{"text":[[{"start":6.35,"text":"The writer is director of the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, and author of ‘Burning the Books: A History of Knowledge under Attack’"}],[{"start":15.049999999999999,"text":"“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. "}],[{"start":33.8,"text":"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."}],[{"start":57.65,"text":"Public libraries continue to suffer from uneven provision. Funding cuts since 2010 have had dire consequences in many parts of the UK. The increased delegation of powers from central government to local authorities under Tony Blair led to a postcode lottery when it comes to access. "}],[{"start":75.15,"text":"Last year £10mn was made available for school libraries, yet another underfunded part of the library community. These new resources are aimed at ensuring a library can be found in every primary school but do not provide the staff to run them. This absence of joined-up thinking is typical of the way the library sector has been viewed across government."}],[{"start":95.60000000000001,"text":"The new strategy should focus on three crucial aspects. First, it should strengthen ministerial responsibilities to provide an overview of the UK’s public libraries, with a focus on standards and equity of provision. These institutions must be resourced to address national concerns including literacy, loneliness and information inequality. The review should also take a serious look at investment in buildings, workforce levels and training, and sustainability of funding."}],[{"start":125.9,"text":"Second, it should consider the ways in which libraries can engage with AI. With the new technology a government priority, the review could empower libraries to help educate citizens on both its power and its pitfalls. We need to be able to get the best out of AI while protecting against misinformation and disinformation. Where better to help than a library? "}],[{"start":147.25,"text":"Libraries also steward vast quantities of data that are of huge value to the training and operation of AI. This could improve the quality of information on which the technology depends, fuelling the digital economy."}],[{"start":160,"text":"Finally, the review must consider British libraries as a whole. These institutions operate across the remits of several government departments, but the ministerial responsibility, sitting in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, needs greater clout to join up strategy. Just one example of where a broader perspective is needed is the British Library. The devastating cyber attack of October 2023 severely restricted public access to national research collections. Although the library has been making heroic efforts to bring its services back, without additional funding to speed up the recovery, our national research capacity will continue to suffer. "}],[{"start":199.3,"text":"I have been involved in forming the Libraries Alliance, a body launched last month with the aim of bringing together the sector. It will give libraries a louder voice, with a more evidence-based approach to policy development, and make a stronger case for both funding and strategic thinking across government and other public bodies. "}],[{"start":218.85000000000002,"text":"Each year, there are more than 232mn visits to over 4,500 physical library locations across the UK, issuing over three-quarters of a billion items, either physically or digitally. Libraries can provide the knowledge our society needs in the age of AI, enriching minds and powering the economy. The government should place them at the heart of its agenda."}],[{"start":248.30000000000004,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779158662_8904.mp3"}