Libraries Need Coffee To Survive due to the report of the people

'I Used Libraries All The Time'

Libraries must ditch their "old-fashioned" ways and embrace coffee shop culture if they are to survive, says a report. Libraries need to be less Dante and more latte to stave off the threat of closure and appeal to more people, a report claims.

Hushed tones and book-reading must give way to free wi-fi, coffee and sofas in libraries run by "21st Century librarians", according to the Independent Library Report.
It warns libraries are having less and less relevance in modern society and fewer people are using them - campaigners say 203 are currently under imminent threat.

Shhhhhhhh. The number of people using libraries has been dwindling

Publisher William Sieghart, who chaired the panel which produced the report for the Culture Department and the Department for Communities, says the service must change if it is to avoid "absolute disaster".
The report argues libraries should provide tablets, laptops and mobiles, and free wi-fi to appeal to younger users.
It also cautions funding is key to ensuring libraries continue their work to improve child and adult literacy.
However, the Government has now announced it would be cutting the amount local councils get for services, such as libraries, by 1.8% in 2015-16.
In the last five years, 330 have closed, according to The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. There are now 4,282 across the country.
Despite the dwindling numbers 35% of people in England still use libraries regularly, rising to 50% among the poorest.
The report says: "By not providing wi-fi and high quality computer facilities, libraries often present a negative image of being old-fashioned places that have little relevance in today's society."
It recommends the service should start to roll out wi-fi and adds: "That wi-fi connection should be delivered in a comfortable, retail-standard environment, with the usual amenities of coffee, sofas and toilets, and offer, in addition, such new services as would make the library a vibrant and attractive community hub."
It also adds libraries should attempt to attract top graduates as staff saying: "The 21st Century librarian will need to be more of a community impresario with digital and commercial expertise who can champion their communities’ needs and generate new business and audiences for the library."
Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said he would be implementing most of the recommendations, including creating a task-force to work out the best way of modernising the service.