The Bookseller.com

7th October 2008

Clare attacks library conservatism

23.04.08 Benedicte Page

Museums, Libraries and Archives c.e.o. Roy Clare intends to "brave controversy" by tackling the need for business leadership, customer service skills and innovation in libraries, against a background that he described as "possibly overly conservative".

Speaking ahead of his keynote speech at the Library and Information Show in Birmingham today (Wednesday), Clare said libraries were far behind in a debate which took place in the museums world 20 years ago: "The mood music of library professionals is a real challenge—let’s do this to meet the needs of users, not the needs of library professionals." He added: "This will be a bit controversial for those with weak constitutions, but it needs to be done."

Clare also called for librarians to be innovators and business leaders, saying he was taking on the "closed shop of library professionals" by emphasising the importance of customer service and business skills.

He believes that in today’s Britain, where 20% of the population is "functionally illiterate", the future for libraries lies in integrating with local services around reading and books. Clare argued that libraries should have a radical agenda, as the service did when it was set up in the 1850s.

"The idea behind the public library service was that books and learning were given to everybody, and it was debated in parliament whether this was a wise thing. If you fast forward to the 21st century, we don’t have small boys going up chimneys, but we do have kids coming out of school who can’t read."

But he said that those who thought integrating libraries with their community meant that libraries were appealing solely to a lower socio-economic group were mistaken: "Why would anyone want a ladder with one rung? It must be something aspirational. And it must be what the white middle class want as well as other communities."

The MLA restructure Clare is currently overseeing will leave the organisation focusing on four areas of activity: research and analysis, identifying and sharing best practice, learning and skills, and communication with local government.

Practical measures on the agenda include a national programme of inter-library loans, supported by a cross-connected database identifying what books are where, and high-quality broadband in all libraries. "Right across FE/HE schools, young people of all ages experience good quality broadband through the national educational network. In public libraries those same people find a much slower network with reduced capacity."

Speaking to The Bookseller, Clare also confirmed that the MLA was still "in a legal process" in relation to redundancies at its London office connected with the restructure. Ten members of staff have applied for voluntary redundancy, but further redundancies are on the cards and notices will be issued to staff at the end of May.

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