United Kingdom

Libraries: A Luxury or a Statutory Right to Free, Quality Information?

Nazlin Bhimani

One often wonders what use public libraries are today given the large number of freely available resources on the Internet. However, libraries, and for that matter, librarians are becoming indispensable precisely because there is now so much information, some of which is of questionable quality. Increasing media coverage of ‘fake news’ demonstrates individuals’ over-reliance on believing what they read without fact-checking or evaluating the information. Rises in reported ‘fake news’ have coincided with the increasing closure of public and school libraries. Concurrently, librarians and information professionals’ roles are being questioned, with very little regard given to the service such occupations provide. We need the expertise of these professionals in order to learn how to navigate successfully around the digital information world. 

The fight for access to quality information and learning/(self-) education can be traced back to the radical Chartist political movement of the early 19th century. William Lovett (1800-1877) and John Collins (1802 -1852) were the first to propose a subscription library so that working men could make decisions based on quality information as they believed this was the right of all men. Until then, information had often been written in Latin and made available in books accessible only to the upper classes.

In 1840, prior to primary education becoming compulsory in the United Kingdom, Lovett and Collins proposed ‘Public Halls’ or ‘Schools for People’ for readings and discussions. They believed that this would improve the quality of life of the working classes (Corrigan and Gillespie, 1978), as it gave them access to information and, therefore, some control and power over their lives. Following much pressure, the UK Government passed the Public Libraries and Museums Act in 1850. However, the Act did not establish ‘free’ libraries. Instead, it permitted the use of taxpayers’ money to build libraries (with penny limits on money dedicated to such building), yet only if two-thirds of all taxpayers approved of the expenditure. Considering this, the funding of public libraries across the UK relied heavily upon donations from philanthropists; subsequently, the rate of establishment was so slow that by the end of the 19th century, only 334 districts in the whole of the United Kingdom levied the library rate (Corrigan and Gillespie, 1978). This shows that funding for public libraries has always been problematic and a struggle.

Over time, educators began to recognise the importance of exposure to good quality information, and, in particular, literature. Matthew Arnold, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools in England, for instance, proposed the inclusion of literature in the school curriculum as ‘it was the greatest power available to education’ (Willinsky, 1990, p. 351). From then onwards, libraries became an important resource in schools, with teachers being tasked to ensure that all children left school with a permanent habit of reading and school visits to the nearest public library becoming a vital element of a child’s schooling experience. Teachers were also encouraged to ensure students knew where their public libraries were situated, so as to have access to learning throughout the rest of their lives (Ellis, 1968, p. 144). 

The importance of libraries as a resource for lifelong public learning was to open ‘the treasure of the mind’ and provide ‘a refuge from the hardships of life’ (Great Britain. Board of Education, 1917). That being said, it was only following the end of the First World War that the role of education in re-building the nation became recognised and appreciated. Similarly, the importance of libraries was documented with the Public Libraries Act being passed in 1919. The Act dedicated responsibility of the libraries to individual county councils and abolished the penny rate that had previously stunted the growth of libraries. An immediate result was that ten English counties established public libraries within schools, with the head teacher acting as librarian, blurring the distinction between public libraries and school libraries.

By the late 1920s, the quality of resources being held in public schools was called into question by the Government’s Hadow Committee, which further declared that schools needed to become more concerned with the quality of content children were being exposed to. The Committee recognised that children needed to be taught to become more sensitive and critical of information, especially considering that information was becoming more accessible due to the increased popularity of newspapers and radio broadcasts (Hadow, 1928, p. xx). This forward-thinking allowed children to be taught the importance of critical information evaluation skills and the Committee were especially innovative to suggest that these skills would engender a love of lifelong learning which they believed was the secret of personal happiness and national well-being (Bhimani, 2018).

In 1964, the Public Libraries and Museums Act stipulated that libraries were a statutory right of the people of the United Kingdom and that national and local governments should take responsibility for providing a “comprehensive” and “efficient” library service (CILIP, 2018). This appears to have been conveniently forgotten by the present Government, and libraries and librarians are now seen as an unaffordable “luxury” rather than a statutory right. Since 2000, Government funding cuts have let to the closure of almost 500 libraries (Onwuemezi, 2017). 

Considering the falling literacy rates amongst young students in the United Kingdom (OECD, 2017) and the apparent inability of individuals to evaluate information, one has to question how future generations will fare without access to quality information or information literacy skills necessary to be perceptive. Furthermore, how will future generations develop their imaginations, learn to appreciate their literary traditions or tell the difference between fact and fiction? By jeopardising people’s cultural heritage, the Government is robbing the nation of its ability to maintain its well-being and happiness.

Word: Libraries

Number: 1964