JANUARY 2026   Welcome to our newsletter round up of November’s UK libraries news! NATIONAL YEAR OF READING  The National Year of Reading has now been officially launched. Public libraries will, of course, play a full part – plus schools and prisons. We’ll be interested to hear what Friends groups are doing to support theirs. The overall theme is ‘Go All In’ – read to pursue your passion, whether it’s spirituality or sport. There are plenty of established national events to latch on to, starting with National Storytelling Week (2-8 February), World Book Day for children (5 March) and World Book Night for adults (23 April). You can keep tabs on all this via the website . And you can get a regular newsletter, with news and ideas, from The Reading Agency  BIRMINGHAM BOTCH We continue to pursue the appalling reorganisation (if that’s the word) of Birmingham’s libraries. After sending plenty of evidence and Freedom of Information requests, we have now made an official complaint to the DCMS with a whole list of concerns – poor consultation, lack of thought about accessibility, deprivation and legal equality duties, lack of concern about the implications for education. We are working in tandem with the brilliant local campaign, Birmingham Loves Libraries (BLL). And we’ve now sent a separate FoI asking just what Birmingham will be doing about the National Year of Reading. One thing makes the Birmingham mess unique. From the start, the plan has been to mix library staff and buildings willy nilly into one general ‘advice’ service. We have said this from the start. Now we have told the DCMS that, along with BLL, we are ‘deeply disturbed that the whole concept underlying the reorganisation – uncontrolled merging of library staff into a general advice service – is unheard-of, eccentric and has never been justified. ‘The basic concept was never consulted on. It is evident that it was conceived, and implemented in practice, by officers with no understanding of library work. Staff were not consulted at a formative stage. The role and skills of library staff were not defined at any stage. This bad practice has grave implications for the quality of library services both in Birmingham and nationwide.’ That alone, we say, should justify a local enquiry. POT LUCK? All credit (for once) to the government for scraping up £1.5bn for cultural stuff in England. £270m of this was already announced a year ago (see our comments in our latest magazine, news section). The rest is now open to arts venues, museums, heritage buildings and – yes – libraries. The idea is to ‘fix urgent capital needs and open up access to culture for everyone, everywhere’. The government is clear that ‘treasured cultural venues’ make for an affordable day out – and bring communities together. That insight is welcome. So is the perception that money is needed for basics, not just fancy ‘innovations’. The money is split into various specific funds – eg, £760m for museums. Libraries might get a bite at some of these funds, such as the £230m for heritage buildings. But the specific libraries bit is just £27.5m, in the form of our old friend the established Libraries Improvement Fund, administered by ACE. As this (like the rest of the funds) has to last until 2030, it’s no more annually than it’s ever been. As veteran campaigner Alan Wylie points out, that’s about £300 per library. Traditionally, it’s accepted that councils have a duty to provide libraries – so special funding pots should be reserved for things (like museums) that get no such backing. But with basic council budgets now cut to shreds, that’s getting harder to argue. Especially in National Year of Reading! PRISON LIBRARIES Arts Council England has released their evaluative report ‘Raising the Profile of Prison Libraries’, which highlights the many benefits that having and using a prison library can bring both for inmates and staff. Victoria Barnett, Prison Library Development Manager at Kent County Council who was a co-chair on the project, said in a CILIP article about the report:“This project aimed to raise the profile of the prison library to make stakeholders aware of the impact that the prison library can have. Prison libraries have been referred to as ‘the beating heart of the prison’ and as ‘life-savers’ by prisoners, but remain low on the list of priorities in a lot of prisons, with access issues being reported by many prison librarians. With short-staffing impacting regimes, there is pressure on governors to ensure that priority areas are staffed, but I hope that this report demonstrates that the prison library has a part to play in keeping the prison safe by providing an antidote to destructive boredom, improving mental wellbeing, and offering a means for self-education in a non-pressured environment.” It is a statutory requirement in the UK for prisons to have a library (it’s not for schools as we have remarked before) The Library Campaign is keen to hear about any friends groups who are associated with any prison library as well as from staff who may have concerns about job cuts. The Arts Council report referenced the fact that prisoners who use libraries may have better mental health, as well as being far less likely to reoffend upon release, as they attempt to integrate back into the community. LIBRARIES’ PREVENTION POWER Yet another study has shown that public libraries pay back the money spent on them – many times over. For the first time this study, The Power of Prevention, uses the official ‘green book’ guidance on value for money used by the Treasury – the language of local and national government bean-counters. Difficult to dismiss.  Research for Libraries Connected looked at just three activities in 12 services in south east England, affecting a few hundred people. They were worth at least £1,746,000 per year, measured in NHS savings, productivity gains and the personal value placed on improved wellbeing. LC has a toolkit for local services to use, to prove their value. Libraries Connected issued a press release here and there is a summary of the report here CAMPAIGNING IN THE SOUTH WEST The BBC reports that library campaigners in the South West, notably Bristol, are working to support their libraries and ensure they stay open in the face of possible cuts. The Friends of Clifton Library have been organising a Clifton Lit Fest for a while and it is getting more popular every year. Bristol reports that library use has recovered to 75% of pre-Covid levels but since the pandemic there has been more than one proposal to cut branches, opening hours or the bookfund. Most of these have come to nothing. The council currently says: ‘The library budget is protected in its entirety. It will give people the confidence that the council cares about our library service.’ So more power to the elbows of the Friends in the region (and of course everywhere else.) LIBRARY CAMPAIGN AGM AND MINI-CONFERENCE As reported last month our online conference in December was very successful in getting together the winners of our 40th anniversary competition. In April or May we plan to do what we did not have enough time to do last time – have an open discussion between Friends Groups about what you do, what you would like to do, the issues you face, the ways you resolve them and how The LIbrary Campaign can help. The things Frieds Groups get-up to, as illntsrtaed in thre latest issue of our magazine, are fascinating. We are sure that people can learn a lot from each other. We will also hold our AGM as the one in December was inquorate. ROUND UP  This month’s round up shows libraries as great places for people to stay connected during the darker, quieter, not to mention colder months of the year. There are so many things libraries can do for their local community, and this month friends groups have been keeping as busy as ever ensuring they continue to support their local library, help to host events, and organise a whole range of activities. Maybe this bulletin can serve as some inspiration for what you could do at your library in 2026! In Lancashire, Friends of Heysham Library have been reminding their Facebook followers that even though “warm welcome week” is over, their library is “still a warm space with hot drinks, comfy seating and more, all available for free!” And also in Lancashire Friends of Fulwood Library have been posting about their upcoming ‘Knit and natter’ and meditation sessions. Redcar and Cleveland’s Friends of Guisborough Library had their first scheduled talk of the year on Friday, 30th January – all about travelling around China. As well as a craft session on Valentine’s Day, this group has been promoting the ‘ALL IN’ project (see our story above about the National Year of Reading) that encourages libraries to hoist groups where one chapter of a book is read a month – hence its title – ‘Delve into twelve.’ Shropshire’s Friends of Whitchurch Library have listed their Lego sessions programme all the way through to December. This group has also been warming up January mornings with their coffee morning meet-up hosted in their library. Calderdale’s Friends of Rastrick Library have posted a reminder about their upcoming committee meeting, where they will be planning their next quiz, arranging their AGM, and updating people about upcoming events. They note that hot drinks will be available. Events like this could also be a great way for people to get to know about how small organisations are run, as well as being a great place to network and make friends. They also find time to host evening board game nights! Friends of Hullbridge Library, Essex, reposted Essex Library’s service post, reminding people that it was Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27th. They included this link which displays two lists, one with suggestions for children and one for adults of books related to the holocaust and focuses on this year’s theme of ‘Bridging generations’ Kirklees’ Friends of Cleckheaton Library have been encouraged children aged eight to ten years old to participate in an art session earlier this month. A few days before it took place they noted that only a few tickets remained, indicating the popularity of their events. This is a busy group that also hosts bake sales, heritage history events as well as jewellery workshops amongst other activities for their local community. AND FINALLY… WANTED: YOUNG WRITERS  Someone aged seven to 11 could win £5,000 for your library (or school). It’s the annual short story competition by the the Royal Mint Museum in Llantrisant, Wales. The subject is gold. The winner gets a gold coin, their story illustrated by a professional artist and that £5,000 for their local library or school.There are other prizes too. Open for entries between 16 February and 17 April. Details here. And there’s a special competition this year from RNIB for children (aged five to 12) who have a visual impairment. RNIB says: ‘We invite you to retell your favourite story from the viewpoint of a minor character. No experience needed – just imagination! Winners will be celebrated at the British Library and featured on RNIB Connect Radio. Entries accepted in print, braille, audio, or video. Submit by 23 February 2026 for your chance to shine!’ Those details are here Please get in touch with us if your local library is under threat, you have a Friends group that you wish to promote or you would like advice about how to start a Friends group for your local library – currently under threat or not. Feel free to ask any questions about what Friends groups get up to. We have now created an archive of our previous newsletters, which you can view here – check it out if you haven’t already and share the link as it’s also a place for new subscribers to sign up. If you are new to getting our monthly newsletter this is a way to see what we’ve been getting across since we started this newsletter in Autumn 2022. Copyright (C) *2023* *The Library Campaign*. * Registered Charity No: 1102634 * All rights reserved. |
