INTERVIEW ‘‘
Programming for democracy should not interfere with the core library offer. Just as libraries host events for Black History Month or Pride, democratic initiatives are additional layers of service, not replacements.
– Patrick Malone
Rob Mackinlay is a journalist for Information Professional.
Is democracy in trouble: Can public libraries help?
A 2025 survey suggests public libraries don’t facilitate the informed debates needed to support democracy. We talk to Patrick Malone, Project Manager at GLL, about why democracy is in the spotlight in Woolwich libraries.
WHEN Scottish Book Trust asked how often libraries “operate as a community hub for informed debate or decision-making”, most of the 180 public librarians who responded said either “never” (22.8 per cent) or “rarely” (28.9 per cent).
This political vacuum in libraries appears at a crucial time, crucial because of increasing problems of polarisation and disinformation, but also because despite the problems in the communities they serve, libraries still have their trust.
The problem
Patrick Malone is a GLL Libraries project manager who secured funding for a democracy project that has been evolving for over 18 months. When asked for background material to the project he suggested reading Meet Me at the Library, a book about using libraries to fix communities in the US by Shamichael Hallman. The problem being addressed in the book is explained in its introduction: “The role of libraries as civic institutions is critical as we find ourselves living in one of the most divisive and polarising times in US history… Americans are demonising and othering their neighbours and peers and breaking down community... ”
The extent of this polarisation and disinforma- tion in the UK was explored by a CILIP conference Keynote speaker in 2024. Stijn Hoorens from RAND Europe, co-authored a report called “Truth Decay in Europe” which identified breakdowns in relations between neighbours and family over some issues and a loss of trust in statistics agen-
Winter 2025
cies, universities and health agencies. But the report was published in 2022 which, as Stijn pointed out, meant the data was pre-Covid, pre-Ukraine, pre- Gaza and pre-Trump 2 and “the phenomenon has been exacerbated in Europe since publication of the report.” (
https://tinyurl.com/TruthDecayIP) Patrick agrees these are problems but said the original motive for him was the “central issue of declining voter turnout… In the 1970s, around 70 per cent of eligible citizens voted; today the figure is closer to 60 per cent. In the 2024 UK General Election, turnout in Greenwich & Woolwich was 58.82 per cent, slightly below the national average of 60 per cent. (Source: House of Commons Library:
https://tinyurl.com/turnoutIP).”
He also explains why voter engagement is particu- larly relevant to public libraries, saying: “Libraries can exist under any political system, but their role changes. In authoritarian contexts, censorship may undermine their purpose. In democracies, by contrast, libraries must protect pluralism, ensure no party preference, and uphold freedom of access to information. Declining voter engagement poses a risk to the democratic representation libraries exist to support.”
Personal interest
Any work beyond the core mission of libraries often relies on the personal interests of librarians and Patrick has a longstanding interest in the democratic system.
“I am a member of a political party and attend local conferences and branch meetings. In the past,
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 41
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
