This year marks the centenary of Devon's library service. It was launched in 1924 as the Devon County Library Service and, in the language of the time, had the aim of providing a single countywide service for all residents "no matter their background."

Leader of Devon County Council James McInnes writes for this title.

 I'm not sure that today we would comment on people's backgrounds but we are still very proud that our libraries are open and available to everyone.

Indeed, one of my proudest achievements is that despite the years of austerity and the blight of Covid, we have the same number of permanent libraries now that we had when we took office in 2009. Councils across the country closed libraries to save money. Devon County Council did not.

In 2016 we teamed up with the charity Libraries Unlimited which now runs the service for us. And, as a charity, they are primarily supported by your council tax but they also have access to funds from other sources that we were denied as a local authority.

 The success of our partnership is demonstrated by the statistics. Our libraries continue to outstrip both their pre-pandemic performance and national trends. 

There was a 5.2 per cent increase in the issue of books and other physical materials in the past year amounting to an extra 107,000 items. We can see the way the trend is going however with a whopping increase of 19.3 per cent in digital issues - that's 123,000 more.

 Wi-fi and PC sessions have increased by 21.5 per cent and we're continuing to upgrade and modernise our buildings. Bideford library is the latest to be improved with the move from the Town Hall to the refurbished Arts Centre at a cost of £1.4million.

 So there is much to celebrate although we must never be complacent. Prior to that launch in 1924 public libraries did exist but they tended to operate by subscription and less than half the population could access them.

Now our libraries do so much more than lend books as you can see from the figures I quoted. They grow and develop and respond to circumstances. 

 Over the last eight years Libraries Unlimited has invested in services and technology and new programmes to fulfil the service’s century-old mission - to enrich lives and build communities.

We did have to withdraw our mobile service because of a sharp drop in users but we have embraced technology and innovation to provide alternatives. 

Devon has always been highly regarded as having one of the best and most innovative library services in the country. But never was this more apparent than during the pandemic when they took on another role as a safe-haven.

During the restrictions in place at the peak of the pandemic many people, particularly the elderly, vulnerable and those who lived alone, struggled to cope and our libraries once again showed why they are the centre of communities as they brought people together for comfort and companionship.

And as the cost of food and heating continued to rise sharply  and the cold winter nights drew in during the cost-of-living crisis they also provided a warm, safe space.

That really was an extremely valuable community service. And that role is recognised and supported by volunteers who help out our professional staff. Just one more statistic - volunteers give around 22,000 hours of their time every year supporting our libraries

Comedian, actor and writer Robin Ince was guest speaker at one of our centenary events and he summed it up:“Libraries are not just the guardian of knowledge but a place of activity, security and possibility.” 

Here's to the next 100 years.