The Libraries Connected Presidency: My ‘second home’

Over the last few weeks I’ve been repeatedly asked the same question: ‘what has been the highlight of my time as President?’ Invariably it’s left me stumped. Not because there haven’t been highlights over the last two years as President (and year and a half as President Elect). There have been many, too many to mention in this short blog post. Rather, the Presidency has very much become my second home. Asking what the highlights were is a little like asking a fish about the water in which it swims. The Presidency is very much a lived experience.

Perhaps, then, it is more helpful to think in terms of themes rather than milestones, the larger tides and currents that have shaped both Libraries Connected and the wider public library sector over the last four years.

Over the last four years I’ve criss-crossed the country to meet with colleagues in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. What has consistently struck me is the extraordinary resilience, creativity and humanity shown by library staff often working in challenging circumstances. I’ve been inspired and humbled by the dedication and passion our teams bring to their work.

Public libraries: Evolving and growing in uncertain times 

One of the strongest themes I’ve noticed has been a growing confidence in what our libraries can achieve. For a long time, libraries have spoken about themselves defensively, as valued but vulnerable institutions constantly needing justification. While financial pressures remain very real, I think public libraries have increasingly begun to rediscover confidence in their own voice, purpose and national importance.
 

I’ve seen this lived out in practice through the Innovation Gatherings, the Know Your Neighbourhood projects and the regional conferences. I have listened to library staff speaking with confidence and pride about the impact their work delivers. Whether we are talking about literacy, trusted information, digital inclusion, health and wellbeing, economic participation or community cohesion, public libraries sit right at the centre of some of the defining questions facing our communities.

Public libraries are one of the few remaining genuinely universal public spaces left in civic life: places where people can enter freely, learn freely, read freely and are allowed to simply be.  That role has only become more important as the wider world has grown more fragmented and uncertain.  Questions around AI, reading for pleasure, misinformation, public trust and community resilience have all moved to the centre of national debate.

Libraries have continued evolving and growing through these turbulent changes.  Not by abandoning what they are, but by becoming more fully what I believe they have always had the potential to be: places of literacy, places of connection, places of trusted information, places of civic pride and resilience. 

 

Sensing a change in the national perception of libraries

Some of the moments that remain strongest in my memory are those where I sensed a shift beginning to happen more broadly in how libraries are understood nationally, beyond what I sometimes think of as the ‘Library Land Echo Chamber’: speaking in the House of Lords about libraries as essential skills infrastructure; the launch of the Libraries Alliance at the British Academy; or seeing our libraries included in national conversations around literacy, social mobility and community cohesion. 

Two initiatives I’m particularly proud and privileged to have been involved in are the Early Years Literacy Roundtable and the Poverty Proofing Libraries work. These are two projects that ask a fundamental question: how can we ensure our universal services are genuinely universal, accessible, engaging and valuable for everyone? 

Libraries Connected: Building a home for our movement

Alongside those broad social currents, Libraries Connected itself has also been changing.  Over the last four years I’ve learnt that as an organisation Libraries Connected balances two identities. At heart we are a movement, a network rooted in professional solidarity, public service and a shared belief in libraries as a force for good. But increasingly we have also had to grow into something more; a national organisation capable of advocacy, partnership-building and evidence gathering at scale, helping shape the future of public libraries beyond the immediate bounds of our sector.

Now, more than ever, I believe our public libraries need a strong national body, dedicated to their needs. A body capable not only of supporting the sector during periods of uncertainty, but of helping shape its future with confidence, credibility and ambition. That conviction has helped shape our collective work over the last two years, strengthening the institution so that it can better support the movement. That has included governance reform, clearer accountability and representation, strengthening member voice, investing in evidence and advocacy through the PEAR directorate and helping build wider partnerships through initiatives such as the Libraries Alliance. 

My final thanks

One of the greatest strengths of Libraries Connected is the willingness of colleagues to share ideas, challenge assumptions and support one another. I’m enormously grateful to everyone who has taken the time to speak with me over the past four years. Thank you to everyone who has hosted visits and to their teams for their generosity of spirit in showing me their work. These conversations have been crucial in anchoring our own work and thinking to the needs of the sector, as well as being deeply rewarding personal experiences.

I’d also like to thank Isobel and the Libraries Connected staff team, trustees past and present, Arts Council England, DCMS and our many partners across the sector for their support, challenge and collaboration over the last four years. Thank you to Ayub Khan as Past President for his invaluable support and to Ben Holden, for stepping forward to take up the role of Chair from June. We’ve a great team at the helm of Libraries Connected, helping to guide us forward with experience, energy and insight. 

Finally, I want to congratulate and welcome James Pearson as incoming President.  James brings deep experience, strong public service values and a genuine commitment to libraries and the communities they serve. I know James will be a thoughtful, and principled advocate for libraries and the communities they serve and I very much look forward to supporting him through the transition ahead.

Serving as President of Libraries Connected has been one of the greatest privileges of my professional life. It has challenged me, stretched me and taught me a great deal. Most of all, though, it has deepened my belief that public libraries remain one of the essential institutions in a healthy, informed and compassionate society. In many ways, I think we are only just getting started.