I know of one excellent library authority council in the UK where they are genuinely trying to address this problem in detail, bravely and thoroughly. It will take time, but their work will succeed. We need more to do the same They simply asked 'How do we reverse the fall?'

It's here now - #AI in library discovery services - Free Webinar 23 July at 14.30 (UK time) us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regist… This webinar will go beyond theory & speculation to reveal a real working implementation of AI in an innovative library discovery solution

Reform of House of Lords is on The Labour Party agenda & could help restore trust in Parliament & politics. Here is a plan for a representative, effective & profoundly democratic Lords based on our best traditions Electoral Reform Society alan rusbridger

The crisis about public libraries, everywhere, is not about money, or politicians who don't understand the service. It is about the public not understanding the changes that public libraries have made to what they do, over 30 years.

Simple question for UK public libraries. Is there anyone can tell us how many people used the service in 2023/24 or 2022/23? How much did it cost? How many books were loaned? How many other library services were used? CILIP CILIPScotland Libraries Connected Arts Council England, London Department for Culture, Media and Sport

#AI in library discovery services. AI prompt engineering, NLP based semantic search & suggestions. Summarisation of content based on Generative AI. See it in action. HELibTech webinar recording kenchadconsulting.com/publications/ Marshall Breeding Jisc CILIP @SCONUL

"Alarming 26 % decrease since 2005 in the number of children reading daily for fun. Less than half..now say they enjoy reading" National Literacy Trust survey. The Spectator spectator.co.uk/article/why-ch… No mention at all of #libraries Libraries Connected

Tim Coates Was obvious during our COVID research that public library users are at best indifferent to ebooks. Any authority pretending to themselves it's a viable strategy to replace physical libraries with them isn't interested in seriously delivering a library service.

Public #libraries more effective than drugs for #Alzheimer treatment? NICE says #lecanema benefits too small to justify cost nice.org.uk/news/articles/…. Reading could delay onset by 5 years medicalnewstoday.com/articles/readi… Libraries Connected CILIP

Around 200 UK #publiclibraries authorities represent over 380 *local* authorities. Is that number optimal? What's the rationale? Could fewer library authorities (50,10?) deliver a better service to the public more effectively at less cost? CILIP Libraries Connected Local Government Association (LGA)

Higher Education Library Technology has published changes in market share since 2008 for library systems in UK Higher Education. helibtech.com/core-library-s… 'Library Services Platforms' (LSPs) helibtech.com/core-library-s… have been the winners Marshall Breeding Jisc CILIP

Reading, its positive impact on mental health & value of #publiclibraries Prof Neil Frude BBC R4 'Best Medicine' 17 Dec bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0… The benefits of *reading* in so many areas must surely be the #1 value proposition for public libraries CILIP The Reading Agency

A powerful clarion call to libraries, publishers, authors bookshops, schools, agencies, councils & government to work together with a committed focus to improve life outcomes of children thro reading. Author Katherine Rundell The New Statesman Dec newstatesman.com/comment/2023/1…

The AI page in Higher Education Library Technology helibtech.com/artificial-int… summarises the AI discovery & metadata tools already in production in some library systems. It also summarises other AI tools for #Students and #researchers UKSG CILIP Marshall Breeding

Can a proprietary library system be more open than an open source one? Higher Education Library Technology 'Viewpoints' helibtech.com/helibtech-view… Library platforms all combine open source & proprietary elements CILIP Marshall Breeding FOLIO-Open Libraries Ex Libris, from Clarivate

Fascinating data from our Freckle survey (US, April 25) Nearly half (46%) of library circulations are digital. (UK 8%)... library use is down by half in 12 years. Circulations are skewed to new fiction and lacking in back-list nonfiction. Funding is still £15bn and rising.

All the evidence will be in the report and presentations - this is the conclusion. This is about adult use (age 17+) of public libraries in America

Review of research system infrastructure. I'm working with City St George's, University of London to help ensure their research infrastructure is fit for purpose for the next REF. kenchadconsulting.com/recent-project… Jisc UK Research and Innovation #OpenAccess

Rethinking Student Engagement with Library Resources, HELibTech free webinar: 3 July 15:00 London Time. Register: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regist… I'll be discussing findings from the TfS Librarian Futures report technologyfromsage.com/librarian-futu… CILIP Jisc

The SCONUL Library Tech Landscape report- hugely valuable resource - in-depth analysis of the tech landscape in UK and Ireland academic libraries, covering 26 functional areas. HELibTech helibtech.com/core-library-s… Marshall Breeding SCONUL Office CILIP Jisc