Archive for September, 2014

Editorial

The changes in Devon appear to be becoming more clear.  It looks like the changes will be more like Suffolk: with volunteers fund-raising and assisting the libraries in keeping them open rather than other authorities like Lincolnshire where the plans are for staff to be made redundant with volunteers directly replacing them.  There are also suggestions that Devon libraries will be going down a non-profit non-council route to deliver services.  More details are expected this week.  Renfrewshire are also also considering a non-profit trust route, although they’re looking at combining libraries with leisure and cultural services too.

Changes

• Devon – 10 libraries to become volunteer-assisted (not volunteer-run: appears to be for fund-raising, extra services, etc). Seriously considering a movement towards Trust or Suffolk model to raise income/reduce costs. 28 libraries therefore provisionally removed from threat list.
• Hampshire – Further £300k cut announced: group looking at how to meet it inc. volunteers.
• Northern Ireland – £1.4m (4.4% budget) cut. Over 21 casual agency staff to be lost. Opening hours to be cut.
• Renfrewshire – Considering moving libraries, culture and leisure to non-profit trust. £360k tax saving expected from move (source: 26th June 2014 council paper).
• Wiltshire – Corsham library moved into joint building sports and community centre.

Ideas

• Book Bikes – Promote public libraries in the community, temporary tattoo users, blow bubbles when someone joins.

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Changes

• Bexley – 4 libraries to become volunteer (Blackfen, Bostall, Northumberland Heath and Upper Belvedere), longer opening hours in other six.
• Coventry – Cuts to library budget being considered.

Ideas

• Community cinema – Lend out film-related books at same time.

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Editorial

Good to see the success of the CILIP AGM “Big Day” on this Saturday past.  There was much positive stuff about Libraries Change Lives (well done to Northamptonshire) and Honorary Fellows (congrats to Janene Cox and Philip Wark).  William Sieghart, at some point before January to publish his inquiry into English public libraries, spoke about the sector being at a “Beeching” (as in the savage cuts to the railways) moment but at how impressed he was about the work that was done.  The CILIP President’s speech was an appeal to work together, look to the future and focus on the good that is done.

In terms of votes, all motions were carried apart from the one that was causing all the rumpus because it would have reduced, in the eyes of many, the representative nature of the CILIP Council (now renamed “Board”).  So, seen from afar, this looks like quite a good result for everyone: the organisation gets to boost its achievements and that of libraries and those worried about its direction of travel need not worry about a decline in democracy.  It was indeed a Big Day.

Changes

• Hampshire – Grayshott Library confirmed closing in December (£25,700 p.a. cut): Decision on keeping Milford On Sea and Kingsclere library postponed until December.

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Editorial

Main things today include a response from CILIP Council to the post written yesterday.  Being I have taken the decision to leave CILIP (it’s simply too expensive for me to justify considering reductions in real salary over the last few years) I have refrained from voting but I do urge any of you who are members to vote.  It’s not quite as important as that referendum thingy happening in Scotland at the moment but, you know, if you’re feeling left out of that one …

I was surprised to see that the proposed cuts to Wirral were so deep.  To reduce opening hours of fifteen out of twenty one libraries to just ten hours per week is going to have an impact.  The council argues that at least it is not closing them or passing them to volunteers and it is a sign about how bad things have gotten nationally that this will be seen by many as a reasonable position.

If you’re looking at raising money for your library service then the opportunity via Locality to be involved in their pilot programme on income generation in libraries may be useful.  Worth a look.

Changes

• Solihull – Shirley Library (combined with walk-in council service) opens.
• Wirral – 15 out of 21 libraries to reduce opening hours to 10-2pm on an alternating 2 to 3 days per week.

Ideas

• Library card operated book returns box

Effective Governance for CILIP – A response to Tom Featherstone and Bob Usherwood

By Nick Poole, a CILIP Councillor, former Treasurer and member of the project board for the Governance Review

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Editorial

Two bits of big library news today has got me thinking about longer term national trends.  Number one is bad news from Hertfordshire as it announces plans to lose all staff from 17 out of 46 of its libraries. This is in keeping with the trend notable from other English and Welsh authorities where the council aims for all of the smallest branches to be either volunteered or closed.  The general scheme is:

• The largest library/ies have an unaffected or even improved service.
• Middle sized libraries (towns, major suburbs) have slightly reduced services, but with some paid staff replaced with volunteers.
• Smallest libraries are passed to volunteers, parish councils or closed.

Someone asked me the other day what future I saw for public libraries if current trends continue.  I’ve been thinking about this for a short while and my guess is something like the above pattern but taken a bit further.  So, if you work in or use a central library, congratulations, you have comparatively nothing to worry about in the next three years.  You’ll notice less books and less staff but the odds are the place is going to be the least affected by the inevitable cuts in your authority. If you work in a suburb, small town or village, on the other hand (less than 20,000 population? Not sure) then, sorry, you’re probably going to see your library close down or more likely pass to volunteers. The grey area is those larger non-central libraries.  It’s very hard to see how a sizeable busy branch can be volunteer run or be closed down.  My guess is that will be where non-profit enterprises (or even profits) will be making an appearance and you’ll notice that the branch gets more and more non-book stuff in it.

The other big bit of news in today (although it has been suggested for a long while) is confirmation that Kent is planning to move to be a charitable trust.  It will join York and Suffolk as a non-Leisure non-profit .  Now, there seems to be a little confusion with Library/Leisure Trusts at the moment with Wigan’s libraries being returned to the local authority.  I’ve heard rumours that it’s not just Wigan either that is having problems with combined library/leisure trusts.  So, the trend here seems to be that library-service trusts are in the ascendant but the growth in library/leisure trusts is stalling.  Set against this, of course, is the leisure-library trust GLL which is currently trying to add Lincolnshire to its list.  We’ll see whether GLL can buck the trend – or even if I’m right that there is a trend at all – over the next year or two.  Oddly, what we’re not seeing, after the excitement of the Tri Borough amalgamation, are more library services combining with eachother.  Presumably this is because of political difficulties … and I’ll be very surprised I anyone is going to make a decision of that nature until the General Election.

Changes

• Hertfordshire – “Inspiring Libraries” report published. £2.5million cut per year. More volunteers. Consultation from 29 September to 7 December. Three tiers of libraries, with middle being volunteer-assisted and lowest being fully volunteer with self-service machines. 17 out off 46  to be unstaffed (Adeyfield, Bovingdon, Brookmans Park, Buntingford, Chorleywood, Cuffley, Goffs Oak, Kings Langley, Knebworth, Leverstock Green, London Colnet, Redbourn, Sawbridgeworth, Stevenage Old Town, Welwyn, Wheathampstead, Woodhall).
• Kent – Formally planning move to charitable trust.

Idea

• Library card as debit card –  Assisting users without bank cards, improve income and business connections.
• STEAM loans etc e.g,telescopes and tools

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