Public Libraries
The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-594, in the name of Frank McAveety, on celebrating 150 years of public libraries in Scotland, and three amendments to the motion.
I thank members who have stayed to participate in the debate. The topic may initially seem less than inspiring but, given the critical role that libraries have played in the past 150 years in communities in all parts of Scotland, I expect that we will hear members speak about the transformative capacity of investment in public libraries on people's life experience and their opportunities. I welcome the opportunity to outline the Executive's perspective on public libraries.
In his seminal work "Cosmos", Carl Sagan said:
"The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries."
That quotation was fairly long, but it is a noble contribution about the importance of libraries to everyday life.
Scotland's history of education and erudition means that libraries were used well before public libraries were developed in the 19th century. University libraries were a substantial feature of Scottish life, knowledge and learning before and after the reformation. Libraries and the dissemination of knowledge through library books have been central to the development of access to information and knowledge throughout our country.
Here in Edinburgh, the University of Edinburgh library predates the university—the library was founded in 1580 and taken over 34 years later by the university. In Aberdeen, as far back as 1632, Marischal College employed Scotland's first university librarian.
The Deputy First Minister, who is sitting beside me, will claim that Kirkwall has the oldest public library in Scotland—the Bibliotheck of Kirkwall, which dates from 1683. The books from that collection, which were bequeathed by William Baikie, are kept today by the university library in Aberdeen. Later in the debate, other members will speak about the role of the public libraries that were funded through public subscription, which is one of the commitments that emerged from the 19th century legislation.
The 18th century marked the origin of publicly available library provision in Scotland on a larger scale than was previously the case. That was partly as a result of the circulating libraries, which were usually run in conjunction with bookshops and found mainly in the large towns and cities, but much more as a result of institutional provision, which was highly appropriate at that time to Scotland's developing needs.
The subscription library and its accompanying ideology were part of the development of the Scottish enlightenment values that are Scotland's distinctive contribution to literary history and to the history of libraries. The subscription libraries were run like clubs or societies. Members paid an entry fee to join and an annual subscription, which was used to buy books and pay administrative costs. Less than 200yd from the chamber, the first circulating library in Britain was founded by Allan Ramsay in 1725. The first public working-class subscription library in Britain was founded at Leadhills in 1741—although it was not originally a working-class library, it subsequently became one.
By the middle of the 19th century, Scotland was becoming increasingly urbanised. Life in its rapidly growing towns posed many problems of health, welfare and education. One of the key features of Scottish society at that time has been identified in some of the seminal work of one of our foremost historians, Tom Devine. Committees set up libraries in towns to encourage self-improvement through education. Allied to that, the drive by institutes, churches and charities to establish collections of books, often in rural areas, aimed to ensure that individuals had access to knowledge irrespective of class and income.
William Ewart, the member of Parliament for Dumfries, proposed the establishment of public libraries
"for the Instruction and Recreation of the People".
It is curious to note that his bill—not unlike the reform bill of a few years earlier—was fiercely attacked. The fear was that ordinary people would have access to knowledge and information that they could utilise in the emerging political consciousness of the mid-19th century.
At that time, MPs feared increased taxation. One even suggested that the Parliament would next be asked to provide the
"working classes with quoits, peg-tops and foot-ball".
Can members imagine a Scottish Parliament ever being obsessed with football or a Scottish sports minister, especially in this week of noble intentions, supporting football?
I do not want to interrupt the minister's history lesson, but would he let us know what books he discussed with Rod Stewart, Sheena Easton and Pamela Anderson when he met them recently in his role as our man in the kilt?
I am sorry to disappoint Des McNulty, but there were even more interesting things to discuss with those individuals. Unlike him, I took the opportunity to exchange telephone numbers.
The fundamental issue that needs to be addressed, and which lies behind Des McNulty's intervention, is what we do to ensure that people have access to knowledge and information, irrespective of their background. Like Des McNulty, I have, in my previous roles in local government, been supportive of attempts to ensure greater access to the public library service and a greater quality and range of experience for individuals there.
The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1850 was extended to Scotland in 1853—150 years ago. Towns of a certain minimum size could levy a rate of a halfpenny in the pound to fund public libraries. I know of a town in the west of Scotland that adopted the provisions of the act with great vigour. We will hear from the local member from that area in due course.
In 1866, Dundee was one of the next towns in Scotland to adopt the provisions of the act, but by 1868 only eight towns had established libraries. By the turn of the century, public libraries were being developed and improved on a dramatic scale. That was partly through the philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie, but also because of the increasing commitment of individuals who were elected to local authorities to represent disadvantaged communities and who encouraged people to utilise libraries as one of the key tools for social improvement.
As we are aware, Carnegie made a substantial contribution to the library network across the globe. Through his contribution, more than 2,500 libraries have been established throughout the world. In 1909, he opened his most northerly and remote library, in Kirkwall in the Orkney islands.
Does the minister share my disappointment that some important aspects of Scottish literature are not adequately represented in Scottish libraries? I refer in particular to the oldest book containing any written form of Scots Gaelic, the "Book of Deer", which comes from Deer abbey in my constituency but has for many years been locked in Corpus Christi College library in Cambridge. Will he join me in campaigning to bring the book back to Scotland and to put it on public exhibition at some appropriate place and time in the near future?
I am happy to support any key legacy of Scottish history and culture that can be showcased more appropriately in institutions in Scotland. If the member wishes to write to me, I will raise that matter with the National Library of Scotland to see whether we can gain at least some opportunity for Scottish citizens to experience that important piece of our history.
As well as the important and precious books and collections that are sometimes not easily accessible to the public because of the risk of damage, the critical issue is the way in which libraries have improved the quality and range of the services that they provide.
I have tried to sketch the historical background that made the popular demand for public libraries so great. A general reading of Scottish fiction will show that many of the characters in those books were inspired by access to public libraries. One can barely read a book about the development of the urban working class in Glasgow without some reference to a key character utilising the public library service in the city.
Although we have tried to improve library standards by providing guidelines, some of which have taken some time to be established, there is still a long way to go to ensure that libraries are a central and critical part of people's life experience throughout Scotland.
At present in Scotland, we have more than 550 permanently sited libraries and 93 mobile libraries. Many of those libraries have increasingly had to compete in recent years with the many other diversions of young people. Some 30 or 40 years ago, there were fewer diversions and choices for young people, but today there are many more. We need to find ways of ensuing that libraries are much more effective.
The public are more discerning in what they expect and demand. Even our bookshops are different from what they were in previous years. They are more dynamic to meet customer expectation. However, the range of services available in local bookshops could be usefully compared with the range available in those public libraries that have been stuck in a 1950s and 1960s mindset.
Thanks to the capital investment from the people's network, libraries throughout the country now provide many valuable new services. Does the minister agree that it is vital that local authorities meet their responsibilities to provide the necessary revenue funding to ensure that such services can continue?
I agree with Duncan McNeil about the role that the people's network plays. Many library services are at the lower end of local authority resource allocation and they have to compete with other pressing needs in the budget. We need to create a landscape in which authorities feel more comfortable about using investment in public libraries to address many of the other social challenges in their areas.
The people's network is one of the key tools in that process. Certainly, the evidence indicates that people are using it much more effectively, not just for access to information and learning, but to find work and for personal business development, community enrichment, social inclusion and development of their sense of well-being and creativity. The knock-on effect is a welcome development in rates of participation in public libraries, which had diminished in recent years. We need to use the network more effectively and local authorities certainly have a key role to play. That is why I am happy to accept—if possible—the amendments that have been lodged by Chris Ballance and Mr Jamie McGrigor. I do not know whether the Presiding Officer can enlighten members about whether I can.
I move,
That the Parliament notes that this year marks the 150th anniversary of the Public Libraries Act in Scotland; congratulates public libraries on the diverse service they provide and, in particular, commends them for the success of the People's Network in encouraging even greater use of library facilities, and praises local authorities for the part they play in providing this service.
It is entirely a matter for the minister which amendments he agrees to accept. Members will make their decisions at decision time.
The debate is on a subject that is close to my heart. I thought that I would do a Stewart Stevenson today and say, "Not a lot of people know this." In Australia, before I went to university, I spent four years in library work and gained professional library qualifications. Sadly, however, I worked in a university library and not in the public library system. Stewart Stevenson's crown therefore remains.
Like the Deputy First Minister, I have a strong local interest in the debate and in the development of public libraries in Scotland. Innerpeffray library, which is the oldest lending library in Scotland, is in my constituency. I suspect that other members, too, will mention libraries in their constituencies this afternoon. Innerpeffray library dates from around 1680 and therefore predates the Public Libraries (Ireland and Scotland) Act 1853 by a considerable period.
Indeed, in what may have been the Lonely Planet guide of its day—"Travels in Northern England and Scotland"—Thomas Newte wrote in 1791:
"It is impossible to pass over the venerable beauties of Innerpeffray, fronting Castle Drummond, in the concavity of serpentizing Ern, its castle, the antient seat of the Lords of Maderty, its chapel, public library and school, both established for the good of community and carrying back the mind to the antient situation and genius of Scotland."
That "good of community" was a driving force behind the growth of public libraries in Scotland over many years and, indeed, centuries. As well as libraries established by churches and charities, groups of workers would get together to buy books to set up libraries. Miners at Leadhills and Wanlockhead and the mechanics institute in Airdrie are prime examples. I am sure that other members will want to say something about those.
The 1853 act was certainly a major landmark in the history of public libraries, although the cap on the rate that could be levied to provide libraries was not lifted until 1919. A truly comprehensive and free library service was possible only once the local authorities had been given that fiscal freedom. I hope that the Parliament will have secured a similar advantage long before we celebrate the 150th anniversary of that landmark.
While the penny rate held back the involvement of local authorities in the early stages of the development of public libraries, the support of philanthropists such as Andrew Carnegie was extremely important. No look through the history of Scottish libraries would be complete without an acknowledgement of the contribution of Andrew Carnegie. Whatever one might think about the way in which he amassed his millions, he was certainly generous in his philanthropy. Towns and cities throughout Scotland can attest to his generosity, which we should acknowledge.
Such libraries reflected and encouraged the desire for education and self-improvement among Scotland's working class. Access to the public libraries, hand in hand with the development of public education, were the means by which all Scottish society could start to participate in Scottish intellectual life.
Libraries remain a key public service. Almost 60 per cent of the population regularly use libraries' services. There are 557 libraries in Scotland, which lend more than 37 million items each year in 31 million visits. Furthermore, they enable 8.5 million hours of internet access to be provided to communities throughout Scotland.
In my constituency, as well as the library at Innerpeffray, there are libraries in Perth, Comrie, Crieff and Auchterarder, and a mobile service that travels throughout Perthshire every week. Members who represent rural parts of Scotland will be familiar with the mobile libraries that give such a good service to our outlying communities.
It is important to take the opportunity that the anniversary provides to look back, to thank and to congratulate all those who have been involved in the development of the library service as well as those who currently work in the continually developing service. However, the anniversary is also an opportunity to take stock of where we are, to look to the future and to determine what changes need to be made to how things are done.
Everything in the garden is not rosy for Scotland's libraries. The percentage of the population who borrow books from libraries is declining and the number of books borrowed by each user, although not at an all-time low, has failed to increase in the past four to five years. There is no doubt that some of that is because of a general shift in public interest away from books towards the internet and television, both for information and for entertainment, and an increased ability and desire among our consumer society to own rather than to borrow or rent everything that we use.
However, there is another reason. Book funds for our libraries have dropped on average by 30 per cent throughout Scotland in the past five years, while book prices have risen by 36.2 per cent over the same period. Members can begin to see what some of the pressures are when it comes to stocking our public libraries.
Many library buildings are in desperate need of investment for repairs and upgrades; they are not necessarily welcoming and comfortable places to be. As public buildings have to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 by October next year, what assurances can the Executive give that funding will be available to help libraries to meet 21st century access problems without having to sacrifice funding for the provision of books and services to the public? Perhaps the minister can comment on that.
There is no support for indigenous Scottish library suppliers. The last one closed last year, which raised concerns about access to Scottish publishers and titles. All that Elaine Murray, the minister responsible at the time, would say in a parliamentary answer was that each local authority is responsible for its own library service and for determining allocation of funding for purchasing books. Aside from a Scottish Arts Council-Scottish Enterprise programme to support new developments in the distribution of printed works, does the minister have plans to support publishing in Scotland through the library system? Information that has come into our e-mail inboxes today indicates that, although there are more than 500 public libraries in Scotland, fewer than five copies of most Scottish books are purchased by them—that is one book per 100 libraries. That suggests that Scottish publishing is not being supported from within the library service. We must consider that important issue.
The motion rightly congratulates public libraries on the diverse service that they provide, but there is a huge danger in complacency. Funding for the people's network is ring fenced and provided by the new opportunities fund. The network's future will be in jeopardy if local government and the Executive are unwilling to build on its achievements, as new opportunities funding for the project will cease in April 2004. Can the minister comment on that?
Local authorities have, down the years, certainly played a praiseworthy part in providing Scotland's library service but, given the immense pressures on their budgets and the increasing demands from what are seen as more essential services, libraries are in danger of being squeezed out. Local authorities' spending on libraries, as a percentage of the total amount spent on public services, is declining.
The debate is an opportunity to celebrate libraries, but it is also an opportunity to do something. I had hoped that there would be a major announcement today, but sadly that does not seem to be the case. I do not take offence at the SNP amendment not being accepted when the other ones are being accepted. I did not want the debate to consist simply of platitudes, because there are important issues to talk about. I urge members to support the SNP amendment. It is proffered in a constructive manner rather than a negative one.
I move amendment S2M-594.2, to leave out from "and, in particular", to end and insert:
"; calls on the Scottish Executive to secure funding for the People's Network beyond the cessation of New Opportunities Fund support in April 2004; recognises the important part that local authorities have played, and continue to play, in providing library services, and urges the Executive to enable local authorities to reverse the recent trend of a decline in the proportion of funds spent on libraries."
I welcome Frank McAveety back to the reality of the chamber after his starring role in the MTV awards. I congratulate him on his thespian versatility. Today, he is starring in the role of Conan the librarian.
It is relevant that the stage on which the minister is playing the part is Edinburgh, a city that has done so much to promote libraries and that, during the explosion of learning that was the Scottish enlightenment, set the foundations for public libraries through the establishment of circulating libraries. The University of Edinburgh library, founded in 1580, predates the university. The advocates library, founded in 1680, published Scotland's first printed library catalogue in 1692. The first British circulating library was, as we heard from the minister, founded by Allan Ramsay in 1725. This is the city where Thomas Nelson, the publisher, started the Nelson reading rooms. My friend Brian Monteith will continue with the historical legacy later; I shall now move to modern times.
In August 2002, John Crawford—in a paper that he delivered to the International Federation of Library Associations conference in Glasgow—said of Scotland's past association with libraries:
"It is now accepted that Scotland, in common with other northern European countries, had a national educational ideology which aimed, at low cost, to instil basic literacy and numeracy into the entire population and encourage a participation in the search for knowledge at all social levels. The ideology of mutual improvement complemented this by providing the literate with an inexpensive opportunity for book use."
He was, of course, speaking about the benefits of the library system.
Those who were behind the national education ideology that existed then would surely be very worried if they saw the figures for attainment in publicly funded schools that were released in December 2002. Those figures show that the percentage of secondary 2 pupils who attained level E or above was only 53.6 per cent in mathematics, 58.9 per cent in English reading and 49.8 per cent in English writing. Level E should be attainable by some pupils in primary 7, by pupils in S1 and certainly by most pupils in S2. The truth is that more than two fifths of S2 pupils are failing to read, write or count to an acceptable level. As those who are involved in trade and industry keep pointing out to us, that will pose huge problems for Scottish businesses when they want to take on young employees in the future.
Today, we must hope that the role of libraries can help to address that dire situation. Young people must be encouraged to read and to make use of the lending libraries and all that goes with them. Five or six years ago, Chris Smith, the Labour secretary of state, commissioned a survey on libraries. During the consultation, focus groups identified the main concerns and needs. Two points emerged above all others: the first was that more new books were needed; the second was that libraries should be open more often. The proposal was to spend £800 million on improving United Kingdom libraries. However, the reality is that there are now fewer books and many libraries are closed for one or two days a week.
Neil MacGregor, who was the director of the National Gallery and is now the director of the British Museum, tells us that more people in the UK go to public libraries every week than go to football matches. I was amazed by that fact, but it is true. Our cultural institutions, such as libraries, are still a vital basis for the diffusion of knowledge as, for that matter, are many of the knowledgeable and committed staff who have accumulated expert knowledge over years of experience—that knowledge and experience can never be truly replaced by computers.
On the issue of computers, local authorities are voicing concerns about the sustainability of the people's network now that the funding from the new opportunities fund is to run out. Councils in my region pay large sums for line rental. Argyll and Bute Council, for example, is paying £77,000 per annum. Because of the lack of choice in the region, Argyll and Bute Council and some other councils in the Highlands, such as Western Isles Council, are forced to use BT because there is no competition from cable companies to bring the price down.
The question must be asked whether money should be ring fenced for computers in libraries. Surely the money should be used to respond to the needs and wants of those who go to the libraries—which have been identified as more books, please, and extended opening hours for libraries. There is nothing wrong with the internet cafes, but libraries exist primarily for the circulation of books and that should remain the case.
The travelling libraries are very useful to people in rural areas. Councils in rural areas recognise that fact and are trying to keep the number of travelling libraries at the maximum. The libraries provide an invaluable service to all people, but especially to the older and infirm readers in our communities and to those who cannot afford to spend money on books but still wish to read them.
New Scottish literature is often missing in Scottish libraries, yet the Scottish literary tradition is rich and vibrant—its voice sings through history from the incomparable verse of Robert Burns to the exciting books of today's authors such as Kenneth Steven, Alexander McCall Smith and Giles Foden, to name but three. Unfortunately, not enough of that new writing is available in our libraries. On average, only five copies of each new book published are bought for the 500 libraries.
It was a great Conservative, Bonar Law, who made the library service truly comprehensive. We believe that libraries are an essential aid to people in lifelong learning and we will continue to support them.
I move amendment S2M-594.1, to insert at end:
"and notes the importance that libraries play in improving literacy rates for people of all ages."
Before I call the next speaker, Chris Ballance, I have to advise the chamber that I have had a request from Mr Ballance to lodge a manuscript amendment to replace the amendment in his name. There are, essentially, two changes. It is proposed to insert the wording of the amendment between the penultimate and the final clauses in Mr McAveety's motion and to add a reference to local authorities.
In general, we encourage members to finalise the wording of amendments before they lodge them. That includes finalising any interparty negotiations that might be necessary to secure agreement on the acceptability of amendments. In this case, I have decided to accept the amendment, as the changed amendment is, essentially, the same as the original amendment, but I would not encourage members to believe that the Presiding Officers will always be that indulgent.
The minor nature of the change means that it is unnecessary for the entire business bulletin to be reprinted; the time scale involved has made that impossible to do in any case. However, photocopies of the amended amendment are available at the reference desk in the normal manner.
With that lengthy explanation, I call Chris Ballance to speak to the amended, amended amendment in his name.
Thank you for your forbearance, Presiding Officer. I trust that the amended amendment will be acceptable to the Executive. It is my understanding that it will be.
The public libraries of Britain provide a service that is second to none and has led to the entertainment and education of generations and classes of people. As a campaigner, I have made extensive use of local libraries, the Mitchell library in Glasgow and the National Library of Scotland. I spent a short period working in the central library in Edinburgh when it first computerised its catalogue. It is noticeable that the first involvement that most members of the public in Britain had with computers was when they borrowed a book from their library.
When I lived in East Lothian, some 22 years ago, I wrote my first play with reference to books that had been printed abroad or were out of print, which were delivered to my door from the British Library stacks in Wetherby by a mobile library van for the cost of a few pence. How could that service be better?
Times move on. The growth of the internet and book sales is changing libraries fast. Visitor numbers to libraries in Scotland have dropped from 33.1 million in 1995-96 to 28.1 million last year—a 13 per cent drop in six years. Across the UK, book loans have dropped by 23 per cent in the past three years. The internet revolution has put libraries in Scotland in crisis, but they have a crucial role in their local communities and it is vital that we consider ways of reinvigorating and reinventing them.
We also note the submission by the Scottish Publishers Association suggesting that accessions departments should actively go out and search for new Scottish books to ensure that the vagaries of library supplies do not act against Scottish work.
The minister will no doubt be aware of the Demos think-tank report "Overdue: How to create a modern library service". That report argues:
"Libraries will attract additional resources only by putting their own house in order".
However, changing direction—holding reviews, managing change, retraining, going out into the community and so on—will cost money and we must take that into account. Further, we Greens do not agree with the Demos suggestion of creating a national library development agency to take responsibility for change away from local librarians.
The main point of my amendment is that we should be celebrating 150 years of not only public libraries but public librarians. We should support them in their responses to the local situations and in their attempts to reposition themselves at the heart of their communities. Sandyford library in Glasgow, for example, offers not only books, but a sexual health drop-in service and a crèche. Children's services, which are crucial in education, increasing access to information technology and the continuing role of librarians as the main custodians of and experts on local history are all vital in encouraging people back into libraries.
I like the cut of Chris Ballance's jib. Does he think that local authorities could rationalise the housing of public information a bit more? After all, we in the Parliament use local libraries, as the Official Report and other documents are distributed through the partner libraries.
Local authorities should be encouraged to work with libraries to do what they can to encourage more people back through the library doors, which might require some radical thinking. We applaud the initiatives in Aberdeen and South Lanarkshire, which is in my region, to link school and public libraries.
Those are all exciting new directions for public libraries, and they all have some cost implications. Some of those costs can be met by accessing money from other budgets, such as health. That is an area in which local authorities can encourage cross-cutting initiatives, but all budgets are tight.
Public libraries support those who are forgotten by society—the elderly, the housebound, asylum seekers, the disabled, the young and those on low incomes—and the information that they provide makes them beacons of lifelong learning, social justice and egalitarianism. We must continue to support them. I ask the minister to set a target for his department to act to stop the current free-fall in library visits and to determine a strategy that will address it in this parliamentary session. That is a tough assignment, but it would make the debate worth while, because if the decline continues, the debate is only hot air.
I thank all those librarians who have helped me over the years with advice, information and research on a wide range of topics, from the address of a local community group to the colour of a rose mentioned in an Oscar Wilde play for a theatrical prop. My experience of Scotland's librarians has been of a breed of people who love difficult, abstruse questions and love going out of their way to be helpful.
I move amendment S2M-594.4, to insert after "facilities":
"congratulates Scotland's librarians but notes with concern falling visitor numbers and calls on the Scottish Executive and local authorities to do all they can to reverse this situation; notes that libraries have great potential as community hubs and that their outreach and social inclusion functions are vital and often overlooked and applauds those libraries that are imaginatively tackling these important issues, and further congratulates those libraries that have put their catalogues online and engaged fully with new technology, enabling more of the population to access them,".
The point of studying the past is to understand the present and plan better for the future. Scotland has a glorious record with regard to libraries, the purpose of which was well summed up in 1863 by George Baillie, a great Glaswegian, who said that it was
"to aid the self-culture of the operative classes, from youth to manhood and old age, by furnishing them with warm, well-lighted and every way comfortable accommodation at all seasons for reading useful and interesting books."
He used the term "self-culture" where we might talk about self-improvement, but it is a key part of the concept of the library not that somebody does something for us but that we have to go and do something for ourselves. There is a well from which we must drink, but we have to go there and do the drinking.
Other members have made interesting historical allusions. Innerpeffray library has a record of lending since 1747 from which it is clear that the books are an amazingly wide range of what was then modern philosophy, as well as religion and the other things about which people read more in those days, and that a wide range of people read the books. That was the big difference in Scotland: the popular education system meant that literacy was wide. I found in my studies of recruitment of Scots into the army that the sergeant was often a Scot because he was the only guy who could read and write and therefore keep the nominal roll.
Wanlockhead has also been mentioned. Unfortunately, the Museum of Lead Mining, of which the library there is a part, is in danger of closing. I hope that we can sort out the funding of the Wanlockhead library and keep it as a great early example of a local working man's library.
Allan Ramsay's lending library has also been mentioned. Things do not change very much. The town council of the day got very excited that Allan Ramsay was spreading vice and irreligion, so it sent inspectors down to the library. The inspectors were astonished to find that most of the books were books of sermons and religious texts, so they gave up and said that he could keep his library. However, he then tried to start a theatre, but of course that was going too far and they closed that down.
Harry Home—I am not sure whether it is pronounced "Home" or "Hume", but somebody may be able to correct me—also deserves a mention. He, more than any other individual, created the National Library of Scotland by making the advocates library an all-purpose library as opposed to just a legal one.
As other members have said, there is at present a serious reduction in book stocks and in investment in book stocks. Like many others in the chamber, I have been guilty in the past, as a councillor faced with severe expenditure cuts imposed by successive Governments, of thinking that we could reduce the books purchase fund by just 1 or 2 per cent. However, if that is done year after year, it causes serious problems. Some years ago—much longer ago than five years—when I was an MP, I was researching the amount of books bought by libraries and there was already a clear picture of book purchases and book stocks coming down a lot.
Allusion has been made to Scottish publishers and to what sort of books libraries buy. Buying Scottish books is an important issue, but there is also the question of self-improvement versus popular novels, and the libraries have a difficult balancing act to perform. It is important that the value of books is not measured merely by the number of lendings. It may be idealistic, politically correct or, as I think Duncan McNeil said, romantic, but I think that one or two lendings of a book that really improves somebody and teaches him or her things is more important than 10 lendings of a popular novel.
It is important that we commit more and more money annually to libraries to help with both books and information technology, and a balance between the two must be kept. However, there seems to be some research to show that books still do just as well as a method of educating people as IT does, and the lifelong learning that we are all committed to should centre round the libraries. Libraries should be the powerhouses of lifelong learning and long may they flourish.
I am particularly pleased to be able to take part in today's debate, not least because I spent my student summers touring rural Lanarkshire working as a library assistant on a mobile library.
As many members will know, Airdrie has played an historic part in the development of public libraries in Scotland. As early as 1792, a subscription library was set up in the town and, in 1837, the mechanics institute took over the collection. Following the extension of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1850 to cover Scotland in 1853, Airdrie became the first town in Scotland to make use of the newly available powers. On 1 November 1853, electors voted by 211 to 20 to adopt the act. It would be 13 years before another local authority, the city of Dundee, adopted the act. That fact was recognised by Andrew Carnegie, who funded a series of libraries in the town of Airdrie, when he stated:
"Airdrie was the first town in Scotland to adopt the Free Libraries Act of 1853—an honour of which Airdrie can never be robbed."
[Laughter.] There are many others.
In July 1854, a library rate was levied and Airdrie Town Council bought the mechanics institute library for the sum of only £40—a price worth paying. By 1860, Airdrie had employed its first paid librarian and, in 1894, Airdrie's first purpose-built library was opened. The present library building, which was completed in 1925 through funding from the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, houses one of only two municipal observatories in Scotland. Local people of all ages continue to use that resource, most recently to view Mars during its recent close pass to the earth.
Public libraries are as relevant now as they were two centuries ago. They continue to offer access to information, recreation and educational development and now offer a broad range of items for lending, including videos, DVDs, talking books, computer games and magazines. In addition, they offer a range of services to local people such as photocopying and fax services. Contrary to the views of some people, I do not believe that public libraries are threatened by the dawn of the information age. At their best, libraries complement the information revolution by providing free access to the internet for those who cannot afford home access, as well as much-needed support and education for those who are learning to use the internet.
In Lanarkshire, libraries play a vital part in the lifelong learning process through the use of open learning centres. Libraries have always been associated with personal and community development and I am pleased that that continues to be the case. To prove that the book is not quite dead, the reader development project, which is being run in libraries throughout Scotland, encourages people aged between 18 and 30 to use the public internet terminals and to enjoy the wider benefits of library membership.
I welcome the opportunity to celebrate 150 years of public libraries and my town's role in that important initiative. In that time, public libraries have been vital in enabling thousands of working-class men and women to access further and higher education. There is no doubt that public libraries' role is changing and that information is now far more easily accessible through the internet, but libraries have a valuable role in ensuring that the benefits of the information revolution are available to all.
I was pleased to be at Airdrie library on 1 November, when readers and former staff were invited along to celebrate the library's history. Such people continue to ensure that libraries have a place in Scottish life and continue to be an obvious place for the provision of lifelong learning opportunities within communities. In the next 150 years, libraries will inevitably change, but I am sure that they will continue to be relevant and to play an important part in all our local communities.
The Parliament clearly congratulates the past and present staff of libraries and museums throughout Scotland on their continuing hard work and efforts on our behalf. As I have seen at first hand the superb, high-quality modern provision, both rural and urban, that Angus Council's library service offers, I know what can be achieved by positive, efficient and forward-looking library staff who work with and for their local communities.
Born out of Victorian civic pride and based on the principle of services for the instruction and recreation of the people, Scotland's libraries have made a massive intellectual and practical contribution to our society during the past one and a half centuries. With around 60 per cent of the population using public library services regularly, the Scottish people clearly understand the importance of libraries to our communities.
The best way to honour these 150 years of education, information and pursuit of knowledge is for this generation to ensure that our library system is based on an adequate foundation of investment and forward planning. Central Government policy must not only provide maximum access for adults but secure the future by specifically funding programmes for improving accessibility arrangements for parents and children. The chances are that a child who develops an early passion for reading will ultimately maintain that passion for life. The Executive's home reading initiative—read together—is a good step in that direction, but it fails to integrate parents and children into libraries fully and properly. Instead of focusing on libraries, the second phase is targeted, to my mind oddly, at bookshops, although giving funds to libraries would give greater opportunities for after-school activities and programmes.
There must also be an absolute commitment, which I would like to hear from the minister, to maintain free internet access in our libraries.
Does the member agree that Stirling Council's library service's work with nursery schools and its putting its catalogue on the internet are moves in the right direction?
As a former councillor on Stirling District Council, I cannot help but agree with the member. I wish Stirling Council well in its initiative.
I welcome and support initiatives that are designed to increase public library usage, such as the print options and people's network campaigns. Unfortunately, the positive results from those programmes could be in jeopardy because of rising costs and Executive ring fencing. I seek the minister's assurances on both those issues. All too often, intelligent public services such as libraries are the first to face budget cuts so we must avoid the urge to drop the programmes before they reach maturity.
In England, forcing users to pay for public library internet access produced a 33 per cent decrease in use of services—I never want to see that in Scotland. Ensuring a continuing high level of accessibility will not only be of service to the Scottish people but will reinforce increased library patronage.
In the coming years, our library system faces many critical challenges such as the need for essential building repairs and upgrades, especially in complying with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. I hope that the minister will not stick to history but will look to the present and the future in outlining what positive steps he intends to take on those issues.
I want to hear from the Government how it intends to maintain access and services when it faces tight budget constraints. The minister must address the current lack of sustainability for the people's network and tackle fundamentals such as repairs, maintenance and upgrade of library buildings as well as cuts in book funds. How the Government chooses to act on those issues will determine the level of readership not only in relation to use of Scotland's libraries but in the population as a whole.
The best tribute that our Parliament can pay to our library system and its staff is to supply it with the means of working for the continuing instruction and recreation of the people. That is the history that we have inherited; we must turn that into reality and give it a future. In this instance, the future can and must be educated by the foresight of past principles. A public service for the public good is part of Scotland's tradition, which will serve the nation well if we have the wisdom and foresight to put it into practice.
I declare an interest as chair of the Scottish Library and Information Council. I welcome to the Parliament today in the region of 30 representatives of key library and information groups and heads of service from throughout Scotland.
The past three years have seen a massive injection of funding through the new opportunities fund. Indeed, a revolution has been going on in our public libraries across Scotland, at a time when the financial commitment of local government has been reducing. The media often portray public libraries as a stuffy, old-fashioned service where staff stamp out books, but the reality—as we all know and as we have heard today—is that our libraries deliver a diversity of services to the public. That has been well documented in the debate, which I hope will begin to dispel the media myth.
Importantly, public libraries support a range of Government initiatives, both national and local, whether in relation to lifelong learning, literacy, community development, culture, inclusion—whether social, rural or digital inclusion—or information and knowledge management. We also now have a network of Scottish Parliament partner libraries across Scotland, which brings the Parliament closer to local communities, and which is a world first for the Scottish Parliament. Of course, MSPs are well served by the Scottish Parliament information centre, which is the Scottish Parliament's research and information service.
The diversity of the jobs that public libraries do contributes to people in our communities. We can choose from a whole list. In fact, all sorts of different things are going on in a public library near you. Whether they involve silver surfers, homework clubs, reading groups, services and support for the visually impaired and other disadvantaged groups, including asylum seekers and ethnic communities, housebound services, mobile libraries, health information or community-related information, all sorts of exciting developments are going on all over Scotland.
The development of the people's network has put public libraries back at the heart of the communities they serve. They offer real value to communities. Through new opportunities funding, there is a strong network that moves libraries across Scotland closer to providing equitable access to information, learning and reading. Indeed, the NOF recognises that that has been one of its most successful programmes to date and is keen to ensure that the investment is maximised. I take this opportunity to congratulate the Executive on its support for the people's network, but I also congratulate librarians all over Scotland on the incredible amount of hard work that was put in to deliver that huge project on budget and on time.
At the end of this financial year, new opportunities fund finances will run out. Sadly, many library services have seen cuts in their resourcing in the past five to 10 years, which have resulted in reductions in book funds and, sadly, reduced opening hours in some instances. That is against an increasing public demand for longer library opening hours.
There are a number of key challenges. The main issue is sustainability. How can the public library network be resourced and maintained to ensure that quality buildings, services, books and information are available on an equitable basis across Scotland? That is particularly relevant for the sustainability of the people's network services. For example, it is estimated that to continue to run the current information and communications technology infrastructure, the telecoms cost alone will be in the region of £3 million. That is a drop in the ocean in terms of Scottish Executive funding, but for library services it represents a huge mountain to climb.
There is also an important cross-cutting agenda for libraries and information services. There have been successful pilots within public libraries, but the important point is that we need to be able to extend them across Scotland. For example, in North Lanarkshire, funding from the Scottish Library and Information Council resulted in an extremely successful project to take ICT and the internet to sheltered housing. One of the key outcomes was that residents could do their own shopping at Tesco and Iceland online, and have it delivered. The impact of that on the work of home helps was huge. Indeed, there were plans with social services to widen the service to other sheltered housing, but that has still to be achieved. It is important that we build on those successful pilots. We need to consider how the Scottish Executive handles cross-cutting initiatives and we need to ensure that cross-cutting work can support services at a local level, because libraries cannot easily be put in one box.
The consensus is that public libraries are a good thing but, despite legislation for local authorities to provide adequate library services, there is still no agreement on what is adequate, so we need to examine that.
There has been an early indication that library use is up between 10 per cent and 15 per cent and that libraries are attracting a wider range of users. We must build on that. We must also ensure that we revisit standards and quality in public libraries. Scotland's libraries are at the forefront of worldwide public library development and we must ensure that that remarkable achievement continues. We must have a quality improvement framework for public libraries.
There is a great story to tell about public libraries, but we still face challenges. I welcome this first ever debate on public libraries. It is a first for the Scottish Parliament and a first for public libraries.
I am pleased to speak in support of the Conservative amendment and, through the text of our amendment, the Executive's motion. For one minute I rather thought that I was at a Trades Union Congress compositing session when manuscript amendments were being made to change an amendment so that it could be acceptable.
The history of libraries in Scotland is essentially one of successful private enterprise on to which a public system has been grafted. Sydney Smith, one of the founders of the Edinburgh Review in 1802, said that Edinburgh was the best place in Britain for a literary man because of—Jamie Stone will like this—"good libraries liberally managed".
When the first public libraries bill was presented at Westminster in 1850, Scottish MPs got Scotland excluded because of the excellent libraries that were already established in almost every burgh. As we have heard, it was not until 1853 that a subsequent bill was passed for Scotland.
The National Library of Scotland was established under that name in 1925, but its title simply recognised that the advocates library, the library of a private corporation, which the National Library of Scotland inherited, had been a national library in everything but name from its foundation in the 17th century. By the mid-18th century, when the philosopher David Hume was its keeper, the library already had 30,000 volumes, making it one of the largest libraries in Europe.
Interestingly, Hume started its collection of pornography. The first two titles that he ordered were French: Le Comte de Bussy-Rabutin's "Histoire amoureuse des Gaules", known as "The Love Life of Old France"; the second was La Fontaine's "Contes", a title which perhaps needs no translation.
The libraries of our four ancient universities are similarly libraries of private corporations that do not only serve the academic community but are, in the words of a 19th century parliamentary report, open to
"all respectable persons, properly introduced",
which would probably exclude me.
In Edinburgh and Glasgow, several learned libraries survive from an earlier age: the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, founded in 1505; the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, founded in 1681; the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, founded in 1698; the Signet library, founded in 1722; and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, founded in 1783. Elsewhere in Scotland there have been libraries since at least the 17th century. Some are still in existence, but no longer active. Roseanna Cunningham mentioned Innerpeffray library in Crieff, which dates from 1680. The Leightonian library in Dunblane was founded under the will of Bishop Robert Leighton, who died in 1684.
Private philanthropy continued to play a role in the development of Scottish libraries through the trust founded by Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish-American tycoon. In 1883, the first Carnegie library was opened in his native town of Dunfermline.
The general point that emerges from all of that is that Scottish libraries are not, and never have been, a public monopoly. While it is fulfilling its responsibilities towards the public system, the Executive should take care to create conditions in which private philanthropy can continue to flourish to the benefit of all our libraries.
I follow Roseanna Cunningham and Karen Whitefield's example and do a Stewart Stevenson by saying that my first job was as a music librarian at the BBC. I will not expand on that.
Everyone has their own experience of libraries and I do not know whether mine is typical. As a child, I used libraries to get books for pleasure; as a student, for study; and as an adult, for research and reference. I have now come full circle, because my children use our local libraries to get stories, picture books and, of course, videos. In that time, there is no doubt that libraries have been transformed. They are no longer just book lenders and providers of information; they are places to learn new skills, they are at the heart of local communities and they contribute hugely to the development of those communities and to our sense of community spirit.
I want to praise in particular the libraries in my constituency in East Renfrewshire. There are many examples of good practice throughout the country, but I know at first hand how good East Renfrewshire's libraries have been at responding to differing and sometimes competing demands and at developing new services. When one walks through the door, the libraries are chock-a-block with computer users and learners. They have taken a leaf out of the Waterstone's or Borders book and moved on from the dusty and severe places of the past and the mysteries of the Dewey decimal system.
The libraries in my constituency are bright, welcoming and inviting places that reach out to a new audience. An example of the services that they are developing is barrhead.com, a community website that has been developed by local people and supported by the library. Through the development of that service, those involved have learned and developed new ICT skills and have fostered a greater sense of citizenship as well as providing a functional service for the town. It was launched imaginatively, with a live camera link-up with Barrhead in Canada, although the locals did query the pronunciation of the town's name as "Bawheid".
In the limited time that I have available, I appeal to the Executive to recognise and build on the successes that I and others have outlined. I start by mentioning book funds, which are vulnerable to cuts. I hope that the Executive is sympathetic to the plea that all libraries need to maintain a critical mass of new and diverse books.
However, my main appeal is for the Executive to take a strategic approach accompanied by planned, long-term investment. A lot of our libraries recent successes have been based on one-off or time-limited funding—for example, the people's network is supported by new opportunities funding. The first people's network in Scotland was opened in Giffnock in my constituency by the minister's predecessor and colleague, Allan Wilson. As Rhona Brankin said, the people's network that our library service has delivered is the only major Government IT programme that has come in on time and on budget. I echo her comments about the importance of sustaining the service.
Libraries have been successful at widening access and opening up learning opportunities, but they could do more. Libraries are neutral venues from which to provide Government services—people do not go there to pay taxes or bills—and, despite problems with the infrastructure of some buildings, they are often geographically well located in communities. Two weeks ago, Mearns library in my constituency held an open day at which local people could access the citizens advice bureau and the ethnic minorities law centre and get advice on healthy eating. The pièce de résistance—I say to Brian Monteith that I, too, can speak French—is that people can also regularly see their local MP and MSP in the library.
We need a second wave of investment and a clear strategy. The current performance indicators appear to be skewed. They pick up on the decline in book borrowing, but they do not measure libraries' success in reaching out to new customers, they do not reflect the range of activities that are on offer and they do not accurately capture whether new customers are coming through the door. If we want libraries to reach out to disadvantaged communities—as I believe we do—we should measure that activity and reward libraries when they do it well.
We have heard the minister's commitment, but lines of accountability are not clear. No civil service department is clearly in charge and libraries are overlooked as a result. Our approach to literacy provides an example of that. Libraries are already doing great things in relation to literacy, but little of the money that is spent on literacy seems to come their way. The same approach applies to "The Big Read". There is no clear role for libraries other than that which they create for themselves.
We need there to be clearer strategic guidance and support from the Executive and a move from short-term to long-term funding and we need local authorities to echo that policy. Libraries must be more involved in the community planning process, so that their contribution and potential can be maximised.
I ask the minister to reflect on those points and I look forward to the development of a strategy under his leadership in the coming months.
In what has been an excellent debate, we have heard from several speakers about the widening and changing context in which libraries in Scotland operate today. It is entirely right that we celebrate the enormous contribution that public libraries in Scotland have made to all aspects of our public life. Over the years, libraries have been an empowering, liberating and—dare I say it—liberal force; they are part of what civilisation is all about.
That said, libraries are social and community jewels in the crown whose lustre dims if we do not polish them. I can echo Donald Gorrie's experience—I recall that, when I was a member of Glasgow District Council, the annual budget round was far too frequently marred by year-on-year reductions in the book fund, which was an easy target for administrations and council accountants. Such reductions were an apparently short-term cut, albeit one that had long-term consequences.
That process continues, as several members have mentioned. The central book fund grant to the National Library of Scotland is static; indeed, in real terms, it is declining. It is important to echo the comments that members have made about the need to have a long-term strategy and to take account of the importance of libraries to literacy, children, IT development and so on. I am aware that the changes that lie behind the problems that libraries have had are caused partly by greater emphasis on videos, CDs and internet technology and the explosion in book buying, but the picture is still a concern. I echo the comments that have been made about purchasing policy and the issues that the Scottish Publishers Association has raised, particularly those that relate to Scottish publishing.
I want to concentrate on an aspect that is slightly different from those that have been discussed so far, although it does reflect the social inclusion aspects that members have focused on—the extent to which public libraries fulfil their obligations to the whole of society and, in particular, to the blind and partially sighted. Many members will be aware of the Royal National Institute for the Blind's right to read campaign, which, among other issues, has highlighted the problem of accessing large-print and talking books.
In connection with that campaign, I was privileged to attend the launch of an event in the Mitchell library recently, at which the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Liz Cameron, gave a powerful speech in support of the cause that was being put across. In part, large-print books are a matter of what the publishers will publish, which is often a fairly minimal range of abridged versions. The way forward might well be new technology, such as the new hand-held computer book, which has the potential to provide text in any required text form.
Libraries could tackle talking books and they should do so to a greater extent. Most productions come from the RNIB's stock, which is among the biggest in the world and can be accessed by subscription. The RNIB bears approximately half the subscription cost from its funding; the rest is paid for through the subscriptions of the individuals who access the service. Here is the rub: some councils subsidise some subscriptions through social work or other funds. In essence, access to talking books is stuck in the days of the subscription library. It is high time that the library service provided free access, as of right, to the RNIB talking book service and similar services for everyone who needs it, just as most of us have free access, as of right, to library facilities.
We talk boldly about inclusion, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the new Scotland, in which everyone has the right to access their potential. I ask the minister whether the Scottish Executive will consider a long-overdue move to amend the libraries legislation to require libraries to provide free access to the talking books that some people need to enjoy the same pleasure from literature, novels or non-fiction that their fully-sighted fellow citizens enjoy.
There are 300,000 people in Scotland who have serious sight loss, dyslexia or other reading difficulties. I am sure that other members would agree that one can imagine few worse things than losing one's effective sight and not being able to read a book. I hope that the minister will agree to examine the issue urgently, in the context of a further 150 years of library development.
Christine Grahame can have five minutes.
I might not need five minutes, because I have pruned my speech so sharply, but I will do my best.
When I was 16, an English teacher said to me, "I don't think we'll be putting you forward for higher English—I don't think you're up to it." She had a very tough class; a lot of rammy went on at the back of the classroom and she spent her time trying to hold the fort. By accident, I went to the library nearby and came across critical works on Shakespeare and Chaucer. I had not known that such things existed. I just stumbled on them, but that opened up a whole new world to me. What the teacher could not provide, the library provided for me. I got my higher English—I got a merit—and the rest, as they say, is history. It is my own, wee, personal history.
We must never forget that such things have happened along the way for many people and will continue to happen; however, they should not have to happen accidentally.
Will the member take an intervention?
I will let David Mundell in later—I have five minutes.
Ten years later, I was in the small village of Minigaff in Galloway, where I was marooned with two toddlers. However, I was not quite marooned because, just after I moved there, the mobile library turned up and parked right next to the house. I went out with my toddlers and I had access to all the books there. I was also able to request books from main libraries.
The mobile library was also a community waiting point. Everybody came out from their wee houses in the village and crowded into the mobile library and had a chat and got their books. That is an important asset in rural communities. In fact, Scottish Borders Council has six mobile vans, two of which have just been replaced and the four others are to be replaced. The mobile library is an essential thing in rural communities for bringing the community together and for giving access to reading.
Later on—if we move on in my personal memory lane—I became a school teacher of English. I was determined not to be taught English in the way that I had been taught and I was determined never to say to children the things that had been said to me those years before. I made it mandatory that we had a library lesson every week. For the first time in that comprehensive school, the librarian and I gave a lesson on how to use the library. We wanted to make the library a place that people would not be frightened of. In due course, we even did the Dewey decimal system, so that young people in first and second year could understand how to use their library. If they then made fools of themselves, through not knowing where books were and everything, it did not really matter.
On librarians, I must say that they do not fall into the category of sheepish, mild people. Our librarian had a bun and she had glasses, but she was a wild, wild woman. I cannot tell members her name because she might find out, but she defended her right to have books in her library that others would have banned. She took a stance on that and was a proud woman. I have met other librarians along the way. If people want an exciting night, then call up a librarian.
A more serious issue, which has not been raised in the debate, is the use of our archives. In the Borders, we have the Selkirk archives, which have some interesting wee things in them. They have grocery lists from 200 years ago—as today, one can learn an awful lot about people from 200 years ago from their grocery lists. They have everything there, including famous letters from Buchan, but the archives are in a damp, wee place and they are all disintegrating. None of that will ever be on the internet, thank heavens.
Finally, so that others can contribute to the debate, let me just make this point. We may be in the e-mail age and so on, but there is nothing quite like a malt, the fire, the sofa, the pouffe, one's feet up and a good library book in one's hands with three others there to read, two of which might be rubbish but there might be one gem in the middle of it.
This afternoon's debate has been an important chance to look back on 150 years of public libraries, but it is important that we reflect on how little local authorities did 150 years ago. The fact that libraries became one of their responsibilities reflects the importance of libraries.
We have also talked a bit about the support for libraries that was provided by Andrew Carnegie and, especially in the city of Edinburgh, Thomas Nelson. My local library in Stockbridge was a Nelson library. However, it should also be remembered that many of those donations, including Carnegie's, were for buildings, not necessarily for books. As Robert Brown mentioned, there have been continual problems with local authority support for book purchasing. That issue has troubled libraries over the past 150 years.
There is a tension between libraries being places for education and lifelong learning and their being places for enjoyment. The discussion about libraries and the internet partly arises from that tension. Libraries must play a role in the information age. Libraries have always been at the forefront of new technology, from manuscripts to microfiche to the internet. It is important that such services should be available to all citizens, to make whatever use of them they want to make.
We welcome the people's network, which will bring and has brought new people into libraries. That is important, because that serves to involve more people in a library culture, which Christine Grahame talked about. In such a culture, people are familiar with libraries and with using them. The people's network can bring a new generation through the door.
I agree with Karen Whitefield that the internet will not replace libraries. Libraries are a key point of access for all to the information revolution. I also agree with Christine Grahame that, whatever operating system or megahertz we have, we can read a book. Sadly, that is not always true of CD-ROMs.
As Chris Ballance said in his opening speech, we must be concerned about the falling number of library users and about the falling number of book loans. I was impressed by the statistic that Jamie McGrigor came up with that more people visit libraries than attend football matches. That is not necessarily how our culture is presented in the newspapers. It is important to reflect the central role that libraries can and do play.
Ken Macintosh and Jamie Stone discussed the idea of community hubs and the role that libraries can play in local authorities by allowing access to local authority information. I accept Ken Macintosh's point that the library should not be the place to pay bills, but it is the place where people should be able to find out about the full range of local authority services. I welcome innovative libraries such as the library in Glasgow that Chris Ballance mentioned, which has a sexual health drop-in clinic and a crèche. Such libraries can become hubs and community focal points.
One of the busiest public libraries in Scotland is on George IV Bridge, only a few steps from our offices. I have always found it a wonderful place to work, to research and to access information, and I am pleased that my new place of work is close to that public library, which I recommend to all members. If members want to live up to Enric Miralles's ideas about transparency, they could go to and be seen going to that library as an alternative to other places of research on George IV Bridge.
I cannot do a Stewart Stevenson because I have never been a librarian, but librarians are some of the most dedicated and patient people whom I have met when I have had information queries. I declare an interest, as both my parents-in-law are librarians. I know that they would want me to say what I have said about librarians, but I say genuinely that librarians are wonderful people for help with information.
Will the member give way?
I do not have time to take an intervention.
The member is in his last minute.
In my last few seconds, I welcome the minister's agreement to our amendment. I hope that the consensus in the chamber about the benefits of libraries will be reflected in Executive action.
It is appropriate for me to wind up on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, because I am the Harry Potter look-alike of the Parliament, or so I am teased, so I have a role to play.
The great feature of winding up is that, as everyone knows, it allows the speaker to sit through the whole debate. I have really enjoyed today's debate. I was not sure what I would hear, but I have learned quite a few things.
In fairness, excellent speeches have come from all parties. A plethora of dates and names has been thrown at us. Frank McAveety, the minister, referred to the University of Edinburgh's library of 1580. I thought that the library of the University of St Andrews, my alma mater, was older, but I will take the minister's word as gospel.
We have heard of Jim Wallace's library—the 1683 Kirkwall library—and of the 1725 circulating libraries, of Allan Ramsay's role, of Rod Stewart and of our man in a kilt, who is sitting with us in the chamber. Repeated references have been made to Andrew Carnegie, who is of enormous interest to me because his home, Skibo Castle, is in my constituency. I have nothing much to add about Andrew Carnegie, save to say that it is not commonly known that he was a very short man. His chair in his castle was built that little bit higher so that, when he sat at the table, he seemed a taller man than he was.
I am sure that Mr Stone would agree that it would be a travesty if the one library that was not mentioned during today's debate was the oldest library that still takes in new books and lends them out to the public. I am referring to the library that was established in 1793 by miners in the parish of Westerkirk in Dumfries-shire. Will he join me in commending Mr Arthur Bell, who Mr Gorrie did not mention, for all his work in keeping the library going and lending out books 200 years on?
I commend Mr Mundell on an adroit intervention. Well done—10 out of 10 for that one.
Duncan McNeil intervened to raise the idea of the library service being a cinderella service, as did other members, including Donald Gorrie and Robert Brown. A lot of heartache is involved in decisions about the service. Those of us who have been in local government know that the library service could lose out.
Rosie Cunningham, who is—
Who?
Roseanna. Rosie? No relation, I assure members.
I suspect that what Roseanna Cunningham said about internet access could cut either way. She was the first to flag up the big issue of disabled access. It is worth reminding ourselves that that issue will be upon us all shortly. All of us have received e-mails on the subject in respect of our constituency offices.
Jamie McGrigor spoke about the Scottish enlightenment. He also touched on the issue of computerisation in libraries, which I want to cover in my final remarks. He dropped one brick, I think, when he claimed that Bonar Law was a great Conservative. Bonar Law was probably a very nice man—a son of the manse—but he was a rather glum pipe-puffer. I do not think that he made a huge mark.
You look like him.
I think that the member is very much mistaken.
We have heard about amended, amended amendments. Chris Ballance talked about the fact that, over the past six years, there has been a 13 per cent drop in funding. He broadened out the argument on the subject of increased use, which is a point that Kenny Macintosh picked up on.
I have seen broader use being made of libraries in the Highlands. I am thinking of primary school painting competitions, for example, which have been exhibited in libraries. Such use brings children, mums, dads and grannies into libraries. It is one way of selling libraries. Many other things like that can be done.
As I said, Donald Gorrie talked about the problems of councils. He also flagged up the issue of the quality of books. After he said that, I wondered whether he meant fiction versus non-fiction, but I suppose that he was talking about good fiction, bad fiction and non-fiction—that sort of thing. Andrew Welsh made a good speech, as did Karen Whitefield. Andrew Welsh majored on the issue of accessibility. Rhona Brankin went on about the definition of an adequate level of service.
I would like to correct Brian Monteith. The man whom he referred to was the Comte de la Fontaine, who was a famous noble from Gascony, in case any other members should misunderstand him. I had been hesitating, but after Christine Grahame's comments about librarians, I am certainly going to the reception after 5 o'clock.
I have one last, serious point to make. When university students write an essay, they have to get books out of libraries. If they do not get into the queue quickly, the books are gone. All of us know that that is a fact. Although the internet cuts both ways, there is a case to be put to the Scottish universities that they should put the full range of books of one library on the net. I have seen too many students losing out because they cannot get the books; they are in a poverty trap and they cannot afford to buy books. I appeal to the minister on their behalf. I ask him to encourage the higher academic institutions to do that.
The debate has been superb. Naturally, because I am on the Government side, I commend the Government motion to the chamber. I thank all the members who contributed to the debate.
Jamie Stone stressed the importance of access. I whole-heartedly concur with that view. I should mention an interest under the public lending right as an author. I also have an interest in the National Library of Scotland as an executor. Some of the papers of the author John Buchan have gone to the National Library and my wife is his granddaughter. Although the National Library comes under the Executive, the public libraries come under the local authorities. I will address their achievements.
Books can often turn out to be the memory of mankind. Great books frequently achieve distinction because, in a fascinating way, they highlight and bring to life shortcomings in the community or, indeed, developments of an evil nature that need to be confronted. "Oliver Twist" by Dickens gave prominence to the ill treatment that was meted out to orphans in Victorian England and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Hemingway gave an intimate understanding of the tremendous struggles that took place in the 20th century against the plague of fascism.
Other books relate to great adventures. A favourite of Scots schoolchildren is "Kidnapped", because it presents the brilliance and flair of the highlander with the steady conscientiousness, dedication, resilience and stamina of the lowlander and what an effective combination they can make. Donald Gorrie was right, therefore, to describe libraries as a powerhouse of lifelong learning.
Does the member agree that the "Pickwick Papers" gives us an interesting insight into the corrupt electoral practices before the Reform Act 1832, which I believe his party opposed?
I think that it was Lord Shaftesbury who supported the factory acts when he was a Tory. Although a few skeletons are rattling around in the cupboards of many Scots—
And Liberals.
And Liberals. I do not propose to delve too far in that direction tonight.
We have experienced a wholly unprecedented technological revolution. As a result, information that would have taken a very long time to find in years gone by can be obtained in seconds. Even the news of the great victory at Waterloo depended on its advent on carrier pigeons employed by the Rothschilds. Today, the internet and e-mail have a universality of appeal that is immediate. We have come a long way since Waterloo, but to maintain momentum, we need to keep on top of the most modern new technology.
Roseanna Cunningham stressed the importance of bringing about the necessary changes. First, we need to make the best use of videoconferencing. In Edinburgh, videoconferencing has been introduced as part of the people's network. The pilot project between the interpretation and translation services and a doctor's surgery will make it easier to give an effective service to Chinese-speaking patients without making it necessary to have an interpreter standing by. Videoconferencing will become more economic one day and it is undoubtedly a valuable way forward.
There are good projects in Scotland for providing access to the internet in public libraries; Andrew Welsh touched on that. The new opportunities fund has helped to provide resources for the people's network of more than £14 million with all 557 libraries involved. The network is on the right tracks and it should be supported.
The partner library network, to which Rhona Brankin and Ken Macintosh alluded, is rightly endorsed by the Scottish Parliament. The network supports 80 libraries and provides information about the Parliament to local communities so that information about the activities of MSPs at the Parliament and the decision-making process can be made readily available to all those who wish to know and not only to those who need to know.
I express gratitude to the Scottish Library and Information Council, which confirms that the successful implementation of the people's network project has seen the transformation of library services throughout our country. However, we should not rest on our laurels. Public libraries in the public interest are likely to deserve every bit as much support in the next 150 years as they have enjoyed in the past.
We have had a wide-ranging and consensual debate, which, given the topic, is how it should be. There has been a considerable amount of special pleading on behalf of individual areas and specific libraries, but that is understandable.
It is right that the debate should have been wide-ranging, because libraries are not static; they reflect the society in which they operate, the time and the medium that are available. That is why the points that were made by Karen Whitefield and other members about the provision of mobile libraries are reflective of the times. The rise of IT and other matters also reflects the era in which we find ourselves.
It is appropriate that the debate should have been relatively consensual. Although my colleague Roseanna Cunningham was correct to point out that we require more than platitudes, there is an acceptance that we are going in a specific direction and there is agreement and harmony in the chamber about recognition of where we have got to and the importance of what has been achieved. However, we require to advance and perhaps the difference of opinion will be about the emphasis and provision of resources.
The points that my colleague Andrew Welsh made are important. We need to ensure that we do not overload requirements on local authorities and that we balance requirements relating to local democracy. Funds might be provided to local authorities, but if they are required to scrape around to meet other requirements, there is a great danger that funding to libraries will be cut. Accordingly, we must ensure that resources are provided and that local authorities are not put in an invidious position. The Parliament must not pass the buck to local authorities.
Brian Monteith mentioned the role of the private sector. I have no objection to a role for the private sector, but public libraries must be publicly funded. There might be a role for private philanthropy—doubtless there is such a role—but there should be no requirement for it. We should not allow public libraries to be funded by private philanthropy any more than we should allow our national health service to be provided for by the national lottery. At the end of the day, we are talking about a state matter and delivery at local level.
We must recognise that libraries and literacy—of which libraries are a component part—are part of the great formation of the society in which we live. They are important to the communities in which they operate, as numerous members have said. Their contribution to Scotland's social and economic situation and where they can take us are also important. I subscribe to the philosophy of the two Rs—that running is the basis of all fitness and that reading is the basis of all knowledge—and I try, in a minimal way, to take both types of exercise. It is fundamental that we allow for such exercise.
Those who have read Arthur Herman's book on the Scottish enlightenment might perceive its perspective on the Act of Union as revisionist. They will recall that he said that the single most important act to be passed by any legislature in Scotland was the Education Act 1696, which allowed direct access to the word of God and allowed Scots to have direct access to markets and the new world. We must bear that in mind.
We must consider the circumstances in which we find ourselves. I am mindful of the words and the wisdom that have been provided by Professor Henry Milner about civic literacy, the importance of the written word and libraries. I am a disciple of Professor Milner. We should applaud our libraries, but remember good practice elsewhere, particularly in Scandinavia. In Sweden, for example, every child is provided at birth not only with a gift of membership of their local library, but with a book that their parents can read to them to try, by that interaction, to encourage reading. I am also conscious, from Professor Milner, that we are at a juncture. We should decide whether to go down the Australian and United States of America road or the Scandinavian road and we should decide whether to recognise the importance of public support not only for public libraries, but for other media. It is important that we take cognisance of that matter.
I am conscious of time, but want to make a final point, which other members have touched on—the importance of modern Scottish literature. Such literature is important for our society because it reflects who we are. At one stage, there was a difficulty in Scotland, in that literature seemed to start with Scott and almost end with Stevenson, although a few worthy authors such as Robin Jenkins were mentioned. There is a great growth in the number of new young writers, but my colleague Roseanna Cunningham and other members have mentioned that the new writers do not seem to receive the support that they deserve. Of course it is important that funding should be available to support new writers, but it is also important that our libraries purchase their books. If we continue to operate under the current laissez-faire system, the free market is likely to drive them to sources that will purchase on a UK or wider basis and there will be a deviation from the requirement to purchase locally. Given that each book or pamphlet that is written is subject to a demand letter by the National Library of Scotland, is it not correct that, if the state seeks to insist that a person should provide a free copy to that library, the state should be prepared to ensure that we publicly acquire new works of Scottish fiction from new Scottish writers and put them in our public libraries so that our people can read them? It is important to take cognisance of that matter.
The debate has been good. Perhaps there is disagreement about emphasis and the pace at which we must go, but we should recognise benefits that have been achieved and that we must build on. There is a wide world of literacy out there that we must support.
I echo the comments made by many members, who have indicated that this has been a wide-ranging and good debate on the issues that face our library service, both public libraries and other institutions that hold collections. Many members have raised critical issues that we must address over the coming period. Like Rhona Brankin, I pay tribute in particular to the work of SLIC.
The focus of today's debate is on the 150 years of public libraries. We must ensure that Scotland's first Parliament in 300 years recognises the role played by our predecessors in sustaining one of the most wonderful contributions to Scottish life—access to public libraries.
Much of the debate has been about how we move on and try to reinvent the service and inject new resources into libraries. Many members have, rightly, mentioned the people's network. That has involved a substantial injection of new money. Part of the contribution of the people's network is that in the business plan that was put forward local authorities had to take into account the sustainability of the investment in resources that came through lottery investment. I hope that we can have that critical discussion with Scottish local government over the next period to ensure that they fulfil that commitment.
The second key issue is the lessons that have been learned from the people's network. Many libraries that had perhaps lost their way have been redesigned, reinvented and reinvigorated because of the investment that they have received. That has put libraries back at the forefront of the debate at a local level. I do not want to centralise that debate. I am conscious of the issues that many people raise about a national definition of standards. I believe in the autonomy of local government to address those issues, but what we can do is work with SLIC and local government in the review of national standards to ensure that we address many of the points that members have raised in the debate.
As the minister says, there is awareness that there are problems about sustainability. For example, in Stirling the injection of funding from the new opportunities fund was for PCs and it trebled the number of PCs that were available. He mentioned that there will be negotiations with local authorities to examine the issue of sustainability. Can he help the library services by giving concrete details of the discussions?
I can give the assurance that in the next few months I will have combined discussions with SLIC and local government. One of the areas of discussion will be how we address the mutual commitment that was made by the Executive and from within local government. I hope that those discussions will address many of the concerns that have been raised in the debate.
Another key point that has been raised is how we innovate within our information networks. One of the developments that has been alluded to is the way in which the National Library of Scotland will link up with other national institutions. Scotland is leading the way in trying to digitise the archive and the artefacts that we have in our displays. We want to ensure that through ICT developments those resources can be accessed more widely and can be accessed wherever someone is, in Scotland or beyond. We are leading the way to ensure that the knowledge that exists in Scotland is more widely available. That would not have been achievable without the expertise of key staff within national libraries and all those within the Scottish cultural resources access network—SCRAN. That is one of the major commitments that the Executive is engaging in, along with funding from the lottery.
Another issue that members have rightly touched on is the role of libraries in the development of literacy. I am happy to accept the amendment put forward by the Conservatives and to recognise that libraries are key players in developing literacy. The Executive is providing Bookstart with one-off funding of almost £200,000 for 2004-05 from the children and young people's interim grant scheme. That contribution will provide a Bookstart bag for every baby in Scotland in 2004-05. We are giving Bookstart support and it will apply for a five-year grant from NOF. That is a Swedish model that I am genuinely interested in.
We must also address the way in which libraries have transformed communities. Karen Whitefield spoke about the innovation in Airdrie in the 1850s and the leadership that was shown there well before it was shown in other parts of Scotland. She spoke proudly on behalf of her community and her constituency. We want to ensure that such innovation is a feature of the next period.
Members have given personal testimonies, but I do not want to comment on them in case people look back at my record at Springburn public library in the 1970s. However, in the mid-1990s, largely because of a very difficult budget experience, Glasgow City Council faced some difficulties. We had a choice between changing the terms and conditions of librarians and closing public libraries. I was the convener of the arts and culture committee at the time, and it was the most troubled period of my life as a public representative. Since then—six or seven years on—a number of new initiatives have been undertaken. Local government funding has been much more stable. More important, leadership and vision has been established, both within the library service and in the political leadership of the council.
The real lesson that we need to learn about investment in libraries is that it has to be inextricably connected to the debate about the knowledge society that we all must participate in; to the social inclusion agenda; and to the lifelong learning agenda. I am sure that members of all parties who have entered the public libraries in Glasgow will recognise that it is a massively different experience now from the experience during the dark and difficult days of the mid-1990s. That is also true of the experience in many other local authorities in Scotland.
Following today's debate, we must start to win much more of the argument that resource allocation to libraries investment is a win-win situation and that the wider community can further engage with libraries to ensure their long-term sustainability. If people do not use the libraries, they will not continue for the next 150 years. Equally—and much more important—we must recognise that they are inextricably linked to the broader social developments that we want for our communities. In this afternoon's debate, many members have identified ways in which we want to move forward on that.
I pay tribute to those librarians—strict though they sometimes were—whom I met on my journeys to the library in the 1970s. The libraries have been a gateway to further improvement and development. I recognise the contribution that has been made by library staff, over the years, to ensuring that we have had a libraries network that has genuinely made a difference.
In the 1850s, when people first considered the issue, who would have thought that we would now be talking about libraries as one of the key areas for connecting into our national archives? Who would have thought that libraries would be one of our key tools for economic and social development? And who would have thought that libraries would be places where people could pursue other social activities, examples of which exist throughout Scotland? Where sport and leisure facilities have been integrated with library development, that has led to a substantial increase in the number of people who use those libraries—many more people than in previous projections.
Most important, because of the distinctiveness of Scottish education and Scottish society, what we must learn—not from Demos, whose report was, strictly, about the English library service and did not take into account the distinctive legislative framework in Scotland—is that libraries need to be part of the wider changes to which we all aspire, irrespective of our political philosophy or ideology. Those men and women in the 1850s believed that libraries would be transformative. We have a responsibility, at national and local level, to continue to believe that libraries are still transformative.
Because working people were committed to that idea, I would like to end with a quote from Marx—not from Karl Marx, which might have pleased the SSP, but from Groucho Marx. He said:
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too dark to read."
We have an opportunity to make a genuine difference. Every public library should contain the wonderful novel by George Friel entitled, "The Boy Who Wanted Peace", in which the central anti-hero of the book, Percy Phinn, wants to educate young Hughie Savage in the intricacies of moderation in life. If every public library in Scotland had that novel and everybody had the chance to read the work of one of the great forgotten novelists, George Friel, the world would be a much better place. Let us hope that, in future, we can learn from those who made a contribution in the past.
I hope that I have made up the time, Presiding Officer. I thank you for your patience this afternoon.