PHIL MAXWELL

In recent years over 14 million books have been withdrawn from libraries in the UK.

A boy in Bangladesh with his school books, Sylhet 1993

Colin O’Brien at the launch of his book ‘London Life’ in 2015

A woman looking through second hand books, Sclater Street market, London 2008

A man looking through second hand books in Cheshire Street, London 1984

Young man outside a book shop in Dhaka, Bangladesh 2008

Second hand clothes and books. Cheshire Street, London 1984

Whitechapel Library is now a fashionable restaurant. The books were thrown into a skip when the library closed.

This year the BBC compiled data from 207 local authorities responsible for running libraries through the Freedom of Information Act. Their analysis showed:

• Some 343 libraries closed. Of those, 132 were mobile services, while 207 were based in buildings (and there were four others, such as home delivery services)
• The number of closures in England is higher than the government’s official estimate of 110 buildings shut
• A further 111 closures are planned this year
• The number of paid staff in libraries fell from 31,977 in 2010 to 24,044 now, a drop of 7,933 (25%) for the 182 library authorities that provided comparable data
• A further 174 libraries have been transferred to community groups, while 50 have been handed to external organisations to run. In some areas, such as Lincolnshire and Surrey, the move has led to legal challenges and protests from residents.

Reading a book on the underground. London 1998 (Bishopsgate Collection)

A man looking through second hand books in Sclater Street, London 2009

Families struggle with the costs of schooling: school dinners, school trips, books, equipment, uniforms and shoes. East London 1980s