The Bookseller.com

7th January 2009

Desmond Clarke is a former director of Faber and former president and c.e.o. of International Thomson Publishing Services Group. He is a library campaigner and former chairman of libraries charity Libri.

Speak up for libraries

27.11.08

This is the time of year when local authorities prioritise the demands for funding for the new financial year. The Library Information ­Statistics Unit warns that public libraries should expect further slicing of book funds, reductions in staff numbers and closures—more of what has sadly become an annual ritual despite the statutory obligation for authorities to provide a "comprehensive and efficient" library service.

Who is standing up for libraries and for adequate resources to support literacy, reading and access to information? Who is setting the standards for library provision and ensuring stewardship as required by the 1964 Act? Sadly, it is neither the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), the Advisory ­Council on Libraries (ACL) or the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council (MLA). In fact, the only response by these bodies is to set up yet another review by officials.

There seems to be a con­spiracy of inaction disguised by short-term initiatives like Love Libraries, and Better Stock, Better Libraries. When the current chairman of the MLA, Andrew Motion, arrived he announced he’d be focusing on libraries (putting the "L" back into the MLA), but soon after the MLA slipped below everyone’s radar, just as MPs Lyn Brown and Ed Vaizey called for the body to be replaced.

The MLA, ACL and even the DCMS are distant from the leaders at the level of individual authorities. The MLA’s talk of influence through the Local Government Authority is having little or no impact on those making decisions. Frankly, council members listen more to union ­officials and campaign groups.

I doubt if anyone is especially interested whether the MLA survives and no doubt its officials will be compensated if it is closed. However, I am surprised that neither Motion nor the chair of the ACL—Michael Thorne—have made any attempt to talk publicly about the importance of public libraries. Are they concerned they might be seen to challenge officials and cut across the latest review? I am also surprised the DCMS should undertake another review without commissioning comprehensive research into the needs and expectations of library users.

The library service is urgently in need of leadership, a vision and a task force. At a time when resources are under pressure, libraries need ­powerful advocacy from their ­strategic agencies. Their chairmen are not paid by the public purse to remain mute.