For more than 150 years librarians have ruled their domain ruthlessly, scolding patrons for raising their voices and ensuring that they adhere to the strictest social etiquette. Their reign is now over.

Public libraries are dropping their hallowed rule of silence and other rigid protocols in order to revive their falling membership. Patrons will be allowed to talk on mobile phones, bring food and drink, play on computer games and watch football matches.

Libraries have been increasingly shunned in recent years as the public turn to the internet and other forms of entertainment. The number of books borrowed in the past ten years has fallen by 34 per cent, with 40 libraries closing across Britain last year.

The Society of Chief Librarians and other cultural bodies said that they were helping libraries across the country to diversify, giving warning that they will die out if they do not.

In Camden, North London, the council’s library strategy is being overhauled from next month. A ban on mobile phones is to be lifted and users will be allowed to bring in snacks and drinks. Initiatives being considered include providing computer games.

Mike Clarke, head of libraries at the council, said that some of the changes were based on retail models, such as Virgin’s megastores, that encourage people to stay for long periods. He said: “It is all about improving the atmosphere of the libraries. We want to make them into a more relaxed space that people can feel more comfortable in. I don’t feel that they have to be totally silent.”

Mr Clarke said that people would still be expected to act properly because “we don’t want people spilling McDonald’s over their computer terminal”. He said: “We’re not going to throw away the idea that we are about literature and serious study. But we also have to expand and provide for a new generation of young people. Libraries have to be a part of the changes that are going on in society.”

In Hillingdon, West London, book borrowing rose 32 per cent when the council introduced a Starbucks café into one of its main libraries. Outlets of the coffee chain will start in all 17 of its libraries over the next year.

Henry Higgins, a Hillingdon coun-cillor, said that patrons were also attracted by greater book diversity and Nintendo Wii video games that can be played on site. Mr Higgins said: “We looked at it and thought, why would anyone want to borrow a book from somewhere that looks dusty and antiquated? So we changed things.”

Tony Durcan, president of The Society of Chief Librarians, said that libraries were changing. “We don’t want anybody to bring in greasy fish and chips and spill it over 15th-century books. But nor do we want them coming somewhere where they can’t eat, drink or talk at all,” he said.

The Times tested the new approach yesterday at a library in Whitechapel, East London, which has been renamed an Ideas Store and diversified to attract a different clientele. The noise inside was almost as loud as the din on the street outside, with a series of public information stands set up in the foyer. Health professionals were taking blood for diabetes tests and recruitment officials chatted to people.

No one batted an eyelid when The Times conducted a 15-minute interview in the middle of the library, and staff appeared unperturbed when our BlackBerry rang out at full volume.

The atmosphere was in stark contrast to Camden council’s Swiss Cottage library, where signs told people to switch off their mobile phones. The only sound within was of passing traffic, although some patrons were drinking from bottled water and closed coffee cups on their desks.

When attempting to flick through books while eating a doughnut and sipping on a soft drink, this user was subjected to reproachful looks from onlookers. It was not long before a staff member asked The Times to leave, expressing unhappiness at the presence of cameras. Whether he was more dismayed by chocolate sprinkles dropping on books, or cola spilling on the floor, was unclear.

Seats of learning

— Forty libraries closed last year

— Overall spending on books fell by 0.6 per cent last year

— The number of qualified librarians employed in British libraries fell by 4.1 per cent last year. A further 6.6 per cent decrease is expected this year

— In the past 10 years, book borrowing fell by 34 per cent

— Early libraries were associated with the Church, and were silent places. When public libraries began in the Victorian era serious learning was regarded as a serious activity that needed to occur in a quiet environment

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