JUNE 2026  |
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| Welcome to our round up of June’s UK libraries news! |
| ONWARD AND UPWARD? |
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Some slightly good news – children are enjoying reading, and reading every day, slightly more than they were. This modest uptick follows a 20-year low noted in 2025. The National Literacy Trust carries out a huge survey every year. The latest looked at 125,375 eight-to-18s. More than a third (36.1%) said they enjoy reading in their free time (vs 32.7% in 2025). A fifth (20.3%) read daily in their free time (vs 18.7% in 2025). NLT says: “Although the increase in 2026 is encouraging, reading enjoyment remains lower than it was for much of the past two decades. After staying relatively stable in the mid-2000s, levels rose to a peak in 2016 before generally falling again, with a sharper drop after 2019 and particularly low levels in 2024 and 2025.“There are also signs that inequalities deepened, particularly for reading enjoyment, where the increase was greater among children and young people who did not receive free school meals than among those who did.” Unsurprisingly, children are far more “engaged” if their reading connects with their personal interests. With luck, the National Year of Reading theme – “go all in” to things that interest you – will bear further fruit. More details here and the full report is at Children_and_young_peoples_reading_in_2026_z2Ft1gt.pdf |
DIGITAL SHIFT NEEDED |
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| Digital exclusion is a “major public health issue”, says the Good Things Foundation. Examples range from lack of access to health information to disconnection “no-spots” that disable life-supporting diabetic insulin pump sensors. “From finding local exercise classes to booking and paying for sessions online, participating in sport today requires navigating multiple digital touchpoints, which creates significant hurdles for those who are digitally excluded”. This locks out the very people who need fitness services most. GTH has worked with Sport England to make digital “platforms” more usable. GTH is issuing a barrage of reports and two free toolkits aimed at local authorities. They are based on intensive pilot projects in Barnsley, Cornwall and Middlesbrough. These “uncovered the real barriers to digital access and mapped out exactly what communities need from their local systems”. The overall aim was to find out how to “shift away from short-term fixes and move toward sustainable, long-term delivery… move digital inclusion into a permanent public service”. Meanwhile, GTH’s latest research shows how far we still are from full inclusion: • 38% of adults feel less confident online since the rise of AI tools. • 92% of adults believe essential public services now require an internet connection. • 24% of households struggle to afford communication services. • 15% of the population still lacks foundational digital skills, locking them out of economic opportunities. • 48% of adult internet users want to see more safety measures in place on online platforms. |
REFORMING LIBRARIES |
 We have printed articles over the last year as Reform UK took control of Councils with library services. Last month we had a positive story from Essex about removing reservation charges. This month – not so much. Several Reform led Councils have taken action to stop support for (LGBT+) Pride Month and other things they think are inappropriate. In Essex this meant no publicity for Pride or Refugee Week. In St Helens all support including displays was stopped with events in libraries being rebranded ‘Creative Crafts’. |
Staffordshire has banned displays and activities and in Warwickshire the leader has accused his libraries of promoting ‘contested gender ideology’ – understood to refer to books featuring transgender issues. The Essex Reform cabinet member for Libraries (and other things) also used the word ‘ideology’. In all these cases local Pride supporters but also library campaigners and other councillors have fought back arguing for “inclusion, equality, evidence-based policy, and the rights of all residents to access information freely and without discrimination” in the words of Warwickshire Pride. The Library Campaign agrees with that statement about the role of libraries. |
ARISE DAME JULIA |
 Julia Donaldson a long time supporter of Libraries (and of The Library Campaign) has been awarded a Damehood. Soon after the announcement she said ‘… I’m making a plea to the Government for more libraries and more librarians in our communities and schools, so that the current generation of children can enjoy all the benefits that reading brings. She also paid tribute to libraries and ‘the librarian who helped me discover the books and authors that I came to love’. In other news she has revealed that another Gruffalo book is on the way in September. Look out for Gruffalo Granny! Congratulations to Dame Julia. FALLING SILENT IN HERTFORDSHIRE?Hertfordshire County Council held a consultation on plans to close its Music and Drama Performance library. According to press reports, over 200 groups use the service to get sets of scores or play sets for their events. The consultation finished last month and the Council is now assessing the results. For people in music and drama groups, getting hold of (say) 100 copies of the Messiah is not easy and the network of Performing Arts libraries run by councils around the country is invaluable. Even the service in Surrey, arguably a leader in the field, had to be saved by users and although it is still run from a library building it is run by a charity. Closing Hertfordshire’s service would be bad news for groups in the County. And that’s not all. In mid July the Council will decide whether to close at least one library on Sunday. Matt Turmaine, the Labour MP for Watford, has published an article about the Lib-Dem council’s proposal to close Watford library on Sunday and we presume the other five libraries currently open on that day. |
WAY TO GO, WOLVERHAMPTON! |
We remember Alexei Sayle’s sarcastic crack that austerity was apparently necessary because there were “too many libraries in Wolverhampton”. Welcome, then, to the city’s splendidly revamped Central Library. The Grade II* listed terracotta facade has been restored and there’s a new roof and a new spire. Within, there’s new flooring, shelving and a new entrance lobby. The 1970s extension at the back has been remodelled to provide offices and space for book deliveries and sorting. The 1930s extension will come next, with a glazed link building to connect it to the adult education centre. It’s all part of a £61m Learning Quarter scheme in the city centre, which also includes a new city college. The library is “an important architectural landmark at the heart of our city”, says the council. “It is great to see it so sensitively restored and preserved for the future.” This summer the library is hosting a series of heritage walks and events. Well, there’s plenty to show off about. |
MOLLY MAKES FRIENDS  |
North Somerset is – unusually – making “a strong return to a full mobile library offer”. New electric vehicle Molly is seen as an outreach service. As well as the usual visits to schools and community sites, the team is making new partnerships to expand its offer. It has run joint events with family hubs, the local Gypsy, Roma and Traveller charity and even the North Somerset Master Composters. The first four months have seen 2,244 visitors. The council says: “The increase in visitors and new memberships shows just how important it is to bring services directly into communities… The partnership with family hubs has been a real success, allowing us to connect families with a range of support in a welcoming and accessible way. This isn’t just a win for the council – it’s a win for our communities, helping people feel more connected, supported and inspired.” It is funded by £309,000 from the ACE Libraries Improvement Fund, plus £40,000 from a Section 106 allocation. HIGH RISE IN HARWICH Visitor numbers have more than tripled after a £1.16 million refurbishment at Harwich Library, Essex (from 1,300 to 4,500+ per month). The big numbers keep coming: 54% more stock issued, new memberships up 311%. There has also been a big rise in enrolments at Adult Community Learning, which NOW has a more prominent space in the library. The development is, appropriately, central to a £9m town regeneration programme, paid for by £6.7m from the Government’s Local Regeneration Fund, plus match funding from town and county councils. Next step – improved public spaces surrounding the library. |
READING IN READING June saw a brand-new Central Library in Reading. The “old” purpose-built one one dates back only as far as 1985, but apparently it’s “no longer accessible, it’s dark and doesn’t have the facilities residents now require”. The new library is in a redesigned reception area of the Civic Centre. Families are the biggest user of Reading’s libraries, so there’s an expanded children’s area and a teen space. Plus an events space, and local and family history sections. |
FACEBOOKROUND UP |
Friends of Guisborough Library, Redcar and Cleveland, posted photos of an empty library – no computers, no books, empty shelves – but luckily this is only because they are undergoing a major refurb and their social media post was there to keep followers up to date with progress. They wrote that ‘Seeing the building empty is strange but exciting for what is to come’. They also shared that there is an opportunity for locals to get involved, too, during the coming weeks! Over in Essex, Friends of Hullbridge Library posted that their own refurb has now been completed and excitedly shared that their library will be back open on Tuesday next week. The Friends group shared photos of their library looking very refreshed, tidy, and smart. Friends of Whitton Library, Richmond, shared posters for a few events that they have coming up – one musical and one historical. A talk they have organised all about local Twickenham history is being given by Ross Hamilton on July 2nd, and then July 9th sees ‘Senior Street Six Sextet’ perform jazz standards, Bossa nova, Latin, and blues. Middlesbrough’s Friends of Acklam Library shared a request to ‘Please vote for us in the Golden Giveaway run by The Teesside Charity.‘ The Friends group was keen for library users to vote for their library to receive money from the charity to help towards being able to host free and subsidised events. We wish they just had more direct government funding, but we wish them good luck! West Yorkshire’s Friends of Rastrick Library reposted some beautiful photos of their freshly blooming yellow roses that were planted on the solstice Saturday. Calderdale Libraries did the original post writing that: ‘Today marks the first day of summer — and the longest day of the year. A huge thank you to the Friends of Rastrick, who have transformed the rose garden outside Rastrick Library. It’s never looked more beautiful and just in time for the sunshine. Don’t forget to keep an eye on our socials for upcoming events organised by @friendsofrastricklibrary from ukulele to author events!’ The Friends of Beechcroft Library, Swindon, is one of many libraries to have had to change opening times and days due to the extremely hot weather. They note that their bereavement group and other events are to be rescheduled and list upcoming dates. ‘Storytime’ was also cancelled this week. They noted that there will be a waiver on fines incurred during this time. We wonder if any other library service has thought of doing this. We’d love to hear what kind of events your Friends group is planning, or indeed any challenges you may be facing and wanting to make others aware of so please do get in touch and ask for your Friends group to be featured! |
| AND FINALLY… |
THE HOUSE OF LORDS |
Here’s your chance to peek inside the House of Lords library. It’s 200 years old this year. Amazingly, it survived the great Parliament fire of 1834. Then it got magnificent new rooms in 1848. It has ancient tomes, in Norman French onwards. But it’s keen to show it also has proper librarians doing in-depth research to order. And it’s right there in the digital world. Hence this video tour on Youtube |
| 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. |
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