CILIP: the Chartered
Institute of Library and Information Professionals
7 Ridgmount St, London
WC1E 7AE.
Tel: 020 7255 0500
Textphone: 020 7255
0505
Fax: 020 7255 0501
News from
CILIP
28 May 2008
For immediate release
(Please copy to online discussion lists)
PUBLIC LIBRARIES ARE AT
RISK, CLAIMS CILIP
Job losses, outdated
attitudes, lack of government scrutiny and absence from the top table of council
decision-making are the main reasons for cuts in quality being faced by public
libraries in England. So claims a hard-hitting report from CILIP: the Chartered
Institute of Library and Information Professionals.
The report was specially
commissioned because of rising public concern about the future for local
libraries, as councils struggle with the requirements to improve performance and
reduce costs. “CILIP has a responsibility to act in the public interest,” says
the Institute’s Chief Executive Bob McKee. “It is in everyone’s interest to
clarify what local people can expect from their library service.”
The report was written for
CILIP by Patrick Conway, former Director of Culture and Leisure with Durham
County Council. He was assisted by a small steering group chaired by Martin
Molloy, Strategic Director of Cultural and Community Services with Derbyshire
County Council, who says: “Patrick’s report is based on an admittedly small
sample of public library authorities. However, it raises important matters of
concern, and further work is now needed by government to establish the full
picture across the country.”
Loss of professional posts
in a number of library authorities means there is less specialist expertise
available to assist local people and develop services in local communities. The
report emphasises the importance of professional experience and judgement in
planning and delivering effective service.
Job losses could lead to a
reduction in the professional standards of service experienced by library users,
and CILIP will refer this matter to government for further investigation.
However, the report also
urges action to redefine professionalism in response to new ways of working,
noting that some professional library staff – and CILIP itself – are sometimes
seen as inflexible and dated in their approach. It suggests further work is
needed to examine the potential of new ways of delivering local library
services, and to highlight the ways that library services can contribute to key
policy objectives. “There are two issues of concern here,” says Patrick Conway,
author of the report. “One is the way in which the scrutiny of the public
library service has been watered-down by government, which has increasingly
distanced itself from local arrangements, despite the statutory nature of the
service. The other is that some local authorities don’t fully recognise that the
library service can contribute positively to their overall strategic objectives
and this may be because the Head of Service responsible for public libraries
does not have a seat on the council’s top table.”
“When I spoke to the
Libraries Minister, Margaret Hodge, about this report she promised to read it
‘with attention’”, says Bob McKee. “The report is now with her and I look
forward to receiving the government’s response. This is a vital issue for
library users and library staff. We will continue to press for action at local
and national level in recognition of the value that professionalism brings to
public library provision.”
- ends -
Press contacts:
Patrick Conway
Tel: 0191 386 8216
Martin Molloy
Tel: 01629 580000 ext
6500
Bob McKee, Chief
Executive, CILIP
Tel: 020 7255 0690
Mobile: 07989 380607 (out
of hours contact)
Guy Daines, Director of
Policy & Advocacy, CILIP
Tel: 020 7255 0632
Notes to
Editors:
- To read the full report go to www.cilip.org.uk/conwayreport
- CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is
the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and
knowledge managers. It forms a community of around 36,000 people engaged in
library and information work, of whom around 21,000 are CILIP Members and
around 15,000 are regular customers of CILIP Enterprises. CILIP members work
in all sectors, including business and industry, science and technology,
further and higher education, schools, local and central government, the
health service, the voluntary sector, national and public libraries. For more
information about CILIP go to www.cilip.org.uk
The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and should not be taken as those of London South Bank University, unless this is specifically stated.
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