Crucial legal requirements that require local authorities to provide a comprehensive and efficient public library service have been put under review
The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has launched a review of the statutory duties placed on local government. The DCLG are “inviting you to comment on the duties and challenge government on those which you feel are burdensome or no longer needed.”
The DCLG have identified 1,294 statutory duties that central government places on local authorities, three of these duties apply to public library services in England. All three of these duties are held by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport under the Public Libraries & Museums Act (1964).
“We are calling on everyone who cares about public libraries to explain to the Department of Communities and Local Government, loud and clear, why these statutory duties are so vital,” said Brian Hall, CILIP President, “These duties mean that local authorities have a legal obligation to provide comprehensive and efficient library services, and they allow the Secretary of state to monitor and inspect library services. Without them, it will be incredibly difficult to hold local authorities to account and local people will be much less likely to receive a quality public library service that is consistent across the country. I urge you to submit your views by the 25 April 2011.”
Shared from http://www.cilip.org.uk/news-media/Pages/news110314.aspx
We at Words with Jam wanted to get involved with all the fun of the BBC’s World Book Night. The April edition of the magazine will include articles from a book ‘giver’, from an author attending an event at her local bookshop, and from our reporter at the World Book Night party in Trafalgar Square. But for now, here is our World Book Night podcast – a selection of our readers and contributors championing their choice of books from the World Book Night List.
The podcast can now also be accessed via iTunes. Just go to http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/words-with-jam/id423101927 or search for ‘Words with Jam podcast’. And if you feel like giving us a review or a star rating while you're there, that's even better! (iTunes updates once a day, so the latest episodes may not show immediately.)
If you have not been selected as one of the BBC’s World Book Night ‘givers’ why not join in Nicola Morgan’s alternative World Book Night. This weekend, buy a book from your local bookshop. Write inside it: "Given in the spirit of World Book Night, March 5th 2011 and bought from [insert name of shop] - please enjoy and tell people about it." And give it to someone. Anyone. A friend or stranger, a library or school or doctor's surgery or anything.
