Woolwich Centre Library in south-east London offers an impressive range of services and activities, including IT lessons, chess clubs, coffee mornings, baby rhyme times, arts and crafts, English classes, and knitting groups. There are Amazon lockers for parcel collection, a “library of things” where you can borrow jet sprays, and a pink cabinet full of free period products. Library manager Tatayana D’Souza says, “We basically have everything except beer on tap!” With a rise in visitors, Woolwich became the second busiest library in the UK last year.
Despite libraries’ comparative popularity, local councils that fund them are experiencing financial pressure from past local government cuts combined with rising prices and demand for services. MP’s warned earlier this week that the financial crisis was “out of control,” and Nottingham became the eighth council in six years to, in effect, declare bankruptcy last November. Libraries are typically impacted because they appear an easier choice when compared to cutting back on care services.
Although expenditure on libraries has fallen by a quarter (£232.5m) since 2010, the transformation of library services to all-encompassing community hubs is considered a significant achievement. However, consultant Tim Coates, emphasized the need for libraries to maintain a focus on providing books to improve engagement often documented in surveys by the culture department.
An individual library’s information on memberships, visitors, and loans gathered in different ways, and there is no central data collection system, contributing to the difficulty in determining the precise impact of cuts. However, libraries sector stakeholders seem to agree that this year will be tough on library services, and the next government will have to discuss the extent to which councils can fund library and cultural services with their funding envelope. The government acknowledges these challenges and recently announced £600m support for English councils. The Levelling Up Department has also stated that they are ready to talk to any concerned council about their financial position
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More