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It’s perhaps little surprise that libraries have suffered so much from local government cuts. Public spaces where people can read and borrow books, among a host of other services, without paying a penny are seen as an easy target for cash-strapped councils, tight-fisted chancellors and free-market evangelists alike.
The current crisis in library funding can be traced back to the austerity measures introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government that came to power in 2010. Since then, more than 9,000 library jobs have been lost, and more than 800 libraries have been closed down. According to the Institute of Government, that amounts to one in three (33%) library sites closing their doors between 2009/10 and 2019/20.
“It’s been devastating, and it’s never ending,” says Alan Wylie, a librarian, campaigner and UNISON activist in Islington, London. “Every day, you hear from library workers across the country about more cuts and how it’s affecting them.
“You’re having to work with less all the time: short staffing, lone staffing, health and safety considerations, wondering if you’re going to be made redundant in the next round of cuts, having to take on roles from other cut services. It has undermined and eroded libraries.”
Much more than books
Alan (pictured below) works at two Islington libraries, Finsbury Library and Clerkenwell Library. He has been a library worker for 35 years and, like others in his position, does far more than put books on shelves.
He organises library outreach work in community centres, nurseries and schools. He runs events and activities. He works on the desk, checking books in and out and answering inquiries. He organises activities for children and reads them stories. He even provides technical support, helping visitors use the computers and improve their IT skills. “And that’s only a little part of it, really,” he says.
Alan’s mountain of responsibilities illustrates the many reasons people use their local libraries. “It’s a kind of focal point of the community where anybody can come in and feel safe,” he says. “It’s the only public service that’s open to all and everybody. So, we’re the only place in the community where a lot of people have got to go, really.”
The importance of libraries as community hubs has only grown in recent years, as everything from youth clubs to community centres have been forced to close due to lack of funding.
“People that are the poorest and most vulnerable within the community really rely on libraries the most,” says Alan. “Because of the digital divide, a lot of people haven’t got access to the internet at home, so they can be looking for jobs or just keeping in touch with people.
“They might not be able to afford to turn their heating on at home, so they come in and sit in a warm space. And local families come in with their children. It’s a place where children can feel safe, especially children who are living in crowded accommodation or unsafe situations.”
Austerity
‘you can’t have a statutory service run by volunteers’
So, libraries are performing a vital public service that goes beyond supplying books. And that makes the perpetual threats libraries face all the more alarming.
A recent report by UNISON, Closing Chapters, has dug into the ongoing impact of austerity on libraries across the country. It found that library staffing levels in England fell by nearly half (47%) between 2010 and 2025. In 2010/11, 17,902 people were directly employed by libraries. By 2024/25, there were only 9,497 – a loss of 8,406 full-time roles.
“It’s getting harder, because across the service we’re having to work with less staff,” says Alan. “Vacancies haven’t been filled, posts have been cut. Money is short all the time and staffing is short all the time.”
As a result of this staffing crisis, many library users have volunteered their time for free in a bid to keep services running. A recent report by Libraries Connected and Arts Council England (Volunteering in Public Libraries: Insights from the Libraries Connected Surveys) suggests that more than a third of libraries have 100 or more volunteers, a third have fewer than 50, while some libraries report more than 750 volunteers.
While well-meaning, the result has been that an army of unpaid labour has stepped in to replace some of the paid staff lost due to cuts.
“The whole thing about staffing libraries with volunteers is an absolute disgrace,” says Alan. “You can’t have a statutory service run by volunteers.”
A half-hearted boost
UNISON’s Closing Chapters report also found that total library opening hours across England fell by just over a fifth (22%) between 2010/11 and 2024/25, some 700,000 hours. During the same timeframe, unstaffed opening hours rose from 13,029 to a staggering 212,792.
In acknowledgement of this funding crisis, in March the Labour government announced a cash boost of up to £150,000 for public libraries to mark the National Year of Reading. This money is set to be used to support projects at 72 library authorities that face high levels of deprivation, poor social infrastructure and low levels of library engagement. The government has also pledged £1.5bn in financial support for 35 cash-strapped English councils, which could allow them to invest more in libraries and other public services.
‘the main thing is to support library workers, because, without them, libraries are nothing’
However, Alan is sceptical about the impact of such funding. “It’s an absolute pittance,” he says. “When you think there are 152 library authorities, 3,500 to 4,000 libraries, if you look at the amount of money that they’ve allocated, it wouldn’t even scratch the surface. A lot of library services won’t see any benefit from it.”
Alan had hoped for more from the current government. “I was hoping that there would be a moratorium on library cuts and the government would set up some kind of advisory board,” he says. “That could include unions, campaigners, library staff, library users, academics, etc, to look at the way forward.
“But what we need is funding, what we need is a strengthening of the kind of statutory remit that we’ve got. We’re protected by the 1964 Libraries Act [which mandates local authorities to provide “comprehensive and efficient” library services], but in a way, we’re not, because they totally ignore it or undermine it.
“We really need a complete restructuring of how libraries are developed and managed, from funding to policy and strategy and everything else in between.”
Campaigning
Alan has been campaigning against cuts to libraries since austerity returned to Britain in 2010 and is resolute in his defence of them.
“A library’s a place where people don’t have to spend money,” he says. “It’s a very rare public space when everything else has been privatised. Although some libraries have been privatised, it’s a relatively public space that should be treasured and should be protected.”
And protecting libraries has rarely been so important, which is why UNISON members and other activists have been vocal advocates for them.
“The public really needs to be aware of what’s going on and support local union branches and library workers,” says Alan. “Use libraries, talk to the staff, support the staff, become involved in campaigns, link in with local UNISON branches and activists, and make sure that they’re prepared for any cuts that are coming, make sure that they protest, that they march.
“But the main thing is to support library workers, because, without them, libraries are nothing.”