Latest News: Frank le Duc

Shh! Brighton and Hove is bucking the trend, by opening new libraries when others are having to fight to keep theirs open

A newly built library opened at one end of Brighton and Hove earlier this month and another is due to open at the other end of the city before long. Woodingdean Library shares a building with a doctors’ surgery and was part of a £1.6 million project. The doors opened to the public on Monday 2 June.

Next month the new Mile Oak Library is due to open in the £13 million extension to the Portslade Aldridge Community Academy (PACA) in Chalky Road. It is currently housed temporarily in the sports centre there. The library has long been shared by the school and the community.

In Falmer, the Queen opened The Keep last November. The £19 million public records office and archive is probably the most sophisticated library building in the south east. It houses some of the historic collections held by Sussex University. Sussex also plans to extend the library on its Falmer campus in the coming few years. It was refurbished relatively recently. And Brighton University intends to include a library in its new building on Circus Street.

Even the Jubilee Library is still widely regarded as new although it opened in 2005. Since then several of Brighton and Hove’s 14 council-run libraries have been refurbished and renovated, including Hove Library which was built in 1908. All the public libraries in the area have been upgraded, with a growing number of computers – more than 200 – and wifi becoming more common. The library service has been making the transition from hushed Victorian-style reading rooms to digital hubs and 21st-century data centres.

Some have voiced concerns about whether there are enough books, whether the stock is refreshed enough and up to date and whether they have been dumbed down. One librarian said that they catered intentionally for a wide range of people. Some titles were specialised, some were more mainstream and others were deliberately picked from the bestseller lists not least because they encouraged people – especially those on low incomes – to keep reading.

What is the point of having public libraries? The question was addressed in a report to a Brighton and Hove City Council meeting last week. The Economic Development and Culture Committee agenda included the Libraries Plan which carried the tagline “Libraries at the heart of our communities: broadening horizons, improving lives”.

“Public libraries are fundamental to a democratic society and play a powerful role in supporting community and personal development”

It cited the priorities set out by the Arts Council, including placing the library as the hub of the community and making the most of digital technology and creative media. The council also aims to consolidate further services into libraries, among other buildings, to provide more joined up services. Moulsecoomb Library, for example, has plenty of information about housing and the new Woodingdean Library is creating a health hub.

The Libraries Plan said that it “demonstrates the value of public libraries and shows how they support priority objectives for the city such as health and wellbeing, reading and literacy, children and adults learning, supporting elderly and vulnerable people and providing important, safe and trusted community spaces in local neighbourhoods”.

It added: “Public libraries are fundamental to a democratic society and play a powerful role in supporting community and personal development that underpins economic activity and enriches people’s lives. Libraries make a difference on an individual level: inspiring people, widening their view of the world and what is achievable, supporting learning and enabling access to knowledge and information. Libraries also bring people together, providing a focus for community activity and interaction, reducing isolation and supporting social cohesion. Public libraries are at the heart of sustainable communities.”

At the heart of the network of 14 public libraries in Brighton and Hove is the Jubilee Library. The report said that it was the “top performing library in the region and the second most popular library in the country”. In the past year 1.6 million visits were made to the Jubilee Library and 1.2 million books and other items were borrowed. It will almost certainly stock a copy of the Libraries Plan and could even categorise it as a success story.