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<p>Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient
library service that takes account of local needs within available resources. Government
has the power to ensure public libraries comply with the law, and where individual
authorities have failed to meet this duty we will - and have - intervened. While the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not commission specific information relating
to the closure of public libraries, the Department monitors closely proposed changes
to library service provision throughout England. Desk research undertaken by the Department
indicates that no local static libraries closed in the Lancashire Library Authority
in 2012 - 2015.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is helping libraries innovate, to ensure
they serve the needs of local communities - particularly through the expansion of
their digital offer. In the latest spending round we secured extra funding for our
Libraries Task Force, set up in 2015, to promote the role of digital and share best
practice between councils, and we have funded the rollout of free Wi-Fi so that it
will be available in 99% of public libraries in England. E-book loans have rocketed
more than four-fold from nearly 445,000 in 2011/12 to over 2.3 million in 2014/15.</p>
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