Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport Minutes of Evidence


APPENDIX 2

CHECKLISTS (FROM BUILDING BETTER LIBRARIES)

A.  FOR CHALLENGING SERVICES

Availability of books and information services

    —  Is a wide range of up-to-date stock available and is it in good condition?

    —  Are copies of popular books available?

    —  Do minority groups have access to adequate books, periodicals and information services (held locally or council-wide)?

    —  Is best use made of existing stock (through effective stock management)?

    —  Is a good range of information (for example, databases of local clubs and societies, access to information on council services) available and accessible?

    —  Is there adequate provision of internet and other ICT services?

Accessibility: opening times, location, physical access

    —  Are libraries available when people want? (Have weekend and evening opening been properly considered?)

    —  Are there regular opening hours that people understand and remember?

    —  Is best use made of mobile libraries?

    —  Are there opportunities to make services more accessible by sharing buildings with other organisations?

    —  Could better use be made of ICT to provide access to services when libraries are closed?

    —  Are there plans to ensure that all libraries are accessible to disabled people?

Improving the experience: making libraries a welcoming space

    —  Are books and information attractively displayed (for example, tidy shelves, bookshop style displays)?

    —  Is stock arranged in ways that best meet the needs of users (for example, integrating lending, reference and audio-visual stock)?

    —  Are books and information easy to find (good signage and labelling of shelves, classification systems that people can understand)?

    —  Are staff helpful, welcoming and sensitive to the needs of different users?

    —  Are other services provided (coffee shops, toilets, baby-changing facilities) where appropriate?

    —  Does the service provide access to other council services (one-stop-shop facilities, travel permits, council tax)?

    —  Does the design of the service reflect the needs of different groups of users—families (for example, with young children in pushchairs), older people, and minority groups?

Raising awareness

    —  Is there a clear customer charter/standard outlining the books, information and other services that people can expect, as well as service quality?

    —  Do infrequent users get a good impression of the service when they visit? Are they encouraged to join?

    —  Is there adequate external signage and publicity materials?

    —  Is there a clear marketing strategy for raising awareness of services among non-users and infrequent users?

    —  Is there effective outreach work with specific minority groups (for example, travellers, and asylum seekers)?

B.  FOR DELIVERING IMPROVEMENTS

Challenging and deciding what the service is for

    —  Has the council challenged why the service is needed and formulated a clear vision for its future?

    —  Is there a policy on the services to be provided to different communities? Is it specific enough to test provision against?

    —  Are services tailored locally to meet the needs of communities (for example, by providing learning facilities, welfare advice or meeting rooms)?

    —  Is the library service contributing to council priorities (for inclusion, education, health, etc)? Does it need to raise its profile?

Challenging how services are provided and resources are used

    —  Is the scope of review work wide enough to rethink the whole service? Is effective use made of challenge from outside the service and the council?

    —  Is good practice identified and implemented (through benchmarking or by learning from elsewhere)?

    —  Is effective use made of competition and partnership to drive service improvement?

    —  Have stock management and other processes been challenged to identify savings and to make services easier to use?

    —  Have staff roles and skills been challenged against service priorities? Is best use made of staff skills (for example, choosing specialist stock)?

Engaging with the public

    —  Has the service developed effective relationships with user groups and reached out to community groups that represent potential users?

    —  Are services challenged from the users' point of view? Are barriers to access and competition from bookshops understood?

    —  Does consultation cover non-users and priority groups? Does it engage them effectively and identify barriers to use? Are the results acted on?

Involving elected members and staff

    —  Are staff, unions and elected members engaged early on in the process of service review and change?

    —  Are elected members engaged in planning library services? Are they working constructively with staff and local people to agree priorities and deliver improvements?

    —  Is there clear leadership and commitment to deliver user-focused services?

    —  Are staff deployed in teams that reflect their skills? Are teams, as well as individuals, developed and held accountable?

Improving planning and performance management

    —  Is service provision mapped against community profiles to identify target groups and set targets?

    —  Does the service understand its costs? Does it have sustainable plans for the ICT and buildings? Is there clear commitment to the resources identified in plans?

    —  Is the implementation of improvement and library plans monitored by elected members and senior officers?

    —  Are initiatives evaluated and measured in terms of their impact on visits, loans, membership or their contribution to council priorities?

    —  Are there clear lines of accountability for the use of resources? Are managers held responsible for local targets and national standards? Are standards and targets clear to staff and communicated plainly to users?

November 2004








 
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