Time to act? Evaluating the adequacy of the Public Libraries and Museums Act (1964) through public and stakeholder perspectives

Abstract

This paper evaluates the adequacy of the Public Libraries and Museums Act (1964) for contemporary public library services in England. Drawing on a multi-phase mixed methods study, it compares public (user and non-user) perspectives identified in a Q study in Southeast England with stakeholder perspectives and the legislative framework. Findings show strong alignment between public understandings and the Act’s core functions, but significant divergence in expanded roles promoted by stakeholders. The paper argues that the Act is not obsolete but requires a legislative shift to clarify purpose, align expectations, and foreground public needs.

Metadata

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	McKenna-Aspell, J.-L. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2821-3924 Birdi, B. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0002-7989
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	© 2026 The Authors. Except as otherwise noted, this author-accepted version of a journal article published in Public Library Quarterly is made available via the University of Sheffield Research Publications and Copyright Policy under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords:	Legislation; public libraries; perceptions; stakeholder perceptions
Dates:	Submitted: 5 May 2026 Accepted: 25 August 2026 Published (online): 7 September 2026 Published: 7 September 2026
Institution:	The University of Sheffield
Academic Units:	The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > School of Information, Journalism and Communication
Date Deposited:	14 Sep 2026 14:16
Last Modified:	14 Sep 2026 14:16
Status:	Published online
Publisher:	Informa UK Limited
Refereed:	Yes
Identification Number:	10.1080/01616846.2026.2726106
Related URLs:	Author
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:245508

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Time to act? Evaluating the adequacy of the Public Libraries and Museums Act (1964) through public and stakeholder perspectives

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