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Back to index of Nerve 20 - Summer 2012
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Our Libraries
By Alan Gibbons
Whilst many in Liverpool once revelled in their Capital of Culture status, that reputation has started to look a little tarnished. As the city council presses ahead with a programme of cuts – initially £2.2 million – they begin with the closure of three libraries, the loss of 76 jobs and the reduction of opening hours at seventeen more. For a city that has generated such writers as McGough and Bainbridge; Patten and McGovern; Henri and Garrett; Russell and Bleasdale, the library network has taken a big hit.
The cuts are part of Chancellor George Osborne’s deficit reduction strategy and to some extent the reductions have been forced on the city. Libraries nationally have been at the top of the list for pruning. This has infuriated many local communities. Across the United Kingdom there have been numerous campaigns trying to keep much-loved local libraries open. Two years ago I initiated 110 Read-ins across the country. This wave of protest led indirectly to the establishment of National Libraries Day, which has now become an annual event.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has a statutory duty to superintend a “comprehensive and efficient” public library service. This is doubly important when one in three children does not own a single book and the National Literacy Trust has found that a child who visits a library is twice as likely to be a fluent reader as one who doesn’t. The UK is making cuts which could close hundreds of libraries, or take them out of local authority control and place them in volunteer hands. This is in stark contrast to South Korea, where they are opening 180 new libraries, and developing countries like India and South Africa who are also putting in substantial investment. There is an alternative to the carnage.
Library users have not taken this lying down. On March 13th the Speak Up for Libraries coalition organised a rally and lobby of parliament. I chaired a well-attended, lively and angry rally of campaigners, users groups, authors and librarians. In Gloucestershire, Somerset, Brent and Surrey campaigners have used judicial reviews to press the case for their libraries. One of the biggest issues now is the government’s push for volunteer-run ‘community’ libraries. This downgrades the importance of a professional librarian giving access to information and services. A library without a librarian is just a room.
We have succeeded in making the future of the public library service a cause célèbre. There is a lot more work to do to guarantee its future.
Alan Gibbons is a Liverpool-based author and organiser of the Campaign for the Book.
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