Websites

The UK Web Archive, part of the British Library, hold 41 sites that it considers useful for the “evolving role of libraries in the UK” and can be found here. The following is my own list:

• Arts Council England is the body with some responsibility for libraries after the abolition of the MLA.  Information about its work supporting libraries is here.  Publications below.
• Campaign for the Book (Alan Gibbons) -  Latest news and comment. Alan Gibbons is an award winning children’s author who was a key player in the campaign against the planned 2009 library closures in the Wirral, he was instrumental in publicising the highly successful Save Libraries Day on 5/2/11.  Also interested in saving school libraries. Campaign for the Book (CFTB) also has a Facebook group. Their twitter hashtag is #cftb
• CILIP and CILIP Campaigning Toolkit - CILIP is the professional association for librarians.  Resources can be downloaded by CILIP members and library campaigners in developing their campaigns and demonstrating the value of professional skills and knowledge.  Twitter hashtag is #cilip.
• DCMS – The Department for Culture Media and Sport has a statutory responsibility to oversee public libraries in the UK.  Jeremy Hunt is the minister for the DCMS, Ed Vaizey is his deputy in charge of public libraries, amongst other things.
• Fight for Libraries - “The BookSeller” magazine campaigns for libraries largely on Facebook and publishes many library-related news articles.  Twitter hashtag is #fight4libraries.
• Good Library Guide – ex-boss of Waterstones’ often controversial blog.  Tim Coates is one of the best-known commentators on public library issues.  While keenly in favour of public libraries, he advocates that savings can be made by removing back-room tasks from councils.  Highly critical of senior library staff, he has not made many friends in the librarianship profession.  Several campaign groups (inc. Isle of Wight and Somerset) have asked him to analyse library accounts.
• Heart of the School - In a similar way to Voices for the Library, this website celebrates and showcase the work of school librarians in the UK and tries to defend them against cuts and closures.
• Libraries for Life for Londoners (LLL) – Set up in 1999, this is an alliance of London library user groups.
• Library Campaign-The Library Campaign is an independent national organisation set up in 1984 to support Friends of Library groups and to campaign for improved services in publicly funded libraries. Since 2004 it has been a registered charity (No. 1102634)  and is funded entirely from donations, membership subscriptions and affiliations.
• Lifetime Libraries - The Local Government Association webpage on libraries.
• Local Government Library Technology (LGLibTech) wiki -  “covers every single UK public library authority. As well as listing the technologies and systems they use it has articles on key technology related issues such as a national public library, ebooks, open source, modernisation review etc.”
• Love your Libraries – UNISON campaign to protect libraries.  UNISON is the trades union which most public library staff belong to.  A new library campaigning handbook was published in June 2011.
• Losing Libraries - the USA experience.  The USA have been facing huge cuts for years and this website shows a map of threatened libraries there.
• Parliament – parliamentary materials on libraries.
• Peters Library News - Lists weekly roundups of prominent public library news.
• Reading Agency -  Independent charity to promote reading.  It is the UK’s leading development agency specializing in spreading reading through libraries and is the force behind the phenomenally successful Summer Reading Challenge.
• Voices for the Library – Voices for the Library is a place for everyone who loves libraries to share their stories and experiences of the value of public libraries.It aims to promote positive media coverage of public libraries.  [NB.  The creator of Public Libraries News is also a member of the Voices for the Library team]. Twitter hashtag is #ukpling