Public Libraries: what do you think?
The thoughts of Share The Vision
1. Share The Vision (STV) is a partnership of voluntary sector
organisations which produce and lend alternative format reading
materials for print disabled people and the main organisations which
represent publicly funded libraries in the UK. Since its foundation in
1989, STV has sought to improve access to content and the services
of all libraries for print disabled people, not least public library
services. STV therefore wishes to contribute its thoughts to this latest
review of public libraries in England. In so doing, the needs and
interests of these people are always in our mind but our thoughts and
comments in response to the three questions posed in the
consultation are necessarily of much more general import.
2. What are the core principles of a public library service into the
future?
The core principles of the public library service were initially set by
our Victorian forebears to provide for the education and
enlightenment of the greatest number of citizens via access by the
means of self help. They have naturally evolved since the 1850’s
beyond self education to include improvement of life opportunities
and meaningful use of leisure time but all of these activities are, of
course, inextricably linked. Libraries have adapted to reflect changes
and developments in the wider society and will/should continue to do
so into the future but in our opinion the core principles remain. They
are:
a. Communal provision of access to the widest possible range of
information and cultural content in all formats relevant to the
different groups of people who comprise the community served
by the local library.
b. Free access to use of all this content whether obtained by
personal visit, remote access or special delivery to meet the
needs of those who cannot use the services independently.
c. Adaptation of service delivery models to ensure all members of
the community, from the newly born child to the centenarians,
can obtain the information and content which is relevant to their
specific needs for learning and leisure across their life cycle.
d. Utilising all of the resources and facilities (physical and virtual)
to provide democratic space and opportunity to enable all
members of the community to participate in activities which
support both personal and community development and wellbeing.
e. Ensuring all of these resources and facilities can be used to
maximum effect for the greatest benefit of all who choose to
use them by providing the essential expert organisation of and
guidance in their use.
These are the fundamental core principles which should guide the
public library service into the future.
3. Is the current delivery of the public library service the most
comprehensive and efficient?
This is a difficult question to answer. Is the DCMS referring to the
overall current delivery of public library services in England? If so,
then the answer must be no. As public library services are not
provided nationally but by local authorities then there will inevitably be
variations in service provision depending on the nature and needs of
the local communities served by each local authority. The different
value and importance accorded to library services by each authority
is essentially determined by their resource base. Ultimately, no public
library service can be the most comprehensive and efficient possible
but we have no means of measuring how near they come to reaching
the ultimate goal.
The reason why we cannot measure this is because the DCMS
abandoned the former Public Library Standards for England and we
do not have any official guidance on what is meant by
“comprehensive and efficient.” If the purpose of the DCMS and DCLG
in commissioning this independent review and posing this question to
the panel is to obtain a meaningful definition then we believe you
have been set a very difficult challenge.
We would suggest that a possible starting point for your consideration
of this thorny matter is to study the position in Wales which has
retained its standards and performance measurement framework.
The 4th Framework of Welsh Public Library Standards 2011-14 sets 9
standards and 8 performance indicators. This enables the Welsh
Assembly Government to assess how a local authority is performing
its statutory duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library
service, as defined by the standards framework.
http://wales.gov.uk/docs/drah/publications/110223wpls2101112en.pdf
Furthermore, on 13th February 2014 the Welsh Assembly Minister for
Culture and Sport announced details of an expert panel which he has
commissioned to review how Welsh local authorities’ plans for
libraries are measuring up to meeting these standards and to
compare the position of library services in Wales with those in the
other nations of the UK.
http://wales.gov.uk/about/cabinet/cabinetstatements/2014/libraries/?/l
ang=en
This might provide more useful information for your own deliberations
than anything we can offer, except to say that services to print
disabled people have improved considerably in recent years. If they
had not we would have failed miserably in our mission but we can say
that there is much greater awareness and understanding of the needs
of print disabled people and the different ways in which those needs
can be met, especially the exciting ways in which digital technology
has opened up new methods of enhancing access to content,
including remotely via mobile technology.
4. What is the role of community libraries in the delivery of a
library offer?
Essentially, all public libraries have been community libraries from the
1850’s albeit with a top down model of service delivery for a long time
thereafter. By the late 1970’s there were increasingly determined
efforts to create a community libraries model whereby the
communities served by the local library were much more involved in
the operation of the service via community consultation and use of
premises and facilities for purposes related to library services or not
strictly library services. These community hubs sometimes involved
the use of volunteers to either support the library staff in the provision
of library services or to organise other community activities which
took place on library premises or elsewhere in the local community
using library resources. This community library model did not
supplant the library staff but enhanced the relevance and contribution
that the local library was able to make to local community life via
activities such as homework clubs; access to training in using
computers; mother and toddler groups; researching and collecting
local history materials; organising community festivals and the
explosion of library based reading groups, including groups for blind
and partially sighted people which require much more time
consuming and detailed planning such as sufficient availability of
reading materials in alternative formats and transport. These and
numerous other activities involving library staff and members of the
local community are what was understood by “community
librarianship” until comparatively recently.
The recent change in the definition of and approach to “community
libraries” is, of course, entirely driven by the financial austerity
imposed on local authorities in the last few years as they battle to
cope with greatly reduced finances and increasing needs for and
demands on their services. When hard choices have to be made it is
easy for some local authorities to forget or pretend that the library
service is not a statutory duty and to grasp the opportunity to hand
the running of a local library to the local community. There are
several variations on this theme but all are driven by the need to
reduce expenditure and increasingly local communities are faced with
a stark choice; take it over or lose it.
In this scenario various major issues arise, including:
 How many communities will lose their local library and what will
the impact be in terms of lost opportunities for disadvantaged
people who are less able to obtain access elsewhere or by
other means?
 How many libraries will be saved by becoming “community
libraries” but will they retain their range of services and how
long will they survive?
 Democratic control of libraries via local authorities ensures that
the needs of all sections of the community are taken into
account but to what extent will the transfer of responsibility lead
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to disregard of the needs of minority groups such as disabled
people, BME people, LGBT people, refugees, travellers etc…in
order to meet the demands of the majority?
Will these libraries still be public libraries in terms of the 1964
Act and all that implies in terms of their duties and impact on
associated matters such as inclusion in Public Lending Right
loan calculations?
Will the local, regional and national network of inter-lending
arrangements still be available to their users so that they can
obtain materials not available in their local library or will they be
left on their own because it would require a subsidy from
elsewhere to supply these materials?
Will other cooperative networking arrangements which enhance
service delivery to different groups survive these changes?
Ultimately, do we want to create a two tier library service in
England whose long term social consequences may be more
damaging than is acknowledged at this time by policy makers at
national and local level?
Ultimately, this financially driven issue is a matter for local authority
choice and local community reaction to any decision to offer transfer
of control. We do not see how the Independent Panel can change this
reality and by the time it reports many of these potential changes in
status will have become reality from this April. The total savings
which will be made will not be that great in terms of the total savings
requirement on local authorities but the loss of services and the
impacts on local communities will be disproportionately damaging,
especially for the most disadvantaged members of society who are
the most reliant on public services.
5. We wish the Independent Panel well in its deliberations but fear
that it has been set an unrealistic task of defining the future shape of
library services in England when the future is already being shaped
by current events outside its control.
6. STV is content for this response to be made available to the public.
7. STV’s membership comprises:
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British Library
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Calibre Audio Library
CILIP
CILIP School Libraries Group
ClearVision Project
Dyslexia Action
Library and Information Services Council [Northern Ireland]
RNIB
Scottish Library and Information Council
Society of Chief Librarians
Society of College, National and University Libraries