Today Dan Jarvis MP, Shadow Minister for Culture, has published a report on Libraries: Innovation, Co-location and Partnership

Libraries should be at the heart of our communities. They are a resource for parents with young children, for school children without a place to work at home, for job seekers trying to gain new skills and employment, for elderly people living in isolation, for community groups and, increasingly, an incubator for new ideas and businesses to come to fruition.

Labour’s vision is to build on the potential libraries offer – to make them an asset rooted at the heart of every community, and responsive to its needs. Recent library success stories have demonstrated that co-location provides a framework for libraries which both fulfils the more traditional, core role of lending books and ensures that users can learn and access information in new and innovative ways. Libraries have been co-located with a range of organisations including local colleges and job centres. They have also provided an access point for everything from IT to language training, job clubs to books on prescription, healthy living hubs to theatre space.

This document from Labour's Policy Review highlights some of the innovative new library service models that are emerging around Britain and explores how through co-location and partnership working we can deliver a sustainable library service which meets the needs of communities in the 21st century.

“A library is a unique public space and should be an expression of our local communities. If we believe in a society in which everyone, regardless of background, is able to pursue their interests, education and personal development; libraries are a fundamental tool. Labour wants every child and adult to have access to services which will help them to thrive, whether that’s learning to read, building a CV, studying a language, developing skills, meeting new people or building a new online business. Our communities will be best served by an effective, innovative and responsive library service working with community partnerships”. Dan Jarvis MP, Shadow Libraries Minister

Download Libraries: Innovation, Co-location and Partnership and let us know what you think in the comments section to the right.