LIBRARIES need to market themselves more aggressively to children if they are going to compete with TV, videos and computer games, a new report suggests.

With children as young as seven succumbing to the appeal of popular culture, libraries need to shed their stuffy image to attract a more consumerist, materialistic youth.

That means improving libraries’ activities, displays, exhibitions and publicity, according to Start with the Child, a report from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.

It says recent, successful promotions such as the Summer Reading Challenge, which now involves half a million children a year, have shown what can be done.

Children surveyed said they preferred TV and video to books, but they also showed a positive attitude to reading. Libraries should therefore use information technology in a more creative way, says the report.

Librarians called for closer partnership between libraries, schools and youth services and said further education needed special help to cater for the growing number of 14 to 16-year-olds who divide their time between schools and colleges.

The report also urges simpler joining procedures and “a more liberal and enlightened approach” to the payment of fines and charges for damage.

“Start with the Child” is available at www.cilip.org.ukstartwiththechild