Future of Public Libraries

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 14th May 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Thank you, Mr Dowd. I did not expect to be called this early, but it is always a pleasure to speak in a debate and to serve under your chairship.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies) on setting the scene so well. Libraries are obviously vastly important to him, as they are to me, from a constituency point of view. He is right to highlight the importance of public libraries across the United Kingdom. I speak from some experience: I used to serve in the Northern Ireland Assembly on the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure, and part of that responsibility was for libraries in Northern Ireland, including libraries in my Strangford constituency. Public libraries are services that are much loved and must be protected, so it is great to be here to discuss them.

It is always good to see the Minister in his place. I look forward to his contribution and to hearing what the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr French), and the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for North Devon (Ian Roome), have to say about libraries.

My constituency has many wonderful libraries, including Newtownards library, which was recently refurbished; Killyleagh library, which has also been refurbished; and Ballynahinch library. Libraries are not just about books; they are also about events that can happen in them. They are always related to books, or along those lines, but they are available for different events. Last Friday there was a VE Day event at Killyleagh library, and it was a pleasure to be there. An author from Belfast spoke about his book on the Jewish people who came to Northern Ireland during the second world war. It was a lovely occasion. I think the ambience of the library added to the occasion. The subject matter was very pertinent to the area, because many Jewish people came to live in Killyleagh and their contribution to the society was incredible. I will remember that event on Friday for a long time.

In a world in which our phones and being online can dominate our time, it is fantastic that our community libraries can be upheld. Last year I was fortunate to be given some children’s books at an event here in Westminster. I met staff from the local library back home in Newtownards, and gave the books to the library so that they could in turn use them and give them to children.

The hunger and eagerness of children who read books encourages me greatly. I have six grandchildren. Every one of them, even the wee ones—the youngest are three and four—has devoured books. I was at an event downstairs in Parliament today about eating habits. It had nothing to do with this issue, but one of the things it was about was encouraging children to eat their greens. I am very fortunate because my last two grandchildren, the three-year-old and four-year-old, do not have to be encouraged to eat their greens, or to read books, but it is really important that we do that.

For young children, reading has so many benefits, including for cognitive brain development and enhancing language. I have been shocked in the past, when attending different libraries, by the sheer variety of literature offered. I do not think there is one individual who would struggle to find a book suited to them. In addition to reading, our libraries offer crucial services by providing access to computers and printing and serving as community hubs. There are knit and natter groups for the elderly: they come and do a bit of knitting and they natter for ages—well, they certainly did whenever I was there. Schools will often have libraries, but they also do visits to community libraries for talks and so on, or to meet the authors of popular books.

Libraries NI is fantastic in offering mobile libraries for rural villages that perhaps do not have decent access to library services. This gives constituents who are more isolated, and especially older people, an opportunity to get out and about and engage with others. In Northern Ireland, the arrival of a mobile library to homes across a rural constituency means a lot. Banks and retail shops have gone online and disappeared from the community, but libraries, including mobile libraries, are still there. I hope that our library services will not be left behind and that local libraries across the whole United Kingdom will continue to be funded so that they can remain open.

I will conclude, because I am conscious of the time and the five-minute limit. So many people of a wide variety of ages love and rely on our library services. We must protect libraries through additional funding and the encouragement of their use, so that more people apply for library cards and take advantage of these wonderful services. Our libraries are very much part of the community.