IN DEPTH
Learning lessons to bring people through the doors
Research commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has found perceived or real barriers are stopping more people from visiting their local public library. The aim of the research is to provide answers to why visitor numbers have been dropping and what can be done to address the decline. Rob Green takes a closer look at what can be done.
VISITOR numbers to public libraries in England have been falling for a number of years, and with little evidence as to why it is hard to understand what can be done. With that in mind DCMS commissioned Ipsos to carry out qualitative research to see if it could determine what is driving the decline – helping to inform a national strategy for public libraries.
The research project was one of the recom- mendations from Baroness Sanderson’s recent Independent Review into Public Libraries in Eng- land. The aim was to find out what barriers were stopping people from visiting, while also looking at what attracted people through the doors. The findings reveal a variety of motivations and barriers, and provides a starting point to reverse the trend – giving not just insights for a national strategy, but also offering ideas at a local level.
Motivation, opportunity and capability Reassuringly, libraries continue to be widely supported by the public – whether they are users or not. However, many of the respondents failed to see the how libraries could be relevant in their own lives. Classed as “motivational barriers”, respondents said that library services activities held no appeal, often citing similar offers being available more conveniently elsewhere. This group also perceived libraries to be “old” or “dated”, and this perception led to them ques-
32 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL
Rob Green (
rob.green@
cilip.org.uk) is Editor of Information Professional
tioning whether they would personally use their local library service.
Another significant issue highlighted in the research was around opportunity barriers. These are areas that people said made it harder for them to visit a library, and included things such as lack of parking (or cost of parking), poor public transport links, and opening hours that don’t fit in with work or school hours. Fears over accessi- bility for people with disabilities were also raised as a cause for concern.
Another barrier presented itself – known as a capability barrier, it highlights that importance of awareness of services. For many people, a limited awareness of what was on offer meant that they were unlikely to make a trip to their local library.
December 2024
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