Do libraries treat their readers as racists?

Editorial

Sometimes a thing comes along that crystallises your thinking and makes you realise things about your work. One of these for me was watching a recording of the “Promoting Diverse Content” webinar put on by Libraries Connected. The excellent panel made clear a few fundamental things wrong about libraries. Libraries too often treat non white literature as different and not as a fundamental part of our normal collections, sometimes not buying good material because it is felt that it does not reflect the user base.

Jolly well reflect good books, not your clientele, who will show they actually enjoy reading stuff by non-whites was the answer to that. Don’t treat your readers like they’re racist. Another was that hunting out such books should be our job, and that we shouldn’t blame side-lined authors and publishers for not having it on Askews or Peters but rather push for them ourselves. Finally, I could not help but thinking that seasonal promotions libraries do, like Black History Month, are getting a bit tokenistic now and that we should consider other options. After all what would think people think about a White History Month? And worse than that, isn’t that absolutely everything else we do?

So a lot of potentially far-reaching stuff to think about but this also raises another library failing. Far too much over the last decade has the crucial task of choosing the books been passed on to suppliers. These are companies, while very good, who respond to commercial pressures and, rigidly, to the buying templates services send them. These templates that are sometimes old and depend on someone in the library service to change it to reflect current needs. Some library services no longer have these skills, and most staff ratios certainly don’t reflect demographics. So this is a bit of a provocative editorial and deliberately so. Have a think yourself. But make sure you watch the webinar first, including the questions at the end.

National news

• Black Stories Matter : Promoting diverse content – Libraries Connected. “n this session we will hear from an author, publisher and bookseller to find out more about the challenges they face in ensuring that Black stories are published and promoted.”
  • Black Stories Matter: Talking about race – Libraries Connected. Tuesday 15 September 3pm. “The webinars aim to provoke debate, discussion and extend our thinking. We want them to be a safe space for discussion and questioning and to lay the groundwork for future work.”
• Burning the Books — why memory matters – Financial Times. “In free societies, there is still a danger to our records, not only in events such as the Windrush card destruction, but in the underfunding and closure of public libraries. It is tempting to think the danger of literature erasure is now behind us because we can store it all digitally. This, Ovenden says, is mistaken. Digital records are fragile.”
  • Burning the Books by Richard Ovenden review – the libraries we have lost – Guardian.
  • Burning the books by Richard Ovenden – BBC Radio Four. Five 14 minute podcasts on the book.

• The case for public libraries: Creating a safe place for everyone – Living Libraries. “We’re currently spotlighting our policy intervention, Living Libraries: The case for public libraries in the words of those who use, work in and run them. In this short publication, we make eight recommendations for decision-makers, on four themes: health and wellbeing; community; information; and the environment. Read on to find out more about the second strand of our research, on the vital role libraries play in communities:”
• Coronavirus: Hundreds of libraries could close amid Covid-19 crisis, warn campaigners – Independent.”Councils are going to be cutting anything they can lay their hands on because the situation is so severe,” Laura Swaffield, chair of the group, told The Independent. “And in these situations, we know from years of experience, they come for libraries because they are seen as an easy target. The numbers lost are not going to be good.” … “Ian Anstice, a librarian who runs the super-comprehensive Public Libraries News website, said he also feared for the future.”
• The library — like working from home, but better – Nick Poole. “You could not invent a network of trusted locations with the power to help get the nation back on its feet like our public libraries. No commercial enterprise could achieve the same scale or reach, with the same impact as cost-effectively. Thanks to initiatives like the British Library’s business and IP Centres, no other network could leverage the same authoritative startup support, nor provide the same platform for inclusive local economic growth.”

International news

• Australia – Rosewood Library shines bright – Public Libraries Connect. “Performance-wise, the new library is less than four weeks old at time of writing but in that time has amassed several hundred new members and circulated over 4,500 loans”
• Global – “The Futures You Didn’t See Coming” at CIL & IL Connect Conference, 23rd September – Mechanical Dolphin. “On September 23rd, at 09:30 AM Eastern Time, I’ll be joining Erik Boekesteijn at the online CIL & IL Connect 2020 conference for a quick chat about foresight and futures for information professionals, their institutions, and the communities they serve. Erik is running a daily interview strand with a range of information professionals and their allies as part of the event.”
• Nigeria – British Council Launches Digital Library – This Day Live. “Access to the Digital Library will be free for 3 months for every registered member.
  As a member of the Digital library, there will be access to world-class resources, from online study resources and academic journals to popular eBooks and audiobooks, award-winning movies and documentaries, magazines and newspapers, comics and graphics novels from around the world and learning resources for skills development.”

Local news by authority

• Dorset – Library to reopen in September – Lyme Online. “ remaining 11 libraries that have been closed since the beginning of the pandemic are set to open their doors from next week.”
• Essex – Library protesters finish 75-mile trek across Essex – Clacton Gazette. “Members of the Save Our Libraries Essex (Sole) group spent more than a week walking through north Essex to demonstrate their opposition to plans to make some libraries volunteer-led.”
  • Harlow campaigners join 75-mile Essex march for libraries – Your Harlow. ” Twelve year old SOLE supporter Josefine Bäckman Julif said to the crowd:- ‘I’m so happy to see so many of you library lovers here. I’m here today because I think libraries are so important. Books and education go hand in hand. Libraries are not just for borrowing books. Did you know that twelve percent of all eleven to eighteen year olds have no internet at home?’”
• Gateshead – Gateshead’s libraries set to reopen following coronavirus lockdown – Chronicle Live. “From Monday, libraries across the borough will reopen to the public with limited capacity and reduced opening hours.”
• Hampshire – Changes to Hampshire libraries’ opening hours to be revealed -Hampshire Chronicle. “As reported, the libraries set for closure are those in Blackfield and Lyndhurst , Fair Oak, South Ham, Elson library in Gosport, Horndean,Lee-on-the-Solent library and Odiham library in Hart. The authority also withdrew its support to community libraries in Lowford, Milford-on-Sea and North Baddesley. “
• Hertfordshire – Donate to Hertfordshire Libraries – Hertfordshire Council. “Donate- specify amount: We support all communities across the county, issuing 5 million items from 48 service points To donate, please visit www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/librarydonations. 100% of your donation goes directly to Hertfordshire Libraries and is used to maintain and enhance our services.”

• Summer Reading Challenge Continues – Hertfordshire Council. “There is still time to pop into any of the libraries listed above to collect your free pack. The online challenge ends on 30 September, but you can still continue the challenge at home beyond that date.”
• Lancashire – Padiham, Colne and Clitheroe libraries latest to reopen next week – Pendle Today. “Libraries in Clitheroe, Colne and Padiham are among another 15 branches due to be reopened by Lancashire County Council next Wednesday”
• Liverpool – Joe Anderson puts halt to controversial city centre zip wire – Liverpool Echo. “Mayor Joe Anderson has stepped in to halt a plan for a zip wire that would have landed on the roof of Liverpool Central Library, after weeks of controversy over the scheme. The city’s planning committee approved an application for the zip wire to pass from the Radio City tower and over St John’s Gardens before landing on the roof of the library. However, the decision faced serious opposition from conservationists, architects and residents who said it would lead to the “disneyfication” of the city centre.”
• Moray – Library scheme in Moray to be expanded after proving hit with readers – Press and Journal. “An “order and collect” scheme was launched at Elgin Library two weeks ago to give residents access to the service again. Since then, 257 collection slots have been used with 976 books borrowed. Now Moray Council has confirmed that the ordering service will be expanded elsewhere due to the demand. Libraries in Forres, Buckie, Keith, Aberlour and Lossiemouth will be running the scheme from Monday.”
• North Yorkshire – North Yorkshire libraries press ahead with phased reopening – North Yorkshire County Council. ““Some customers thought browsing meant look but not touch, but this isn’t the case,” said County Councillor Greg White, Executive Member for Libraries. “So we apologise for any confusion. You can now enjoy selecting books to borrow. Many of you have visited, but we know others have not yet done so, so why not put on your face covering, use our hand sanitiser and venture in to see for yourself how safe we have made it for you.”

• Oxfordshire – Oxfordshire’s library staff share plans to prevent virus’ spread – Oxford Mail. “Oxfordshire’s libraries have been gradually reopening with 20 of the 44 now open for business – and work behind the scenes has not stopped.”
  • Library still shut – Henley Standard. “Councillor Tim Horton told a parish council meeting this week: “There’s some frustration, even anxiety, in the town, that the library has not re-opened, nor has it a date to open.””
• Powys – Library ‘order and collect’ service in Powys has been a success – Powys County Times.
• Somerset – Burnham-On-Sea Library unveils new order-and-collect service to get library books – Burnham on Sea. “The mobile library is also back on the road”
• South Gloucestershire – South Gloucestershire libraries to reopen – Gazette Series. “From Monday, customers will be able to drop-in and browse the books on offer for the first time since March.”
• South Lanarkshire – Dates announced for pools and libraries in South Lanarkshire to re-open – Daily Record. “The libraries at Avondale Community Wing, Uddingston, Greenhills and Larkhall will also reopen on the same day.”
• Staffordshire – Staffordshire libraries re-introduce browsing – Tamworth Informed. “From this week, (1 September) library customers will be able to make their own choices at the 16 libraries directly managed by the county council.”
• Suffolk – ​New publication shines a light on how Suffolk Libraries supports positive wellbeing across the county – Suffolk Libraries. “During lockdown Suffolk Libraries saw a huge surge in interest in its eLibrary services with physical books temporarily unavailable. Figures for 2019/20 showed that there had already been an increase before COVID-19. The total number of library items borrowed, downloaded or streamed rose to 3.4 million in 19/20, an increase of over 8%. This positive trajectory far outweighs the national trend of fewer physical books being borrowed.”
• West Dunbartonshire – West Dunbartonshire Libraries online service still open – Clydebank Post. “Several libraries in the region are offering a click and collect service to borrow books where a maximum of five items can be requested remotely by telephone or online and once available a collection time will be arranged.”
• Worcestershire – More than 1,500 people visited Bromsgrove Library in the first month after lockdown – Bromsgrove Standard. “Overall across the county, 16,000 people headed out to their local library with The Hive being the highest at 5,400. Since re-opening, Libraries have also provided much needed digital access to local residents, recording more than 1,500 unique computer sessions during the period.”
• York – Book quarantines and hand gel – everything you need to know as York libraries prepare to reopen – Press. “All 15 libraries, plus the three reading cafés, will be open for you to browse and borrow books – and at most of them you’ll also be able to access the internet on library PCs. You’ll even be able to get a cup of coffee and a bite to eat.”