London Libraries Consortium has announced that 10 of its 12 members are already offering e-books to library customers. Their move comes ahead of the recommendation for free access to e-books outlined in the Modernisation Review of Public Libraries: a Policy Statement published on March 22, 2010. The consortium represents 12 London Public Library Services, a third of London’s boroughs.
Library resources are shared across London. Library members can borrow from and return stock to any library within the consortium, giving them access to over 100 libraries in the city and effectively creating one card across a third of the Capital. The consortium believes measures such as these, which are of genuine help to the public, will work on reversing the decline in use of public libraries.
Established in 2004, the consortium uses joint working to improve innovation and back office efficiencies and to negotiate reduced supplier rates through joint procurement. The Review recommends consideration of a new strategic body for libraries.
The consortium’s local offer includes keeping some monies in reserve for ‘local flavour’ titles. This helps to ensure that the libraries do not just replicate bookshops but also stock popular out-of-print items – the service that no bookshop can offer - and maintain their educational and social role.
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