Libraries suffer fall in users as Tories slash funding

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/dec/09/libraries-suffer-fall-in-users-as-tories-slash-funding

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Visits to Britain’s libraries have fallen by 14% since David Cameron became prime minister in 2010, a survey has found. Library funding has been cut by more than £180m over the same period – a drop of 16%.

The figures were released by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa) in its annual survey of libraries in Great Britain. They show that a net total of 106 libraries closed in Britain in 2014-15, a fall of 2.6%, from 4,023 to 3,917.

Wales suffered the biggest proportionate drop, losing 11% of its libraries, a decrease from 308 to 274. The number of libraries in England fell 2%, from 3,142 to 3,076, while the total in Scotland dropped by just 1%, from 573 to 567.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said there were still 225m visits to libraries in England in the past year. She cited examples of new libraries being opened, such as in Stafford and Camberwell, south London, and the refurbishment of libraries including Arnold library in Nottingham and Leyton Library in east London.

Rob Whiteman, the chief executive of Cipfa, said: “Our annual library survey makes for grim reading. Cost-cutting measures continue to hit unprotected services hard and fewer people are using public libraries.

“Yet there is some hope. Volunteer numbers have nearly doubled over the past five years. Tens of thousands of people are now giving their time to make sure these precious resource survive.”

The survey reports an increase in volunteering by 19% in 2014-15, but the number of full-time paid library staff dropped by 4%.

A culture department spokesman added: “We know that libraries continue to be popular but that people want different things from them. That’s why the government set up the libraries task force to help them improve things like digital access and e-lending.

“We have also made free Wi-Fi available in libraries around England and this year some new state-of-the-art facilities have opened, providing new technology to the local people they serve.”

Overall, £50m was cut from library budgets across Britain in 2014-15, but the figures show some regional variation across England. Funding rose in south-east England by 3% but dropped in London by 9%.

The east Midlands saw the biggest proportionate drop in the number of libraries for any English region (6%) while north-east England saw no net change. No region reported an increase in the number of libraries.

Britain’s most visited libraries

1. Manchester Central library (1,332,999 visits)

2. Norfolk & Norwich Millennium library (1,173,809)

3. Wembley library, Brent (1,169,735)

4. Woolwich library, Greenwich (1,097,641)

5. Jubilee library, Brighton (952,083).