The Bookseller.com

6th July 2009

Library book spend heads into free fall

28.09.07 Katherine Ruhston

Book spend by public libraries in the UK fell again in 2006/07—and the pace of decline is accelerating.

The library service spent £77.8m on books in 2006/07, equivalent to just 8.7% of its overall budget. According to the LISU Public Libraries Materials Fund and Budget Survey 2006–08, backed by Nielsen BookData and due out in October, the fall marks a decline of 0.6% from the £78.2m spent in the previous year and is expected to double again to 1.2% in 2007/08.

The picture is not all gloom—libraries in Northern Ireland more than doubled their book spend for the second year running—but publishers and library campaigners have called on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to take immediate action in England.

"These figures cannot be ignored. [Culture Minister] Margaret Hodge and Roy Clare [c.e.o. of the MLA] have got to own up to the problem and deal with it," said library consultant Tim Coates. Richard Charkin added: "All this confirms what people like Tim Coates have been saying all along—that public libraries are not being funded adequately. The sooner the new organisation at the MLA does something about it, the better."

The DCMS refused to comment on the figures. The MLA said it would analyse the results "to find the best practice and help achieve efficiency and effectiveness—that means highlighting those authorities that are able to deliver more for similar levels of spending, not just in book lending but the growing range of services that libraries offer."

The decrease in book spend comes in tandem with pressure on the overall libraries budget, which in 2006/07 fell for the first time in six years. The budget was squeezed 0.3% to £890m, compared to an increase of 5.6% in 2005/06, and is expected to fall a further 0.9% in 2007/08.

"The prognosis is not optimistic, with the London boroughs, the English counties and Wales all predicting decreases," the report said. The budget pressure also forced cuts to library staff and a shift away from professionally qualified librarians. The number of professionals employed in UK libraries decreased by 4.1% in 2006/07; a further decrease of 6.6% is expected in 2007/08.

Library Todays Picks Katherine Ruhston

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