The official view on volunteer libraries has been released (Community Libraries; Learning from experience: summary briefing for local authorities – Locality).  Firmly supporting the Big Society view, its ten case studies and survey of the national picture, suggests that such libraries are a viable alternative to paid staff and indeed may provide longer hours and more services.  It also states that volunteer libraries are statutory as long as they are free, receive some form of council support and that the relevant council has decided that they are statutory. The survey finds that each and every authority is approaching the subject differently and that, even within councils, different volunteer branches are doing things in their own way.  However, this is seen as a positive thing, encouraging local solutions.

Indeed, “positive” is the over-riding theme of the report.  Although the current financial crisis – the over-riding factor, one imagines, in almost all cases of transfer so far – is acknowledged, it is seen as only one driver of four, the other three being technology, localism and joining up services.  The oft-reported view that volunteers are almost always volunteering simply to keep the library open rather than in the belief that it should not be job of the Council, as shown in the recent WI report, is also perhaps not given sufficient attention.  Anyone reading the report without an awareness of what is happening to local government budgets would think that unpaid staff are superior to paid staff and that councils have been wasting their money for all of these years.  Similarly, the ad hoc creation of unpaid branches that are different to eachother is seen as the best way of doing things, rather than any attempt at a standardised facts-based approach.   To be fair, though, the report does go some way towards providing guidelines for authorities and does concede that volunteering may not be the solution in some areas, presumably in those of high family stress, that most need libraries.

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A theme for today’s news appears to be a debate about how far libraries should go down the line of moving from books (and even e-books) into something else.  A LinkedIn strand, populated by a wide range of librarians, decries libraries as simply stores for printed books and, it seems, the book generally.  That many people deeply care for the printed book was obvious as one campaigner described the views expressed as “anathema” to her.  She’s not alone, as this heartwarming post from Mashable demonstrates.

That times are changing is irrefutable.  Amazon are lending books, not just one at a time but also on a pay-more-the-longer-you-keep-it model.  A respected survey of the near future suggests we can expect augmented reality and open content within 2 to 3 years.  That’s way beyond the current social media / e-book stuff that libraries are still struggling with. Little wonder then that people think that the printed book, and sometimes the library, just ain’t what it used to be.

Librarians are trying their best to keep up and there are many positive moves in this direction.  The Public Libraries Information Offer is a very hopeful move, albeit one unlikely to be welcomed by the ultra-traditionalist. Library services are trying all ways, up to and including pole dancing, to get their message out, although due to a lack of anything near a national advertising budget or marketing plan, this is still very ad hoc and disappointing to many.  National Libraries Day is one of the few national pushes in this regard and it is heartening that some authorities are going all out in this regard.  It is very disheartening, though, that some authorities last year avoided doing any events for the day and that there are suspicions this year that this is happening again.

There can be very few other services where celebrating it is viewed with suspicion, even by a minority of its workers.  Similarly, there can be few other services where the main reason for the existence of the service – I’m talking the book here, in all its forms – seems to be unpopular amongst some professionals.  Let’s be clear on this.  A library is about so much more than books.  It can be a community centre, an IT suite, a health desk and a council information point and a hundred other things.  But a library without books (I include e-books in this) is not a library.  It is a community centre or a council One Stop Shop or … something else … but not a library.  It is the book that defines the library in the eyes of the public and it’s wonderfulness should be shouted about constantly by the profession.  Or the barbarians will treat us as merely community centres or One Stop Shops or … something else … and something unique and beautiful will be lost.  It would certainly be a brave move when the Government and local authorities are demanding so much bottom line from the sector.  However, we can see what is happening at he moment by claiming we’re the wonderful Jack of All Trades.  It ain’t pretty.

Anyway, I get tired of writing depressing summaries so I’m going to end with a laugh.  Below is a highly amusing Lord of the Rings parody that surprisingly turns into a celebration of libraries as they should be, with a good joke or five thrown into the mix.

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Manchester has announced five libraries may close and one other will be combined with a leisure centre.  But that’s not what’s making history today,  Announced plans for closures are hardly ground-breaking.  No, the big news is that, in the first letter of its kind during the current libraries crisis, an open letter from library staff – from Westminster Libraries – has been published criticising the cuts to the service.  It notes that the workload of libraries staff is going up while their budget and numbers are going down.  The letter also points out that the councillors have refused to take any pay cuts themselves while expecting library staff to take a 10% cut.  It goes on that the council has hired two new highly paid officers for the same amount of money than it would have cost to keep a closed library open.

The interesting thing about this letter is that Eric Pickles would have no trouble with it.  It does not question the need for cuts but blames the cuts on poor decisions by councillors.  If Westminster was a Labour council, the Government would approve of the letter and quote it.  But Westminster is heartland Conservative … and so the Government will not say one word.

It is the first word heard from serving library staff criticising their Council (and thus their employers) for a good reason of course – publicly criticising one’s employers is a disciplinary offence.  However, this is signed from all staff.  It will be interesting to see what, if anything, happens and if it encourages other workers in other parts of the country to protest in similar fashion.  Many campaigners have wholeheartedly welcomed the bravery of the letter.

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The main news today is the production of a report by the WI (in which I must declare an interest in as I facilitated the workshop for it) that looks into volunteer-run libraries.  The main thrust of the report is that volunteers are doing great things but risk being only a temporary stage between council-run branches and closure.  For this to be any other way, there needs to be properly supported and well-managed, both locally and nationally. So far, in too many cases, they have been inadequately supported and left to sink or swim on their own.  Of course, to do any other than this is going to be hard for councils who are only considering volunteers in the first place due to unprecedented and urgent cuts to their budgets.

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Islington Council have said that they may have to close all libraries in 2014 if the cuts continue.  The spokesman did not appear aware that libraries were a statutory requirement.  However, she can be forgiven for this being that the legal nature of libraries has been downplayed or just plain avoided in cuts up and down the country.  It only appears to be public protest that has an impact on proposed closure plans.  Sheffield have also signalled that they may cut everything but statutory services, with 14 already under threat.

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