Latest news with #LibraryoftheYear
The Independent
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
How shameful that Lambeth Council is marking World Book Day with library cuts
In the blink of an eye this morning, I went from cooing over the costumes my relatives and friends had assembled for their kids to wear to school, to utter horror. In my London borough, Lambeth Council last night rubberstamped a 25 per cent to its library services, which have, like libraries around the UK, already been sliced to a single-page thinness over the years. Happy World Book Day, everyone! I am one of many authors and illustrators to sign an open letter in protest at the council's decision. The timing is stranger than fiction – certainly, it's more stupid. There is no denying that Britain's councils are in highly straitened circumstances. Librarians manage to spin gold out of minimal budgets with a skill that would impress Rumpelstiltskin. Lambeth Libraries are shortlisted for the British Book Awards Library of the Year, yet the council wants to keep 16 posts unfilled and continue its £100,000 cuts to the new books budget. Lambeth spends £4.7m a year on its library services. Its neighbour, Southwark, spends £8.6m. More shocking is that Lambeth's budget has barely changed in cash terms since 1984, when it was £4.2m. In the 2023-24 financial year, Lambeth Council managed to find £6.7 million to spend on external consultants, while more than 50 council officers collect salaries of £100,000 or more per year – roughly double that of three years ago. Lambeth has been in hot water with its constituents over Low Traffic Neighbourhoods – one in Streatham Wells had to be rolled back last year after repeatedly bringing the entirety of Streatham to a standstill during rush hour. Lambeth has always combated criticism of the LTNs by pointing to the money raised from their fines. Well, why aren't the libraries getting a slice? Is there some snobbery at work? Do they perhaps imagine libraries as places that only nerdy geniuses like Roald Dahl's Matilda can use? I cannot imagine anyone would be so stupid, and yet, given the state of things now, perhaps they are. In 2019, Suffolk Libraries commissioned independent research to demonstrate the value of library investment. Every £1 spent on three of its services – a toddler club, sessions for older people, and a drop-in – generated £8.04 in intangible 'social value. " Social value is nebulous; it cannot be graded as exam results can, yet its ripple effect on people and services is undeniable. Library attendees in Suffolk reported improved mental health and reduced stress, as did their family members. Last year, the public raised over £250,000 to rebuild Spellow Hub library, which was set on fire during the riots. It reopened in December after a tremendous community effort, precisely because it is a community heart. In Lambeth alone, the libraries offer books but also computer access, quiet workspaces, ESOL classes, tea and coffee mornings, digital support, homework clubs, debt advice clinics, coding classes, craft clubs, and clubs for teens. The Good Things Foundation gives away SIM cards to adults on low incomes to further close the digital divide. Last month, one of my own books was chosen to join Reading Well, a national scheme that provides books through libraries to help people manage their health and well-being. It is probably the greatest honour I'll ever have, precisely because it comes through the library system. And all this is before we even get to the reason for World Book Day. Research conducted by its namesake charity in 2023 revealed that over 500,000 children in England do not own a book, and one in 10 children eligible for free school meals falls into this category. Among these, one in five reported that the book they selected with their token was the first book they had ever owned. The global police forum OECD reported in 2002 that reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child's future success – over family income or parents' educational background. Libraries are crucial in providing access. The image of libraries may have solidified in Matilda as a place where book-hungry nerds can inhale as many as they can get – but that book also highlighted them as a place for lonely people to find comfort. Streatham library is filled with older men reading the morning papers together in companionable silence. In Brixton, teens enjoy the peace and graphic novel options. Parents flock to the bright, wide spiral path that centres Clapham. These and many others house a brilliant scheme called Read Easy, where volunteers give one-to-one sessions to help adults learn to read. In 2021, nine million adults in the UK were functionally illiterate – illiteracy is linked to shorter life expectancy, depression and obesity. Its economic impact was put at £80bn a year by the World Literacy Foundation. 'Most of the sessions take place in Lambeth libraries,' a local volunteer tells me. 'It's a genuinely life-changing programme, and without the libraries, it would be much harder to deliver as you need a public place (for safeguarding reasons) that also offers privacy as readers are often shy, and it's a huge step for them to have asked for help.' Britain was founded on books. Some of our greatest and most enduring 'soft power' comes from our legacy as a literary powerhouse. Yet the gulf in print and digital access continues to widen. How can we be a society of equality if only some have access to life's essentials – and to what makes life enjoyable.
BBC News
21-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Three Devon libraries shortlisted for Library of Year title
Three Devon libraries are in the running for the British Book Awards Library of the Year Library, Braunton Library and Exeter Library are all 2025 South West finalists - along with the Guille-Allès Library in awards "celebrate reading initiatives in which libraries collaborate with local publishers, partners and businesses; build inspiring community hubs; and place reading at the heart of everything they do".One winner from each region will be announced on 12 March, with the overall prize announced at The British Book Awards ceremony on 12 May.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Exeter Library on shortlist to be crowned South West's best
Exeter Library has been shortlisted as the Best Library in the South West in the final of the British Book Awards 2025. The library will be up against Bideford Library and Braunton Library for the award. The regional and country winners of the Library of the Year award will be announced on Wednesday March 12, whilst the overall winner will be revealed during The British Book Awards ceremony at Grosvenor House London on Monday May 12. The National Book Awards aim to recognise libraries for their ingenuity in the face of increasing pressures. The British Book Awards 2025 Library of the Year Award, sponsored by publisher DK and run in association with the Reading Agency, celebrates libraries that serve their readers and implement initiatives which reach deep into communities, improving the lives of individuals through storytelling and literature. Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller and chair of the judges for The British Book Awards, said: 'I am absolutely delighted by the number, strength and depth of the entries in the first year we have taken a regional approach to The Library of the Year award. "These are libraries busting a gut to put reading at the heart of what they do, and, as a consequence, improve the lives of their patrons. Focused on local people in everyday locations, highlighting the innovative work done in 2024 is vital and a real pleasure.' Karen Napier MBE, and CEO The Reading Agency said: 'The exceptional entries to this year's Library of the Year award demonstrate the vital role that public libraries play in our communities. "What particularly stands out is how these libraries have become true community hubs by working so collaboratively with local partners. "These finalists represent the very best of what modern libraries can achieve, proving that libraries remain essential, dynamic spaces of learning, creativity, and community engagement, with reading at their heart.'
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Guernsey library announced as UK award finalist
Guernsey's public library has been announced as a finalist for a major UK award recognising its work with children and young people, organisers have revealed. Guille-Allès Library, in St Peter Port, is one of four South West finalists for Library of the Year, part of the British Book Awards 2025. The library was shortlisted for its work organising its Summer Reading Challenge which encouraged children to read six books over the summer holidays. Jodie Hearn, head of the library's services for children and young people, said the nomination was "really exciting" and highlighted the efforts of the library's "whole team". Miss Hearn said just over 1,800 children took part in the challenge - about 35% of the island's three to 11 year olds. "It's a really good way to encourage children to read over the summer, especially when they're not in school and there's a bit of a reading dip," she said. The Library of the Year Award "celebrates libraries that serve their readers and implement initiatives which reach deep into communities, improving the lives of individuals through storytelling and literature", organisers said. The winner of the award will be revealed on 12 May. Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to Postal workers rescue library home deliveries Guernsey library launches summer reading challenge Woman recognised for improving library accessibility Guille-Allès Library
BBC News
20-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Guernsey library announced as finalist for UK award
Guernsey's public library has been announced as a finalist for a major UK award recognising its work with children and young people, organisers have Library, in St Peter Port, is one of four South West finalists for Library of the Year, part of the British Book Awards library was shortlisted for its work organising its Summer Reading Challenge which encouraged children to read six books over the summer Hearn, head of the library's services for children and young people, said the nomination was "really exciting" and highlighted the efforts of the library's "whole team". Miss Hearn said just over 1,800 children took part in the challenge - about 35% of the island's three to 11 year olds."It's a really good way to encourage children to read over the summer, especially when they're not in school and there's a bit of a reading dip," she Library of the Year Award "celebrates libraries that serve their readers and implement initiatives which reach deep into communities, improving the lives of individuals through storytelling and literature", organisers winner of the award will be revealed on 12 May.
