Agenda:

Yet the chief treasure of the library is not a book as such. Rather it is a series of registers, some of which record, from 1747 onward, the name, occupation and address of those who borrowed books. It allows us to begin to map the kind of impact early access to information, entertainment and education had in Scottish communities and the enduring legacy it had on the character of Scottish thought and society.

Arthur Herman, historian of Scotland's Enlightenment, calls Innerpeffray "the Magna Carta of the Scottish mind". Drummond himself created the library "for the improvement and education of the population particularly the young students", a significant and revealing social statement. In the event borrowers came from a wide variety of social backgrounds, from local laird to shepherd and schoolchild, journeying to the library from miles around.

The relevance of Innerpeffray today is not merely historical. Drummond left us with a statement of purpose and value, that a library be created "for the improvement and education of the population", whoever they were. Two hundred years later he was echoed by Andrew Carnegie: "A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people."

It is now our turn. Sadly, today we are in danger of forgetting first and enduring principles, why libraries are important and essential. While most Scottish services are currently weathering cuts better than their English counterparts, some have been scaled back. Further cuts will surely be passed on over the next five years. In places like East Renfrewshire and Falkirk, plans are already proposed to downgrade school libraries, a service which provides often decisive educational benefits.

More damaging perhaps is the public narrative that surrounds the subject. This is generally negative, promoting the image of a service declining in use and relevance, unable to meet the challenges of the digital age, and struggling to play a significant part in the life of its local community.

This narrative is neither accurate nor helpful. A closer examination produces a truer and more positive picture. Libraries, like any public service, are certainly not problem free. But much of what they do achieve is under the radar, and those who depend on them most are the disadvantaged and vulnerable. In fact, the most salient fact of any assessment is the enormous potential libraries represent. Maintaining and developing them is not only consonant with long established values, it has proven over centuries to be of continuous benefit to the whole of society.

At the same time the public has a right to expect libraries change with the times. Some of this is a long-term project which communities need to fight for and help reimagine. Libraries need to communicate with users and potential users better. A 2012 Carnegie Trust report revealed library use in Scotland is the largest in the UK. But it also showed the biggest improvement requested by the Scottish public was that libraries provide better information on their services and activities. A little marketing can go a long way. Collaborative public initiatives like Book Week Scotland show that generating a completely different narrative about libraries should be achievable.

Equally we need, in this time of threat, to respond as a society to the values Drummond and Carnegie expressed and represented. As a nation we should reaffirm our long-standing commitment to libraries as agents of social opportunity, equality, enlightenment and delight. Library membership is crucial to our individual and collective destiny.