For a public library to expect to survive today, it must begin to take crucial cues from coffee shops. At least, thats the key recommendation offered by a much-anticipated report on British public libraries, which is set to be released Thursday. The Independent Library Report for England argues that, with help from the U.K. central government, public libraries must expand digital services, such as e-lending and free Wi-Fi, if they are to continue to be viable. Commissioned in February by the U.K. government and headed by publisher William Sieghart, the report also calls for the creation of a task force to come up with a unified strategy for implementing the changes. According to the report, those changes must include standard Wi-Fi: The wi-fi connection should be delivered in a comfortable, retail-standard environment, with the usual amenities of coffee, sofas and toilets. In comments to the British paper, The Independent, Sieghart expressed the situation of libraries more bluntly: So theyre slated for closure while everyones in the Costa opposite, where theres a loo, hot drinks and internet access. With more than 300 library closures in the U.K. since 2011, according to the Independent, Sieghart says the changes cant come soon enough. Were at a critical moment for the libraries and if were not careful we could lose so many. I and a lot of people think it would be an absolute disaster.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 16:54:20 +0000
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