The British government is considering a proposal to allow booksellers to rent out space within public libraries. It hopes that libraries could earn extra revenue while attracting back some of the people who no longer visit libraries. Since 1984, the country’s 4700 public libraries have seen the number of book loans drop from 500 million to last year’s 370 million circulation figure. At the same time, library materials budget have dropped, but the number of people buying and reading books is at an all time high.

Some libraries have experimented with retail partnerships, acting as intermediaries for booksellers.They take orders for book purchases and pass on delivered goods to customers when received. Rural and inner city libraries are considered to be prime candidates for the bookseller proposal, as both libraries and booksellers are struggling in these areas.

Library Hotline, March 15, 2004.