The following is an edited version of the address Libraries Connected President Ed Jewell gave to the Librarian’s Toolkit session on 24 November 2024.
 

An overview of public libraries 

I’ve always felt it’s a tremendous privilege to work in a public library.  Everyday across the British Isles we see tens of thousands of people cross our thresholds to find a place where they can discover more about the world around them and reimagine their place in it. 

Our communities need free, well-funded, properly staffed and dynamic public libraries if they in turn are to constructively engage with the challenges ahead, be that in dealing with immediate issues such as the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, mental health and educational attainment, or developing challenges, such as the advent of AI, climate change and the rapidly changing nature and make-up of the communities people live in. 

Our libraries provide access to information and opinions from across the political and cultural spectrum, helping citizens navigate competing agendas in an increasingly fragmented world.  We offer a shared, safe civic space for people to gather and learn together, free from both judgement and cost.  To my mind libraries are the essential service within a functioning free society. 

Baroness Sanderson’s Strategic Challenges 

As we adapt and grow our libraries to best support our communities there are a number of strategic challenges we must address. The Sanderson review, published earlier this year, was produced after a broad range of consultation workshops with sector stakeholders. Whilst I appreciate it was sponsored by the previous Government, the review highlighted four fundamental issues that hold regardless of your political persuasion. 

There is a lack of recognition across government, both locally and nationally as to what libraries deliver and can do.  This is an issue we see echoed in terms of broader, public understanding as to the services we offer.  Compounding all of this is a lack of comprehensive data on our libraries. We do not have an accurate national picture of how libraries are performing across the country. Nor are we able to prove just how much we are contributing to key agendas from literacy and skills to health and wellbeing’.  All these points feed into Baroness Sanderson’s fourth observation, that we need a better sense as to what the government both nationally and locally wants to see from our libraries.

 

Clarity as to our purpose 

As regards recognition from both government and public we must be very clear as to what our libraries are for.  There is a constant danger that we allow outdated concepts of what a library should be to push us to focus on format over function. 

I’m passionate about libraries because I see them as free, welcoming, accessible and shared civic spaces that inspire lifelong learning, support health and wellbeing and enrich our economic and cultural lives.  Lending books is one way, and a key way, we achieve that, but to suggest it is all libraries should do is like insisting you can only listen to music on vinyl or travel by horse and cart.  It is a nostalgic trap that fails to realise the genuine purpose and potential of our public libraries. 

If we take the concept that libraries are ‘civic spaces that inspire lifelong learning, support health and wellbeing and enrich our economic and cultural lives’ as a broad guide, this helps us underpin our service planning, development and delivery. 
 

The funding challenge

All of this, of course, depends on funding.  Years of underinvestment have left public libraries highly exposed to the local government funding crisis. Since 2016, there has been a net loss of 183 static libraries in the UK and around 2,276 FTE library posts have been lost (BBC Shared Data Unit).

I am acutely aware that this is a fundamental issue that goes well beyond libraries.  The central grant to local government more than halved between 2010 and 2016.  Tom Crewe recently noted in the London Review of Books that:

“Since local government is responsible for administering much of what we understand as the state – including schools and youth services; social care for children, the elderly and the disabled; refuges and child protection; social housing and housing benefit; bin collections, roads, buses, parks, cemeteries, public toilets and swimming pools, museums, galleries and libraries – while having limited ability to raise money for itself and being compelled to present a balanced budget, this (reduction) alone has had devastating effects.”

As one head of service commented to me recently, "we can’t be in Section 114 forever, we need to collectively look at the bigger picture, we need bold, creative solutions that look beyond current arrangements and systems of working."
 

Aligning our work with Labour’s Five Missions 

This leads me onto the new Government’s Five Missions.  Some are more directly relevant to public libraries than others, but I believe we can evidence a positive impact on all of them and demonstrate to both national and local government that our libraries are already delivering services that can contribute to the ‘bold, creative solutions’ our communities need.

Kickstarting economic growth 

Almost every library authority offers some form of specialist support to entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses, including the Business & IP Centre (BIPC) Network. Working together with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), BIPCs empower business owners to innovate and protect their intellectual property. Almost all (96%) of businesses started through the BIPC network were still trading after three years, compared to a national rate of 60%.

Public libraries also contribute to economic growth by improving the employment and earning prospects of the digitally excluded. Public libraries are the leading provider of digital skills support, both through one-to-one assistance and training courses such as Learn My Way.  8 in 10 library services support people’s employability by helping them learn basic digital skills, often in partnership with jobcentres and local charities supporting their job hunting. 

At the other end of the digital skills spectrum makerspaces have opened up in libraries across the country to give people an opportunity to access, learn and use the latest in specialist kit, like laser cutters, design equipment and video editing software

Making Britain a clean energy superpower

CILIP’s Green Libraries Campaign brings all libraries together to lead by example through their own environmental actions and most importantly to use their power and reach with different communities to inform and inspire people to take positive environmental actions. Beyond the annual Green Libraries week of action in October and conference in November we are seeing activities increasingly run throughout the year, with libraries offering seed exchanges, hosting talks and opening community gardens.

Making Britain's streets safe

As free, accessible civic spaces, sources of trustworthy information, and as champions of media and information literacy, libraries are essential to community cohesion. Given the recent riots this role is more important than ever. Libraries have particular potential to bring local people together and make connections. 

One great example of this in practice is the Communities, Libraries and You (CLAY) project in Stoke on Trent.  A project co-ordinator is delivering a volunteer programme supporting individuals who are at risk of loneliness or social isolation by involving them in a myriad of social activities offered in the library. CLAY builds on the existing successful Reading Friends offer and creates new opportunities for volunteers to act as group facilitators and community champions. 

Building an NHS fit for the future

Libraries are already part of a ‘Neighbourhood Health Service’. Their role in promoting healthy lifestyles, supporting people to access health services and delivering preventative health interventions is increasingly being recognised.  With many health services now digital by default, public libraries are increasingly being asked to support users as they search for health information, book GP and hospital appointments, and view personal health records. 

This role has been recognised by NHS England which is working with public libraries to support more people to use the NHS App. Some libraries have teamed up with local GP practices to make this support smoother and more consistent, such as the Haringey GP federation project. 

Breaking down barriers to opportunity at every stage

Public libraries play a critical role in tackling early literacy inequality by providing free reading materials, hosting high-quality family activities, and promoting a positive home learning environment. They are essential to support every child's early language and communication development, a basic building block for a strong economy. 

The school readiness programme in the London Borough of Newham, delivered by health visitors and libraries is a great example of where we can see the benefits of joined up working.  The programme delivers key health messages such as language and communication, learning through play, oral hygiene and the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices in nutrition. 

Clinical leads in each area are responsible for contacting parents and inviting them to a school readiness session at their local library. Each session starts with health messaging delivered by a health visitor. The library team then deliver a story time and craft activity, join up all participants to the library and discuss the benefits of reading and library membership. 

During the craft activity, families attend a private meeting with a health visitor to discuss any concerns and how they can help their child prepare for starting school. Each child leaves with a ‘take home pack’ including a toothbrush, Healthy Start vitamins and a library card.

Through initiatives like this libraries are helping to ensure parents are aware and able to support the basic skills children need to succeed and to thrive at school. 
 

Evidencing the impact of libraries and effectively advocating our services 

Across the British Isles there is a enormous amount of innovative and transformational work going on. I want to ensure our funders and key stakeholders fully appreciate the potential that properly funded public library services can achieve. That libraries are natural partners within local authorities to work with, to deliver programmes that achieve broad educational, health, cultural and social ambitions.

I want to see the gap between our professional aspirations and the funding reality narrowed.  For us to be in a position where our work is seen and its value properly acknowledged. For libraries to be recognised as the go-to partner by government and the third sector.  For public libraries to be recognised as the essential service truly I believe they are. To do this we need access to timely, accurate, representative and verified data to support targeted advocacy to national and local government and our local communities.

Arts Council England and stakeholders from across the public library sector are working together to improve the collection of library data with the intention of collating a national public libraries dataset to inform effective decision-making, drive improvements and inform advocacy.  

Alongside this work Libraries Connected is looking at how it can best support the interpretation of data and broader research.  The Libraries Connected supported University of East Anglia’s Libraries for Living and Living Better report demonstrated the potential commissioning independent research can have.  Their finding that a typical library in England generates £1m in value each year has at the very least opened crucial conversations with key stakeholders. As a charity we are now looking at how we can develop our capacity to initiate and coordinate research like this.

With regards to Baroness Sanderson’s point around building Government understanding and awareness, last month, together with sector partners, we have had an initial meeting with Sir Chris Bryant, the Minister for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and are now working at pace to agree a list of priority areas we would like to work with national Government on to strengthen services and achieve broader social goals. Through the alignment of our existing services, effective data collection, analysis and advocacy we can ensure we are in a position to tell government what it can achieve and should expect from properly supported and resourced libraries. 
 

Conclusion

I’d like to round off this talk by pointing out that aligning our services to local and national priorities shouldn’t just be a political expediency to secure our futures – it should actually be at the core of what we do, hardwired into our DNA. The American Librarian, David Lankes, expressed it succinctly when he wrote:

“Bad libraries build collections, good libraries build services, great libraries build communities.”

I would take it one step further. “Legendary libraries are built with their communities.”  It is only by working with our communities, our local politicians, schools, charities, higher education and community groups, that we can build services that truly support local needs: essential services that are sharply relevant, well used and properly funded.