our official name – the 2nd Air Division USAAF Memorial Library. In recent audience engagement work at the University of East Anglia students told us that our name suggested some type of corporate sponsorship – they wondered if a division of the US Army had simply paid to have their name associated with our library. Going forward we will be simplifying our name & ensuring that we are a recognisable brand. Our local audience simply don’t understand a memorial building in quite the same way as our overseas audience.

Digital Engagement

Many of the veteran’s families wish to use our archive in particular for research into their own family history. Until May 2015 this necessitated a huge amount of research assistance from the library team. In that month a new digital archive was launched, funded by the legacy donation of a veteran. This has proved to be by far the most successful and far reaching of our online sites. The archive is deposited at our partner organisation the Norfolk Record Office & they manage this element of our digital presence. In the past the opportunities provided by digital to reach remote audiences led to an over proliferation of sites connected to the library. We are currently in the process of reducing this from five to three sites. Our social media presence is across Facebook and Twitter but also provides a challenge to us – how do we balance the information needs of our American audience with our wish to market our stock and events to local people. We are still working on this!

An American Presence

The Memorial Trust has a ring-fenced investment that is to provide for an American presence in the library. For many years this was in the form of a Fulbright Librarian who was appointed by Fulbright in the USA and did not apply directly to or have an interview with the Trust and Library team in Norfolk. It was decided in 2008 that the library wished to have a greater input in selection and so the University of East Anglia American Scholarship was born. Each year we offer payment towards tuition fees for two American nationals registered on a PhD programme at the university and in return, they get involved in the libraries events programme. In recent years, a number of factors have threatened the viability of this scholarship scheme – a reduction in the number of American students being the main challenge. We have been working with the UEA to redesign this opportunity & are now returning at least in part to the model of selecting individuals while they are still in the USA. We will offer a three-year scholarship opportunity for one student & will interview via Skype while the students are in the PhD application process. The development of technology to conduct interviews online is enabling this new process although of course time zones remain the same and so we may need to be flexible in our scheduling!

About the Author:

Orla Kennelly joined the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library as Trust Librarian in October 2018.

Orla holds a BA in History and Politics, an MA in Public Affairs and Political Communication and is currently studying by distance learning for a postgraduate qualification in Information and Library Studies with Aberystwyth University Wales. In 2017, Orla was selected for the Clore Foundation Emerging Leader in the Arts scheme. Orla is a member of CILIP, the Library and Information Association and the UK Museums Association.

She can be reached at: Orla.kennelly@norfolk.gov.uk

A new campaign, led by CILIP, the library and information association, is calling on politicians to put local communities at the heart of their election campaigns. The #VoteLibraries campaign enables members of the public pledge their support for their local library services and put pressure on the candidates in their area to commit to sustainable, long term investment for local library services.

The campaign is supported by the recent joint report from CILIP and The Big Issue; Public Libraries: The case for support, which draws on research and evidence from the British Library, Carnegie UK Trust, CIPFA and others to highlights the positive impact of libraries on their users, communities, locality and local economy.

At VoteLibraries.uk, library supporters across the UK can sign the pledge to #VoteLibraries, download social media elements, posters and campaign materials to use in their local area, and email their local candidates to encourage them to show their support. The campaign is a core component of Libraries Deliver, a joint outreach and advocacy initiative from CILIP and the EveryLibrary Institute, a US-based not-for-profit organisation who have been campaigning for public libraries since 2013.

Nick Poole, Chief Executive of CILIP, said; “we want to send a strong message to anyone standing the in this election, after years of public sector austerity, the time for investment in our public services is now. Libraries play a vital role at the heart of every community across the country and the public want to see their elected officials standing up for their communities.

“Although many see this as a ‘one-issue’ election, we are not a one issue country. Whatever happens in the coming weeks and months, the library’s role in promoting inclusive economic growth, supporting local businesses and combatting loneliness and social isolation isn’t going to change and we need a government that recognises and supports that.”

John Chrastka, Executive Director, The EveryLibrary Institute, added; “In the US, the #VoteLibraries campaign has encouraged voters to push for real change and concrete actions from their politicians. This general election is the right time for library supporters to make their wishes heard. Talking to candidates, whether incumbent or challengers, sets the stage for proper library funding in the next government. VoteLibraries.uk creates a message-framework and a set of digital tools that make it easy for voters across the UK – inside and outside the library sector - to make libraries a priority.”

In addition to the public campaign, CILIP will also be engaging directly with the major parties to put pressure on them to include support for libraries in their Manifesto commitments as well as encouraging existing and prospective MPs to pledge to support libraries in their constituencies.

Press contact
Gemma Wood
Gemma.wood@cilip.org.uk
020 7255 0668
07747 219 981

Notes for Editors
Find out more at http://votelibraries.uk

1. CILIP

CILIP, the library and information association, is the leading voice for the information, knowledge management and library profession. Our goal is to put information and library skills and professional values at the heart of a democratic, equal and prosperous society. CILIP is a registered charity, no. 313014.
www.cilip.org.uk

2. LibrariesDeliver

LibrariesDeliver is dedicated to addressing real challenges to library funding by organizing and focusing support from people across England and the UK. The campaign is a joint initiative from The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) and the EveryLibrary Institute to raise awareness and make a meaningful, long-term impact on the future of library funding by connecting people from across England and giving them the tools and resources to support their libraries.
3. The EveryLibrary Institute

The EveryLibrary Institute is a US Based 501c3, non-profit organisation, dedicated to enhancing public and political support for library funding and the visible role of librarians in society. The core work of the EveryLibrary Institute is to advance a research, training, and programmatic agenda that strengthens the public policy and funding framework for libraries and librarians in the future.
http://everylibraryinstitute.org

4. Public Libraries: The case for support

Public Libraries: The Case for Support is a joint report from CILIP and The Big Issue, launched at Parliament last month. The report draws on research and evidence from the British Library, Carnegie UK Trust, CIPFA and others to highlight the transformative impact of public libraries on:

• Place-shaping and inclusive economic growth
• Education, informal learning and skills
• Health, wellbeing and social care
• Digital skills and getting online
• Enterprise and business support
• Poverty prevention, social mobility and social isolation

Download the report here: The Case for Support

Are you helping people to make or manage a Universal Credit claim?

CILIP is working with Child Poverty Action Group to investigate what impact Universal Credit - a ‘digital-first’ benefit that requires the vast majority of claimants to make and manage their claim online - is having on public library services across the UK.

We are conducting this research because the Department for Work and Pensions is encouraging people to use the library to make and manage a claim if they do not have internet access at home and/or they need support with digital skills.

To gather evidence for this project we invite frontline library workers to tell us about the support and assistance you are providing to Universal Credit claimants, and your preparedness for doing so.

This information will supplement data about the impact Universal Credit is having on the sector that we have invited Heads of Service to provide through a longer survey.

You can share your experiences by completing this short survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/VG7ZWGR

Gallwch chi gwblhau'r arolwg hwn yn Gymraeg/you can complete this survey in Welsh:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/VGMVRGK

A report of our findings will be published in January.

If you have any questions about this research, please contact Yvonne Morris, CILIP’s Policy Manager (Diversity and Inclusion) on 020 7255 0629 or email yvonne.morris@cilip.org.uk

This survey closes on December 24 2019.

At a Parliamentary event at the House of Lords today, The Big Issue and Library Champion Bobby Seagull will join forces with CILIP, the UK library association, to make the case for long-term sustainable funding for libraries.

The event, which will be attended by Members of Parliament, Member of the House of Lords and senior Civil Servants, will focus on the launch of two new campaign documents:

• A new joint CILIP/The Big Issue report Public Libraries: The Case for Support, which brings together for the first time the best currently-available evidence of the positive impact of libraries on their users, communities, locality and local economy, alongside stories from library users about their experiences and;
• A new 10-point Manifesto for Libraries, produced by Library Champion Bobby Seagull and CILIP, setting out the call for Government to recognise the wider value of libraries and librarians in areas such as health, education, business and policymaking.

Public Libraries: The Case for Support draws on research and evidence from the British Library, Carnegie UK Trust, CIPFA and others to highlight the transformative impact of public libraries on:

• Place-shaping and inclusive economic growth
• Education, informal learning and skills
• Health, wellbeing and social care
• Digital skills and getting online
• Enterprise and business support
• Poverty prevention, social mobility and social isolation

The report is further strengthened by personal statements from public library users about the transformative impact of libraries, books and reading on their lives, using the hashtag #WhyBooksMatter.

Speaking on the day of the launch event, CILIP CEO Nick Poole commented, “We could not be more delighted to be working with Lord Bird and his colleagues at The Big Issue and with our tireless Library Champion Bobby Seagull to bring the case for long-term funding for libraries to Parliament.

We welcome the news of the Government’s commitment to a new £250m investment in the Culture Investment Fund, of which 50% is to be allocated to library and museum sector development. However, the overall financial situation for Local Government remains precarious. We must ensure that in addition to this welcome new investment, we see a firm commitment to ongoing revenue funding through Councils in the forthcoming Queens Speech.”

Chair of the Libraries APPG Gill Furniss commented, “Libraries and librarians make a powerful difference in many sectors, including health, education, local services and supporting local business and enterprise. Today’s event is a celebration of the positive impact of public libraries and a recognition that we need long-term sustainable investment to secure ensure that libraries are there for the many, not just the few.”

Lord Bird MBE, co-chair of the Libraries APPG, commented, “Public libraries are palaces of the people, supporting reading, literacy and learning at every stage of people’s lives. #WhyBooksMatter has been a brilliant opportunity to hear from the people who matter most - the public - about why they value their libraries. I’m proud that The Big Issue and CILIP have joined forces to create this new report, giving politicians and policy-makers the evidence needed to make the case for further investment in our much-loved local libraries.”

Library Champion Bobby Seagull commented, “Last week, we celebrated Libraries Week with tens of thousands of people up and down the country getting involved in digital activities in their library. This week, I am proud to bring the case for long-term sustainable funding for libraries in all sectors to Westminster. We want to inspire and enthuse politicians of all parties with the amazing, life-changing work that libraries do across the length and breadth of the nation, every single day.”

Steve Potash of Rakuten OverDrive commented, "OverDrive is proud to be the sole corporate sponsor of this important new report from CILIP and The Big Issue. OverDrive is dedicated to "a world enlightened by reading" and works every day to aid the essential mission of libraries and librarians to promote literacy, education, and digital skills. We urge politicians to get behind this Case for Support to secure the long- term future of this critical sector."

CILIP is encouraging everyone who supports their local library to sign up to become a Library Champion like Bobby Seagull at LibrariesDeliver.uk, the new advocacy platform for public libraries in England.

Read the full report at: www.librariesdeliver.uk/report

1. CILIP
CILIP, the library and information association, is the leading voice for the information, knowledge management and library profession. Our goal is to put information and library skills and professional values at the heart of a democratic, equal and prosperous society. CILIP is a registered charity, no. 313014. www.cilip.org.uk

2. Rakuten OverDrive
OverDrive is the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools worldwide. Named one of PCMag’s Best Free Software of 2019 and one of TIME's Best Apps of 2018, the award-winning Libby is the "one-tap reading app" for libraries. We are dedicated to “a world enlightened by reading” by delivering the industry’s largest catalogue of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and other digital media to a growing network of 43,000 libraries and schools in 76 countries. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA and owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten. www.overdrive.com

3. Bobby Seagull
Bobby Seagull is a mathematician, teacher and writer. He appeared on the television programme University Challenge in 2017, and in 2018 on Monkman & Seagull’s Genius Guide to Britain. The second BBC Monkman & Seagull's Genius Guide series is out later this autumn. His second book, The Life-Changing Magic of Numbers, was published by Virgin Books in 2018. View Bobby’s 10-point Manifesto for Libraries at www.librariesdeliver.uk/seagull.