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AN Wilson |
It’s a turn-up for the books as libraries see borrowing slump
Figures reveal fewer loans as the local literati warn libraries aren’t what they used to be
BOOK borrowing from Camden’s libraries has fallen by nearly 60,000 over a five-year period, figures released to the New Journal show.
Overall, the dramatic drop works out to just under 250 fewer books a week being borrowed last year, compared to 2003.
Experts said the statistics, released under the Freedom of Information Act, highlight the changing face of libraries in the computer age.
And just as borrowing books has decreased from 920,000 five years ago to under 860,000 last year, DVDs have seen a surge in popularity.
Membership figures show last year some 2,000 fewer people signed up to join their local library than in 2003.
The statistics come as Camden’s literati called for greater investment in new books and the retention of older ones.
One activist blamed waning book borrowing on money. Former Waterstone’s chief executive and library campaigner Tim Coates, from West Hampstead, said the equation was simple – Camden set aside too little of its budget for new books. From a pot of £9 million a year, libraries spend less than £350,000 on books.
“About 4 per cent of the total amount of money we pay [towards libraries] gets spent on books,” he said. “There’s nothing to borrow. Libraries have become an empty set of buildings. That’s why the borrowing has gone down, not because people don’t want books – there’s an enormous desire for them.
“It’s a kind of madness. They’ve talked themselves into a position where they say what people want is information and it’s all on the internet. They don’t buy what’s being published.” He added: “Staff costs of £6 million is ridiculously high – they need to cut down on administration costs and spend massively on books.”
But a list of top 10 items borrowed from libraries in the past five years, which reads like a roll call of Hollywood blockbuster films and bestsellers such as the Harry Potter series, puts his vision for a more book-orientated library into context.
Meanwhile the popularity of factual literature such as Life in the United Kingdom: a Journey to Citizenship, which has topped the adult non-fiction list since it was published by the Home Office two years ago implies the purpose of today’s libraries is changing.
But whether this is what libraries should be for has been troubling academics.
And the problem could run deeper than just a question of what books line the shelves.
Jason Allen, a youth worker at the St Mary’s Centre in Swiss Cottage, said he didn’t know any young people who went to the library or enjoyed reading.
Mr Allen, 21, said: “I think people see it as a bit of the past. If you want to know about something you don’t automatically think of the library. Basically there’s nothing to do there that you can’t do at home.”
Grumbles logged by disgruntled library users could point to more mundane reasons behind a fall in popularity, including complaints about staff rudeness and sweltering hot or freezing cold buildings.
Meanwhile, leisure chief Flick Rea, believes the way people access information at libraries is changing, and libraries must move with the times.
She said: “It worries me that people are reading less but [they could be] accessing information in different ways...
“Some use libraries not just for information but to enliven and broaden their general entertainment.
“I don’t think you can base whether people are going to the library on how many times the latest John Grisham book is taken out.”
Cllr Rea launched a consultation on the future of libraries last week, and recently secured thousands of pounds in extra funding for books.
Appealing to readers to take part in the consultation, she said: “I really want to know if there are simple reasons why people don’t come.
“If it’s about the opening times I’ll be able to do something about that. If it’s about more books, I’m doing something about that. “If it’s about the right books – I want to know what they are.”
AN Wilson,
Camden Town poet
“The libraries formed as a general movement to spread education, it was to encourage people to read.
“I’m sure that’s not the case now, people can’t find books in there anymore.
“Camden should take a leaf out of Westminster’s book: they’re open everyday and have older books. DVDs are fine as long as they’re part of the library.”
Bernard Kops,
West Hampstead author
“A Damoclean shadow of doom lies over [librarians]. They feel they’re being made redundant more and more and their enthusiasm is waning. I know how I would feel if I thought one day there would be no more books.”
Amanda Platell,
Hampstead journalist
“Libraries are a wonderful institution and I wish I used them more but unfortunately I just go online. Fellow journalists are always in them researching but books are so reasonable to buy or I borrow them from friends.” |
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