Madsen Pirie

The role of libraries

New government statistics show that libraries are less popular than ever, with a drop over 5 years of nearly one-third in the number who visit them. Over 60 percent of adults do not use them even once a year. Libraries seem vulnerable. With government striving to make economies and councils made to cut budgets, libraries could see their spending cut dramatically.

Libraries face a downward spiral in which councils try to make savings by cutting hours, letting some staff go, and closing some facilities altogether. Libraries then become less convenient to use, and usage figures decline even further.

There are alternatives. Although libraries mostly loan popular bestsellers and do-it-yourself books to adults, they also introduce children into the world of reading. Despite the falling figures for adult use, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport reports that 77.9 percent of children aged between five and ten visited a library during the past year. This is a much more valuable function.

Libraries encourage and enable children to read. Starting children in the habit of reading is a very good way of putting their feet firmly on the ladder of education. Children who read tend to do better at school, and to gain the qualifications that later open so many of life’s doors.

The reasons for the decline in adult library use may be obvious. The rise of alternative media outlets, plus the growth of internet booksellers may have reduced the habit of borrowing books from libraries. If councils do have to look long and hard at library budgets, they might well decide that making fiction blockbusters available free to readers is not the most effective use of their funds.  

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