Category Archives: England
New digital archive for the UK
From 6th April 2013, six legal deposit libraries in the UK and Ireland will be using the powers of the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 to enable them to gather and store a vast amount of digital material, particularly stuff … Continue reading
Independent Sieghart review of e-lending in public libraries published
Last autumn the DCMS commissioned an independent review of e-lending in public libraries in England. The panel took evidence from selected individuals and organisations representing a range of views, from publishers, librarians, booksellers, authors and so on, as well as … Continue reading
Keep up at the back! E-books and libraries update
As ever, the world of e-books changes on a weekly basis. I highlight some news items and stories about e-books and libraries in my scoop.it page (which should be accessible in public libraries even where restrictions are in place, and … Continue reading
This is some of what libraries do – universal offers
On Thursday 31 January 2013, a set of ‘universal offers’ were launched in London jointly by the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL), the Arts Council England (ACE), and the Reading Agency (TRA). They are based around four themes (health, information, … Continue reading
Community libraries England report
The Arts Council England, the body tasked with looking after public libraries in England, has recently* published the report Community libraries – Learning from experience: guiding principles for local authorities with the Local Government Association on different ways in which communities are involved … Continue reading
Living in a digital world
(And I am a digital girl – well, sort of.*) Whilst we haven’t yet become cyborgs, the governments of Great Britain (ie England**, Scotland and Wales) are all trying to encourage a ‘digital shift’ through their own digital strategies. A … Continue reading
Report into library closures in England published
The Commons Select Committee inquiry into public library closures in England published its report today (6th November 2012). The report can be viewed as hyperlink sections, or as a pdf. The headline of their news page is: “Council plans for libraries risk failure … Continue reading
E-books lending review by DCMS open
The independent panel appointed to review e-book e-lending has issued a call for evidence to be submitted to the panel. You can read the questions they are considering and watch/listen to author Joanna Trollope discuss the panel’s work on the … Continue reading
Digital by default and libraries
Some people may be aware of the UK (Westminster) government beginning to implement a ‘digital by default’ policy. This was presented in the 2010 report by Martha Lane Fox, the UK Digital Champion and now the government has set out what the … Continue reading
A new chapter – the Carnegie UK Trust report on public libraries
About six weeks ago (yes, I know, I’m late to the party), the Carnegie UK Trust recently published a report called A new chapter: public library services in the 21st century. The report reviews the current position of public libraries … Continue reading
