Libraries should capitalise on appeal as community hubs, report recommends

Promoting libraries as social spaces could help overcome access barriers, a new report finds.

Carried out on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to understand barriers to engagement with public library services in England, the research was undertaken in light of previous government figures showing a decline in public library use in recent years. 

For the report, market research company IPSOS collected qualitative responses from a range of individuals who had not used library services in the past year via focus groups, interviews and app activities. The findings set out potential policy interventions that could be deployed by local or national government to better promote library use. 

The report finds several barriers to access, including limited awareness of services/activities, time constraints, accessibility, social identity, library environment, personal relevance, availability of services/activities elsewhere and library atmosphere and aesthetic.

Identifying actions to tackle these challenges, the report suggests raising awareness of the range of services that public libraries provide, especially digital services, addressing practical barriers to engagement, particularly opening hours and parking facilities and clarifying the types of spaces available for all demographics.

The report also advises libraries to build on their existing appeal as community hubs, providing a range of resources and a social space for meeting new people or bringing together existing groups. 

However, there were some concerns were raised by participants that a diverse offering was stretching libraries too far and risked diluting its core services or duplicating the provision of services such as career advice, health-related information and support in digital skills.

Outdated web services

Where libraries offered other services, survey participants highlighted that it was often challenging to find detailed information about them, particularly from library websites.

Respondents reported that to find the website for their local libraries, sometimes they would be routed through a local council website, which some found frustrating. 

Others said the look and feel of library web pages needed improvement, noting a lack of dynamic content that would encourage or inspire the use of services. Generally, there was a low awareness of online library services, including access to e-books and audiobooks.

Since 2018, the British Library has been working on the possibility of a single digital presence for public libraries, called LibraryOn, to bring together England’s network of 152 library services, which each have their own technology and management systems, into one website to enable the public to access collections across the country.

Working with Arts Council England, the project is currently in a beta phase with the long-term ambition to help promote the visibility of local libraries.

However, some have criticised the length of time and resources spent developing the project, with one senior arts figure telling The Observer last year: “It’s appalling…Libraries have been left behind in the 1970s. The digital revolution hasn’t really impacted on them. They are stuck behind their own local authority IT system. The point of the digital presence would be to empower them.”

Long-term challenges

Speaking in the House of Commons on 31 October, Arts Minister Chris Bryant said that following the study, DCMS will commission further research to test its findings and insights “at scale” to inform policy design and implementation. 

He added he would also meet library sector organisations and leaders to discuss the challenges in the sector, reflect on priority policy areas, and consider how the sector can best be supported. 

DCMS analysis of local authority revenue expenditure and financing shows that, in total, net expenditure by local authorities on public libraries fell by 47% in real terms between 2009/10 and 2022/23, from £1.2bn to £673m.

“Despite the value and benefit of public libraries for users, the library sector has faced several long-term challenges, and the context for library engagement and delivery has changed significantly,” said Bryant. “Recent challenges include the impact of government-driven austerity, leading to cuts to local authority budgets; the COVID-19 pandemic, which drastically affected people’s engagement with and use of libraries; and the increasingly digital world. 

“We cannot shy away from those challenges.”