Speaking at Highgate Library AGM on libraries. And what bliss it was to speak on something other than transport. As much as I love transport (and I do to nerd-like levels) a change is as good as a rest.

The previous day, Libri, a charity that supports library development, had published a report warning that if the current decline continued there would basically not be any libraries after 2020. With this depressing news to bring up, it was interesting in that during the AGM business before I spoke, they were discussing how the book club was dwindling away and whether a change of timing would help.

Now in thinking about what I was going to say – apart from the statistics and the general stuff on the importance of libraries – I had already fastened on libraries seeming inability to market themselves.

Now, since we all (especially Highgate Library Action Group) saved Highgate Library from closure and have seen it, with investment, be renovated and modernised, we all want it to survive.

Around 60% of the population have a library card – and libraries need to reach out to more of those people to encourage them to use libraries more frequently. And also attract the other 40% in for whatever reason to a community facility. There are lots of tricks to doing this – and I hope that my talk will have given them ideas about a marketing group, about the use of email to members, about members’ skills databases, about using the local cinema to promote them to young people and other ideas.

There was a great deal of enthusiasm and love of libraries – but the age of the audience probably averaged over 60. So my challenge was that by next year’s AGM there should be 10 people under 40 in the audience. It’s not only the Government that can set targets!

Their challenge to me in turn was to get benches agreed on the London Underground land outside the library. So I will try and deliver too.