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September 1, 2006
Book spending in public libraries falls again
If you were to trouble to read the LISU report on expenditure in public libraries published this week you would find that public libraries overspent their budget by #20m last year. But it's less than 2%, they say, and is accompanied by a phrase which says 'estimating expenditure proved difficult' They planned to spend #30m pore than the previous year and actually spent 50m more. Who cares it's not their money
None of this extra was spent on books. But I notice that Elspeth Hyams in Update uses the expression 'a staggering 20m' when she is eulogising about how much money the MLA and PwC claim they will save by opening 10 labelling factories. Nobody has still yet explained where the 20m will come from-- possibly it will turn out to be one of the things 'the estimation of which proved difficult'
Here is Katherine Rushton's, as always excellent, article in The Bookseller. I draw scant comfort from the words of the spokesperson at the DCMS. The biggest problem of all- with the public library service- is that the DCMS keep saying there is no problem. If they say there is no problem, then there is no reason for any manager in the service to take any corrective action - but the DCMS don't seem to understand that.
31 August 2006
Library book spend shrinks
Katherine Rushton
Book spending by England's public libraries continued to fall in 2005-06, despite a 5.6% increase in the overall library service budget to £756m.
The findings were revealed in the latest LISU Public Libraries Materials Fund and Budget Survey, which was this year backed by Nielsen BookData after the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) pulled its funding.
Only 8.8% of the total library budget was spent on books (£66m), down from 9.3% in the previous year and 14.4% across the whole of the UK a decade earlier. That percentage is forecast to drop again, to 8.5%, in the current year (April '06-March '07).
Desmond Clarke, chair of libraries charity Libri and a former director at Faber, said spending had got "seriously out of balance". "It is encouraging that the total funding is being increased significantly ahead of inflation, but how the money is spent is an issue." Funds are being spent on staff and replacement computers instead of books, he said. "What we're ending up with is lots of buildings with lots of people working in them--but seriously dwindling resources."
Tim Coates, library consultant, warned that more libraries were entering "the danger zone". "They aren't buying sufficient books, they are losing their value in the communities, and councils have no option but to argue for their closure."
Almost twice the number of authorities had slashed their materials budgets by 6.5% or more (45) than had made equivalent increases (23). Coates predicted the cuts would force between 300 and 500 libraries to close next year.
But Andrew Stevens, head of library development at the MLA, said spending was becoming more efficient. "Although actual spending on books has declined, the latest figures from [rival survey] CIPFA show the same number of books being bought in 2004-05 compared with 1994-95. Through strategic initiatives such as the reform of library stock procurement to release over £20m a year, the MLA is actively working with local government to improve performance at every level and make the best possible use of libraries' resources."
A spokesman from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport added: "We are pleased that local authority investment in the service is growing. They, like us, recognise the valuable role that libraries play in their communities."
katherine.rushton@bookseller.co.uk
Posted by Tim Coates at September 1, 2006 9:43 AM