Public libraries ‘endangered’ amid savage cuts

SCOTLAND’S public libraries have become ‘endangered’ amid fears more will close due to savage cuts.

More than eight in ten public libraries reported to the Scottish Book Trust (SBT) that they had suffered restrictions in resources and funding.

One in three librarians told a survey they had lost staff.

The findings come after more than a decade of library closures, with one in eight having been forced to shut since 2010.

Marc Lambert, chief executive of the SBT, said: ‘It’s incredibly concerning that these important institutions are endangered.’

Scottish Tory MSP Liz Smith blamed ‘sustained SNP cuts to local government funding’ for the crisis.

The Survey of Public Librarians, completed between October 2023 and January this year and published by the SBT today, sounds the alarm about libraries’ decline. Between 2015 and 2021, librarian numbers were cut by at least 32 per cent, the SBT said.

And in the trust’s 89-page report, staff told of the impact of budget cuts. One librarian told the survey there was a lack of understanding from councils about the long-term value their service provides to the local community.

They said: ‘Councils like to divide the headcount by the cost of running a library to tell us why they are cutting funding. The social impact of someone using the library, whether to read, broaden their knowledge, apply for jobs, study, and then contribute positively to the local economy/society is not quantifiable. This doesn’t even take into consideration the positive impact on families, literacy, the positive mental health aspect.’

Ms Smith, her party’s spokesman for local government, said: ‘This report says library underfunding, job losses and closures pose an urgent crisis – but it has been years in the making, thanks to sustained SNP cuts to local government funding.’ She said it was ‘imperative’ that libraries remain open.

Mr Lambert said there is ‘no other public space where people can access information, combat digital poverty, learn new skills, socialise with others, express themselves creatively, and seek to self-improve, entirely for free’.

The Scottish Government said: ‘We believe libraries are at the heart of Scotland’s communities.’

‘Social impact is not quantifiable’