Baroness Gail Rebuck, chair of Penguin Random House UK, delivered an educated and insightful speech on Thursday 13th October as part of a debate in the House of Lords, where Lord Bird moved that the House of Lords take “note of the cultural, civic and educational significance of local libraries and independent bookshops in the United Kingdom.
“My Lords,” she said. “I would like to thank the noble Lord, Lord Bird, for initiating this debate. The big issue for me – if I may borrow a phrase from my noble Lord – is books and their enduring importance to civil society and the extent to which both bookshops and libraries are essential to their continued success. Without both, we will not achieve 100% literacy which is an essential aim in the 21st century and a bedrock of social mobility, social cohesion and a strong economy.
“The publishing industry, as a whole, contributes £10.2bn a year to the UK economy, of which retail sales from books account for £5bn and whether we go for a hard or a soft Brexit – hardcovers, softbacks and digital books – will have a significant role to play in our export market in terms of jobs and growth.
“Since 2010, 343 libraries have shut. Opening hours have been cut, alongside educational programmes and mobile libraries and 8,000 trained library staff have been lost, together with hundreds of thousands of new books.
“But, my Lords, bookshops are under pressure too. The number of independent book shops has halved since 2005 and they continue to be under threat, with expensive rents and business rates while their online competitors trade from warehouses in less expensive out of town locations.
The speech is long and impassioned and well worth the read.