JULY 2026  |
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| Welcome to our round up of July’s UK libraries news! |
BURNHAM WOULD….? |
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Much is being demanded of the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham. We’re not expecting the planned national strategy for libraries to come top of his list all that soon. But he does have one claim to library glory. As we all know, the 1964 Public Libraries & Museums Act gives the Secretary of State quite draconian powers to intervene if libraries are in danger. Andy is the only SoS ever to exercise these powers, in 52 years! He held that post in 2009, when the Wirral was planning mass closures. There was a full, days-long public inquiry with QCs and a host of witnesses. Inquiry chair Sue Charteris was thought to do an excellent job. Her report was similarly acclaimed. The Wirral cuts would indeed breach the law, she said. But she said much more about how to develop a proper library strategy, or make changes. It’s actually enshrined as advice on the DCMS website. Unfortunately the libraries minister (one Margaret Hodge) missed the chance to formalise this massive piece of work to update the 1964 Act for the 21st century. The Wirral caved in, and the minister didn’t think to take things further. |
| HOLLOWING OUT? A study published at the end of June by academics at the University of Sheffield finds that public libraries are being ‘hollowed out’ as physical collections shrink and maintenance and other budgets are reduced. The study was commissioned by The Combined Regions which is a major player in library interlending services. So they have an interest in ensuring that public libraries (and others) are still buying and, as important, still retaining books that may be requested from the other end of the country. Unsurprisingly the report mentions short term funds for which library services have to bid and may spend a lot of time being unsuccessful. It also refers to the low number of suppliers who specialise in public library stock. Effectively there are only two supplying most books and one of them specialises in children’s books. Despite this, notably the cut in book budgets, issues rose marginally in the last two or three years that the study covered. As their press release says ‘Libraries are lending more from smaller collections, with less money to spend.’ You won’t be surprised to hear that a chief librarian quoted on the release of the report is upbeat and hoping that it will “directly contribute towards positive developments and debate in this area.’ At The Library Campaign we would like to share his optimism but are some way from being convinced. The University press statement is here and includes a link to the whole report |
EDUCATING THE EDUCATORS |
 We’ve brought you regular updates on kids reading for pleasure – why it matters, why it’s not going well. Now the cross-party Commons Select Committee for Education has spoken up. Its report is a contribution to the National Year of Reading (NYR). It’s a fascinating read, well worth keeping as a reference. It brings together insights from every possible relevant viewpoint – even children! (Their main suggestion is – more books, more variety.) One startling omission: in a section about the vital importance of the early years, the report lists nurseries, childminders etc etc – but not local libraries! Yet they are absolutely central (and, actually, a life-saving resource for those nurseries, childminders etc etc). The basic point is made by the wonderful Frank Cottrell Boyce: ‘We can teach them all the steps, but the important thing is that they dance. It seems to me blindingly obvious that what you do is prioritise the pleasure before you get into the learning. ‘This is something we do with everything else. No parent says to a child, “When you’ve learned the offside rule, then I’ll play football with you.” ’ |
The report, appropriately, has plenty to say about education – especially secondary schools. The focus on testing, ‘decoding words on a page’, bite-size ‘texts’ that are more work than fun, a crowded curriculum, too much ‘grammatical content and terminology’… all militate against pleasure, however hard teachers may (or may not) try. Amazingly, the Department for Education does not even collect data on school libraries. Also welcome is the perception that the two previous NYRs (1998 and 2008) really got things going – and then were immediately dropped. How about a National Decade of Reading?, asks the committee. There is plenty, of course, about public libraries. We know it all, but it’s good to see all the facts and ideas put together. Plus a clear statement that libraries ‘play an essential role’. Plus a recommendation that ‘The government must commit to restoring the funding for public libraries that has been lost since 2010 by the end of this Parliament.’ Good luck with that one. |
RAINBOWS OR ZOMBIES Libraries Connected (LC) has been quick to follow up the education report. Many LC recommendations have been endorsed within it, including the need for adequate long-term funding, outreach staff in every council and the key perception that ‘Progress will depend on genuine partnership across government, with culture, local government and education working closely together. That joined-up approach is essential.’ We liked the quote from LC leader Isobel Hunter: ‘Libraries offer something that neither home nor school can provide: a third space where children and young people can explore, browse, discover and read freely, supported by skilled staff who understand how to inspire reading. ‘As I told the committee, whatever it is that captures a child’s imagination – rainbows or zombies, football or robots – they will find the perfect book at their local library.’ The report is a call to action, says LC. Over to you, Andy… |
FANTASTIC – A BOOK! Riding to the rescue comes the Queen. She plans to give a real book this Christmas to every child in the UK in year 6. That’s age 10-11 – the very time when they move on to secondary school, and reading for pleasure plunges. The book is Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell. It’s ‘a brilliant fantasy,’ the Queen will say in a personal message inside each book, ‘I hope you will love it as much as I do.’  |
MORE ON E-BOOKS More or less since they were invented there have been problems for public libraries wanting to offer e-books to their users, chief among them being the reluctance of big publishing houses to allow their titles to be in libraries as e-books or requiring them to be repurchased after a number of uses. Now Libraries Connected (LC) – the charity that brings together chief librarians of public libraries, is continuing work to try to make things easier. With new Arts Council England money they have set up a project that aims to allow libraries and independent publishers (who have usually been more ready to allow their titles as e-books in library anyhow) to resolve issue like licensing and pricing which have often been stumbling blocks. LC are also trying to engage with the big publishing groups to see if there are ways to resolve their concerns and allow more titles as e-books to be made available. The initial project will focus on manga and graphic novels where the market is growing, especially among young people. So, if successful it may be another way of getting young people into libraries – or at least to use them even if remotely in the first instance. |
WELCOME IN WALES |
Museums, libraries and archives in Wales are sharing a new £5.28m funding boost. As usual, services had to slog through an application process – and many will have found they wasted their precious time. Still, every little helps. The 31 winners don’t just comprise big, fancy institutions. They include Pembrokeshire’s mobile library service and Newport’s plans to transform its children’s library. The new culture and sport minister, Heledd Fychan, appointed this year, has lost no time in condemning the ‘crisis’ she inherited. She highlighted ‘rounds of cuts and lack of data’. And she’s planning a new culture strategy ‘in the next few months’. |
ED SHEERAN |
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Earlier this month the Department for Culture Media & Sport (now renamed Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport) announced a £12.5 million fund to promote ‘Music in Libraries’ It has the support, and apparently was co-designed by, Ed Sheeran. It will pay for recording equipment including mixing desks. Not coincidentally, because Ed is a Suffolk boy, it was launched following a visit by Lisa Nandy (the DCMS cabinet minister) to a project in Ipswich. The publicity mentions libraries as a safe space for young people and also talks about music as a way of tackling mental health. The announcement did not talk about helping libraries to build up stock, whether CDs or scores or books about music and, as with so many other funding pots, library services will have to bid for the money. Nonetheless it is a good sign that libraries were specifically mentioned and that the money is ring-fenced to them. |
THE KATHARINE PROJECT An interesting new project will tour a show about Katharine of Aragon in libraries in Essex and Suffolk. It will visit seven libraries in Essex and four in Suffolk. The production is made by Slaget Theatre with Whispered Tales and as well as libraries they are up for doing productions in cathedrals, churches and historic buildings. In the library tour there will be the possibility to explore the library while listening to snippets of an ‘immersive soundtrack’. The company say “KATHARINE is an atmospheric invocation of a woman who refused to be erased. The production strips away the spectacle of the Tudor court to reveal the pulse of the woman beneath the crown. Through a masterful blend of text, innovative binaural soundscapes, and live performance, we invite you to experience Katharine’s devotion, defiance, and resilience. The story of one of history’s most misrepresented Queens.” More details here. |
FACEBOOKROUND UP |
Oxfordshire’s Friends of Wheatley Library had a special guide dogs event this month, which will give the public a chance to learn lots about guide dogs and the work they do. Attendees will have a chance to try out simulation glasses and blindfolds as well as do puzzles, all in the library. This group has also been pushing the Summer Reading Challenge, as so many friends’ groups that we follow on Facebook have been doing, which aims to get children aged 0 – 11 into books and reading. Powys, Wales: Friends of Builth Wells Library had an event this month where library users will get to meet members of the local police team, and children will be welcomed to try out fingerprinting and learn about how police stations are run. The event is free, although they note that donations are welcome. Southampton’s Friends of Portswood Library posted an interesting illustration that pointed out how libraries are themselves data centres that use minimal amounts of electricity and water compared to the AI data centres and that they also spark curiosity and imagination. This group also has an interesting series of talks coming up, so check out their page. Lancashire’s Friends of Lancaster Library have been informing their followers on what’s being done to offer an alternative for library users as it is due to be shut for several months. Their post gained a lot of traction, with people commenting about what services this library provides that they will especially miss. The library is closing for major roof repair works, and the friends group have been running pop-up cafes, as well as reminding users of the final dates before the repairs for borrowing books and other items. Also in Lancashire, Friends of Coppull Library have been posting about the upcoming ‘Pirate Event’ at their library. There will be a treasure hunt, pirate-themed crafts and games, refreshments, as well as fancy dress. The event is free thanks to the support of this friends group and will take place at the library on Saturday, August 15th. On the Isle of Wight, Friends of Freshwater Library have a pottery event for children coming up at the beginning of August that is selling out fast, apparently. They also remind their followers that their weekly Storytime is taking a summer pause but that their Rhymetime will be going ahead as usual every Friday morning. This busy group also recently had a ‘plant your own sunflower seed’ as part of the wider Biosphere Isle of Wight festival. 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… |
WINNIE COME HOME? |
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The Queen (yes her again) is on a mission to bring home Winnie the Pooh for his 100th birthday. She is offering him a ‘holiday’ at Buckingham Palace. The original toy bear, with his pals, was posted (!) sometime after the war to the American publishers. By then, A A Milne was sick of Pooh – he was overshadowing the author’s considerable body of adult works. And the unfortunate Christopher Robin, after a lifetime of teasing, was a whole lot sicker. The toys are now in a hermetically sealed glass case at the New York Public Library, where they attract queues of visitors. Pooh has already come to the UK in 1969 and 1976. But the NYPL is, so far, declining to budge this time. The toys are too fragile to travel, it says. Tell that the the people who have just brought the Bayeux Tapestry to London. |
| 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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