Literature

Plans to switch library provision in Birmingham to a mixture of council and community-run hubs to save money have been put out for consultation.

Launching the exercise, Birmingham City Council said that, based on current information on community interest and co-location opportunities, it estimates this combination of provision could allow for 25 building-based library services. 

"For more than a decade, tightening budgets for maintenance, staffing and technology have made Birmingham Libraries’ current delivery model inefficient and not effective," a statement accompanying the consultation said.

"The current budget challenges mean that library budgets have been further reduced. 

"In that time we have also seen the way people use libraries has changed with a reduction in people accessing library buildings, yet the need for free and facilitated access to information, culture, and advice is high in the city. 

"Public libraries in Birmingham have a long and strong track record of adapting to new demands and changed circumstances, therefore, an essential review and redesign of the way we provide information and library services in Birmingham offers the best route towards a long-term, effective and sustainable solution."

The consultation on the plans is open until 17 July.

Organisations interested in running 10 community libraries in Derby have been given a month to register their interest.

Following Derby City Council's approval of plans for the city’s non-statutory libraries to be run by a trust, a formal expression of interest process has opened to invite viable proposals. 

Under the plans, legally required statutory library provision will continue to be delivered by the council from five static libraries.

But the council wants the city's 10 community libraries to be run by a separate organisation, either as itself or through the establishment of a new trust.

Organisations have until 26 April to submit an expression of interest.

Baggy Shanker, Leader of Derby City Council, said: “Our ambition is to protect and sustain our libraries for the future and drive forward their growth.

“This is a different opportunity from previous proposals as the council is now seeking a single, separate trust to champion all 10 of Derby’s community libraries to deliver and enhance needs-led, sustainable services.

“Libraries are the backbone of thriving communities. They work hand-in-hand with other public services."
 

Libraries across England generate at least £3.4bn in value a year to the economy through the services they provide, a study has found.

The Guardian reports that researchers at the University of East Anglia discovered that the services a typical branch provides in a year are worth £1m.

The study found the overall value of libraries, through supporting children’s literacy, digital inclusion and health, could equate to six times their running costs.

The project was funded by library services in the east of England and received a £30,000 contribution from Arts Council England (ACE).

“The evidence is clear: investing in libraries brings huge returns for local communities and the public purse,” Isobel Hunter, Chief Executive of Libraries Connected, the charity that commissioned the report, said.

Luke Burton, Director for Libraries at ACE said he hopes the UEA report can help make the case to potential partners and funders to support libraries.

Birkbeck, University of London plans to cut 140 roles this academic year, including up to 11 staff in the department of English, theatre and creative writing.

Birkbeck, which offers classes almost exclusively in the evenings, says the proposals, if approved, could lead to the loss of up to 140 posts. A spokesperson for the university said that many of these are already vacant or will become so over the academic year.

Alongside cuts to English, theatre and creative writing, up to seven roles in film, media and cultural studies will be affected.

Birkbeck has said it needs to make the cuts to fill a multi-million pound deficit caused by a fall in student numbers, but the union has vowed to fight the proposals, saying they are "a disaster for students and the university".

Last week Birkbeck's local University and College Union (UCU) said overwhelmingly voted for a motion of no confidence in the senior leadership team and to move towards an industrial dispute. 

UCU Birkbeck branch president Mike Berlin said: "We will not allow hard working staff to lose their jobs because of mistakes by senior management. 

"Birbeck's cuts, which do not include any plans for recovery and growth, are a recipe for managed decline. Birkbeck has a proud history of reaching students who otherwise would not enter higher education. 

"Sacking 140 staff, including up to one in four teaching staff, threatens to trash that history. The cuts would severely harm student learning and jeopardise the university's commitment to social mobility and lifelong learning. 

"We urge management to rethink its knee jerk job cuts and instead work with us to look at how we can attract more students. If the university refuses to do so we will have no option other than to begin taking steps for an industrial ballot."

Seven Stories, the national centre for children's books, is making entry free for good.

The museum removed admission fees on a trial basis in February and received record visitor numbers - 7,500 in a single week.

Since free entry aligns with its overall engagement strategy, it has decided to keep the model permanently.

CEO Wendy Elliott said attendance at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne site now far exceeds pre-pandemic levels.

"It was fantastic to see so many new visitors enjoying our galleries and events, from our region and further afield.

"Our goal is to put stories at the heart of every childhood, no matter what background or place you grow up in, and in order to do that we need be as accessible as possible to as many children as possible."

Most adults think digital services are an inadequate replacement for traditional libraries.

More than half (57%) expressed their preference for in-person services in a survey by the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Just under a quarter (22%) agreed an online replacement was adequate.

The number of people using digital library services was up 11% last year on pre-pandemic levels, amounting to one fifth of all library users.

University of Glasgow professor David McMenemy, one of the research leads, said the findings suggest people missed libraries during the lockdowns.

"They are also social spaces at the heart of communities."
 

Twenty-three library projects across Scotland will receive a share of the £1.25m Public Library Covid Relief Fund.

The Scottish Government has awarded funding to local authorities to reopen libraries that closed during the pandemic, start wellbeing cafes and facilitate home library services.

The largest grant of £448,000 will help reopen five Glasgow libraries and increase opening hours across the city.

Scotland's Culture Minister Jenny Gilruth said the funding reflects the Government's goal of driving cultural recovery through its communities.

"This fund will see the provision of community-centred projects aimed at, among other things, reducing social isolation, promoting mental wellbeing and reducing the poverty-related attainment gap."