Readers Could Borrow from Any Library in the Country

In Britain, Readers would be able to borrow books from any library in the country, under Conservative plans for a national library card.
by: John Swaine

Every member of a local library would be entitled to the card, which could be used in all of Britain's 4,500 public libraries.

The card is one of a set of Tory measures designed to "rejuvenate the country's public library service". They accused Labour of "failing to give libraries proper leadership".

It comes after figures released earlier this week showed that both the number of people borrowing books, and the number of books being borrowed, had fallen in the past year.

Some local authorities have been criticised for rebranding their libraries as "idea stores" and installing coffee shops inside them.

Under their four-year "Renaissance for Libraries" programme, the Conservatives plan to help local authorities improve their library services by investing more money in new books and IT services and reducing costs.

They intend to launch a Library Charter, which would set out expected standards and a plan to increase reading in libraries' local areas.

Announcing the plan, Ed Vaizey, the shadow culture minister, said: "In the last eleven years Labour has commissioned report after report, introduced one initiative after another, chopped and changed direction with breath taking speed.

"Everybody knows how a good library service should be run. The only secret is how to get that information out there and how to persuade others to do it."

Mr Vaizey said the plan would also see the launch of a national website for libraries. This week the Museums and Libraries Archive Council said it was looking into ways of allowing readers to borrow books online without having to visit their library.

The move came after their figures for the past year showed the number of visits to libraries had dropped by 2.6 per cent to 328.5 million, and the number of people borrowing books by 3.3 per cent to 12.5 million.

Culture Minister Barbara Follett said: "A national library card is a good idea. But, like so many other ideas, it is not new, and is much easier said than done. However, it is one of the many things, like user-friendly opening hours and modernising approaches to the fast changing digital world, that the Government's current review of Library provision is considering in its efforts to make our libraries more attractive, accessible and efficient. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is leading the sector in addressing these fundamental issues through its current Library Review, due to report in June."

From: the Telegraph