Aims

The goal of this book is to provide an introductory text on the development of public libraries in the UK and the range of services provided by them in the 21st century. Discussions will focus on the history of the public library and its development into the modern era, and the book will describe the nature of services commonly provided by modern public libraries, and how those services are governed and administered.

Public libraries mean many things to many people. They are at once independent, but political. They lend resources of high cultural value as well as material many commentators believe to be of poor quality and not suitable for funding from the public purse. Yet they have stood for generations as instruments of the higher values of society, and remain among our most prized public institutions. They represent the ideal that everyone within society deserves the right to access materials for their educational, cultural and leisure benefit, regardless of their income level, political beliefs, race, creed or colour.

It is fair to say that if the public library concept had not yet been invented, anyone proposing such a simple but worthy idea would be lauded as someone of great vision and charity. Undoubtedly every community served by a public library across the globe is better for that institution, bothits staff and contents, being a part of it. Yet although most people would acknowledge that public libraries are a positive influence for their community and society, these libraries continually find themselves battling to justify their existence and their right to access the essential public funds they require to exist and grow.

The author unashamedly takes that stance that public libraries are institutions that we must cherish, although we must seek to understand and value the services provided by them in their entirety before we can truly do so. In a world where public finances are under pressure to ensure that civically funded services are achieving the best possible value for money for citizens, regrettably public libraries have to justify every penny. However, in doing so they should not compromise their mission for short-term or political motives.