The wrong kind of hackathon

Editorial

The hack into the British Library is important. For such an important institution, and one that is when all is said and done, all about storing data, to be so vulnerable to attack, says a lot about the lack of proper cyber protection in British public organisations. And this does not just cause embarrassment to the institution and worries to staff (I am still a bit unsure as to why photos of staff passports were on the system). Due to the apparent interconnected nature of the system, the catalogue is still down so researchers’ work is blocked and authors will have Public Lending Right payments delayed. In addition, the hack looks also to have severely damaged the financial reserves of the British Library and so potentially causes a hazard long-term.

Zooming out from the British Library, hacking is a very global, professional and profitable concern and it’s not only such comparatively big names as the British Library that get affected. Just in the past couple of months, a local council or two, plus at least one Canadian library service, have been as well. Heck, I have even seen this very website being the subject of hacks. And of course it’s a lucky one of us that has not personally been the subject of a phishing scam. However, this is not just a threat but an opportunity for public libraries. This sector can have a role in making life better. Cyber security and information literacy are closely connected and public libraries can help the public understand and mitigate the risks. I hope that we do so.

But this is going to be challenging as the library service is so atomised and under financial pressure that a large-scale sufficiently-funded national plan for doing so appears unlikely. Have a look at the excellent Twitter (I still refuse to call it X, please can Elon Musk please go away?) thread from Nick Poole below on the subject and also how the delay in the Single Digital Presence is affecting things. But bear in mind that the scheme is actually on track now and so this complaint may hopefully be a historical one shortly. It’s been a long time coming but we should get it soon. After all, what else can cause a delay? Wait. Oh no. What do you mean it’s a British Library project?

Changes by local authority

• Bournemouth Christchurch Poole – £440k cut, opening hours reduced.
• Cardiff – Cuts of up to £308k proposed including opening hour cuts, fewer paid staff.
• Medway – Chatham Library closed due to heating problems
• Newport – Proposals to close Pill and St Julian’s libraries; move Malpas and Bettws libraries into co-locations.
• Southend – Library closures cancelled.

National news

• British Library to burn through reserves to recover from cyber attack – Financial Times. “the British Library will drain about 40 per cent of its reserves to recover from a cyber attack that has crippled one of the UK’s critical research bodies and rendered most of its services inaccessible.” £6 to £7 million will be spent. Catalogue still down. Some “users criticised the library for taking more than a month to notify them of the cyber attack.” see also Richard Osman among authors missing royalties amid ongoing cyber-attack on British Library – Guardian. ” PLR payments will not be paid as expected while the British Library, which manages the service, fights to restore its crippled systems.”
• Charity launches support scheme for at-risk libraries in wake of budget cuts – Guardian. “Around 650 libraries will receive resources from Libraries Connected programme, as almost one in five council leaders fear bankruptcy this year or next” … scheme “offers a confidential peer support network, resource library, tailored training and communications support”… ““We are deeply concerned by the growing number of councils issuing statutory section 114 notices, and the effect this is already having on library services,” said Libraries Connected chief executive Isobel Hunter.”

“Ultimately, the council funding crisis cannot be solved without a fair, long-term financial settlement for local government,” said Hunter. “Until then, we are ready to work with local authorities to deliver the best possible library service within the financial constraints they face.”

Isobel Hunter, Libraries Connected

International news

• Australia – What’s happening at your local library? A lot, apparently – The Age. “At Melbourne’s new three-storey narrm ngarrgu Library and Family Services at Queen Victoria Market, you’ll find a podcasting studio, a performance space, First Nations artwork, and an expansive rooftop garden.”. Innovations here and elsewhere include table tennis, recording studio, film-writing, 3-month laptop loans, Library of Things, STEM toys,
• Europe – The Europe Challenge announces 55 libraries and communities for its 2024 edition – European Cultural Foundation. “The Europe Challenge, initiated by the European Cultural Foundation (ECF) and supported by Fondazione Cariplo, the Scottish Library and Information Council and by public funding through Arts Council England, is proud to announce that 55 libraries and communities from 24 countries have been selected for its 2024 edition: Libraries, Communities and Democracy. This new edition of the programme addresses various challenges facing Europe, such as social isolation, inequality, disinformation, and the climate crisis, through community-led local change facilitated by libraries all over Europe”
• Global – Higher-level reading is training for analytical and critical thinking – IFLA. “IFLA joins the call to acknowledge the permanent significance of higher-level reading in the digital era.”
• India – Navigating the Narrative: Unveiling the Journey of Public Libraries in India Through Challenges and Opportunities – Public Library Quarterly.

• Ireland – A new world of happiness opens at Boyle Library – Roscommon Herald. “A new interactive light projector to provide inclusive, sensory stimulation has been launched at Boyle Library. Provided in Boyle thanks to Dormant Accounts funding from the Department of Rural and Community Development, the projector is designed by Social-Ability and manufactured in the UK.”
• New Zealand – LIANZA 2023 Conference Opening Video – LIANZA. “shows the amazing range of people who use libraries and their enthusiasm reveals the value of access and support they get from libraries.”
• Nigeria – Access and Use of Public Libraries by Disabled Persons In Nigeria – Quest Journals. “that library building were not design to take care of people with special needs, coupled with the poor state of public library services in general. The need for public libraries to embrace the use of ICTs was recommended.”
• Palestine – Here’s how you can help resurrect Gaza’s libraries. – Lit Hub. “it becomes almost impossible to imagine Gaza as a place where life, let alone culture, can once again flourish, but it’s important to remember that it can, and it will. One of the people committed to that resurrection is Mosab Abu Toha, the Palestinian poet, New Yorker contributor, and founder of the first English language library in Gaza. (Abu Toha, as you may recall, was kidnapped by Israeli forces on November 19th while trying to enter Egypt at the Rafah checkpoint. After being beaten, interrogated, and stripped of his possessions, Abu Toha was released two days later”

• USA – The Week in Libraries: January 5, 2024 – Publishers Weekly. “I Love My Librarian” award winners, a library has been closed for four months due to arguments over a drag story hour, in-fighting in the Indiana public library system, librarian awarded $250k for being sacked over refusing to censor books.
  • Freckle Project Surveys and Reports – EveryLibrary. “Since April 2019, the Freckle Project has been asking a key question of American readers: “Where did you get that book”. Through a series of public-facing surveys, project lead Tim Coates has been able to track the habits of reading – and the evolution of format changes – before, during, and after the COVID pandemic. Public libraries are deeply impacted by changes in reading habits, format preferences, and choices about where and how people acquire their next book, ebook, or audiobook.”
  • OverDrive Reports Another Record Year for Digital Library Circulation – Publishers Weekly. “OverDrive said that 2023 was another record-breaking year for digital library circulation, with a 19% increase in library checkouts of digital media over 2022. In all, library users worldwide borrowed some 662 million e-books, digital audiobooks, and digital magazines, OverDrive reps announced in a release this week. In addition, 152 library systems reported more than a million digital checkouts in 2023, up from 129 last year.”

Local news by authority

• Bournemouth Christchurch Poole – Library to close tomorrow for essential maintenance work – Bournemouth Echo. “Canford Cliffs Library, on Western Road, is due to shut temporarily.” … “Hours are set to be slashed by an average of 10 hours a week, at each library, from April, as part of cost-cutting plans. Expected to save £440,200, the council is expected to announce further budget cuts to save £12.6 million”
• Cardiff – Cardiff: Bins could be removed from residential streets – BBC. “It is not just bins in the firing line – libraries across the city could have more restricted opening times and use more volunteers to save money. One of several tabled options proposes closing eight hubs and libraries for one extra day each week, saving £308,000. These include Central Library Hub, Whitchurch Hub, Penylan Library, Rhiwbina Hub, Rhydypennau Hub, Canton Library, Cathays Heritage Library and Radyr Hub. Another option is for all hubs and libraries, apart from Penylan Library, to change their opening hours to 09:00-17:00 and stay open throughout lunchtime to save £120,000. To allow for late accessibility, Central Library Hub would stay open until 18:00 for one evening a week.”

• East Lothian – Boost for libraries as new project comes to East Lothian – East Lothian Courier. “Nearly £4,000 of Scottish Government funding is to be used to establish a dedicated resource for a comprehensive library outreach offer in the county. Working alongside Families Together East Lothian, the service will offer families support with budgeting, parenting, neurodiversity and bereavement.”
• Greenwich – Woolwich Library to help locals get voter ID for this year’s elections – Greenwich Wire. “The library will host masterclasses on voter registration, and will offer support for those who need to fill out forms to get ID cards needed to vote. The next general election is almost certain to be held this year, while the mayoral election will be held on May 2.”
• Haringey – Planned cuts announced – Highgate Library Action Group. “In the first stage in 2024 the council plans to reduce library opening hours, aiming to save 16%. In the second stage, in 2025, to save another 15%, the council plans to change how libraries are used, e.g. to make them self-service at least some of the time.”. Plans include staffless opening hours replacing staffed hours.
• Leeds – Magic lantern slides reveal classic fairy tales at Leeds Central Library – BBC. “Rhian Isaac, special collections librarian at Leeds Central Library, said: “These beautiful slides really do capture the vibrancy and colour that we associate with the classic fairy tales we’ve all come to know so well”
• Manchester – Northenden Community Library reopens in new home in the village – Business Manchester. “Run with the help of volunteers community library offers access to the full book lending service of Manchester Libraries.”
• Medway – Chatham Library and Community Hub in Riverside Gardens forced to close until further notice – Kent Online. “Medway Council, who run the service, say this has been due to problems with the heating.”
• Newport – Cuts planned in Newport Council’s 2024 draft budget – South Wales Argus. “Demand for libraries has “reduced and changed significantly” in the past five years, prompting the council to propose closing two of the city’s libraries, in Pill and St Julians. These buildings could be sold off. The current Malpas Library could be moved into Malpas Court under the plans, and Bettws Library will move into a nearby community centre.”
• North Lanarkshire – You can take a trip down memory lane with this new group launching soon – Glasgow Times. “Bellshill Cultural Centre is to create a community group focusing on shared memories and reminiscing on days gone by.”
• Nottingham – Council launches tender process for £960,000 book supply contract for Nottingham libraries – West Bridgford Wire.

• Shropshire – Shrewsbury Library to close to install new shelving – Shropshire Star. Library service “awarded funding by Arts Council England to install new equipment to make library spaces “more accommodating and accessible to the wider community”.”
• Southend – Southend libraries saved from closure risk as deficit slashed – Echo. “Two libraries in the city were at risk of closure, while five children’s centres were under-threat when the council revealed in November it was battling a huge £10.7million financial deficit. However, that has now been slashed to £6.3million after the council was able to “refinance its debt”. Despite the positivity, the council is still facing a huge £35million deficit by the 2028/29 financial year.”
• Westmorland and Furness – Report reveals dozens of electrical repairs at Ulverston Library – Westmorland Gazette. “Of the 71 repairs needed, two were identified as requiring urgent action because ‘danger is present’. Some 37 of the repairs also require remediation action because of potential danger. It is not yet known how much it will cost to fix all the faults identified and the council has been unable to answer questions on the subject.”
• Worcestershire – Richard Osman novels are the most borrowed books in Worcestershire libraries – Worcester Observer.
• York – Funding in communities will ‘open up avenues of creativity’ – York Press. Arts Council England “has provided £660,000 of funding over three years and the Explore boss explained how this funding will help the mutual, independent organisation and its 15 sites across the city to empower creativity in trusted spaces” … “Explore gets two-thirds of its income from a City of York Council contract and has to raise the balance itself and Jenny said everything they do raise allows them to do extra things that are transformative.”