The writer is director of the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, and author of ‘Burning the Books: A History of Knowledge under Attack’
“A pile of books is no more a library than a crowd of soldiers is an army,” declared the 17th-century French writer and librarian Gabriel Naudé. The UK government must bear this in mind as it prepares to publish a new strategy for public libraries — among the most cherished institutions in the country — later in the year.
The opportunity to rethink the strategy for public libraries is extremely welcome. The last national plan expired in 2021. News of its delayed successor was buried in a recent announcement that an additional £150,000 would be made available for public libraries. This sum is derisively small, but to the straitened sector any additional funding is significant.