The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is launching a new inquiry into library closures. The Committee is inviting written submissions and requesting views on the following issues: 

What constitutes a comprehensive and efficient library service for the 21st century, the extent to which planned library closures are compatible with the requirements of the Libraries & Museums Act 1964 and the Charteris Report; the impact library closures have on local communities; the effectiveness of the Secretary of State’s powers of intervention under the Public Libraries & Museums Act 1964.

A copy of the submission should be sent by e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and have ‘Library closures’ in the subject line. Submissions should be received by Thursday 12th January 2012.

Guidance on submitting written evidence

It assists the Committee if those submitting written evidence adhere to the following guidelines:

Each submission should:

• State clearly who the submission is from, i.e. whether from yourself in a personal capacity or sent on behalf of an organisation
• Be about 3,000 words in length / run to no more than six sides of A4 paper;
• As far as possible comprise a single document attachment to the email;
• Begin with a short summary in bullet point form;
• Have numbered paragraphs; and
• Be in Word or Rich Text format (not PDF) with as little use of colour or logos as possible.

Please supply a postal address so a copy of the Committee’s report can be sent to you upon publication.

It would be helpful, for Data Protection purposes, if individuals submitting written evidence would send their contact details separately in a covering email in a block of text laid out vertically.

You should also be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Though there is a strong preference for emailed submissions, those without access to a computer should send a hard copy to:

Committee Assistant

Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Committee Office

House of Commons

7 Millbank

London  SW1P 3JA

A guide for written submissions to Select Committees may be found on the parliamentary website at: http://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/have-your-say/take-part-in-committee-inquiries/witness/

Please also note that:

Committees make public much of the evidence they receive during inquiries. If you do not wish your submission to be published, you must clearly say so. If you wish to include private or confidential information in your submission to the Committee, please contact the Clerk of the Committee to discuss this.

Material already published elsewhere should not form the basis of a submission, but may be referred to within a proposed submission, in which case a hard copy of the published work should be included.

Evidence submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organisation submitting it is specifically authorised.

Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the Internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.

Committees do not normally investigate individual cases of complaint or allegations of maladministration.

Once submitted, no public use should be made of any submission prepared specifically for the Committee unless you have first obtained permission from the Clerk of the Committee.

For up-to-date information on progress of the inquiry click here to visit the website.