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Kerena Cobbina
A group of leading authors are calling for every newborn baby to be signed up for a library card automatically at birth.
Writers including Sir Philip Pullman, Richard Osman and Kate Mosse have backed the proposal by think tank the Cultural Policy Unit (CPU), which says a universal, lifelong membership issued at birth would boost literacy.
“A lot of people still feel that [libraries are] not for them,” Mosse told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, but said automatically giving out cards could show that “every single young child that’s born is welcome”.
The CPU proposal would see membership linked directly to birth registration, so library cards would be waiting for newborns at their local library.
At present, parents have to sign their kids up online and bring proof of address or an ID to a library.
Award-winning novelist Mosse, known for her 2005 book Labyrinth, said of an automatic library card: “It just says its something you could do and it puts it in people’s minds, and that’s why it could be transformational.”
She told Today: “I take my grandchildren, who are three and six months, to the local library for story time. It helps with isolation, it will make an enormous difference to young parents who maybe don’t have a support network near them.”
Mosse added that the proposal “fits very well with the government’s mission of intervention in the early years”.
His Dark Materials author Sir Philip said: “It’s a brilliant and optimistic plan, and I hope very much it will come into existence as soon as possible”.
Meanwhile Osman, who authors the best-selling Thursday Murder Club series, said: “How lovely to hear of something intended to broaden the world of our children, rather than to simply speed that world up.”
The CPU’s plan would see the creation of a “National Library Card” that would give every UK citizen access. Currently, library cards are issued by local authorities.
It said the proposal aims to make reading a habit for more children, as well as exposing families to parenting support, and community and cultural experiences at libraries.
CPU director Alison Cole said the think tank also wanted the card to be “integrated” with services that see young families, so that midwives, health visitors and nursery staff could introduce them to library services.
“If it is part of your welcome pack for your child to our society, then it is much more likely families who haven’t necessarily had a library card… will think that’s for me too,” Mosse said.
‘Books are for babies as well’
Louie Stowell, author of the Loki children’s series, described the scheme as a “fantastic idea”.
“It reminds everyone that books are for babies as well as older children – not everyone knows that babies can enjoy and benefit from being read to from birth,” she told BBC News.
“It also normalises library use and, even if the admin involved in getting a library card isn’t vast, it’s one more thing to do when you’re juggling nappies and sleepless nights.”
But the British Book Awards winner author stressed the scheme would need to be paired with funding for libraries and fully trained librarians.
“There’s no point signing babies up for libraries that don’t exist,” she added.
The CPU estimates the scheme would cost £14-22m annually, which it says should come from both the Department for Education and Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
A spokesperson for DCMS, when asked about the proposal, said libraries “can help boost children’s speech and language and social development”, as well as “engender a love of reading from the earliest stages of life onwards”.
They added: “Public libraries are funded and run by local authorities and each local authority is responsible for determining how best to meet the needs of its communities.
“We encourage library services to promote their services to families from the earliest stages of a child’s life.”
