Memorandum submitted by the London Borough
of Haringey
The Inquiry is reviewing a range of issues relating
to public libraries. This submission addresses the question of
what can be done to increase the public's use of local libraries
and relates specifically to our experience within the London Borough
of Haringey.
Haringey Libraries provides a particularly striking
example of how a failing service can be revitalised into one which
is popular, vibrant and highly valued.
In February 2001, a Best Value inspection condemned
the Service as providing a poor, "no star" performance,
with no prospect of improvement. By contrast, in October 2004,
Haringey Libraries lent a total of 118,597 items, 43% more items
than in October 2001. In 2003-04, issues over the year were again
43% higher than in 2001-02. Visitors to libraries in the Borough
have increased even more dramatically, rising by 125% in the last
three years.
This dramatic improvement was achieved by addressing
all the issues identified in the Review. The inspection report
had made grim reading, telling of poorly maintained and dirty
buildings, with ill-assorted furniture and windows which had not
been washed for years. No overdue notices had been sent out for
three years, causing the book, video and CD stock to plummet.
Staff were demoralised and demotivated, leading to a high level
of sickness which often forced the unscheduled closure of libraries.
The Audit Commission's judgement marked a turning
point for the council, triggering it to look at a radical new
way of running this vital service. Interim management was sourced
from Instant Library Ltd, a private sector company specialising
in information management, to undertake interim management of
the Service. This public private partnership had very positive
results for libraries in the Borough. Indeed, the former Managing
Director of the company has more recently accepted a permanent
position with the authority as its Head of Service, ensuring continuity
of management style and attitude. When the Audit Commission returned
to inspect the Service in 2003, they reported "an impressive
change in the level and quality of library services that users
are experiencing" and awarded a "two star", good
rating.
Over the last three and a half years, action
has been taken in four key areas:
— environment and access;
— services and ICT facilities; and
ENVIRONMENT AND
ACCESS
Underpinning the council's key objective to
regenerate neighbourhoods and communities, we set about creating
a welcoming, accessible and safe library environment—one
more akin to that of a commercial bookstore and coffee shop. With
relatively little funding, buildings have been transformed. Essential
repairs have been carried out, CCTV installed, windows washed,
furniture acquired and interiors improved with imaginative-style
makeovers to suit their locations. Clinical interiors have given
way to terracottas and limes at one neighbourhood library, St
Ann's, and to blues and white at Coombes Croft library, which
is situated opposite Spurs football stadium. The Edwardian splendour
of Highgate library has been accentuated by stripping the floorboards
and by restoring original architectural features. These improved
libraries have been opened longer: libraries in Haringey now open
retail hours on weekdays and are increasingly open on Sundays,
too.
The partnership has also inspired an entrepreneurial
ethos, with empty rooms let out to businesses and voluntary groups,
tendering of the supplier stock securing greater discounts, applications
for funding unlocking £250k from the Neighbourhood Renewal
Fund and New Deal for Communities with a further £280k from
the People's Network and the Gates Foundation to buy an extra
165 internet-connected computers for library users.
The customer experience has also been transformed.
Systems have been put in place to recall overdue items, to weed
out the out-of-date stock and to allow borrowers to reserve and
renew books remotely. A former eight month backlog in cataloguing
new books, videos and CDs has been cut to less than five days.
STAFF
Although Instant Library undertook the management
and specialist roles, such as ICT, the team recognised the importance
of re-motivating the staff. By offering extensive training and
development opportunities to every employee, staff have gained
in confidence and begun to realise their true potential, becoming
true champions of the Service. This, in turn, has improved commitment
and staff morale—and reduced sickness absence in the process.
It is a measure of success that a team of staff have recently
given presentations on changing the service culture to an number
of other authorities.
Funding from the New Opportunities Fund was
effectively used to train staff to meet the European Computer
Driving Licence Standard and six employees are now undertaking
part-time librarianship courses at a local university. Internet
champions have also been created in each library to train customers
to get the most out of the web.
SERVICES AND
ICT FACILITIES
People's Network funding has enabled us to install
165 Internet PCs across Haringey's nine libraries. These have
been massively popular and are almost constantly in use, with
people queuing. To enable many of our traditional users to take
advantage of these, we run Silver Surfer sessions in most libraries.
Internet Champions are on hand in the larger libraries to help
users make the most of the facilities.
As well as promoting our lively programme of
events and reading groups, we have added a number of services
which are proving popular and are encouraging a wider range of
people to use the libraries. We have regular advice sessions on
health and financial issues, run in partnership with MacMillan
Cancer Care and Age Concern. Occasional Happy Heart days are also
popular. We have taken a great deal of trouble to promote the
library as a community resource and as well as being valuable
in its own right, this is paying dividends in terms of increased
use of books and other stock.
Haringey's ambitions for the service continue
to grow, with plans to use libraries to further deliver cross-cutting
objectives including lifelong learning, e-government, customer
access and extended schools.
STOCK
Although Haringey Libraries offers an ever-widening
range of services, the provision of books, CDs, videos, DVDs,
Talking Books and other material for loan and reference remains
central to the library's purpose. We constantly review stock selection
and management activities to ensure that the material available
is appropriate to the needs of Haringey's diverse community and
supports the core aims of Framework for the future.
Though still far from perfect, the stock is
steadily improving, as evidenced by its "Good" score
in the recent Stock Quality Health Check. The results of a CIPFA
PLUS survey in 2003 revealed a need for more books to support
the study of the wider range of users who are being attracted
to the library by the People's Network and other new services.
This is being addressed.
We are making conscious efforts to increase
the use of stock by rotating it between libraries and by buying
more material designed to appeal to younger users. The substantial
increase in issues achieved over the last three years testifies
to the success of the improved stock management procedures.
Clearly, the provision of a good service mix
in attractive environments can result in increased library use.
Where two years ago Haringey was in the bottom quartile of all
London authorities for key library performance indicators it is
now projecting an above average performance for the year ending
2003-04.
None of this could have been achieved without
the continued backing of the Council, nor without input from staff
and from library users. Library groups—more used to playing
the role of action groups formed to "save" the libraries—have
increasingly become friends groups, working closely with the partnership
to help develop the service.
19 November 2004
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