Public Libraries In England Research Articles

Learning from audiobook usage in public libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic

The year 2020 saw the COVID-19 pandemic have a dramatic impact on life across the globe with all institutions having to react to changing circumstances. Public libraries were not exempt from this and found themselves needing to reconsider how they provided services during this time. A growing body of literature suggests that previous behaviour patterns were interrupted during the pandemic, with changes seen in the use of public library resources, and particularly greater use of digital. Although the publishing industry indicates an increase in audiobook use, there is limited research focussed specifically on library settings. This article investigates the provision and promotion of audiobooks in public libraries in England and Wales during the pandemic with a view to understanding both the changes seen in this area and to identify any learnings from this time that can be of benefit to public libraries in the future. A mixed methods research approach explored the views of public librarians on a variety of topics associated with audiobook usage, as well as investigating the impact and style of promotion activities on social media. Some surprising findings arose, including how limitations related to social media promotion of audiobooks were indicative of wider issues, and how questions around the future of audiobooks can shed light on what may be needed in the public library of tomorrow.

Public Libraries as Supportive Environments for Children's Development of Critical Health Literacy.

Critical health literacy enables individuals to use cognitive and social resources for informed action on the wider determinants of health. Promoting critical health literacy early in the life-course may contribute to improved health outcomes in the long term, but children’s opportunities to develop critical health literacy are limited and tend to be school-based. This study applies a settings-based approach to analyse the potential of public libraries in England to be supportive environments for children’s development of critical health literacy. The study adopted institutional ethnography as a framework to explore the public library as an everyday setting for children. A children’s advisory group informed the study design. Thirteen children and 19 public library staff and community stakeholders were interviewed. The study results indicated that the public library was not seen by children, staff, or community stakeholders as a setting for health. Its policies and structure purport to develop health literacy, but the political nature of critical health literacy was seen as outside its remit. A supersetting approach in which children’s everyday settings work together is proposed and a conceptual model of the public library role is presented.

On the Closure of English Public Libraries

ABSTRACTThis article challenges the conventional assumptions about the serious decline of public libraries in England. The author asserts that, as shown by the comparative data for the United States and Australian public libraries, it has not been caused by changes in society or technology. Nor has government austerity been the driving force. The loss of public interest originated in the years from 1990 to 2010 when major alterations were made to the ethos of the service. The current budget cuts and moves to ‘hollow out’ and close library services have come because of the consequent fall in public affection.

Libraries deliver: Ambition for public libraries in England 2016-2021

Con un titulo sugerente y ambicioso, el ano pasado Libraries Taskforce , la agencia gubernamental inglesa de la que forma parte Cilip ( Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals ), publico un informe con el objetivo de ayudar a las bibliotecas publicas proponiendo lineas de trabajo, recogiendo buenas practicas y comprometiendo al Gobierno a apoyar a las bibliotecas para que puedan satisfacer mejor las necesidades de la comunidad local y, al mismo tiempo, fortalecer su imagen.

Resource sharing in the UK public library system: an update

Purpose This paper aims to review the position of UnityUK and FABLibraries (Find a Book in Libraries) some five years after a review by the same author (with Elisabeth Robinson) was published in 2011. Design/methodology/approach The UnityUK service and its co-service FABLibraries is placed in the current service and political context: changing politics and reductions in public service. The conclusions of a survey conducted by the University of Sheffield are noted as current technical developments. Findings Subscriptions to UnityUK remain stable despite an overall decline in interlending. The FABLibraries service is well positioned to play a key role in the creation of a single digital presence for public libraries in England and in the UK. Practical implications The outcome of major recent political change in respect of public service is not yet known, but there is reason to be confident about the role of the two services in supporting resource discovery and supply. Social implications The FABLibraries service is well positioned to be the major building block in a national e-public library platform. This would provide a cost-effective means of making national resources accessible to everyone who can get online. Originality/value The author provides an up-to-date perspective of the impact of change, recent government reports and public sector austerity on interlending and the position of key resource discovery tools in that environment.

Public Libraries in England in the Age of Austerity

In the period of rethinking and reframing of the role of libraries they need to prove competitiveness and to find alternative ways to preserve and enhance its credibility and authority. The article tells how the British libraries managed to preserve cultural traditions, whilst remaining useful and modern, and how the professional library community defends its interests and adapts to the changing requirements of the time.

The Big Society and English public libraries: where are we now?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of the Big Society on public libraries in England. It evaluates the conceptualisation of public libraries as agents in the Big Society agenda and explores the practical implications of this positioning. Design/methodology/approach – The author critically evaluates evidence from a range of literature, documentation and other sources on the topics of the Big Society, localism and public libraries, the majority of which is of English or UK origin, including that from academic journals, books, grey literature and web sites including blogs and discussion lists. Recent and current developments are reviewed and commented on from the author's viewpoint. Findings – The paper advances the view that although public libraries encapsulate many Big Society values, including community empowerment and social action, many local councils are seizing on Big Society rhetoric as an expedient method for driving through cutbacks and closures, rather than as a way of making a true shift of power from governors to the governed. Originality/value – The paper critically evaluates discourses surrounding public libraries and the Big Society with the aim of raising awareness of the local authority policy context and stimulating discussion of the future of public libraries in England.

Book Reviews

Librarianship and information work worldwide 1999 Maurice Line, Graham MacKenzie and Paul Sturges (eds.)
 
 Organization of multimedia resources: principle and practice of
 information retrieval. Mary Burke.
 
 Extremism and the internet. Peter Brophy, Jenny Craven and Shelagh Fisher.
 
 Putting marketing ideas into action. Keith Hart.
 
 Developing information and library staff through work-based learning: 101 activities. Barbara Allan.
 
 Fines and charges in public libraries in England and Wales, 12th edition. Sue Robertson.

From Civic Place to Digital Space: The Design of Public Libraries in Britain from Past to Present

Inaugurated as, at once, an antidote to the social problems of industrialization and a cultural and "scientific" helpmate to progress in an industrial society, public libraries in Britain first appeared in 1850 and soon became a familiar feature, not only on the sociocultural, but also the urban-architectural, landscape. Over the past century and a half, changes in the public library built form have reflected changes in the aims of the public library movement, in architectural style and planning and in wider society. The development and symbolism of the public library built form is analyzed in five periods, stretching from the pre-First World War phases of civic architecture and large-scale philanthropic eclecticism, through the interwar period of embryonic modernism, to the post-Second World War era of full-blown modernism and the subsequent postmodernism of the digital age. In each of these periods, the public library building can be "read" as readily as the books they contained.

Books, Buildings and Social Engineering: Early Public Libraries in Britain from Past to Present

Books, Buildings and Social Engineering: Early Public Libraries in Britain from Past to Present

Books, Buildings and Social Engineeering: Early Public Libraries in Britain from Past to Present

Books, Buildings and Social Engineeering: Early Public Libraries in Britain from Past to Present

Books, Buildings and Social Engineering: Early Public Libraries in Britain from Past to Present

Books, Buildings and Social Engineering: Early Public Libraries in Britain from Past to Present

<i>Books, Buildings and Social Engineering: Early Public Libraries in Britain from Past to Present</i> (review)

<i>Books, Buildings and Social Engineering: Early Public Libraries in Britain from Past to Present</i> (review)

A broken relationship: pushing direct marketing to the public library user

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to critically examine the potential implications of a recent initiative in public libraries in England that sees commercial direct marketing placed in library books borrowed by users.Design/methodology/approachThe article is a reflective viewpoint around the nature of the librarian‐user relationship and discusses some of the literature in this field.FindingsThe paper finds that the initiative potentially endangers a relationship built on impartiality and user needs.Practical implicationThe paper analyses a new area of public library policy.Originality/valueTakes a critical approach to a new initiative in public libraries in England.

Public libraries and adult learners

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a discussion of three “grey” areas which emerged from a study on adult learning provision both within and outside public libraries in England – formal and informal learning, promotion and attracting learners, and evaluation and feedback.Design/methodology/approachThe paper utilises a literature review, interviews with the regional agencies of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), and interviews with a purposive select sample of public library services in England.FindingsThe public libraries sampled demonstrated their expertise in reaching out to a range of different social groups and their willingness to work with a variety of partners to provide the wide range of courses and services needed. Good reciprocal partnership relationships have been established. The need for more sophisticated market research and promotion is identified. Evaluation and feedback are subject to various interpretations and form an area surrounded by difficulties.Research limitations/implicationsThe study undertaken for the MLA is the first phase of a project on public libraries and adult learners.Practical implicationsExamples of reciprocal arrangements and their implications are provided. The impact on library staff roles of the grey area between informal and formal learning is identified with different expectations for staff by different library authorities. The variety of methods used to promote adult learning services could be more sophisticated and specifically targeted in some communities. Highlights the conflict between obtaining robust feedback and the effect this may have on tentative learners by changing a relaxed informal atmosphere.Originality/valueThe paper draws on a study undertaken for the MLA that selectively reviews adult learning provision within and outside public libraries in England and identifies key strengths in public libraries for adult learners.

Are public libraries led or managed?

PurposeTo investigate senior library leaders' perceptions of leadership, and to critically explore whether senior librarians distinguish classic leadership from management/administrative practices, both conceptually and in their work lives.Design/methodology/approachThirty top‐level public librarians from Ireland, Britain, and the east coast of the United States were selected for inclusion in this study. A review of the relevant literature was conducted in order to design an interview guide which was then used to conduct structured in‐depth face‐to‐face interviews.FindingsMany responses from the senior librarians indicated an apparent ignorance of any distinction between leadership and management. Eighty per cent of respondents tended to confuse leadership with headship, management, administration, or bureaucracy, or a combination of these. The findings argue that classic leadership is a relatively scarce quality in public libraries in Britain, Ireland, and America. Many public library leaders, instead, focus on management/administration.Practical implicationsThe findings have practical implications for librarians at the recruitment and selection stage, and later on for the career paths of middle management personnel who show aptitudes for leadership.Originality/valueThis study of the perceptions of senior public library leaders, across national boundaries, makes a theoretical contribution both to the limited extant literature on leadership in librarianship, and the broad corpus of organizational leadership literature. The current study is the most in‐depth study to date, drawing on thirty face‐to‐face interviews with thirty public library leaders.

Public Libraries in England: A valuable public service or a service in distress?

Compares and contrasts the Department of Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Reports of 2000 and 2005. Suggests that an increasing focus on public library matters can mean either that public libraries are moving up the political agenda or that they are a cause for concern. Discusses how the two reports show developments but also failings in public library service policy and provision over the five-year period. Both reports cover the regulatory framework governing public libraries but the 2005 report documents changes to reporting systems which, it is feared, will not improve the standard of below standard library services. Concerns about access to library buildings also featured in both reports. The success of the People's Network was praised in both 2000 and 2005 although the practice in some library authorities of charging for access to ICT was condemned strongly in the latter. The two reports emphasized the problem of the decline in the book lending service caused by a fall in the value of the book fund. It is concluded that although the 2005 report contains many criticisms of the provision and management of public library services in England, these should be viewed as an opportunity by the public library community to lobby local and national politicians for funding and action to rectify the problems identified.

'To each according to his needs': public libraries and socially excluded people.

To deliver a comprehensive and efficient service to all the community, public libraries must first identify needs and allocate an appropriate level of resources. This article focuses on public libraries in England. It outlines: the Government's policy on social inclusion; the needs of the various socially excluded groups; partnerships and funding; staff training and motivation; and examples of good practice.

Public business libraries: the next chapter

Traces the history of the provision of business information by Leeds Public Libraries, UK, from the opening of the Public Commercial and Technical Library in 1918 to the revolutionary impact of the Internet in the 1990s. Describes how the Library came to terms with the need to integrate the Internet into its mainstream business information services, with particular reference to its limitations and to the provision of company information, market research, British Standards information, press cuttings and articles from specialized trade and scientific journals, and patents information. Focuses on some of the reasons why the public business library is still needed as a service to businesses, even after the introduction of the Internet and considers the Library’s changing role and the need to impress on all concerned, especially government, the continuing value of these services. Looks to the partnerships formed by the Library over the years and the ways in which these are expected to assist in realizing future opportunities, in particular, the fact that all public libraries in England gained free Internet access at the end of 2001. Offers some useful ideas about how the Library could develop, noting that SINTO, a Sheffield based information network formed in 1938 and originally a partnership between the public library, the two Sheffield universities and various leading steel companies of the time, is being examined as a model for future services in Leeds. Concludes that the way forward can be defined in terms of five actions: redefinition of priorities; marketing; budgets; resources; and the use of information technology (IT).

Setting the Standard for Comprehensive and Efficient Public Library Services

Outlines the new public library standards for England, drawn up by the Department of Cultur Media and Sport (DCMS) and coming into force in April 2001. The degree to which the new standards are likely to satisfy the critics of the Public Library and Museums Act, 1964, particularly regarding the definition of what constitutes a “comprehensive and efficient” service, is discussed. It is concluded that the new standards, drawn up by the DCMS in collaboration with the Library Association and the Local Government Association, are a bold step, defining what library users can expect and what kinds of services local authorities must provide to comply with the 1964 Act. It is argued that the requirement for authorities to adhere to a set of standards setting out requirements for access, range and scope of services will result in a fundamental and consistent level of library provision throughout England. Users will have a clear idea of what to expect from services and a set of rules governing when the Ministry will intervene if standards fall short of requirements. Areas covered by the standards, including the need to secure adequate funding, worries about declining book borrowing and the continuing emphasis on buildings and library stock, are summarized. It is concluded that the new standards and targets will ensure that all public libraries in England meet their statutory duty and strengthen the provisions laid down by the 1964 Act.