Memorandum submitted by the Library Association
INTRODUCTION
1. The Library Association welcomes the
opportunity to submit evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport
Committee. Much has happened in the library and information sector
in the last few years and now is a good time to take stock and
reflect on the future. The Association has covered all the areas
indentified in your invitation to submit evidence, and has added
some other topics we feel currently of especial importance.
2. Our response covers those library areas
where DCMS has a responsibility as these are also the areas the
Select Committee will want to subject to scrutiny. However it
is worth emphasizing at the outset that most government departments
have library and information service responsibilities even if
they are not as aware of it as the Association might like. The
Department for Education and Employment has a responsibility for
library provision in schools, colleges and higher education institutions;
the Department of Health for library and information provision
in the National Health Service, including the National Electronic
Library for Health; the Home Office for libraries in prisions
and also a general responsibility for voluntary and community
organisations, a number of which have highly developed information
services; the Department for Trade and Industry for information
services in industry, business and commerce and the importance
of "knowledge management" in promoting a competitive
economy; the Ministry of Defence for a library service for the
armed forces; and the Foreign Office for the library and information
service provided by the British Council. In addition each government
department will normally have a specialist library and information
service for ministers, civil servants and others, and both Houses
of Parliament also have well-regarded libraries.
3. The United Kingdom is a library rich
nation. The totality of the resources represented by libraries
in all sectors, and the skills possessed by librarians and information
professionals, need to be harnessed to help Britain achieve the
objectives set by the Government in lifelong learning, creativity
and innovation, competitiveness, social inclusion and the creation
of a society where all can aspire to a high quality of life. "Joined
up thinking" is as important across library sectors as it
is in other areas of life. Our evidence will reflect this vision
in the more detailed points below.
Access to Libraries
4. Britain is fortunate in having a network
of public libraries run by 208 public library authorities with
4000 branch and central libraries, 650 mobile libraries, and outlets
in a further 15,500 institutions(old people's homes, youth centres,
community groups etc). Just over 60 per cent of the population,
or74 per cent of households, visit a public library at least once
each year, and half of that number are regular users visiting
a public library once a fortnight or more. In 1998-99 over 344
million visits were made to UK public libraries and they lent
over 460 million books and 37 million audio-visual items and dealt
with61 million enquiries. The UK still enjoys a reputation of
being a world leader in public library provision, although the
Scandinavian countries now invest more in their services.
5. Whilst stressing that the British public
library service is a success story, however there are also many
problems which need to be addressed:
Combating social exclusion
6. Over 60 per cent of the population, and
74 per cent of all households, visit a public library each year,
and half of those will be regular users visiting the library once
a fortnight or more. All age groups use the library service, with
especially high usage by those aged between six and 16 years.
Similarly all socio-economic groups are users of public libraries
roughly in proportion to their presence in the population, although
heavier use of the facilities and services is made by the A's,
B's and C's. These are impressive statistics but they conceal
problem areas. No national statistics are kept on use by members
of ethnic or cultural minorities. Research, notably that by the
Comedia consultancy and Sheffield University, has reported positive
attitudes by ethnic and cultural minorities to the library service
and provided examples of library services successfully engaging
with minority communities in their area. However research by Warwick
University (Public Libraries, Ethnic Diversity and Citizenship,
University of Warwick, 1998) concluded that "The public library
service has not yet managed to engage fully with ethnically diverse
communities" and "The public library is not yet central
to or sufficiently supportive of the social and community networks
established by ethnic minorities".
7. The truth is that the best of public
libraries are excellent but that for most much improvement, development
and investment is required if they are genuinely to meet the needs
of these communities. As Francois Matarossa of Comedia put it:
"The positive evidence brought together here (of the social
impact of public libraries) is like the report of a scouting party,
well in advance of the main convoy, though some might argue that
even this represents just a glimpse of the impact libraries could
have" (Learning Development: an Introduction to the Social
Impact of Public Libraries. Comedia, 1998). The Library Association
therefore welcomes the current work of DCMS on developing best
practice guidelines on social inclusion for sectors within its
ambit and also the Social Exclusion Unit's programme in developing
a national strategy for neighbourhood renewal and the 18 policy
action teams that are supporting this initiative. As an Association
we accept we have a role in ensuring that the needs of minority
communities and deprived neighbourhoods are kept at the top of
the public library agenda.
Services and Facilities for the Disabled
8. Much the same can be said about library
services for disabled people as about services for cultural and
ethnic minorities. However there have been particularly welcome
developments in services for blind and partially sighted people.
A national agency—Share the Vision—now exists to promote
and develop public library services for the blind and the Library
and Information Commission has earmarked £200,000 a year
to develop these services further. The Share the Vision model
may be useful to adopt for other disabled communities, with the
deaf and hard of hearing being an obvious candidate for such treatment.
Naturally library services are covered by the Disability Discrimination
Act and Part 3 covering the delivery of services came into effect
on 1 October 1999. It is to be hoped that this will act as a spur
to local authorities to make all their services, including public
library services, more accessible to people with disabilities.
This is something the Library Association will want to monitor
closely in future.
Services to Rural Areas
9. Public libraries are one of a few agencies
which serve all parts of rural England. They therefore play an
essential part in helping to overcome rural isolation and address
some of the problems of rural poverty. The last formal study of
library provision in rural areas was in 1993 (Library and Information
Provision in Rural Areas in England and Wales. HMSO, 1993). Many
of the key recommendations still stand today: the right of people
in rural areas to receive library services of equivalent quality
to those based in urban centres; the need for partnership with
other organisations to deliver effective services in rural areas;
and the need to use ICT creatively and effectively in delivering
services. The problems of rural isolation and poverty tend to
attract less attention than deprived areas in the cities. Budgetary
constraints on local authorities have often meant that services
have been cut rather than enhanced. As an Association we are particularly
keen that rural areas should benefit from some of the recent government
initiatives; that the Government (or the Museums, Libraries and
Archives Council on its behalf) should ensure that the People's
Network (see below, paragraph 14) is rolled out not only in the
cities and suburbia but also in rural areas where historically
short opening hours and small amounts of public space pose particular
challenges for the People's Network; that the role of libraries
is examined in the promised White Paper on Rural Areas; and that
Regional Development Agencies appreciate the potential contribution
of library services to regenerating rural areas.
Opening Times and Library Closures
10. Continuing budgetary pressures have
meant that virtually all public library authorities have considered
closing libraries or substantially reducing opening hours. Research
at Sheffield University (Access to Public Libraries: The Impact
of Opening Hours Reductions and Closures 1986-97. British Library,
Research & Innovation Centre, 1998) revealed that between
1986-87 and 1996-97 112 of 128 public library authorities in England
and Wales had either closed libraries or reduced opening hours
or both during the period, mainly for financial reasons. This
included the closure of 179 libraries by 57 authorities (with
a mobile library replacement in 70 per cent of cases) whilst 100
authorities reduced opening hours, with evening and weekend opening
hours being the most vulnerable. Later national statistics up
to 1998-99 confirm that the number of branches and opening hours
continue to be reduced. There are now only 15 libraries in the
UK open for60 hours or more a week (this would mean evening opening
Monday to Friday and Saturday opening), whereas 20 years ago there
were over 200. This is in sharp contrast to supermarkets and other
retailers who are now approaching 24 hour opening. One brighter
point is that an increasing number of library services are experimenting
with Sunday opening, and most library services try through consultation
to make opening hours as sensitive to the needs of the local community
as possible, even if the opening hours are reduced. There are
also library services beginning to offer virtual library services
via the World Wide Web.
11. The Sheffield research also looked at
the impact of closures in case study areas. It showed that between
8.3 per cent and 29 per cent of users lost access to a public
library entirely in the case study areas, and that for young children
the loss was highest with loss of access being as high as 67 per
cent in one case. Amongst the conclusions of the report are that
"children and young people, the elderly and the unwaged are
particularly vulnerable groups of users when a library closes
and often have more difficulty gaining access to alternatives".
The impact of this on social inclusion, literacy and learning
and community identity are self-evident.
12. Reductions in opening hours and closures
are indicative of a lack of proper investment in the core infrastructure
of the public library service at a time when additional opening
hours are needed to make effective use of the People's Network.
A similar point could be made about bookfunds—in England
they rose in monetary terms by only 3 per cent between 1987-88
and 1997-98 compared to an increase in the Bookseller Price Index
of 50 per cent. It is scarcely surprising that book issues fell
by 21 per cent in the same period. Core funding of the public
library service is the responsibility of the relevant local authorities
and is supported by central government through the Revenue Support
Grant. It is a matter of some concern that libraries are part
of the EPCS (Environment, Protection and Cultural Services) block
within the Revenue Support Grant which is planned to rise only
7 per cent during the period covered by the Comprehensive Review
when inflation has been forecast at 7.5 per cent—it is one
of the few areas recommended for a cut at a time when the People's
Network requires additional investment. The Association believes
that this should be rectified in the next Spending Review and
more account taken of the damage such cuts do to core government
programmes on literacy, lifelong learning and social inclusion.
The Building Infrastructure
13. The other part of core expenditure is
capital expenditure. It is interesting that 6.7 per cent of those
authorities which had closed libraries identified "(building)
structural reasons" as one of the reasons for closing a branch
library. The Society of Chief Librarians undertook a capital needs
survey in 1994 and identified £612 million of capital work
that needed to be undertaken in England and Wales over a five
year period simply to keep the building stock up to a reasonable
standard. It is clear that capital expenditure has not reached
anything like that level. Buildings are not only likely to appear
shabby and unappealing, but without refurbishment may not be suitable
for cabling or housing ICT workstations and in some cases may
even pose health and safety risks. The comparative lack of local
authority capital financing has been exacerbated by the fact that
local authorities will want to maximise returns on their limited
capital funding and seek to lever in other money such as Lottery
funding. However, unlike leisure centres or arts centres, libraries
as such are not eligible for Lottery funding (unless they are
housed in listed buildings). Therefore libraries can often lose
out twice: from the Lottery itself, and from local authorities
wanting to use their capital funding to attract Lottery funding.
The Association has long argued for the relaxation of Lottery
rules to include the refurbishment of existing libraries or the
building of new libraries. We also hope that the proposals for
new ways of allocating capital to local authorities take into
account the requirement of libraries.
THE ROLE
OF LIBRARIES
IN THE
PROMOTION OF
ACCESS TO
AND AWARENESS
OF NEW
TECHNOLOGY
14. The Government have a policy that, where
practicable, every public library should be connected to the National
Grid for Learning by 2002. In the case of public libraries, museums
and archives the new network is know as "The People's Network".
It is pleasing to record that perhaps the most extensive capital
investment programme in public libraries ever has been put in
place to realise this vision. This includes:
— £20 million to train all public
library staff to appropriate standards in ICT skills;
— £50 million to develop content
for the People's Network; and
— £200 million to develop the
infrastructure of the People's Network, promote local Grids for
Learning and address problems of social exclusion by providing
access to ICT facilities.
15. The above is to be financed by the New
Opportunities Fund of the National Lottery and the funding will
soon start to come on stream. In addition to this £9 million
has already been made available from the DCMS/Wolfson Awards (over
the past three years) to fund exemplar ICT network projects in
public libraries. Public libraries should also be able to bid
for funding from the DfEE Capital Modernisation Fund worth £470
million established to set up 700 Learning Centres in England.
Other funding opportunities from DTI, the Single Regeneration
Budget, European Union and other sources may also be available
to a number of authorities. A Networking Office has been established
in the Library and Information Commission to oversee the roll
out of the People's Network and in April this work will be inherited
by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLAC).
16. This funding marks a recognition by
the Government that public libraries are amongst the most popular
and well-used institutions in the country and are able to reach
parts of the community excluded from other activities. Public
libraries are thus an important part of trying to ensure that
ICT skills and literacy, which will be part of fundamental life
skills in the future, are available to often marginalised parts
of the community. However, as the Government's response to the
Library & Information Commission's report—("New
Library: The People's Network": The Government's Response.
The Stationery Office, 1998(Cm 3887))—makes clear, public
libraries through the People's Network, will contribute to a number
of the Government's other key objectives as well.
"Libraries contribute to four of this Government's
most important policy objectives. They underpin education, providing
essential support for school children, students and lifelong learners;
they enhance public access to the world's storehouse of knowledge
and information; they promote social inclusion, by helping to
bridge the gap between those who can afford access to information
and those who can't, and, increasingly they have a role to play
in the modernisation and delivery of public services. A nation-wide
public libraries IT network, linked to the National Grid for Learning,
will help deliver these objectives".
17. The Library Association unequivocally
welcomes these developments. We have a number of important concerns.
Some of the funding on offer is challenge funding
so there is the possibility of authorities losing out altogether.
This may be because some of the smaller authorities lack the internal
expertise to put together successful proposals and bids, or because
finding partner organisations (especially in telecommunications)
in rural areas may be more difficult as the economics of such
investment may be less attractive. However it is important that
the network is truly national and this situation will need to
be closely monitored by the LIC's Networking Office and corrective
action taken if certain areas seem to be losing out.
The funding on offer is also one-off and there
will be significant implications on local authority revenue and
capital budgets in future. We have already described the inadequacy
of current core funding for public libraries and the need to ensure
proper core funding in the future. It is therefore vital that
local authorities are willing partners in this venture and will
be prepared to make the necessary funding available to ensure
sustainability. It is also important that these new obligations
are reflected in the new Spending Review deliberations.
The plans for funding the People's Network do
not include capital provision for improving and extending the
necessary building space, other than the probable opportunity
to bid into the DfEE's Capital Modernisation Fund.
The high cost of telecommunications. We welcome
the recent announcement by OFTEL (Office of Telecommunications)
that special tariff packages will be available for public libraries
and other public institutions in accessing the Internet and exploiting
electronic networks. However this only covers PSTN and ISDN connections.
The People's Network is based on the premiss of broadband communications
and this, for the most part, means leased lines. OFTEL are now
working on negotiating a similar tariff package for broadband
communications with the telecommunications industry. This is vital
if public libraries are to take up the People's Network with confidence.
Otherwise the revenue costs associated with telecommunications
may prove prohibitive.
The World Wide Web is an important component
of the People's Network and an essential source of information.
It is unfortunate that revenue funding problems have encouraged
some library authorities to charge for the use of the Internet
when, within the concept of the People's Network and the needs
of tackling social exclusion, access should be free at the point
of use.
THE ROLE
OF LIBRARIES
IN THE
PROMOTION OF
LIFELONG LEARNING
18. Libraries can be seen as the archetypal
learning centre. Outside the formal education structure public
libraries can point to a long-standing and highly creditable role
in promoting lifelong learning, notably through their support
and encouragement of informal self-directed learning. They also
play a key role in encouraging literacy (now widening to include
ICT literacy) and, through major schemes funded by the Arts Council
for England and more recently the DCMS Wolfson fund, are rediscovering
the importance of promoting reading and reader development at
all levels. Once again it is the popular profile of public libraries
that makes them a natural agency to facilitate and promote learning,
especially amongst those who might be regarded as reluctant learners.
A survey by the National Campaign for Learning found that public
libraries were regarded as one of the most popular places for
study after the home. This has also been practically demonstarted
in the UfI (University for Industry) pilot site in Sunderland
where public libraries have proved the most popular place to study.
As well as support for informal learning most public library authorities
will have at least one Open Learning Centre based in a library,
offering more structured learning opportunities. A number of authorities
are also piloting the NACCEG (National Advisory Council for Careers
and Educational Guidance) quality standards for careers and educational
advice services and many have bid to become part of the local
UfI hub or Information, Advice and Guidance network. The encouragement
of informal learning is an important role in itself but there
is also a great potential for public libraries to become the gateway
that leads from informal learning to accredited learning programmes
resulting in qualifications.
19. However the vision of the learning society
cannot be delivered by public libraries alone. This agenda is
essentially cross-sectoral in nature and will rely on libraries
in all sectors working closely together to meet the needs of students
effectively. It will also require libraries to work in partnership
with other institutions. At the heart of the Government's lifelong
learning agenda is the requirement to put the student at the centre
of the learning process rather than the institution. If the barriers
to learning are genuinely to be broken down then learning opportunities
will need to be readily accessible in the workplace, in the community
and in the home as well as at formal educational institutions.
Many students may opt for a variety of study methods and use the
resources of a number of different institutions whether or not
those institutions are formally responsible for the specific programme
of learning being undertaken. The logic of this is that learning
resources provided by libraries will have to follow the student
and be made available at times and in places and also in formats
suitable to them. Similarly staff in all types of library will
have to gain expertise and skills in learner support.
20. Libraries across all the sectors will
need to work in close co-operation and partnership to deliver
this service to students. Major difficulties include reversing
past practice where educational institutions were in competition
with each other and would not be acting in their own best interests
to make library resources available to support the course of a
competitor. Similarly each sector has different funding frameworks
and it will be difficult to devise mechanisms to ensure that funding
is available at those points where demand is made for access to
learning resources.
21. Libraries have a long history of co-operation
and a number of networks already exist to facilitateinter-library
loans, provide reciprocal user rights between libraries, develop
collaborative stock specialisation schemes and explore the benefits
of electronic networking. There are also examples of partnerships
being formed by libraries with other disciplines and institutions,
an example being the partnership formed between the Library Association
and BBC Learning bringing together the skills and resources available
in local libraries to reinforce and supplement BBC Learning programmes
and campaigns. However these are not of the magnitude required
nor fully comprehensive in coverage and a step change will be
necessary to develop the type of co-operative and partnership
arrangements that will provide the learning resource infrastructure
necessary to deliver the vision outlined in The Learning Age (Cm
3790, 1998) and other government documents. Therefore the Library
Association fully endorses the recommendation in the Second Report
of the National Advisory Group for Continuing Education and Lifelong
Learning (Creating Learning Cultures: Next Steps in Achieving
the Learning Age, DfEE, 1999) that:
"Government should invite representatives
from libraries and museums to join with experts on lifelong learning
to develop their own detailed strategic and operational proposals
for lifelong learning. These should include, inter-alia,
questions of improved access, learner support, staff training,
the use of the new communications and information technology and
promoting their involvement in strategic partnerships".
We would encourage the Select Committee to endorse
this proposal as well. However it is not only at the national
level that such strategic thought is required, but as the new
learning infrastructure is developed, the learning resource implications
of plans made at local and regional level must also be addressed.
Library services need to be covered in the Lifelong Learning Plans
of local authorities, and the local or regional library community
represented on Learning Partnerships and on the proposed Learning
and Skills Councils.
THE ROLE
OF LIBRARIES
IN PRE-SCHOOL
AND SCHOOL
EDUCATION
22. Libraries also play a key role in pre-school
and school education. There are three main parts to this service.
The Children's Service of the public library service, the libraries
managed by schools themselves, and the centrally provided schools
library services. It was a key recommendation of the Library and
Information Services Council (England) report—(Investing
in Children. HMSO, 1995)—that these three agencies needed
to work in close partnership to provide a seamless service to
children and young people.
23. Public libraries are the only statutory
agency with a specific remit to meet the cultural and educational
needs of pre-school children. This responsibility is taken very
seriously and most authorities offier a number of services aimed
specifically at this group—story-telling sessions, parents
and toddler groups, information and advice on parenting and such
like. One recent national initiative has been the establishment
of the Bookstart scheme sponsored by Sainsbury's. Typically this
involves a partnership between the local library and health centre
and parents are given a "goodies bag" when they visit
the health centre for their child's nine month check-up which
will contain free books, advice notes and library publicity including
a joining form. Research has shown that this type of scheme not
only increases usage of the library but also gives the children
concerned a significant and measurable headstart when they begin
at school.
24. During the school years there are encouraging
signs of real co-operation between the three agencies with responsibilities
for library provision. A majority of public library authorities
will now have homework clubs established in at least some of their
libraries and a number, for example Sandwell in the West Midlands
and Croydon in London have developed computer links between libraries
and schools and so have laid an important part of the groundwork
for developing local Grids for Learning. School class visits to
the public library are common especially from primary schools
and the increased emphasis on project work within the curriculum
means that secondary school students will also often have recourse
to the resources of the public library. Schools Library Services
rarely offer a direct service to children but support teachers
and school librarians in their work. Typically a Schools Library
Service would offer a Project Loans Scheme to support school project
work which is an important element within the curriculum, a book
exchange scheme (to refresh the fiction stock available in the
school library for instance), advice on stock purchase to ensure
value for money, advice on library management within the school,
advice on the design of school libraries, book and reading promotion
within schools, and INSET (In Service Training) training for teachers
in information handling skills. Often Schools Library Services
are managed in conjunction with the the public library service,
but in some cases they are separately managed by local authority
Education Departments.
25. Our major concerns in regard to services
to children and young people are:
— The impact of previous cuts on the
Children's Library Service in public library services, especially
where cuts to opening hours or closures hamper access to libraries.
The Investing in Children report also raised the worry that there
were fewer posts for librarians with children's work expertise
and that this could only lower the quality of service provided;
— The wide disparity of library provision
within schools. The Library Association's last survey of secondary
school libraries was in 1997 (another survey is currently being
undertaken). It showed for instance that: 6.3 per cent of LEA
schools (at that time they did not include Grant Maintained Schools
or City Technology Colleges) spent less than £1 per pupil
on their library compared to a median for all schools of £4.75;
30 per cent of LEA schools had neither a librarian or teacher
managing the school library and about a third employed a professional
librarian either full-time or part-time; a staggering 13 per cent
of LEA schools added no books per pupil to the library during
the year surveyed and over 50 per cent of schools added less than
0.5 per cent of books per pupil, with 17 per cent adding one or
more books per pupil. Given this wide disparity of provision,
and the increasing importance of access to quality learning materials
if curriculum needs are to be met, we are also concerned at the
patchy nature of OFSTED inspections when it comes to library provision
and would wish the standard of inspection in regard to libraries
consistently to be of a much higher standard;
— The vulnerable position of Schools
Library Services under delegation and the "Fair Funding"
regime. As local education authorities have to delegate increasing
proportions of the schools' budget to schools themselves so the
economic viability of a number of Schools Library Services is
under threat. In England the total schools library service budget
has to be delegated to secondary schools by April 2000 and in
the case of primary schools it must be delegated on an "earmarked"
basis—that is the equivalent sum must be spent on the local
Schools Library Service or on similar services provided by another
Schools Library Service. If enough schools do not buy back into
the service then the cost of the service to the remaining schools
becomes prohibitive. Already a few Schools Library Services have
been closed. There is no alternative provision and closure means
that school pupils will not have access to as wide a range of
quality learning materials as a Schools Library Service is able
to provide when serving a large number of schools. It is notable
that the educational services of museums have been exempted from
delegation and alternative provision has been made for schools
music services. In Wales it has been decided not to delegate Schools
Library Service budgets. We believe similar treatment should be
afforded to the services provided by English Schools Library Services.
ROLES OF
DCMS; MLAC; AND LOCAL
AUTHORITIES
26. Department for Culture, Media and Sport
(DCMS)—DCMS has direct responsibility as the sponsoring
government department for the British Library, the Public Lending
Right (which compensates authors for books loaned by public libraries)
and, currently, the Library and Information Commission. The latter
is to become part of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
(MLAC) which will be vested on1 April 2000. The Secretary of State
also has a number of responsibilities under the terms of the Public
Libraries and Museums Act (1964), notably the duty to "superintend
and promote the improvement of the public library service provided
by local authorities and to secure the proper discharge by local
authorities of the functions in relation to libraries" and
this includes a number of powers of intervention should this be
required. In other areas closely associated with the public library
service, such as the Prison Library Service or the Schools Library
Service, DCMS has sought to co-operate with the departments involved
(the Home Office and Department for Education and Employment respectively)
in overseeing the service. Although regarded by many practitioners
as the lead department for libraries, the department has little
or no direct influence over library provision that falls within
the remit of other departments (see paragraph 3). At best it exercises
some arms-length influence through the agencies it sponsors, notably
the British Library and the Library and Information Commission,
both of which operate across all the library sectors.
27. The Association had long been concerned
at the lack of activity by DCMS and its predecessors in tackling
the problems of cuts to public library services and declining
service standards. More recently we have been favourably impressed
at the way the Department has started to take its regulatory role
more seriously: examples are the development of Annual Library
Plans which every Public Library Authority now has to prepare
for DCMS, and the joint work that DCMS is undertaking with the
Library Association and others in developing minimum service standards
that public library services must meet if they are to satisfy
their obligations under the Public Libraries and Museums Act (1964)
to provide a "comprehensive and efficient" library service.
The Department's work in promoting the People's Network is also
most welcome. Our main reservations are:
— The position of the Advisory Council
on Libraries (ACL)—This was set up under the terms of the
Public Libraries and Museums Act (1964) to advise the Secretary
of State on his responsibilities under the Act. However with the
decision to create MLAC it has also been proposed to abolish ACL
and integrate its functions within those of MLAC. The current
ACL has very much the appearance of a "rump" body, and,
as it seems likely that legislation will be required before it
can formally be abolished, it is possible that it will remain
in the doldrums for some time yet. The Association believes it
is still important for the Secretary of State to be advised specifically
on his responsibilities towards public libraries and that therefore
ACL should be given greater prominence until a convincing replacement
is created. As the remit of MLAC is so much wider than ACL, we
believe that any new advisory body should form a discrete element
within MLAC and have its own membership;
— The position of Library Advisers
within DCMS—Under the terms of the Public Libraries and
Museums Act (1964) the Secretary of State has powers that are
consistent with the establishment of a Public Library Inspectorate.
Initially there was a section in the then Department of Education
of Science consisting of about six Library Advisers who not only
undertook individual inspections of library authorities but who
also researched and issued best management practice guidelines.
Today the Department has only the Chief Library Adviser in post.
The Association believes that this is totally inadequate to undertake
the work required, especially as there are many welcome DCMS initiatives
to do with improving standards in public libraries. We understand
that the Best Value Inspectorate of the Audit Commission may employ
professional librarians to undertake library inspections under
the Best Value Framework. This may offset some of the need for
more staff in DCMS, but DCMS is the lead department for public
libraries under Best Value and must have the capacity to deal
with this extra work.
28. The Museums. Libraries and Archives
Council (MLAC)—The Library Association was instrumental
in convincing the Government of the need to set up a Library and
Information Commission in the first place. Despite its small size
and comparatively short life—it was established in 1995—the
Library and Information Commission has achieved a highly creditable
record: it has developed the concept of the People's Network and
set out the way to achieve it; it has established a research framework
for the sector; it has worked on issues of the moment such as
libraries and lifelong learning, knowledge management and regionalism;
and has started work on the development of a national information
policy framework. In many ways we regret its going and ideally
would have preferred a strengthened LIC to the new MLAC.
29. However we are committed to working
closely and effectively with MLAC and acknowledge that there are
many shared concerns between the three sectors represented within
MLAC—for instance, the provision of access to the nation's
heritage; preservation issues; the effective implementation of
ICT to enable full exploitation of collections; and the contribution
of the sectors to lifelong learning, economic development and
social inclusion. However we remain concerned that the cultural
focus of MLAC will not be attractive to many parts of the library
and information sector. It is difficult to see what the MLAC agenda
has to offer libraries or information services in healthcare,
business and industry, the professions or indeed government itself.
There is a danger that much of the good work of the LIC in helping
to unite the library and information sector may be undone. Current
proposals to divert the research budget of LIC to become a purely
institutional research fund for MLAC have not been helpful either.
However MLAC does not yet exist and we hope to have further opportunities
to help shape the MLAC agenda so that it is seen to be hospitable
to the concerns of all parts of the library and information sector.
30. Public Library Authorities—There
are 149 public library authorities in England. Under the provisions
of the Public Libraries and Museums Act (1964) they are required
to "provide a comprehensive and efficient library service
for all persons desiring to make use thereof." In particular
they have to lend books without direct charge to those who live,
work or study full-time in their area and provide access to collections
containing a number of different media that are "sufficient
in number, range and quality to meet the general requirements
and any special requirements both of adults and children".
Naturally levels of provision vary between authorities, but it
is the role of DCMS, through the standards it is developing jointly
with the Library Asssociation and the Local Government Association,
to ensure no authority's levels of service are unacceptably low.
31. Best Value and the Modernising Government
agenda apply to libraries as much as to any other local government
service. Imaginative authorities will be seeking ways in which
the library service can help it achieve best value and effective
service delivery not only in the library service itself but in
other council services as well. The fact that the library service
is likely to be the most extensive local network available and
that60 per cent or more of the population use it surely makes
it potentially a powerful agency in helping to increase the understanding
between a council and its citizens and in bringing services closer
to those who need them. Again if the library service is to contribute
effectively to the cross-cutting issues such as poverty, community
safety, health or lifelong learning then it must act in partnership
with other agencies or risk being marginalised. The single most
pressing need is to convince a number of council leaders—managers
as well as politicians—of the potential of public libraries
in helping to achieve some of the most cherished goals of their
council. Too many still regard the be all and end all of libraries
as buildings which lend books. The high investment in the People's
Network and the continuing affirmation of the Government of the
importance of public libraries to their objectives will help in
encouraging a more positive view of the role of public libraries.
THE BRITISH
LIBRARY
32. The key roles of the British Library
are:
— Collecting, preserving and making
accessible the cultural heritage of the United Kingdom;
— Collecting material from other parts
of the world which are essential to scholarship and business and
would not otherwise be easily available in the UK;
— Providing a focal point for the rest
of the world to access the output of UK publishing (in its widest
definition) and to play a leading role within international librarianship;
— Supporting scholarship, education
and innovation; and
— Providing access to information and
knowledge to business.
Amongst the services provided are: reading rooms
providing free access to the BL's unique collections; the Document
Supply Centre providing over four million copies of documents
to libraries and other customers each year, web access to the
library's catalogues and to other services; and improved exhibition
and educational facilities at the St Pancras Library.
33. These services directly address the
four key objectives of DCMS—access for the many not just
the few; pursuit of excellence and innovation; nurturing of educational
opportunity; and the fostering of the creative industries. They
also contribute to wider government objectives such as lifelong
learning; a competitive Britain based on the knowledge economy;
support for the nation's research base; and a healthier Britain.
34. There have been a number of recent developments
which illustrate a British Library that is determined to come
to terms with the future:
— The new St Pancras Library—The
chequered history of this project has brought much adverse and
unwelcome publicity to the Library and averted attention in the
past from its many achievements. Now however the new St Pancras
Library is fully open and starting to take a full part in the
cultural life of the nation. Despite previous criticism it has
achieved recognition as a building of architectural merit and
a library of first class facilities and services. It is a library
worthy of the great collections that constitute it, and the wide
range of scholars and others who use it. It has already become
a centre of professional life for the library community in the
UK and is a national symbol of the nation's cultural and intellectual
heritage and identity; and
— The British Library's 1998 Strategic
Review—Although the Review was undertaken at a time of financial
restraint, which has since eased, nevertheless it was an important
exercise and has helped the British Library to establish priorities.
One key result that the British Library Board has accepted was
that "It should be recognised formally that collecting in
all subjects, all languages, and from all nations cannot be sustained".
A new emphasis on co-operation and partnership has been evident
in the last year or so. The BL can point to a number of co-operative
arrangements in which it has been involved in the past—NewsPlan
(the identification and preservation of UK and Irish newspapers
on microfilm) or the shared cataloguing of legal deposit material
with the other legal deposit libraries for instance—but
the recent establishment of a Co-operation and Partnership programme
indicates a new drive and commitment to such developments. Already
the Library is involved in the Full Disclosure and People's Heritage
projects and will actively be seeking to promote its key objectives.
The Library Association would wish to see such work encouraged
and even accelerated.
35. Two key issues for the future are:
— Funding—The recent increase
in the grant-in-aid to the British Library for the next three
years is very welcome. There were real fears in 1998 that charging
for entry into the reading rooms could have been introduced, and
that the key areas of collection development and preservation
would have suffered further years of under-investment. Funding
still remains tight. In our view additional government funding
will be required so that the British Library can invest in the
updated technology needed to increase efficiency, sustain and
improve the quality of its services, and start to play a similar
role within the digital world as it does within the world of print;
and
— Legal Deposit—Although there
are positive signs that the Government is supportive of the need
to extend legal deposit to non-book materials and digital materials,
this still remains a key issue. Digital works are increasingly
important as sources of information for research and need to be
provided alongside print-based sources. Similarly if future generations
are to have access to a truly comprehensive national archive then
it must include digital materials and provision for this has to
be made now. We would strongly urge the Government to find the
necessary parliamentary time to legislate for the extension of
legal deposit.
CONCLUSION
36. The Library Association is pleased to
have been given this opportunity to provide evidence on the state
of health of a large part of the library and information community
in England particularly and the UK more generally. Despite the
problems we find a community that is awakening to the opportunities
and determined to tackle the challenges. There is a greater optimism
than has existed for a number of years. We look forward to exploring
further the points we have made when we give oral evidence to
the Select Committee.
January 2000
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