A new research study, carried out by Shared Intelligence and Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), seeks to provide an up-to-date picture of what the public wants from library services. It also aims to provide a timely pointer to how councils, faced with difficult financial choices, should shape the service for the future.
The research, undertaken from late July to early November 2010, shows the English public widely value public libraries as a force for good and one that should be provided free. A significant proportion (74 percent) of current users surveyed described libraries as 'essential' or 'very important' in their lives. Fifty-nine percent of non-users also think libraries play an 'important' or 'essential' role in the community. But it also suggests that the notion of library users and non-users is an artificial divide - that instead that people's reliance on libraries tends to vary as their life circumstances change, for example through taking up study, becoming unemployed, having children or retiring.
Books are still the main reason why most people use libraries but the research highlights that motivations for library use among current users are wide ranging: 76 percent use libraries for their love of reading; 44 percent for study; 17 percent to find local information; and, 14 percent view the library as somewhere to take their children.
The study highlights the increasing competition that libraries are now facing from the convenience of bookshops and online stores - one in four 'lapsed' or non-users cite this as their main reason for not using public libraries today. Research also found that around 10 percent of people who are not current library users simply 'don't like reading'. Book choice, good customer service, staff expertise and convenience are seen as key to user satisfaction.
Both users and non-users often expressed concern about books being 'squeezed out' for other services and although they accepted greater automation, they do not think this should be at the expense of maintaining a knowledgeable and helpful staff base.
According to Roy Clare, MLA chief executive, this study helps point to where the library service should be heading at a critical moment as costs need to be cut. It suggests that it is better to plan for the longer term to provide a convenient modern service, with comprehensive book stock, digital access, helpful staff and a range of activities, than to maintain the costs of less-welcoming buildings with steadily reducing opening hours and declining stock.
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