It has been twelve months since I took on the role of President of Libraries Connected. As I reach the midpoint of my two-year term, this feels like the right time to take stock. What have I learnt? What are we building? And how can we ensure the work ahead strengthens not just our services, but our shared purpose?

As President it has been a busy year and there is the ever-present danger of getting stuck on something of a fast-moving treadmill, with the diary filling with meetings, talks and visits.  These are undoubtedly an important part of the role.  But some of the most valuable moments I have had this year have been conversations over a cup of tea in a staff room, the comments from library users on the shop floor, the incidental chats during breaks at meetings, seminars and conferences. 

The Funding Challenge

Funding has never been far from the surface in many of the conversations I have had, whether with colleagues on an individual level, in Support Hub meetings or with directors and portfolio holders. What is abundantly clear is that libraries are caught in the midst of a funding crisis fuelled by the skyrocketing costs of social care and education support that is hobbling local authorities’ abilities to support other essential, statutory services. 

As one head of service commented to me, ‘we can’t be in this situation forever, we need to collectively look at the bigger picture, we need bold, creative solutions that look beyond current arrangements and systems of working.’  This is why, when Libraries Connected issued its priorities for the incoming Government last year, top of the list was the optimistic call to ‘fix the local government funding crisis’.  It is also why we have consistently sought to demonstrate the impact libraries can and are having on a daily basis around early years literacy, health and wellbeing, digital inclusion and social cohesion. 

Numerous conversations this year have made it clear that this is not just an issue of us advocating more loudly. It is also a question of how we are using data and evidence to advocate effectively. Libraries Connected is building a dedicated research and advocacy team to support this. The new team will strengthen our use of data and evidence, helping us make an even stronger case for the vital work we do.
 

Cultural Change

Some of the most uplifting conversations I have had have been with those people who are coming in to use our libraries.  Whether it is a family coming to their first baby bounce session, a student looking for a quiet place to study, a group coming together to talk, create and maybe make new friends, someone who is looking for help and advice, or someone just getting happily lost amidst the shelves.  There is no doubt we are valued by our communities, as we saw last summer with the tremendous response to the Spellow Hub fire. 

Some of the most interesting conversations I have had this year, though, have been with the people who do not use us. I know I am not alone in my concerns around the broader trends in reading we have seen reported during the past year. National Literacy Trust research into children’s reading habits showed the percentage of children enjoying reading had fallen to its lowest since 2005. A YouGov survey reported that 40% of Britons didn’t read a book in 2024, with only 22% saying that they had read between 1 to 5 books that year.

I say this as a call to arms.  As librarians we know the powerful value of literacy and reading. I passionately believe that public libraries can and must play a critical role as part of a society-wide approach, to supporting literacy and reading.

We can see examples where coordinated action has worked for children and adults, from the school readiness programme in Newham, the Couch to 5k reading challenge that is part of London Libraries’ ReadOn app and the Every Child a Library Member initiative in Scotland.  Joined up initiatives can and do help to drive engagement with reading and literacy and I am sure that we will see this coordinated approach deliver results across the country as we come together to celebrate a National Year of Reading in 2026.
 

Who are our libraries for?

It is without doubt a fascinating and challenging time to be a librarian, as we find ourselves delivering services in the midst of significant technological and cultural change.  Some of the conversations I have had this year have been with colleagues who find their libraries increasingly on the frontline of the ‘culture wars’.  In many ways, none of this is new. There has been an ongoing dance over the centuries as to what should be on our shelves and who should be allowed through our doors. The tension and tone of the conversation is becoming ever sharper, though, and as a charity we are giving careful thought as to how we can best support librarians to navigate these issues.  For me the situation was best encapsulated for me in the words projected onto the outside of the Brooklyn Public Library in October during Banned Books Week, which read:

“In this building we protect the books we agree with and those we do not with equal fervour. 

That is the foundation of democracy.”

Our libraries cannot claim to be universal and comprehensive if they are not safe spaces to encounter dangerous ideas, regardless of which side of the aisle you are coming from.

On a related note, it has been a privilege to have been involved in the Poverty Proofing Libraries project, working with ACE, ASCEL, Children North East and colleagues from Gateshead, Oldham and Cornwall to identify barriers preventing low-income families from accessing the full range of services that our libraries provide. I was really struck in one meeting by a word cloud that listed the factors that might put someone off using a library. One of the phrases highlighted was ‘social expectations’.  When you consider the challenges children living in poverty face and how our libraries might help them, it is heartbreaking to think that ‘social expectations’ might stop them coming in.  I am so pleased to see initiatives like Poverty Proofing Libraries start to unpick and address these issues.

Looking ahead: my five priorities as President

As I enter the second half of my Presidency, my focus is very much on ensuring the core strategic girders are in place to ensure Libraries Connected remains a confident, future-facing voice for our sector. What we need now is not just resilience, but reinvention. The following five priorities are intended to reflect this.

1. Establish the Research & Advocacy Team
We are building infrastructure for the sector, bringing together the Futures Hub and Data Observatory outlined in our 2023 – 2027 Strategic Plan. Our goal is to make libraries indispensable to policymakers by providing the data, insight and credibility they need to have the confidence to invest in our services

2. Invest in Leadership  
The role of the public librarian is evolving rapidly. We are investing in the next generation of civic leaders through an expanding programme of training, mentoring, and development.  Building confidence, vision and resilience in our leaders is essential for the long-term health of our services.

3. Strategic Development of Libraries Connected
In Autumn this year we will start the process of preparing a new strategic plan, to carry Libraries Connected into the 2030s. This will enable us to refine our purpose, strengthen our partnerships, and sharpen our ability to support and represent our members in a fast-changing world.

4. Governance Reform.  We are rethinking the way our Board works to ensure that it best reflects the diversity, creativity and ambition of our sector. This is about clarity of roles, transparency of process, and creating a structure that supports strong, sustainable leadership.  Strong governance is not an internal housekeeping task, it is the bedrock of accountability and sector-wide legitimacy.

5. Championing Public Libraries as Key Literacy Infrastructure
Personally, I want to focus on how I can become a more powerful advocate for libraries as platforms for literacy in all its forms. In a time of rising misinformation, fractured communities and a national reading crisis, public libraries are essential infrastructure for all forms of literacy; reading, digital, civic and health. As President I want to ensure our partners, stakeholders and funders appreciate the pivotal role our public libraries can play in delivering this.

I hope these priorities offer a shared sense of direction for the year ahead. I am always ready for a conversation and a chat.  Please do invite me to your events, your staff conferences, your regional meetings. If I can, I will come. The strength of Libraries Connected is that it is a body made by and for its members.  Together with Isobel, the team and our trustees I want to continue to hear and learn from you so we can better support you. In rapidly changing times Libraries Connected can be both a compass and an engine to help our libraries evolve and endure.