A medal for Reading Agency fundraising

Editorial

There’s a couple of cases of libraries backing down from closing a library or three due to the public response to the initial announcement and one more realises it hasn’t enough money for its new build. Nationally, there’s a big expansion of the Summer Reading Challenge. This comes at a very opportune time as the once monopoly of the Reading Agency’s offering in councils nationally has reduced over the last few years, with several library services choosing to create their own version. Now, if only the Reading Agency can improve its medals …

Changes by authority

• Argyll and Bute – Council to keep three libraries open after u-turn and ask for volunteers for Rosneath
• Peterborough – Consultation on what cuts to make
• Rotherham – Council asks for more funding for new library
• Rutland – Ryhall Library to stay open after consultation.

National news

• £1.5 million to The Reading Agency to expand the reach and impact of the Summer Reading Challenge – Julia Rausing Trust. “This £1.5 million donation will allow The Reading Agency to reach an additional 375,000 children and families living with disadvantage by 2027, helping to break down systemic barriers to reading and extend the proven benefits of the Challenge to those who need it most.” … “The grant from The Julia Rausing Trust will support The Reading Agency to scale a cross-authority delivery model. This pioneering approach to supporting children’s reading brings together libraries with other local services such as schools, health services and community partners to reach children living in areas of high deprivation and social exclusion.” … “In 2025, the programme will launch with a number of selected library authorities, increasing in 2026 and working with 100 libraries by 2027. Outreach will include working directly with schools by providing teachers with targeted resources and tools to deliver the Challenge as well as automatically enrolling children at their local library. “
• 8 Books About the Quiet Power of Libraries and Museums – Electrical Literature.
• Charitable Foundation “Library Country” receivesd the British Public Library Champion Award 2025 – Chytomo. “We are sincerely grateful to Libraries Connected for their support, trust, and partnership. This award is a recognition of the resilience and capacity to act in the most difficult times shown by the entire Ukrainian library community. It symbolizes our shared struggle for freedom, humanity, and knowledge. We deeply thank the British people for their support, solidarity, and belief in the power of culture,” said Liusiena Shum, head of the Library Country Foundation.”

“To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that every child has access to a library in areas of high disadvantage.” Sarah Gibson Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Business). [Government reply is that local councils and schools do it]

• Charities help libraries step up support for low-income families – Libraries Connected. “The project is a partnership between Libraries Connected, the membership body for public libraries, and charity Children North East, whose unique Poverty Proofing© methodology will identify barriers preventing low-income families from accessing the full range of library services. Funded by a grant of £49,770 from Arts Council England, Children North East will carry out a full Poverty Proofing© intervention in three library services. The project started in Gateshead last year and will now move on to Oldham and Cornwall.”
• Inclusive Books for Children quintuples book-gifting scheme – BookSeller. “This year, 60 boxes, each containing 100 carefully selected children’s books, will be gifted to UK schools and community libraries. “
• Major New Exhibition Celebrates the Importance of Libraries – Fine Books Magazine. “Aside from a handful of items, the library has dispensed with displaying items in glass cases for this exhibition. Instead, people are encouraged to browse bookshelves and examine any item that piques their interest. Books include a sample of the many titles suggested to the library through a public call out seeking the books that shaped people’s lives.”
• North West libraries get ready for “record breaking rhyme time” – Libraries Connected. “More than 50 of the story and singalong sessions will be held simultaneously across the North West this Thursday 19 June. Organisers expect over a thousand families to take part in more than 50 different libraries. The event – dubbed the “record breaking rhyme time” – is the idea of Libraries Connected North West. The group wants to highlight the free family activities on offer in the region’s libraries and publicise the benefits of taking part.”
• Reimagining the public library – ALA. “takes a historical and international look at the development of public libraries over the past 25 years, posing the important question of what has changed in government policy and action. Incorporating ideas that have emerged in European, North American, and Australasian public libraries, John Pateman suggests how these can be used to inform the future development of public libraries.”

International news

• Finland – Library loans hit highest level in nearly 20 years – Yle. “Children’s fiction loans hit a new high for the third year in a row, and printed books saw an overall borrowing increase of four percent, year-on-year. Despite the increase in library loans, compensation paid to authors are on the decline, according to the copyright service.”
  • Finnish library trials electric car loans – Yle. “Library users in Turku will soon be able to borrow an electric car alongside books and other materials. The city is partnering with Toyota Auto Finland to deliver the service on a trial basis for three weeks from Monday 8 May.”
• Greece – ‘It’s not quite what I had in mind entering my eighth decade’: the London librarian of Lesbos – Guardian. “The library opened in March 2024 and has proved popular with a traumatised group of people, many of whom have fled conflict zones in countries like Syria and Afghanistan and have made dangerous sea journeys from Turkey to Greece.”
• Turkiye – Libraries to turn into multi-purpose centers – Hurriyet Daily News. “According to official data, the number of public libraries increased from 1,162 in 2018 to 1,301 as of this year. Over the same period, the total library space expanded to 750,000 square meters, while the number of users rose from 28 million to more than 38.7 million annually. As places for borrowing books, libraries are now evolving into venues for artistic expression, educational programming and innovation. In 2024 alone, more than 29,000 events were organized at public libraries, attracting over 1.5 million people.”
• USA / Alaska – Klukwan Library goes from 35 hours a week to 4 following federal funding loss – Alaska’s News Source. “Following [Trump’s] termination of their federal grant funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services”
  • USA / South Carolina – SC librarians wore rainbow lanyards when a Pride display was cancelled. Then they were fired – Post and Courier.

• Trump administration ‘violated law’ by impounding museum and library funding – Arts Professional. “according to the findings of the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO).” Funding had already been approved by congress.

Local news by authority

• Argyll and Bute – U-turn on Argyll and Bute library closures – Lochside Press. “Three libraries which faced closure in Argyll and Bute will now remain open, the council said this week. And the library in Rosneath – which was closed without any consultation in March 2020 and has never reopened – could now be run by local volunteers. In April it emerged that a business plan for 2025-27 drawn up by LiveArgyll included seven libraries – but not those in Tiree, Tarbert, Cardross or Rosneath. Following widespread local concerns – with over 500 people signing a petition against the Cardross closure – and questions about whether an equalities impact assessment, it appears that the libraries have been given at least a temporary reprieve.”
• Barnsley – Barnsley Libraries and Museums celebrated as places of sanctuary – Barnsley Council.
• Birmingham – Major library shake-up: Drastic cuts to library hours across Birmingham with one site to close – Birmingham World. “Birmingham City Council has confirmed sweeping cuts to library services across the city – including the closure of a key library in Sutton Coldfield and a major reduction in opening hours elsewhere. The council is cutting nearly a third of statutory library hours as part of what it calls a “transformation” of local services. But residents and campaigners aren’t buying it.”

“To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Birmingham City Council’s ability to provide a (a) comprehensive and (b) efficient library service in Sutton Coldfield constituency.” Andrew Mitchell MP, Shadow Minister of State. Response is “The Department has met with Birmingham City Council officers regularly in the last 20 months, the most recent of which was 7 May, to discuss changes to their library service provision.”

• Brighton and Hove – Staff shortages force council to cut hours for customer services in libraries – Brighton and Hove News. “Customer service hours have been reduced at Brighton and Hove libraries because not enough staff are available. Brighton and Hove City Council moved its customer service teams out of the two town halls and into the Jubilee Library, Hove Library and three family hubs last month.” but unions says “there had been a lack of training for people in the new roles expected of them.” … “library staff were also unhappy about taking on extra duties which were not part of their job” and were not paid for extra duties. Council says they’re “having to temporarily reduce the staffed times of the council help desks at Jubilee Library and Hove Library due to a gap in staffing capacity.”
• Bromley – Works get underway for Bromley Central Library move – Bromley Council. “Residents will soon notice information panels set up around the former Top Shop Unit of Bromley High Street to provide protection during the works, as the site is transformed to become the home of Bromley Central Library that will open to residents in 2026. The existing library next to Churchill Theatre remains open to serve residents over the summer, as the main works get underway on the future library on the high street. “
• Buckinghamshire – Buckinghamshire Council libraries launch new Carer’s Card – Buckinghamshire Council. “This new category offers two key benefits: no overdue fees and an extended loan period of an extra week.”
• Bury – Bury Library gets ready for record-breaking rhyme time – My News Desk.
• Camden – Ernest James, barrister who had burning sense of justice – Camden New Journal. “Ernest also was a key member of a council revolt against plans to close public libraries. As cuts hit the Town hall budgets, plans were drawn up that would see a swathe of branches close altogether. Ernest argued that a Labour council should not be in a position where they were thinking closing a library was a solution.”
• Cheshire West and Chester – Annual Summer Reading Challenge to launch in Chester – Chester Standard. Story Garden. “Participants will also enjoy a host of rewards, including free entry to Hayrack Church Farm and discounts at the Climbing Hut and Deva Roman Experience.”.
• Dudley – Summer Reading Challenge for children at Dudley Libraries – Express and Star. Story Garden.
• Glasgow – Every Glasgow secondary school set to lose its librarian – BBC. Proposed cut. “The plans would see the school service headed up by a principal librarian along with three area-based librarians. An assistant would then be placed in each of the city’s high schools.”
• Hull – Children’s literature festival returns to city – BBC. “With a theme of “What if….” The Big Malarkey Festival will return to East Park in Hull on Saturday 28 June and Sunday 29 June. Organised by Hull Libraries, the family friendly event will include writers, dancers, illustrators, poets, actors and musicians.”
• Inverclyde – Summer Reading Challenge 2025 – Inverclyde Council. Story Garden. ” we are very excited to be able to offer the prize of a performance from Booster Cushion Theatre to the school in Inverclyde that has the highest completion rate.” … “A launch event will be held in the community garden at Greenock South West Library … with outdoor storytelling, crafts and a character scavenger hunt”
  • Inverclyde library users warned of disruption to printing – Greenock Telegraph. “some branch libraries may be affected due to the delivery and installation of new photocopier machines.”
• Kent – Kent library volunteer celebrates win at Libraries Connected Awards 2025 – Kent Council. “Sue Carmichael from Tunbridge Wells was crowned the winner of the Reading category in this year’s Libraries Connected Awards. She was honoured for her work championing book clubs in Kent which are part of Beyond Words – a charity that co-creates word-free picture stories to empower people with learning disabilities.”
• Lambeth – Lambeth libraries receive ‘Library of Sanctuary’ recognition for helping UK newcomers – Lambeth Council. “All Lambeth library staff have been trained in working with people new to the UK and Libraries have set up new ‘branch champion’ roles in each of the borough’s 10 libraries. Branch champions visited refugee hostels to promote the extensive services libraries offer. “
• Liverpool – Riot-hit library’s artwork celebrates community’s ‘hope’ – BBC. “A library set on fire during last summer’s riots is set to unveil a new artwork celebrating the community who were there to help it rise from the ashes. As well as the Welcome Home artwork featuring images of people from the Walton community, a song and a film, which is the culmination of Dora Colquhoun’s artist residency at the hub and library, will be showcased on Saturday.”
• Manchester – Manchester Central Library to close for three weeks – Manchester Evening News. “The council has confirmed the library off St Peter’s Square will be shut from August 2 to August 24. It’s for the installation of Wi-Fi and computer network upgrades.”
• Medway – Medway libraries introduce customer charter – Medway Council.
• Northern Ireland – Enright Calls For Downpatrick Library Archive To Remain – Down News. “Downpatrick Alliance Councillor Cadogan Enright has contacted the Chief Executive of the NI Library Service Jim O’Hagan and asked for an urgent review of plans to displace the Archive Section in Downpatrick Library and replace it with a gallery or performance space. Councillor Enright said: “These plans are seriously flawed. This archive is a treasure-trove of County Down material for local historians and writers like myself.”
• North Yorkshire – Volunteers needed for Summer Reading Challenge in libraries – Press. Story Garden.
• Oxfordshire – Oxfordshire library mangers scoop national award – Oxford Mail. “Jake Tilling and Karen Seymour, managers at Witney and Hook Norton libraries respectively, were recognised for their work on the Making Every Contact Count programme, a national scheme that encourages library staff to support the health and wellbeing of visitors through everyday conversations.” [No mention of the animal food boxes referred to it in the title – Ed.]
• Peterborough – Peterborough City Council survey on future of libraries – Peterborough Matters. “The Library Needs Assessment Engagement Survey, which is run by an independent team, will ask how people use the ten libraries and mobile library, and which services and facilities they think are important.”
  • Consultation under way on threatened libraries – BBC. “A council is asking residents how they use their city’s network of libraries as it reviews plans to reduce the service. Peterborough City Council proposed cutting its static libraries from 10 down to three as part of budget proposals, saying the move would save £314,000 a year. Library users objected to the plans and asked the council to reconsider the loss of community facilities. The authority’s cabinet agreed to put the proposal on hold and “complete a full needs assessment” before making a detailed recommendation.”
• Rotherham – New library and market scheme soars over budget – BBC. “Rotherham Council has asked for a £6.5m pound bailout after costs for a new market and library development escalated. The council has approached South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority for the funding after the redevelopment of the town’s markets and library complex rose to nearly £41 million. Originally expected to cost about £31.7m, the council has already received £3.4m from the mayor’s office.”
• Rutland – Council to maintain current Ryhall Library Service offer following review of options – Rutland Council. ” Council will continue to operate Ryhall Library Service in its current form and from its existing premises, following public consultation and a review of available options.”. Council had originally wanted to close library due to cost of repairs but ” a prolonged process to relocate the provision and then dispose of the building would not be in the interest of library users or an effective use of resources, at this time.”
• Somerset – Somerset Libraries invite you to take a trip into a virtual world – Somerset Council. “The ground-breaking initiative will deliver a range of breathtaking Virtual Reality experiences in Taunton, Bridgwater, Yeovil and Chard libraries from 28 June – 11 July, such as accompanying Wallace and Gromit on an adventure, sitting in with a full orchestra while they play Lark Ascending or experience riding in a World War Two bomber.”
• Staffordshire – Children invited to Shakespeare crafts session at Stafford Library – In Your Area.
• Surrey – Library celebrates completion of ‘extensive’ refurb – BBC. “Epsom Library will hold face painting and yoga sessions and author talks, alongside regular activities such as Rhymetime, Storytime, digital support and craft groups, from 16 to 21 June. Surrey County Council (SCC) said the “transformed” library now has “a fully flexible layout with space for events and performances, improved furniture, increased study space, and two flexible-use meeting rooms.””
• Thurrock – Tilbury Library celebrates Windrush Day with week of events – Thurrock Council. Artwork and artefacts, from museum and local schools.
• Walsall – Walsall to Host Black British Ballet Exhibition and Events – Walsall Council. “The exhibition will include 20 to 30 images taken over the past 60 years, archive posters, and audio and video clips of the dancer’s stories. The video clips will be sourced from interviews carried out by Oxygen Arts over the past 18 months with 20 black British ballet dancers.    “
• Wiltshire – Residents unable to visit the library are encouraged to use the council’s home library service – Wiltshire Council. “This is a free service where the local library arranges for volunteers to take books to residents in their homes.”
• Wirral – Have your say on Wirral library changes before deadline – Wirral Globe. “Wirral Council is consulting the public on plans to reshape the service into a core network of eight council-operated libraries.” until 1 July.
• York – Explore: The Library Scene in York – York Vision. A very positive look at what the library service offers. “One area of Explore York that I was particularly impressed by was its connection with the local community. In fact, Explore York is the community, with its services being supported and shaped by local people. Becoming a community member for just £1 can allow you to vote for three community directors that will represent your views and ideas at board meetings. ” … “Explore York is a pillar of the city, enriched with community spirit and accessibility …”