Thanks for sharing this document. I have added it to the Public Libraries News page which holds documents pertaining to public libraries at http://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/p/links-and-documents.html. This may be of interest to users of this LIS-PUB-LIBs. I am happy to add more documents as people suggest them to me.
Regards
Ian Anstice
Public Libraries News
The list so far includes...
1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act - Outlines the statutory duty of councils to have a "comprehensive and efficient" library service.
1991 Local Inquiry into Derbyshire Library Service - This is the first of two cases in modern times when a local authority came close to being in breach of their statutory duties. This summary gives an insight into the legal position of authorities, although it is superseded by the 2009 Inquiry and other developments. (PDF of selected pages of report here)
2004/5 Select Committee of the DCMS on libraries made many proposals for public libraries, after hearing much evidence, mainly to do with boosting bookstock, opening hours and other bread and butter issues. The Government at the time's response to it is here.
2009 Empower, Inform and Enrich - DCMS review of public libraries. Link is to UNISON response. DCMS document appears to be unavailable.
2009 All-party parliamentary group report on Libraries, Literacy and Information Management.
2009 Wirral Libraries Inquiry report by Sue Charteris into proposed closures led to the authority withdrawing their plans and is seen as landmark guidance in what an authority should do in order to be compliant with the 1964 Act.
2011 Could do better: Latest overview of adult literacy in the UK - 15% of adults still below the reading age of an 11 year old.
2011 Gift of Reading - 1 in 3 children do not own a book at home (compared with 1 in 10 in 2005)
Effective Campaigning - this is a general UNISON resource, useful but not specific to libraries.
Future Libraries Programme - Final report is here. Government sponsored programme of several library authorities to find new ways of working / saving money. Full reports on Future Libraries Programme are here. The report is noted for its strong support for volunteers, closing libraries and putting the books in shops and merging library services.
Letters from Ed Vaizey, Libraries Minister, to local councils explaining their duties. These are highly useful from a campaigner viewpoint as they give an idea of what local authorities should be doing in order to keep within their statutory obligations. Letters (a) 3/12/10, (b)24/2/11 and its annexe.
Library Campaign Handbook - Brilliant handbook from, of course, the Library Campaign
Guidance on the management of controversial material in public libraries - MLA.
Modernisation of Public Libraries: A policy statement March 2010 - The swansong of Labour thinking on libraries, it's slightly woolly provisions were criticised at the time but now seem a relic of a different era.
People's Inquiry into the library service - UNISON, 2008.
Philip Pullman "Leave the libraries alone, you don't understand their value". Widely publicised and well-received speech by the world-famous author.
Philip Pullman "Consider the Context" - speech to Library Campaign Conference 22/10/11
Stephen Fry on public libraries "I suppose if I have one campaign I can really get behind it is saving libraries."
Taking stock: the future of our public library service - UNISON, 2010.
What makes a good library service? - CILIP. A summary by the professional association of librarians on what a public library service should provide.
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