IN DEPTH
The case for support – why public libraries will reward investment
THE Big Issue and CILIP, in association with OverDrive, have published a new call for sustainable public library funding. Public Libraries: the case for support was launched by Library Champion Bobby Seagull alongside CILIP Chief Executive Nick Poole and Lord Bird, Director of the Big Issue at an event in Parliament on 15 October. Rob Green looks at the report, which highlights the impact libraries can have on their local communities through evidence-based research.
POLITICAL support is crucial for public libraries to prosper, and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Libraries (APPG Libraries) provides a national political platform to advocate for services, staff and users. Chaired by Gill Furniss MP and co-chaired by Lord Bird and Lord Tope, APPG Libraries brings together MPs and Peers from all parties.
The new report builds a case for funding – focusing on six areas where public libraries are having a positive impact. It argues that there is a real risk that the social benefi t from libraries could be lost if funding continues to be cut from services.
The Chair and Co-chairs introduce the report, saying: “The report highlights the ways in which public library services and dedicated professional staff help create better places to live, work and prosper. It considers their impact on formal and informal learning, health and wellbeing and the accessibility of local services.
“The report also looks at how libraries have innovated and adapted in a digital age – help- ing to close the digital divide and address our future skills needs. Finally, it considers how libraries support the business community, helping to generate inclusive economic growth across England and the rest of the UK. “Most of all, this report highlights the tremendous opportunity for local and national Government to work together to invest in a vibrant, sustainable modern public library service for the future.”
42 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
Rob Green (@CILIP_Reporter,
rob.green@
cilip.org.uk) is Editor-in-Chief, Information Professional.
The halo effect
Underpinning all public library services is public money – but the report is keen to point out that this is not a “hand-out”, instead library fund- ing acts as a “hand up” for communities. There is clear evidence that library services have a positive local return on investment worth many more times what is invested – current calculations put it at between fi ve and seven times the initial investment. So, for every pound that is spent on running the local library, there is a return to the community worth between £5 and £7. The report says: “The social and economic return on investment in public libraries, both directly in terms of added value for individual users and indirectly in terms of the positive over- all eff ect on communities, local businesses and other public services, is comparatively higher than other leisure and cultural services.
October-November 2019
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