The Death of the Library
Books are important in so many ways. Literature teaches us everything we ever need to know about life, love, revenge and hope.
The recent trend of the celebrity endorsement of the public library has been matched only by the speed at which those public facilities are being closed down. Despite their obvious importance it seems that those most in need of this vital resource are those being most obviously hit the hardest.
In November, Book Week Scotland launched a campaign where they asked readers to write love letters to their local libraries. This has had a knock on effect where famous authors have joined in, with writers such as Neil Gaiman, Alexander McCall Smith and Jacqueline Wilson all writing and discussing their own histories and relationships with libraries and librarians. Spoken word artist Scroobius Pip penned an illustrated poem expressing his love for his local library for BBC6 Music.
In some areas of Wolverhampton, access to a library remains unchanged. The Central Library remains open 56 hours a week. Libraries in more affluent areas such as Wednesfield or Tettenhall remain fairly accessible with 35 hours a week, yet in Whitmore Reans they currently have just 15 hours a week opening times, and are without a trained librarian. In most locations around Wolverhampton, including the central library, self checkout machines have been installed and it's clear that these will eventually be used to replace librarians altogether.
The argument given by councils for the need to reduce opening hours is of course down to resources. Wolverhampton has been hit hard by budget cuts and there is a continued need for restrictions to what are considered non-vital resources. The argument against this of course is that a library is possibly the most vital resource that a community can have.
So are we right when we are being told that people are using libraries less and less? In this digital age, where we can use the internet to find out whatever we want, where we can download books to kindles and YouTube tutorials can teach us whatever we wish to learn, is there still a need for hard copies and librarians?
So how do we save the idea of the public library? One solution is that instead of closing them down (an act that saves just a few pence per person in terms of taxes), councils should instead be investing in them and making them more important than they already are. The idea of a centralised and government funded institution that holds lectures of public interest, rents films and music in ways similar to iTunes or Netflix, loans e-readers to those that can’t afford them and provides meeting areas for local community groups or businesses, would involve much cheaper costs than those at the moment.
According to the Office of National Statistics, up to 23% of the population is without internet access. These people are the unemployed, senior citizens and those on a low income. These are the people that a library is best able to serve, with the United Nations confirming that access to the internet is a basic human right.
Critics of libraries cite them as a waste of money, calling them a middle class extravagance that is no longer important due to the digital age. This is to miss the point. In his lecture at The Barbican for the Reading Group, author Neil Gaiman stressed that whilst Google might take seconds to bring you 10,000 answers to a question, a librarian will bring you the correct one. It is this personalised and professional service that is at the heart of a library, and to lose that and replace it with self-checkout machines like a supermarket is a travesty that will have far-reaching effects on literacy. According to the National Literacy trust, using a library improves a child's reading ability.
“Libraries are where so many children discover what books they like best and become lifelong readers. They’re also great places for research. When I worked in Easterhouse library lots of local children came in to do their homework – browsing, reading and receiving help from the experts on hand, rather than sitting at home printing out reams of often irrelevant and undigested material from the internet.” Julia Donaldson, Children’s Laureate
Libraries are being used, and they're being closed at a worrying pace. Here are the thoughts of some of the residents of Wolverhampton.
