Universal Credit and Public Libraries

There is an interesting report here about the possible impact of Universal Credit on Public Libraries and IT facilities.  I posted on IT use in Brent libraries before, but I focused on technological changes. It is useful to be reminded of the other pressures on IT use.

The Lorenbergs paper essentially argues that libraries will see increasing usage of IT facilities in libraries as a result of benefit changes, which seems plausible.  In Brent, the welfare advisers  seen in the BBC Panorama programme are located immediately by Wembley Library.  I am told that they are seeing increasing demand for the self service IT facilities even now, and that they expect the same in the Willesden Green Library Centre when it opens.  It may well be that some of the library PCs come to be used as overspill.

This raises a number of interesting issues.  One of which is whether there is any legal duty for libraries to provide IT.   I think there is, but that opinion is based on my own exegesis of paragraph 116 of the Ouseley  judgement.  The conventional wisdom is that there is no legal duty to provide IT in libraries.  If that vis accepted, then doing away with IT facilities may well be part of the hollowing out that I have argued is the only plausible alternative to building closures.

Of course, this can be done more inconspicuously than literally removing the PCs.  Not upgrading the software or the broadband connection might achieve the same result more insidiously.  Similarly refusing to invest in new technologies such as ipads will slowly erode IT provision without attracting much public controversy.  I suspect these options may be taken up by authorities as budgets tighten still further.

I suspect that Iain Duncan Smith's department has embarked on its Universal Credit programme without giving such things much thought.