Public Libraries and Reading

Abstract

While there has been some concern that the focus on ICT in UK public libraries may have diverted attention away from the core business of books, there are strong indications that enormous public library interest and government finance is being channelled into the promotion of fiction. Reading promotion schemes in public libraries have been recently introduced and include initiatives by organizations such as: Opening the Book; the Reading Partnership, the DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund; and the Branching Out initiative; which demonstrate the scope for the imaginative promotion of books and reading within public libraries. The proactive promotion of fiction to adult readers is a relatively new venture for many public librarians, even though promotion in the form of displays, book lists and author visits have long been common promotional tools. The promotion of library stock and planning of reader development activities require librarians to understand why people read fiction, the needs that it fulfils and the role it plays in people’s lives. While catering for the needs of readers, public libraries frequently overlook the needs of those who are unable to read. Nevertheless, there is evidence that UK public libraries are working hard to remedy this situation, with support for the development of adult basic skills and the introduction of the concept of community librarianship, with its focus on trying to make public library services more relevant to disadvantaged sections of the community. This has led to the growth of library-based literacy initiatives, such as those funded by the DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund, focusing on promoting reading to children and young people and including work with families and special needs communities such as travellers and the homeless.