London’s public libraries must take innovative steps such as rewarding regular borrowers with vouchers for travel or the cinema if they are to stay relevant to an increasingly discerning and web-savvy population, Margaret Hodge, the Culture Secretary, said today.

She told the Association of London Chief Librarians that to attract the “Google generation” the capital’s libraries should consider extending weekend and evening opening hours, introducing a web-based lending service with home delivery and striking deals with the Starbucks or Costa coffee chains.

Speaking in Brighton at a conference coinciding with World Book Day, Ms Hodge said that the challenge faced by public libraries was to reposition themselves “centre stage” among 21st-century communities with strong competition from the internet, online booksellers and other sources.

Although spending on libraries has risen 17 per cent in the past decade, the number of books borrowed has slumped by 34 per cent, she told delegates.

“There is absolutely no reason why public libraries should not be as widely used today as they were in their peak year of 1980,” she said. It was not resources, but the available services, that was at the root of the problem, she said.

The minister acknowledged that books had become cheaper to buy, while people had more disposable income, more personal computers and were more confident about using the internet for research.

However libraries could do more to entice users, especially children and young people, she argued, noting that there were 4.5 million people of working age who needed to improve their literacy and numeracy if they were to contribute effectively in the workplace.

Situating libraries in railway stations and shopping centres would attract a wider market, as would a single London library card allowing users to borrow books in one location and return them in another, she suggested.

Ms Hodge said: “I know that much is being done already, but I also know that the national picture suggests there is still more to do.

“And yet another thing I know is that keeping centre stage with an increasingly discerning and demanding population might require some innovative customer measures.”

Other ideas floated included diversifying reading material to lure young people, for example with comics, film scripts and music lyrics. Libraries should consider a tie-in with Amazon, the online retailer, allowing users to order a new book for a friend once they had read the library copy, and look at housing Costa or Starbucks concessions in the manner of bookstores such as Borders. A loyalty scheme, like those run by supermarkets, could be implemented, rewarding borrowers with a one-day travelcard or a pair of cinema tickets after ten visits, for example.

Ms Hodge said she believed that such innovations could be funded by savings generated by closer co-operation between London's 33 boroughs. “Indeed, I would put it to you, if you don’t innovate you will decline. So you’ve got to prioritise investment in new services if you want to secure a long-term future," she said.

“And it ought to be possible to share services and support functions such as inter-library lending, IT systems and delivery systems and thereby spend more effectively.”

Ms Hodge concluded: “We can ensure that the capital’s libraries are a vital and vibrant part of London’s future, that they play a leading role in the cast, with a prominent position on stage and that they receive due accolade in local authority plans and priorities.”

Her recommendations received a broad welcome in the sector . A spokesman for the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, the public body responsible for overseeing library development, said Ms Hodge's thoughts were consistent with its vision for the library service nationally and that it would work with her department and local government on achieving that vision.

"Libraries, with books always at their heart, are the place in every community where people can access books, other materials, and the internet, free of charge," the spokesman continued. "As well as being attractive and welcoming places on the high street, locally run, where people can borrow up-to-date books and other resources, increasingly in the internet age, they will also become part of a wider network of information provision, that people can access online, from their home or office, 24 hours a day."

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