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PRIVATE EYE
Issue No. 1434
Library News (p.37) -- The Libraries Taskforce
THE "£4m innovation fund" announced by the government's Libraries Taskforce this month offers laughably little, laughably late to cut-to-the-bone public library services.
Firstly, it doesn't even offer £4m. The small print in the "Libraries Opportunities for Everyone Innovation Fund" application from the Arts Council says there is in fact £3.9m available. £1.3m of that can only be spent on capital purchases (ie not books, which are explicitly excluded), while the other £2.6m can be spent on suitable projects. None of the money can be spent on any general running costs such as salaries, buildings or insurance. Although the scheme has only just been announced, the deadline to apply is 6 January.
Meanwhile, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy published its annual spending stats, finding that overall council spending on library services throughout the UK fell by £25m in 2015-16. The number of paid library staff fell by more than 5 percent nationwide (and volunteer numbers went up).
The taskforce's next plans include developing a "benchmarking framework" to identify whether libraries are doing well -- surely a case of measuring the stable door after the horse has bolted. But the taskforce does have a terrific plan to counter negative media stories about library closures and service cuts. Better legal protection and enforcement of the duty to provide libraries, maybe? Nope. It will "develop positive messages about libraries" through "placed editorial" and other media -- a PR campaign to reassure the public all is well.
Ends