CILIP appeals to councils under pressure to close libraries ahead of Budget

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) is writing to every councillor and council chief executive across England and Wales “where budget pressures on local authorities could put their public libraries at risk of closure or a reduction in service provision”, it says.

CILIP has also written to its local MPs and metro mayors. CILIP wrote to another 14 councils earlier this year, while several other councils have already enacted cuts this year.

“The letter offers a range of guidance about how to evolve public library services to keep delivering for local people, and evidence of their long-term return on investment both financially and by contributing to a variety of agendas for social good,” the organisation said. “It is also a reminder that decisions should follow due process and meet statutory responsibilities to local citizens.”

Intelligence gathered through CILIP’s community-run ‘Public Libraries at Risk Monitor’ has apparently suggested that despite the hard work of many local authority and library service staff, many councils are currently considering significant changes to their library services. The resource provides a transparent and live resource for the library sector and the public to record and keep track of changes to library services across the UK.

CILIP said it would also raise this at an upcoming meeting with the libraries minister Sir Chris Bryant MP and that the Budget on Wednesday (30th October) provided “an opportunity for the new government to show its support for local authorities and public libraries”.

The organisation said that while it was “aware and sympathetic to the huge financial challenges facing councils across the country, public libraries have faced budget cuts of more than 50% since 2010".

Over the summer, the BBC ran an investigation into the number of council-run public libraries that have closed down or have been handed over to volunteer groups since 2016, identifying more than 180.

Last year’s report, ‘Libraries for living, and for living better’ commissioned by Libraries Connected and using analysis by economists from the University of East Anglia, claims that England’s public libraries generate £3.4bn a year.

CILIP c.e.o. Louis Coiffait-Gunn said: “We know we’re at an incredibly difficult moment where tough decisions have to be made and so—as the national professional body for all those working in libraries—we urge national and local government to prioritise investing in public libraries. A closed library never reopens, permanently limiting opportunities for the communities they once served, with disadvantaged communities most at risk of losing the vital services they provide”.

CILIP has also published the ‘Public Libraries – know your rights guide’ to help local decision-makers, library supporters and citizens understand the protections in place for library services and how to raise an official complaint about a decision.