Study warns England’s library collections are shrinking under budget pressure

England’s public libraries risk losing the breadth of collections that communities depend on, according to new University of Sheffield research. The study says physical stocks are shrinking while budgets fail to keep pace, even as borrowing remains strong.

The research was commissioned by The Combined Regions and carried out by the University of Sheffield. It drew on data from 36 public library services in England and input from library sector organizations, including Arts Council England, CILIP, Libraries Connected and the Local Government Association.

According to the study, the average number of physical items held by library services fell from 1.49 per person in 2022/23 to 1.26 in 2024/25. Physical stock budgets were reduced by an average of £18,761 in 2024/25.

Use did not fall in line with collections. The report says issues per person rose from 3.62 to 3.73 over the same period, meaning libraries were lending more from smaller collections.

The University of Sheffield said digital resources are also putting pressure on budgets. Spending on e-resources rose from 16p per person to 74p between 2022/23 and 2024/25, while spending on physical collections fell from 87p to 72p per person.

The study says library staff and sector stakeholders see digital and physical materials as services that should work together. In practice, the report found, they are competing for limited funds.

Professor Briony Birdi, who led the research at the University of Sheffield’s School of Information, Journalism and Communication, said public libraries are among the few universal services that remain free and open to all. She said the collections at the center of that service are being weakened by falling budgets, smaller stocks and pressure on the systems that support collection development.

“Libraries are doing a remarkable job of maintaining borrowing levels despite all of this, but that resilience has limits,” Birdi said. “Without coordinated action from government, sector bodies and the wider supply chain, the cumulative effect of these pressures will be felt most by the people who rely on libraries most.”

The report identifies several pressures beyond direct budget cuts. It says services are relying more on short-term grants, which participants described as complex and poorly suited to core needs such as stock and staffing. The study also says smaller services can be disadvantaged by grant processes and that funding does not always match need.

Procurement is another concern raised by the research. The report says collection development is increasingly shaped by a limited number of commercial suppliers. While that can reduce costs and improve efficiency, the study found it may restrict access to smaller publishers, local titles, niche materials and books representing underrepresented communities.

Staffing shortages are adding to the strain, according to the University of Sheffield. The study says specialist collection development roles have declined, reducing libraries’ ability to assess borrowing data, manage suppliers and make local decisions about what communities need.

Dr. Jo McKenna-Aspell, a postdoctoral research associate at the university, said the findings point to problems across the system rather than isolated failures by individual libraries. She said funding, procurement, digital licensing and data collection require national action.

Mark McCree, chair of The Combined Regions, said evidence from the report should help inform debate and decisions about public libraries at a difficult time for the sector.

The study comes as the government has indicated that a national library strategy is being developed, according to the University of Sheffield. The report recommends stronger investment in physical collections, reform of digital licensing models, more specialist staff, better national data and clearer benchmarking to support decisions.

This story draws on original reporting from Phys.org.