The Loss of Britain's Libraries Could be a Huge Blow to the Economy via New Statesman

The loss of Britain's libraries could be a huge blow to the economy

New Statesman: 12.18.2017 by Will Dunn

The UK's public libraries are beng [sic] deprofessionalised and, in many cases, closing altogether. What effect will this have on education, employment and the wider economy?

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What does it cost a country to lose its libraries? Is there any point holding on to buildings full of books, when most people have a screen in their pocket that can access millions of websites? For Ian Anstice, a librarian and the editor of Public Libraries News, libraries are important because they offer “equality of access to information, and to imagination”. “If you’re wealthy and you can afford a lot of books, that’s brilliant, you don’t need a library. But if you’ve got a child, from toddlers – who are absolutely voracious for picture books – onwards, to give your child the same access to books, and thus to improved literacy, you need a library. You need a place where children can find books for themselves.” Libraries, says Anstice, “level the playing field between those who can afford all the books they want, and the rest, who can’t. That has a demonstrable impact on literacy, and that builds directly into skills.”

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What does illiteracy cost an economy? In 2015, research by the World Literacy Foundation calculated the factors to which illiteracy contributes – the limits on employability and productivity, the absence of technological skills and wealth creation, the negative effects on health and the costs incurred through crime rates and increased reliance on benefits – and put the figure at two per cent of GDP for a developed country. In the UK, then, illiteracy costs over £800m a week.  READ MORE >>