Literacy news
Children’s librarians fear cuts lie ahead
21 May 2010
According to the Association of Senior Children's and Education Librarians (ASCEL) children’s libraries may face cuts before the end of the financial year. Helen Boothroyd, chair of the ASCEL has suggested that the £6bn of immediate government cuts are likely to fall within children’s services. Boothroyd believes children’s libraries are at risk as they are seen as an easier target for cuts than “frontline, life or death services”. This comes a week after results from the CIPFA library usage survey were published, indicating an year-on-year rise in children’s borrowing.
Library campaigner Tim Coates has suggested that libraries should be talking to local councils to promote their services.
He explained:
“Around the country 100 new councils, which have no experience and are being told to cut their budgets by 25%, are looking after our library services. Library services need to be speaking to them now."
Helen Boothroyd added that examples of positive local activity could be used to help protect services, stating “local feedback from children and families can often be more powerful than national statistics.”
The new government will reveal where these immediate cuts will fall next week and will lay out an emergency budget on 22 June.
Read the full story at The Bookseller.
