Creation of Isle of Man national libraries board proposed

A consultation on the future of library provision will run until 20 August

A national libraries board should oversee the provision of services on the Isle of Man, a report has said.

The Council of Ministers-commissioned document made several recommendations, such as introducing a "universal membership card" and allowing libraries to "provide other services".

It also recommended any new libraries board and the mobile library service be funded by government.

A consultation on the report's suggestions will run until 20 August.

The report was commissioned in 2019 following a Tynwald debate on the future of public libraries.

Disparities in library provision and its funding were highlighted recently when the Family and Mobile Library services came under threat of closure after a government grant was withdrawn.

'Important and valued'

The report said a new libraries board should be jointly funded by government subsidy and "formally referred through rates reform as part of a community rate".

It also said legislation should be brought in to "give individual libraries the scope to provide other services", such as book days for schools and "shared working spaces for researchers and entrepreneurs".

Clare Barber MHK, the chairwoman of the working party who put the report together, said public libraries "continue to play an important and valued role to residents of the Isle of Man" and had "much potential for social and digital inclusion, services and support, as well as traditional book loaning".

In June, Chief Minister Howard Quayle said decisions over the future of library provision on the Isle of Man would be in the hands of the next administration.

He said at the time that he was very keen the public should have their say on the report's content and proposals.