Editorial

The thing that most springs out to me this Sunday is that the USA state of Georgia has dismissed a librarian for putting a LGBT book in a children’s display. This isn’t of course what made it stand out to me. Such things have been happening there for years. No, what makes it stand out to me is that this is now, apart from a few differences in labour laws, officially also the policy in Kent.

Elsewhere, we have lots of news about the Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge. After the big drop in usage last year from around 700,000 to 600,000 the hope this year is that this decline at least stops, if not reverses. The debacle over the medals looks now to be sorted, thank goodness, and the publicity is now in full force. As it is of course in those areas running their own version of the Challenge, such as it is in Devon.

So far, we have seen only a few individual library services going it alone with their own Challenges. These have been of variable quality and I gain the impression that cost has been a big factor in many, although some are clearly wanting a quite different and more local offer. What would happen if a library service opens up in competition to the Reading Agency remains to be seen. The concern long term is if the advantages that a national SRC has in terms of cost and quality reduces due to a decline in take up. This could be a tragedy for the sector as it is by far the biggest promotion in libraries throughout the year. So, let’s hope for a great year for the Summer Reading Challenge. With lots of children coming in.

Now about getting that air conditioning …

Changes by local authority

National news

  • CILIP responds to Kent Library claims: “Libraries are trusted for providing facts and freedom” – CILIP. “”The idea of politicians policing or banning books is profoundly troubling. It evokes images of authoritarian regimes, not a modern, democratic and diverse society like the UK. Even the perception that elected representatives can ignore established processes and policies to remove or relocate books based on their personal political views undermines public trust and risks serious harm, especially to those who are already marginalised.”
  • Letters: Why we need libraries – Spectator. Behind paywall. Cartoon with a man saying “I fear those big words that make us so unhappy” outside a public library.
  • Library Voices – Architects Newspaper. ” Quiet is also a public resource, although it might run counter to some of these lively activities that communities are demanding and that libraries are actively promoting. Libraries now must redefine what “quiet” even is. A library is a roof over a public square, and it might get loud in there.”
  • ‘Lose libraries before finance staff’ – Local Government Chronicle. Croydon councillor says ““If I could go back, I’d say, ‘Shut the library or change the bin collections’, because if you take that money out of your finance department, it will come back and bite you”
  • Publication of further research on public libraries usage in England – They Work For You. Baroness Twycross “This year will be the 175th anniversary of the very first Public Libraries Act – an Act which established the principle of free public libraries for the “instruction and recreation of the people”.” … “ince I became Libraries Minister I have met with representatives of the public library sector to discuss the challenges in the sector, reflect on priority policy areas and consider how best we can support the sector, drawing on this research. I know the wider sector is already aware of this work and keen to see this final report so that library services can actively consider how they might use the results.” see also Public Libraries: Usage in England – Hansard.
  • Reform DOGE-style ban of trans books from children’s library is ‘victory for common sense’ – Express. “In a move stirring emotions across Kent, a council’s decision to remove transgender-themed books from children’s library sections has ignited a heated debate.” … “Webb told the BBC: “In our society, children are quite rightly and properly protected from items and actions that could cause them harm — for example alcohol, cigarettes and gambling. My fellow Reform members and I believe that our young people should be protected from exposure to potentially harmful ideologies and beliefs such as those held by the trans lobbyists.””
  • Reform UK’s ‘Children’s Book Bans’ Could Open The Floodgates for Censorship – Byline Times. “he party that claims to champion “free speech” is now trying to crack down on books whose messages they disagree with” … “Libraries in Kent have this week been a battleground for culture wars, and I fear they won’t be the last to become so. There have been rumours of book ban demands happening in other Reform-led councils, but when I’ve asked the library services in question, they’ve denied having received such instructions. This is the first time it’s happened out in the open.”

“Something has changed when councillors are proudly proclaiming that they have banned particular books. It’s never been more important for us to ensure that libraries have the resources and support to create and defend diverse collections, and when a minority of voices are loud, we must not let them silence others. Otherwise, there may be more and more stories like the one in Kent.” Katie Dancey-Downs

International news

  • USA / National – ‘There is no political power without power over the archive’ – Observer. “Titles banned, data deleted, the nation’s librarians sacked without explanation – Donald Trump’s war on books is a threat to democracy across the world, writes the head of Oxford University’s libraries” … “My mother took me as a child to the Deal public library in Kent, and it was there, in its modest book-filled rooms, that I discovered new worlds.” … “although some groups such as Moms for Liberty will claim that they are campaigners for “parental rights” or “freedoms”, their goal is to control and limit what young people can read, and the ideas they can encounter. ” … The Librarian of Congress Trump appointed is now “Todd Blanche – the lawyer who defended him in a case brought by adult-film star Stormy Daniels.”

“We must empower, support and celebrate the role of libraries and librarians as defenders of an open, pluralist society – the hidden but essential infrastructure of democracy itself.” Richard Ovenden

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