# The Library Charges (England and Wales) Regulations 1991, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
Section 8(1) of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 prohibits a library authority whose area is in England or Wales from charging anyone other than another library authority for library facilities made available by the authority except as provided by the section. Section 8(2) of that Act, as substituted by section 154 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, empowers the Lord President of the Council, who acts in relation to library authorities whose areas are in England, and the Secretary of State, who acts in relation to library authorities whose areas are in Wales, to make regulations authorising those library authorities to make charges for such library facilities made available by them as may be specified in the regulations and to make provision as regards charges by library authorities for library facilities, other than provision requiring the making of charges, as they think fit.
These Regulations, made in pursuance of section 8(2), empower English and Welsh library authorities to make charges for the provision of the library facilities specified in regulation 3(2). The library authorities are, however, prohibited from charging in two respects in accordance with the requirements of section 8(4) and (5) of the 1964 Act. These prohibitions are in respect of the lending of written material in certain circumstances and in respect of the making available of facilities for any person to read written materials held in a form in which they are readable without the use of any electronic or other apparatus or in microform or to consult to catalogues, indexes, or similar articles maintained, in any form whatever, exclusively for the purposes of the authority’s public library service (regulation 3(3) and (4)). The amount and incidence of any charge for library facilities is at the discretion of the library authority (regulation 4). Library authorities are required to display in a conspicuous place within each library premises occupied by them an easily readable notice specifying the library facilities for which a charge is made, the amount of the charge or the basis on which it will be calculated.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1991/2712/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/library-charges-england-and-wales-regulations-1991/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.