Are Libraries still relevant?

I'm a fan of our library which is just a room in the leisure centre, but a few years ago the opening hours were slashed which makes it harder to pass by. It isn't open when I'm there for DC's activities. There's one evening for later opening and a few days of 3-4 hour windows.

It was a great place to go and drop in if I felt lonely when DS1 was a baby. We also used to do rhyme time sessions. It was also great when it was open around my Brownies spot, a free outing and access to information for researching badges. The slash in hours has made it much less accessible.

I use it most for variety for the DCs, particularly DS1 who likes non-fiction easy readers.

www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jun/01/three-in-10-uk-children-own-no-books

For that headline alone libraries should get more funding. Anything that helps children become readers benefits society as a whole.

I use the library for physical books. There is no charge for ordering. All different age groups in there when I pop in.

When our council had a review of library services they had a proposal to cut smaller libraries & the library buses but there was a huge push back. Ended up closing bigger libraries one day a week so service was still accessible to all.

Libraries are amazing. Ours hosts so many amazing free activities: baby bounce and rhyme, book groups, Scrabble club, Raspberry Pi programming for kids, conversational language classes... There’s also a free rail with clothing that homeless people or anyone who needs it can help themselves to. There are jigsaws out on tables and anyone can add a few pieces (or finish the whole thing!) as they pass.

For a lot of kids it’s the only safe and quiet place they have to do homework. For a lot of older people it’s their main social outlet. People are always queuing up to use the computers and printers. It’s warm, dry, open into the evening, and free. There’s wifi, coffee and that’s before you even get to the books. Ours also lends ebooks, DVDs and board games.

The staff are basically frontline social workers, helping vulnerable elderly people, homeless people, and people with clearly undiagnosed severe mental health issues every day. They cheerily help kids with homework, run quizzes and community events, and curate interesting exhibitions including regular displays of rare books and documents from the stacks.

I used to work in libraries myself (not this one), and am totally passionate about them. They are one of the absolute best assets our society has and I would happily pay more council tax to subsidise them.

Absolutely love and support my local library.

I read a book a week (not a big telly watcher) so borrowing from the library saves me £££

I'm a childminder and take my little ones there weekly for reading, choosing books and rhyme time. The love going so much that they pretty much ask to go every day.

Libraries are FAB

Forgot to mention the Outreach/Home service which is brilliant for those who can't get out to their local library.

Mistaken is spot on.

I work in a library, and can tell you they are still very relevant. Baby Bounce, Rhyme Time, Arts & Crafts, Coffee Mornings, Book Club, Talks, Courses, then there's students coming in to study, people coming in to use computers - a lot goes on besides borrowing books.

However 'footfall' is normally recorded so if people don't use smaller branches then they will close eventually.

We used to go all the time as we had a village library and then to the town library as they got older but now we haven't been for several years as the teen section is maybe 100 books in all and all old ones.

My local library runs bounce and rhyme 5days a week with crafts for kids. Always busy. The staff help teach a few older how to read. They have craft specific sessions for the public. Book sales ext. it's so much more than a library it's a community hub and it's very much needed

Zadie Smith’s article was excellent, thank you for sharing it Minutiae. Does anyone know what happened to the library in her article?

I joined my local (small town) library mostly for ebooks, audiobooks and the free magazine (via app). Occasionally reserve an actual book for collection. I never go in just to browse, would rather look at the online catalogue, am disabled and find it hard to park near enough. I suppose in future it will just be all online.

Libraries are vital, always have been, and hopefully always will.
I go to our local one once or twice a week. It is in a shopping centre, which is unusual, but means that the large amount of people who use it can exchange their books and do their shopping, it’s full of school children and always busy. The staff are great, and it is a lifeline for the children here, in a country where few people can afford to buy books.

Yes, have a pile of books from the library here

And of course there are some people who are difficult, but we are trained to manage them so that everyone is safe and happy.

Exactly what the above poster said, and it's not just books that are offered, it's computers, magazines, homework and job searching clubs etc - the community aspect of the building, a safe place to be.

That must be so frustrating, Chris.

I drop into the library several times a week and I usually have between 10 and 20 books out a time. I'd be bankrupt if I didn't - new releases and non-fiction can be quite expensive on kindle and you may never see them in a charity shop. As well as books for reading, it's a chance to play around with cookery books and guidebooks. Libraries quite honestly make my life better.

There are always quite a few people who need the library for other reasons, because they've no place else to go during the day. Occasionally it can feel a bit uncomfortable, but I'm okay with that - I think communities need shared spaces, and it's not healthy to become ever more segregated.

Yes, libraries are still relevant and still well used where I live, but the council wants to save money by ditching trained staff - I'm waiting to be made redundant and replaced by a volunteer.
In the meantime, I'm watching the council spend thousands of pounds preparing the libraries to be volunteer run. Also, there aren't any volunteers yet.
It hurts.

I love the local library. I read several books a night to my 3 year old and although we have bought loads, I'd be spending a fortune on other books if we didn't use the library. We go once every 3 weeks and get about 10 books.
I also enjoyed bounce and rhyme when he was a baby.

Growing up I was a keen reader and my parents were not particularly well off, so the library enabled me to have a constant supply. I used the library regularly all through high school and well into adulthood. I don't use the library myself these days, I use my kindle, buy charity shop books and listen to Audible. I miss browsing in the library and picking out a pile of corkers, I should start using it again.

Ours does do a lot for teen study groups and those who have problems with getting back to work (I suppose I would fit that category! But I mean those who have problems filling in forms, doing CVs etc etc.

I was also fascinated to know that for little kiddies there was a learning Mandarin class!

I love libraries and would be lost without a local one . If I was locked in somewhere overnight be it a chocolate shop, cake shop , or high end clothes shop, I'd choose a library over them all. They would find me tucked up in a corner quite happy .

I love our library and will lead the protest march if they dare to close it.
I lived libraries as a child, took mine and now take grandchildren to choose books, go to storytime, rhymetime, special events etc. Plus it is a community hub with a fab cafe which is always in use. Lots of events are held and weekdays is open til 7.
I also love using my kindle, so can see both sides

Kazzy. Which council is that if you don’t mind saying?

Lancashire

I love the library but our library charges huge fees to even renew a book before its overdue which is why I don't use it.
I however use the electronic borrowing from the library which is free with their free app

Ours is very very noisy but that is because it is multifunctional - kids hearing and joining in songs, being read to. Groups of school kids doing homework on computers (well alright chatting about a girl they saw etc etc!!!), A bloke who goes in most days and has an irritating cough. The two Eastern European ladies that bellow at each other, the great unwashed who go in for somewhere ward to kip, etc etc or with help to fill in universal credit stuff.

I believe you can get ebooks from the library but I think there is a time limit (just like with paper books). I go in to copy recipes down but due to very over due books I daren't borrow any books. I wish they had an amnesty then I could take them back!!

I make a special effort to keep using my library and my family go in at least once a week. I have made it my duty to keep using it purely to show that it is still needed and wanted in the community. I have friends who do the same.

Kazzy. Which council is that if you don’t mind saying?