Will the librarian PLEASE keep the noise down! Anger over silence in libraries being shattered by creches, concerts and dance classes held to attract more visitors 

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It was once a sanctuary of silence - where people went to escape the distractions of their home.

But the modern library has been transformed into a noisy children's playground - thanks to countless schemes introduced to entice more visitors.

Many people have now had enough and a campaign is underway to move Britain's libraries back to to their intended purpose as places of quiet reading.

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Change: The modern library has transformed into a noisy children's playground - thanks to countless schemes introduced to entice more visitors (picture posed by models)

An article published in the Public Libraries News last month suggested that 'public librarians, perhaps in the reaction to the stereotypical 'shush' image have sometimes gone out their way to be louder and more energetic and, in doing so, have alienated some of its clientele and core audience.'

Some authors, who have now put their weight behind the campaign, say the institutions are desperate to justify their existence in times of budget cuts, reports The Times.

But they believe libraries have gone too far - with many now acting as creches, concert halls and dance class venues.

Alan Gibbons, an award-winning children's authors said: 'Fashionable activities can retract from reading pleasure and that's right at the heart of what libraries should be about.

Balance needed: Culture Minister Ed Vaizey has claimed libraries need to weigh up new community initiatives with the demands and expectations of their users

'If the peripherals become more important than that, it becomes a problem.'

Many libraries across the UK are now holding Baby Bounce and Rhyme sessions where toddlers experiment with percussion instruments while singing nursery rhymes.

Cardiff's Central Library hosts music gigs every Saturday, Newcastle's City Library has a creche and the Library of Birmingham offers its own business club for budding entrepreneurs.

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey has claimed libraries need to balance new community initiatives with the demands and expectations of their users.

There are 4,134 public libraries lending 262.7million books a year and there are 10.3million active book borrowers in Britain. 

But according to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy's recent survey, the number of people using libraries declined by six per cent and book lending by 8.6 per cent last year.

There are 4,134 public libraries lending 262.7million books a year and there are 10.3million active borrowers in Britain

Brian Ashley, Director Libraries Arts Council England said: 'There's a recurring theme in all of this which is that it's all about the age-old stereotype of libraries as a place where some forbidding person tells you to "shut up" or "shhhh", and it's frankly something that most of us who work in libraries would like to consign to history.

'Having said that, we know that many library users value them as spaces where they can be quiet and study or just reflect and we know that people see libraries as trusted safe spaces and that's a quality we would never want to lose.'

In January 2011, it was revealed that more than 400 libraries were under threat of closure due to budget cuts - forcing library users to set up the Save Our Libraries Campaign.

Phillip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials Trilogy which includes The Northern Lights, got behind the protest.

So did Michael Morpurgo, the former children's laureate and author of War Horse, and Mark Haddon, who wrote The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night.

Last year charity Library Campaign claimed the government was #hiding' the scale of cuts and predicted more than 1,000 closures by 2016.