NEWS FEATURE
Do libraries need a cold winter?
PUBLIC library footfall increased by 68 per cent between 2021 and 2022 but spending has “flatlined”, according to the Institute for Government. What will it take to address this imbalance? “Despite a continuing reduction in library spending, demands on these services are increasing,” says the IFG’s Performance Tracker report on public services, adding that “spending on libraries flatlined, increasing by only 0.8 per cent. This remains 6.9 per cent lower than before the pandemic, and almost 50 per cent lower than in 2009/10.” The report (
https://bit.ly/3GwoCLz), which is produced in partnership with CIPFA, tracks nine public services: hospitals; general practice; adult social care; children’s social care; schools; neighbourhood services; police; courts and prisons. Libraries sits in the neigh- bourhood services section. This spike in demand is the main difference with the previous year and sets libraries apart from some other services in neighbourhood services: “Overall, demand for libraries and the need for support of homeless people have grown. By contrast, demand for bus travel has yet to fully recover… Limited progress has been made in reducing the backlog of road main- tenance or planning applications and there has been little meaningful change in the proportion of waste that is being recycled.”
But will this make any difference to library services’ chances for more funding?
Demand source This may depend on where the demand is coming from. “It is too early to tell the full impact of inflation on libraries” the report says ,“but there is evidence it may have increased demand. Accord- ing to a survey of 3,000 parents in December 2022, 20 per cent reported buying fewer books for children due to cost-of-living pressures, a figure that rose to one-in-three among parents who reported struggling financially, with 28.2 per cent of parents bor-
10 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL
rowing more children’s books from libraries.” (
https://bit.ly/3GrbsPS) The report also said some demand “could also be linked to a shift in where people access services – as people return to centralised library sites which co-locate with other public services, such as Jobcentre Plus, GP surgeries and theatres.”
Opportunities?
Asked if any opportunities emerged from the evidence, the authors said: “One positive that has come out of the pandemic is increasing co-location of libraries with other services e.g. GP services and job centres, so they could continue to innovate those models.” Another was to link libraries into the pandemic education recovery “We haven’t seen that yet (as far as we know), but it would make sense to try and take pressure off overstretched schools.” This relates to a section of the report about post pandemic catch-up pro- grammes funded by the government’s £4.9bn package which it compares to the £15bn recommended by the gov- ernment’s education recovery commis- sioner.
Realism
Last year the report focused on libraries’ improved profile with local authority decision makers. One of report’s authors, Stuart Hoddinott, told Information Professional (https://
bit.ly/47FKOPm) libraries were praised for their flexibility and were on the radars of decision-makers, but warned this wasn’t enough.
“Everyone I spoke to was genuinely concerned about the cost-of-living crisis and what it would do to resi- dents. They were very interested in helping where they could. And they do see libraries as one of the only levers they can pull. Yes, that’s very encour- aging for libraries, but it’s about what happens when that butts up against the reality of finance pressure.” This year the report authors reiter- ated the problem: “Library funding continues to be squeezed due to high
Stuart Hoddinott.
and rising demand for other services, particularly adult and children’s social care, homelessness services, and SEND services,” adding that some of this was because the “statutory duty for authorities to provide those services is arguably more pressing than it is for libraries because it relates to particu- larly vulnerable residents.”
Acute or not? So, will the rising demand for library services help? Last year Stuart said acuteness of demand was a factor and if libraries are at the forefront of local authority ‘warm spaces’ provision, then a cold winter might place them on the “acute” service funding hierarchy. This year’s report cites warm banking as a possible driver: “Demand for other library services may also have increased, with 81 per cent of libraries surveyed in June 2022 anticipating higher footfall in order to access warm spaces.”
But the report’s authors add: “It is hard to get an accurate picture of demand for libraries... Having said that, interviewees did feel that demand for the service had increased due to cost of living pressures and things like warm banking.”
December 2023
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