I recently found myself discussing the planned local library cuts with a group of friends.

According to Public Libraries News, almost 400 public libraries face closure, while many others are likely to lose staff and resources due to the cuts to local authority budgets. My friends were suitably outraged; and yet, when I asked whether any of them had visited their local library within the last 12 months, the answer was a resounding silence.

According to a report by the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council, 74% of current library users see them as “essential” or “very important” in their lives. The planned protests against the cuts around the UK demonstrate that strength of feeling.

But these are current users – what about those who have never set foot in their local public library? Age is an important factor: while children are regular library users, there’s a 30% drop in non-academic library usage from the age of 16 onwards. Putting aside nostalgia and sentiment, in an age of digital innovation, do libraries really have a future?

Chris Meade, co-director of think tank if:book and joint founder of north London library project the Unlibrary, certainly thinks so.

“The fact that there’s a space where we have a right to be and where we can access information means a lot to us,” he says. That’s not to say libraries do not have to evolve. “The thing about digital culture is that we’re realising that literature isn’t made of paper and that you can find it in lots of places,” Chris says. “The idea of either a huge collection of books or a mass of technological equipment seems quite redundant.”

The future of libraries, therefore, may lie in their potential as spaces for learning about digital innovation, as well for creating a cultural community. “The traditional use of libraries cuts through all the different platforms,” Chris explains. “A library is fundamentally a place for information and imagination. We need to go right back to the essence of the library, freed from habits and assumptions.”

The Unlibrary is a budget-friendly version of this – it is simply a room in the library where people can work collaboratively or alone.

At the other end of the budgetary scale are the Idea Stores. In 1998, Tower Hamlets council found that participation in libraries was well below the national average – despite the borough having the highest number of libraries per head in London. The result was a massive research effort to discover why people were not visiting.

“The whole purpose was not just to increase participation, but also to widen participation,” says Sergio Dogliani, Deputy Head of Idea Stores. Acting on the results of the survey, Tower Hamlets relocated libraries to purpose-built modern buildings on the high streets, where they are more easily accessible, and added public toilets, art galleries and cafes, as well as making opening hours more user-friendly.

The remit of the libraries was also broadened with the addition of wide variety of courses, from aromatherapy massage to Photoshop – hence the name change from “library” to “Idea Store”.

“We removed a number of psychological barriers to library use,” says Sergio. And it works – there may now be fewer libraries in Tower Hamlets, but the annual number of visits has quadrupled.

Library protesters are planning a day of action against the cuts on 5 February, including “read-ins” at over 40 libraries around the country.

Image courtesy of wonderfully complex on Flickr.