Arts Council England
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Arts Council Chair calls for libraries to become “champions of reading”
Dame Liz Forgan, Chair of Arts Council England, yesterday (Thursday 8 October) told a gathering of the UK’s libraries to join up with the wider cultural sector and “reinvigorate the role public libraries play in championing the value of reading”.
Speaking at the Public Library Authorities (PLA) conference in Bristol, Liz Forgan will outline her belief that although libraries continue to successfully perform a number of different jobs, reading is the “central pillar that holds the whole thing together”.
She will discuss the Arts Council’s Taking Part research which revealed reading had the highest level of public participation of any artform, creating an “unseen army of support” for libraries to utilise.
The speech will celebrate the value of reading and the role libraries play in public life, along with challenging libraries to form partnerships with other cultural organisations to let people know the “wealth of the library offer”.
Liz Forgan adds:
“It is clear we still have a huge opportunity to enliven and extend the reading life of Britain and libraries can be the absolute champions of this. Make reading your future. Exploit your power as the biggest cultural distribution network for the most participative of the nation’s art and Arts Council England will work with you to do so.
“And it’s not just the Arts Council. You have many supporters and partners in the wider cultural sector who care passionately about reading. Publishers, broadcasters, new media and arts organisations all want to work with you. And they can help in various ways, extending the reach of what you offer readers, help work on new business and distribution models for reading in the face of digital change so that libraries keep up with the technology, sprinkle a bit of stardust on the scene.”
The PLA conference is an annual event for heads of library services, directors, councillors and those involved in shaping the future of public libraries in the UK. It is organised by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers.
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Arts Council England works to get great art to more people. We develop and promote the arts across England, acting as an independent body at arm’s length from government.
Between 2008 and 2011, we will invest £1.6 billion of public money from government and the National Lottery in supporting the arts.
This is the bedrock of support for the arts in England. We believe that the arts have the power to change lives and communities, and to create opportunities for people throughout the country.
