Public Libraries Provide Equality Of Access To Information

ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews www.publiclibrariesnews.com
Public Libraries As
Jack Of All Trades
Presentation to the
Axiell European User
Conference
3rd May2017
Ian Anstice MA Hon FCLIP

Who am I?
Professional librarian since 1994 in Cheshire
Start Public Libraries News in 2010 .
History degree 1991 then one in Librarianship 1994

Why this talk?

Public Libraries face a
massive challenge

Dramatic change in the
availability of information and
books

Charts by Tim Coates, used with
permission

Source: Cipfa, with thanks to Tim Coates
£0
£200,000,000
£400,000,000
£600,000,000
£800,000,000
£1,000,000,000
£1,200,000,000
£1,400,000,000
£1,600,000,000
2000/1
2001/2
2002/3
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
2008/9
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
GB total
England
Scotland
Wales
Dramatic change in budgets

Source: Cipfa, with thanks to Tim Coates
Dramatic change in use

The complacency has gone

The response
This may seem like a cruel image: it’s a dinosaur scratching its head. Sorry.

No-one is really in charge
Oxford University Museum of Natural
History

WELLBEING
READING
CULTURE
COMMUNITIES PROSPERITYDIGITAL
LEARNING
Outcomes

CULTURE OFFER
Universal Offers

That’s quite a few
different messages
Taskforce and SCL combined

Axiell – Review of Libraries 2017

National strategies
Community Hub
Access
Fulfil Potential
Economic growth
Cultural identity
Social
Reading

Carnegie – Shining A Light

Are Public Libraries
trying to do too much?

A short and incomplete list of what “my” libraries actually do … and we promote
all of these
Books Children’s Socialisation
Partners
Fiction Crafts
Cafe
Non-fiction Rhymetimes
Dance
Reference Storytimes
Tai Chi
Children’s Baby Bounce
Jujitsu
E-books Lego
U3A
E-magazines Code Club
Slimming
E-reference Crimebeaters
Education
Space Adult Socialisation
SRC
Study space Reading groups
Class Visits
Conversation space Knit and Natter

There are specialists who do all these
things well enough … or better

Libraries are making the mistake
of promoting the trees, and not
the wood

Café v. study space
Co-locations v. library services
Children’s activities v. quiet
Spending on e-books v. spending
on print books
Supplier selection v. local choice
Council services v. neutrality
Charging v. free
Commercial concerns v. trust
Automation v. personal touch
Armwrestling
Ourselves

“Not Just
Books”
No place to
study
Biased
Charged

“Idea Stores”
Education
Columbus Metropolitan
Libraries
For children between
home and school
Queensland Libraries
Adult education
What’s the one gap
your service is going
for?

A wood that grows too much
becomes impenetrable. And no-
one goes there.

One clear message

“Idea Stores”
Education
Columbus Metropolitan
Libraries
For children between
home and school
Queensland Libraries
Adult education
What’s the one gap
your service is going
for?
“A shared statement that we
intend to be a great nation,
that great nations are built on
great libraries, and that is what
we intend to deliver for
everyone”
Nick Poole

“Public Libraries Provide
Equality Of Access
To Information”
Covers everything we do
(or should be doing)

One last thought

Public
Libraries
should be
the Ace,
not the
Jack

ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews
“Keep up the good work, your blog is hugely valuable. I think
libraries, like playing fields, long suffered from always being a
local fight, without anyone talking about the national picture.”
Jane Mackenzie, Reporter, Private Eye (October 2013).
 ianlibrarian@live.co.uk
 @publiclibnews
 “Public Libraries News” on Facebook
 Ian Anstice on LinkedIn
 Subscribe for free at
www.publiclibrariesnews.com
Professional
image shot.
Makes me
look
trustworthy.
And thinner.

Public Libraries Provide Equality Of Access To Information

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