Literacy news
Report states key to saving libraries lies in free internet access and Sunday opening
22 Mar 2010
The Government library review will state that libraries can flourish if they offer free internet access, Sunday opening and a promise to provide any book in the national book collection, according to the Guardian. The review also insists that councils must retain a statutory duty to provide a universal library service.
The Government review, which has taken nearly two years, also proposes library membership entitlement from birth and a suggestion that membership of one public library provides access to other libraries.
In the introduction by Minister of State for Culture, Media & Sport, Margaret Hodge, warns that: "the context in which libraries operate is changing starkly and at speed", and adds that "public libraries are not about sitting back and passively waiting for people to borrow your books". She believes “they are about active engagement with the community, making links to other public services and responding to the policy imperatives of the day."
The report proposes an extension to the availability of eBooks, saying:
"Although media commentators are fond of setting up an opposition between printed and digital books, there is no suggestion that eBooks will drive out our nation's passion for printed books or that libraries will be delivered only in the online space. eBooks will enable library services to remain relevant in a market where people are using mobile devices to access information and entertainment."
The report envisages setting up one strategic body for libraries, possibly by merging three existing quangos, modernising the procedures whereby the Secretary of State can intervene in the cases when local councils are closing libraries and free access to the internet in all libraries by 2011.
The full Guardian article can be read here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/mar/22/public-libraries-overhaul-proposed?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29
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