The threats to public libraries look overwhelming: yet both defensive mobilizations to resist cutbacks and pressures for innovations offer hope for radical improvements

The local public library service across the UK has lost ground in recent times with rapidly declining book borrowing, a stale services culture, an ostrich-like ignoring of e-books, and high levels of fines putting off many users. However, Avery Hancock shows how the imminent and extensive threats to cut library services back to the bone has re-mobilized support for these key community institutions. It has also fuelled vitally needed new thinking on how to modernize and extend the appeal of libraries once again.