Verbal Magazine

Libraries gave us power

So sang the Manic Street Preachers and they were right. I believe passionately that the role of public libraries is to empower. 

They do this by providing a powerful combination of printed and online resources, together with skilled staff and the space and equipment needed to make the most of the resources in a friendly local environment. In doing so they help individuals to acquire knowledge, skills and understanding, to broaden their experience, develop intellectual and emotional response and greater self-knowledge and awareness. 

This role is as relevant in the twenty first century as it has ever been but libraries must consider how they deliver reading, learning and information services in this brave new world of ours with its environment of Web 2.0, social software, (some) cheap books, downloadable books and an ever more diverse local community.

I should, perhaps, state that I agree with Des Kenny when he wrote in Verbal in March: “Never forget, gizmos and electronic books-readers are not books. They will forever be gizmos and electronic book readers.” But I do appreciate that many people will not share this view.

I also wonder about this talk of cheap books. Many books do cost relatively little but how many people can actually afford all the books that they and their families might wish to read? The latest Harry Potter was heavily discounted in my local supermarket – though incidentally this didn’t stop dozens of children borrowing it from WELB libraries on the day of publication and enjoying our Harry Potter midnight party - but even one book a week at that price would result in an annual bill of almost £500.

I am fortunate enough to earn a reasonable salary and I do buy books as well as borrow them but I certainly could not afford to do so on a regular basis for an entire family. Nor would I buy books that I might not enjoy. One of the great pleasures of library use is the serendipity factor and the chance to dip into a genre or author that you might not normally read. As I hope everyone knows it is free to join the library and borrow books.

So libraries must continue to be an important access point to a wide range of reading matter for all sorts of readers. Where else can you readily find recent and out-of-print novels by a particular author side by side on the shelf, fiction in Eastern European languages for the many migrant workers who use libraries, the Quick Reads series (novels by well known authors written especially for emergent readers), large print books, sufficient picture books to meet the voracious needs of babies and toddlers, the list goes on.

We do need to be smarter about this and we need to blend the physical and the virtual. At present http://www.ni-libraries.net lists the books held in Northern Ireland’s 113 public libraries but we need to link this to the various book search tools. Google Book Search links to the catalogues of many American libraries, for example, and we need to be part of this. We also need to learn from those libraries which have piloted downloadable books and talking books. Library members in Northern Ireland can access a range of web-based paid-for reference sources using their library PIN number from anywhere they can access the Web. We need to consider the equivalent for novels and other literature.

Libraries aim to get more people reading, to encourage people to read more and to read more widely. We are not alone in this – thankfully reading-related festivals and events are now quite common - and it is important that we make sure that our offer complements those of the other players and that we work in partnership where appropriate. But libraries are and should continue to develop as the most significant force in reader development.

One of the great strengths of libraries is that the seven million visitors to Northern Ireland libraries each year are generally keen to share their views on the books they are reading, with library staff and with each other. Visiting the library provides a natural opportunity to do this informally. This phenomenon also contributes to the success of book chains, reading groups (WELB has reading groups for adults, teenagers, children, prisoners, people with a visual impairment and it can provide books for reading groups outwith the library), One Book initiatives where hundreds of people read the same book and discuss the issues raised (and you will hear more about this from libraries shortly) and many other activities. And there is still more that we can do.

To do all of this public libraries must be funded adequately. The people of Northern Ireland deserve a high quality service which is funded at least on a par with Scotland and England.

We live in significant times for public libraries with the proposed new library authority and DCAL’s policy framework for libraries, Delivering Tomorrow’s Libraries. There is an opportunity to influence the future of the service. I hope, therefore, that readers of Verbal will make known their views about how best libraries can support readers in the twenty first century.

Helen Osborn is the Head of Libraries and Corporate Services with the Western Education and Library Board.

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