Libraries are one of the longest established and most popular and valued public services. This year is the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the public library system by the Public Libraries Act 1850. Libraries are used extensively by all sections of society more than sixty per cent of adults in Britain are members of their local library. Libraries impinge on many sectors of society, such as schools, universities and colleges, prisons, hospitals, Government departments, industrial and commercial organisations and voluntary bodies.
Public libraries are a local authority service.
That rationale for public libraries remains as relevant now as at their inception in the middle of the nineteenth century. This Report considers some of the challenges and opportunities currently facing the public library service. Our inquiry was announced in November 1999. We held four evidence sessions in February and March 2000. The Committee visited Sheerness Public Library in Sheerness, Kent in February 2000. 5.