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2nd December 2008

MP questions MLA role

23.06.08 Jo Young

MP Lyn Brown, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Libraries and Literacy, has questioned the role of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) saying that it appeared to been formed by "a shotgun marriage".

In her speech, made to the CILIP's Branch and Mobile Libraries Group and Public Libraries Group members at their joint conference earlier this month, Brown spoke of the "key role" libraries should play in local communities. She said that, while she favoured local management of libraries, there was nonetheless a clear need for a strong national body to represent the sector overall, and expressed her concern about the suitability of the MLA to fulfill the role.

"I have become convinced that the basis of a thriving library service is a service that evolves organically via local involvement and ownership . . . However, that does not obviate the need for strategic leadership of the sector, but how is this best provided? . . . I would [say] that the MLA has not to date been configured to best provide the library leadership role. Indeed it has arguably shown the signs of an organisation formed by a shotgun marriage," she said.

Brown questioned whether the MLA, launched by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in April 2000, gave adequate responsibility to libraries at a local management level, and expressed doubt about whether museums and libraries were sufficiently similar in purpose to be represented successfully by one body.

"I have always believed that although the grouping of functions has a superficial attraction, museums and libraries in particular have different professional cultures and delivery mechanisms. To its credit MLA has expended much energy and investment in promoting joint working and minimizing the differences between sectors, we have them to thank for the fabulous people's network and to time to budget, but the added value experienced by the service user and service provider, I think is questionable," she said.

The MLA refused to respond to Brown's criticisms, however, dismissing her remarks as one of many references made to the MLA by politicians in the normal course of the organisation's work. "As a rule, we don't respond to everything that politicians say about the MLA. We are aware of the speech, at which members of the MLA were present. It would be difficult to put out a statement every single time the MLA is mentioned, because it happens frequently. Because we're a publicly funded body, politicians talk about us," said a spokesman for the MLA.

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