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How we work with libraries

How we work with libraries

Public libraries are trusted spaces, free to enter, and open to all. In them, people can explore and share reading, information, knowledge, and culture.

More Than a House for Books podcast

More Than a House for Books podcast

More Than a House for Books is a three-part series of podcasts highlighting the positive impact that libraries have on the community.

The English Public Libraries Stakeholder Working Group

The English Public Libraries Stakeholder Working Group

Arts Council England convenes and chairs the English Public Library Strategic Working Group (EPL), bringing together key national stakeholders to develop policy and partnerships to target resource and investment in issues of significant impact on the library sector.

EPL has developed two sounding boards of Heads of Service and Councillors to support this work. Arts Council England chairs the group, and it works closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to support it in its library Superintendance role.

EPL is not responsible for:

  • The statutory funding of public libraries (this is the responsibility of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
  • Supporting the Secretary of State with Superintendence duties
  • Library by-laws and data
  • Advising services undergoing significant change

This group continues to build on the work of the Ambition document published by the Libraries Taskforce which we ran from December 2019 to March 2020

Library programmes, initiatives and research

Library programmes, initiatives and research

In our role as the national development agency for public libraries, Arts Council England (ACE) supports libraries to develop their practice; advocates for their value, impact and public benefit; and invests in projects, research, and infrastructure across the public library sector that reflect our strategy, Let’s Create.

LibraryOn

LibraryOn

Since 2018, the British Library has been researching the possibility of a single digital presence for public libraries.

LibraryOn will offer a single national home for a range of digital resources that all libraries and library users can access. It will celebrate the incredible range of services they offer, as well as link to collections held locally and in libraries around the world.

Basic Dataset for Libraries

Basic Dataset for Libraries

The Libraries Basic Dataset is intended to capture permanent instances of libraries, local history libraries, and archives from 1 April 2010 to 31 December 2022. It is also intended to capture the number of mobile libraries.

It is possible to use this data to gain a national overview of the number of libraries and archives within local authorities in England, and some basic information about them. Data Accurate as of 11 July 2023.