Does a “National Library Card” even begin to address the UK’s library issues?

This week, the Cultural Policy Unit launched its new report proposing the National Library Card. This would sign all newborn babies up to a library card automatically, without the normal administrative burden. The campaign has launched with the backing of leading authors such as Richard Osman and Philip Pullman.

Any advocate for literacy and libraries is unlikely to argue against the concept of the National Library Card in principle. But does this begin to answer any of the true problems we have on this issue in the UK?

The reality of libraries on the ground

Growing up in Birmingham, I have watched as the library system has been slowly decimated and deprioritised. The library five minutes from me is next to a primary school, secondary school, and a large council estate. After 3pm, it used to be the place many went to do their homework, use the computers, and be with their friends in a safe space. During the day, there would be sessions for parents with their babies, support for older folks and people needing to access technology for job applications, and the local knitting club.

That library, like most across Birmingham, is now only open for three days a week. One of those is only with volunteers who cannot support anyone to sign up or do anything technical. And none of those days are across the weekend. The books on the shelves have barely changed since I was a teenager.

The recent consultation by Birmingham City Council proposed closing twenty five libraries, which had significant pushback. More recently, it has proposed a model that will mean only 10 libraries will open every Saturday, with 8 opening only every other week. This cuts Saturday access in half – from 28 libraries to 14.

Giving Birmingham-born babies a library card automatically would mean easier access to the buildings. But if those buildings are never open, that barrier is arguably bigger than any admin can be. This is true for cities and their councils across many parts of the country.

Belonging in closed buildings

The report, and the authors who support it, have talked about the feeling of belonging that can come from being part of the membership scheme and having a card. Many families have previously believed libraries are not for them. But in reality, how can you belong in a place, a community, that’s never open and has been systemically underfunded? A place where there are no staff and there have been next to no new books in years?

Libraries are critical for so many reasons, many of which would be supported by the idea of the National Library Card. And the CPU puts these forward in its report. This includes making reading more of a habit, and exposing children and their families to more community and literary experiences. The idea is to make reading and libraries a more common and average part of life from a younger age.

I always say my local libraries helped raise me. As a low income family, there was little money for books. And getting out of the house to a space that was free, warm, accessible and welcoming was crucial for our wellbeing. For many families, particularly those that already feel isolated by their communities, this might not be seen as an option. Perhaps their child already having a card would open these doors.

Although the CPU does somewhat acknowledge the funding cuts to libraries, this takes a backseat across its reporting. Instead, it discusses the other gaps libraries are having to fill, like Sure Start centres. It argues that the National Library Card would ‘restore some of the ambitions of Sure Start’. But it remains difficult to imagine a way in which this works when councils are cutting services to the bone.

Young people deserve better – but is this the way?

This year, the National Literacy Trust found that enjoyment of reading amongst children and young people was its lowest in 20 years. This marks a 36% decrease in reading enjoyment levels since 2005. Similarly, fewer than 1 in 5 of 8- to 18-year-olds were reading daily. Society will tell you this is because young people are more interested in their phones. Instead, it is worth considering the role of austerity and the cost of living crisis in this. Parents have less time to dedicate to reading or encouraging reading amongst their children. And they have less money to spend on books.

The closure of public libraries contributes to this declining access to books, along with schools increasingly lacking their own libraries. The National Library Card would have to come hand in hand with significant changes to the funding of public libraries and their infrastructure across the country. Where libraries are the council’s responsibility, the gaps between deprived and wealthier areas are only widening in this area. The library card scheme won’t fix this on its own.

Libraries change lives, and anything that helps that happen for more families is welcome. The National Library Card has clear benefits. But as someone from the West Midlands who has watched the crumbling of the library sector for years: is it the thing that needs such significant sector backing before anything else?

You cannot ‘integrate libraries into early childhood development’ in a country where the buildings and the people within them are being cut every minute. In the backdrop of austerity, reversing systemic underfunding must take centre stage.

Featured image via the Canary