INTERVIEW
The best of times, the worst of times for public libraries
Isobel Hunter, CEO of Libraries Connected, discusses how the sector is demonstrating its best innovation while facing its worst financial crisis.
ISOBEL Hunter became the first Chief Executive of Libraries Connected in 2018. As a reincarnation of the Association of Chief Librarians, one of Libraries Connected’s achievements was to use professional staff as well as volunteer members.
During this process Libraries Connected has had to learn to juggle a number of com- plex factors, first through Covid, and now in what looks like another financial crisis, at least for public services (see news pages 8 and 6).
Membership moves
One factor is that the membership of Librar- ies Connected is becoming more complex. “It’s very different, if you wind back 20 years where you had chief librarians. Now you look at our members and you don’t always have the word library in their job titles. There’s a common pattern when someone retires or leaves, the role is reviewed and often it either gets broader – so it’s no longer just libraries, but libraries plus culture or leisure – or it slips down the hierarchy. When people leave, the council says ‘we might as well merge the head of libraries with this head of culture post’ and neither the culture service or the library service get much attention or have de facto heads. So, it’s much more complex than it was and more challenging to be a library leader now.”
This change is also happening faster: “People who have been around for a long time feel that it’s a bit like a washing machine, that change is happening more
14 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL
Rob Mackinlay(
rob.mackinlay@
cilip.org.uk) is a journalist at Information Professional
quickly, and I think that most regions would feel that over the past couple of years they’ve lost some of their really experienced people, people who have been a bit like a rock for their peers.”
Diverse roots
Isobel says that the nearly 180 different library authorities have “historic roots grow- ing out of so many different places including mechanics’ institute libraries, religious libraries and subscription libraries. So, the narrative should be not about a national library system falling apart but a grass-roots movement that needs to work together. Our starting point is that no two library services will have the same arrangement, even on small details like how they pay their energy bills or the level of control they have over their buildings. Even ones that look the same on the surface can operate quite differently, for example, in one the building team is responsive but in another,
December 2023
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