A better, more accessible, public library system for all in Australia: whose responsibility?

• Author: Bundy, Alan

As the Australian public library sector contemplates, post the July 2009 first Australian public libraries summit, A vision and national framework for Australian public libraries for submission to the federal, state/territory and local governments of Australia in 2010 it needs to be unequivocal about its political and funding responsibility focus--and that focus should not be local government. There has been too ready an acceptance in the sector and elsewhere that because local government has generally the operational and part funding responsibility for the Australian public library system, that public libraries must continue to swim, tread water or slowly drown according to the vagaries of local decision makers and finances.

To reverse this acceptance requires a greater understanding of how much, and why, the sector is poorly funded relative to international best practice; relative to its...