You also need to factor in the ongoing capital costs of library provision as you refer to revenue – there are capital implications. Libraries exist in often ageing buildings where the town centre has often moved away from them. They are expensive to maintain.

Well said Anonymous. And I say that as a public library supporter. It would be great if the librarians in the blogosphere (VTFL etc.) could focus more on solutions in providing the public library service in the context of lower government cash budgets.

It is difficult to see how the revised CILIP policy alters anything in practice. I can’t see a Council increasing its library budget because of CILIP. Is CILIP saying it is better to close public libraries or drastically reduce opening hours rather than use volunteers to maintain or expand the service? I think the public might have a different view.

Closing libraries, in short, brings with it a world of trouble.

But cutting social services? Point me to the massive campaign in favour of day centres, or services to those with mental health issues? Or in favour of retaining the administrators who pass forms between the NHS and the police and the council, or diet in older people’s homes.

Believe it or not, but libraries are one of the sexier council services. Which is why the apocalyptic vision predicted by some of hundreds of libraries closing has not come to pass.

And as for your idea that demand for social services isn’t rising hugely, all I can sat, Ruby, is look outside of Oxfordshire (it’s a lot leafy elsewhere, mate) and also look at demand statistics, not costs. Ageing population, unemployment – all are creating demands on social services, and it is ludicrous to claim otherwise

All this when library usage has been declining for years. Demands for libraries are actually dropping while other services are increasing. But this isn’t a library issue it’s a local government issue. Do we have too many councils? Possibly.

In any case, the library campaigners need to get their heads together and come up with some solutions or else they will be dropped on libraries. The next spending review will have possibly 25% cuts for local government in it.

Unless you reverse the austerity policies of all main parties between now and then cuts there will be. So what do we do to deal with that?

The defence of libraries has to grow up a hell of a lot and become a lot more sophisticated. Calls for councils to merge or share back office functions is a step in the right direction is a good step forward, and I’ll credit you with that, but lots of councils are doing it anyway.

What, you are trying to tell me that leaders of library services facing the brunt of 30% cuts in local government funding (there’s another 20% to come by the way) were doing something so heinous as facing up to the reality that we WILL NOT have as many librarians and we WILL NOT have as many libraries as in the past, but were trying in good faith to find a way to at least keep library services going? And in doing this very reasonable activity they accepted that more volunteers could keep some people’s access to library services?

What evil people!

I’m sure you will point out the error of their ways and show how they can find all the money that the cuts have removed. Of course we don’t need community libraries because we can keep all the ones we’ve got open!
Looking forward to your answers of how this can be the case, and please don’t try the “reverse the cuts line”. I hate these cuts, but they are happening and this is something we have to cope with. That is life, not the rarified debates of CILIP.