Libraries need e-lending strategy, says minister

19 October 2012

Libraries need a strategy to ensure they make the most of e-lending services, culture minister Ed Vaizey has said.

Vaizey, who launched a review on e-lending systems in September, said a "clear strategy" was needed if "more libraries [were] to adopt e-lending across England".

The review panel, led by William Sieghart, the founder of Forward Publishing, is expected to report back to the minister in the new year on its investigation into the benefits of e-lending.

Vaizey said it would focus on "ensuring that public libraries and their users, authors and publishers can all benefit as this fledgling service grows."

Technology in libraries, many of which have been threatened with closure after public spending cuts, has been pushed forward by coalition ministers before.

Challenged by Ed Miliband on library closures in February last year, David Cameron said libraries needed to "wake up to the world of new technology" if they were to succeed.