Memorandum submitted by John Hicks and
Roland Kirby, Kentwood Associates
1. KEY POINTS
1.1 From our experience and work with public
libraries and allied organisations, and from public consultation,
we believe the following to be amongst the key points affecting
public libraries today:
— Public libraries are not a high priority
for the Government.
— There are too many separate public
library services in England.
— Library services and activities need
to be more closely targeted.
— The standard of public libraries
varies extensively between services.
— There are examples where resources
are not as well used as they could be.
— Patterns of use have changed and
will continue to change.
— Opening hours are insufficiently
focused on weekends and evenings.
1.2 Views on the specific points the Select
Committee has listed as being of interest are contained within
the submission.
2. WHAT IS
THE PURPOSE
OF THE
PUBLIC LIBRARY
SERVICE?
2.1 The essential purpose of the public
library service is to offer equality of opportunity in terms of
access to creative ideas, to informal learning and to information.
The media through which this access is provided is immaterial.
2.2 This purpose should be viewed in the
context of the social and economic framework within which we live.
The nostalgic view that public libraries should return to what
they were (if such a definition could be agreed) does not recognise
that society has changed and expectations of the library service
have changed as well. From public and staff consultation we have
found this is particularly true amongst people below the age of
50.
2.3 The historic problem for the public
library service is that it has tried to be all things to all people.
Whilst some social groups have been targeted during specific short
or long term campaigns, public libraries have endeavoured to continue
to offer everything to everybody. Similarly, they have taken on
board new media, new services, new activities and failed to give
up anything that they already offer or provide. In an era of tight
budgets this has led to some services failing to be good at very
much.
2.4 In the future the public library service
needs to have a clear idea as to whom is it targeting its services.
This may mean the service does not aim to serve all groups within
society. Public consultation, both with existing and lapsed users
and with people who haven't used the service but might be persuaded
to do so, suggests the prime target groups should be people who
are learners, people who want to read and people seeking information.
3. WHAT SERVICES
SHOULD THE
PUBLIC LIBRARY
SERVICE OFFER?
3.1 The public library service should know
the needs of each local community and tailor its services to meet
those needs. Thus in some areas support for basic skills may take
precedence, whilst in another the library may be primarily a reading
development centre and elsewhere may be geared towards acting
more as a community social point. The identified needs of the
community will take priority in shaping the service in that area.
The idea that every public library will offer the same service,
and that each is a larger or smaller replica of the next, is impractical
and pointless.
3.2 Whilst the services and focus of libraries
may differ one from another, there should be a common "offer"
that people understand to be available at all public libraries.
Our research into public expectations always shows books to be
the first element that people associate with the library service.
However, there are significant variations between age groups as
to the importance of providing books in comparison with audio-visual
media and computer based services. For younger people the latter
two are of equal importance to books. To ignore this view is to
ignore the future.
3.3 Recently, the funding of libraries and
the balance of spending between the various means of providing
information (including investment in book stock) has been subject
to much comment. If, as we believe from consultation, the public
expect libraries to support learning, encourage reading and provide
information, then all media should be harnessed to deliver these
services. There is no doubt that expenditure on books has reduced
in recent years but this has not always been in order to fund
other media. When budget reductions are in prospect the book fund
is an attractive target. Many services have been subjected to
"salami slicing" whereby a small reduction, or a failure
to increase by the rate of inflation, may not be obvious in the
first year, or the second. But after a few more years the result
becomes evident by the lack of stock on the shelves.
3.4 Information comes in many forms but
increasingly from web sites and databases maintained by publishers.
Encyclopaedias, yearbooks, directories, newspapers, journals,
reports and conference proceedings are published in this format.
More and more of it is available in no other way. The public should
be allowed direct access in libraries and are increasingly used
to unmediated access. Public libraries do not, anyway, have sufficient
staff to be able to find every answer for every user. Some library
services charge for using computers to find information. Obtaining
information from a printed source is free by statute. When that
information is no longer available in printed form and where a
library service charges for access to a computer, what has happened
to the principle of free access to information?
3.5 The Government paper Framework for
the Future envisages public libraries having a major role
in developing computer literacy. Some public libraries have risen
to this challenge and are well equipped, well used centres for
teaching computer skills. These are usually provided through UK
Online Centres or by working closely with local adult colleges
or other centres of learning. Some library services, however,
have failed to form appropriate partnerships and tried to be a
"stand alone" centre for teaching computer skills. Unless
income has been sufficient to recruit additional staff this has
led to existing library staff having to assume the additional
workload, debilitating the original library service and providing
inadequate support for computer literacy.
3.6 The performance of the People's Network
is important in providing universal Internet access. Statistics
collected by services demonstrate its popularity and the disparate
nature of users. Our consultation work with library staff has
revealed, albeit subjectively, that they observe much use by students
sending e-mails and by children playing computer games. It may
be such use is within the library's policy for access or that
this is an issue where greater supervision, or restrictions on
use, may be needed. There can be no doubt, however, that when
other members of the community see such use they form a negative
opinion about the purpose of the People's Network. There is a
need to combat this more actively since the People's Network has
immense potential and should be supported. Unfortunately, Government
has clearly not appreciated this because having set up the system,
no funding has been identified to sustain its development.
4. HOW CAN
SERVICES BE
DELIVERED?
4.1 Public library services are delivered,
and should continue to be delivered, both in the library building
and in the wider community. Work within the community, at local
centres with groups and organisations, schools, residential centres
and work places is essential. The promotion of books and the development
of the reading habit requires more effort from library services
than just expecting people to come to a separate building. Joint
provision of services can assist with this but as some libraries
will always be stand-alone buildings, imaginative outreach projects
will be needed. Many public libraries already have a good record
in this area but there is scope for further work. Those who preach
the gospel of reduced staffing should be aware of the negative
impact this has on "outreach" work.
4.2 As regards the library building, some
services have made improvements to opening hours, both later evening
and weekend opening. However, we have found evidence from our
consultation work that the public still finds the availability
of libraries out of office hours to be insufficient. It is not
necessary to open every library on a Sunday, or to remain open
until 9 pm or 10 pm but undoubtedly more libraries need longer
opening hours tailored to local demand. Furthermore, whilst small
libraries, open only a few hours each week, remain important to
some members of the local community—particularly the elderly
and young parents—there is an increasing trend for people
to use larger libraries whilst in town or shopping. The location
of some library buildings is therefore of increasing importance.
The need for some smaller, part time branches also needs to be
addressed.
4.3 Much of the argument about what a public
library should look like and what it should offer fails to take
account of fundamental changes in the way we live. An increasing
number of people do not want to go to a library, anymore than
they wish (or have time) to go to a supermarket. Personalised
services, offered by a charge or a subscription will become increasingly
common. These could include current awareness services or delivery
of material to home or office. Access to resources via the library's
web site—meaning access to information sources, not simply
access to its catalogue—is already in demand and will increase.
However, there will always be people who want to go into a library,
either because they dislike technology or they prefer visiting
libraries, and opening hours need to be as convenient as possible
for them.
4.4 A major problem in attracting people
into libraries is the condition of many buildings. We have been
told many times by the public that ageing and run down buildings,
poorly maintained and unfit for purpose, are a deterrent to use.
When a service opens a new flagship building the decline in use
is rapidly reversed and, as has been shown in some towns, a new
library can re-vitalise not just the service itself but the surrounding
area. The contribution that a new public library can make to both
economic and cultural regeneration is often overlooked.
5. HOW CAN
SERVICES BE
MOST EFFECTIVELY
ORGANISED?
5.1 As the Select Committee will be aware,
there are 149 public library services in England. As a result
of the local government re-organisations of the mid-1990s this
figure has increased by almost 50% on the number of library authorities
that existed 10 years ago. Each service spends part of its budget
on management and administration; most duplicate expenditure on
back room services. Co-operation in terms of resource sharing
or joint provision of support services is minimal.
5.2 Criticism that public libraries spend
too much on "behind the scenes" activity is broadly
correct but it ignores the point that under the present system
public libraries have only a radical alternative to which most
library authorities are resistant. This is to contract out service
delivery. There are too many separate public library services,
many of them struggling to deliver adequate services, most of
them spending money to support an infrastructure that would be
unnecessary if public libraries were provided by fewer local authorities,
or conceivably not by them at all.
5.3 In looking at the future of public libraries
there has been little attention as to how and by whom they should
be provided. A working party set up in the early 1990s by the
then Department of National Heritage to examine the opportunities
for contracting out public library services reported to the effect
that there was no market to provide adequate competition. As if
to confirm this a few pilot studies fell by the wayside and since
then the subject appears to have become taboo. The assumption
that public libraries can only be delivered by local authorities
needs to be revisited to establish whether more appropriate models
could be introduced.
5.4 A worrying aspect of public libraries
is the lack of significant co-operation in terms of resource sharing.
Inter library lending takes place regularly, and is a highly successful
niche market in which libraries from all sectors co-operate. We
are also seeing the growth of purchasing consortia within which
several library services come together to try to improve discounts
from stock suppliers. But co-operation in terms of joint selection
policies, shared purchasing, joint retention and shared storage
are at an embryo stage. There are indications that some local
clusters of libraries, involving not just public libraries but
those from the academic and specialist sectors, are beginning
to develop in this direction. Overall, however, there is scope
for much more co-operation and resource sharing, albeit this development
is inevitably hindered by the existence of 149 separate public
library services in England.
5.5 On the whole, public libraries do not
attract the ambitious high flyer as a career opportunity. This
is due to a number of factors, of which salary, image and experience
relevant to senior posts are foremost. Public libraries do attract
dedicated, public service minded individuals who are good at building
partnerships. Unfortunately in the competitive world that exists
in local government, they may not make the best managers nor the
best advocates for the library service. Realising this, many library
services have brought in managers from other disciplines, which
has resulted in a curate's egg.
6. WHAT SHOULD
BE THE
ROLE OF
GOVERNMENT?
6.1 There is an inherent weakness in Government's
approach to public libraries. The responsibility for policy rests
with the DCMS, funding is derived from ODPM, whilst other departments,
most notably DfES have significant influence in terms of specific
initiatives and additional funding opportunities. Coupled with
the perception that DCMS is not a "big hitter" in Government
(as evidenced from the results of the Spending Review), this divided
focus results in Government being unable to get a firm grasp on
the direction and standard of the public library service nationally.
6.2 Under the 1964 Public Library &
Museums Act, the Secretary of State has power to intervene when
a local authority is judged not to be providing a "comprehensive
and efficient" library service. Until 2001 there were no
agreed standards by which to judge whether a service was comprehensive
or to measure its efficiency. Despite the recent changes in the
Public Library Standards, it is possible to argue that these tools
still do not give a detailed picture of the health of a library
service. Output measures are also proving elusive but if achievable
may help to demonstrate the important role of public libraries
to local politicians and corporate managers.
6.3 Framework for the Future was
disappointing in its assertion that it was a vision paper. The
list of points that characterise a public library in 2013 is a
list of what many library services are already doing. Whilst some
services may have found it challenging, many have already moved
beyond it. In addition, the lack of any new funding (other than
£3 million already within the DCMS budget) to support initiatives
or kick start change programmes is disappointing when compared
to the £70 million made available for the development of
museum services as the first stage of the Renaissance in the Regions
programme.
7. CONCLUDING
COMMENTS
7.1 It is wrong to imagine that all public
libraries are the same. There are differences in the standards
of service and in the services themselves across the country.
This is due to local political and corporate management priorities
and to financial support (or the lack of it). It is also due to
the history of the service and to the skill and imagination of
local managers.
7.2 Use of libraries has declined in recent
years and the borrowing of books has dropped. But use has always
been cyclical—as shown when television became easily available
and again when the video recorder arrived—and there are
some early signals that the downward trend may now be reversed,
albeit as yet only in some services.
7.3 The are significant problems in the
level of political support for some library services but not in
all. This manifests itself not only in budgets but also in the
reluctance by some Councils to rationalise service organisation
when it is no longer an appropriate use of funds. Too many services
have too many small library buildings, open only a few hours a
week offering an inadequate service but retained because of a
reluctance to face opposition over changing the form of service
delivery.
7.4 Public libraries probably do not win
votes in an election, but they can lose them. This has been demonstrated
at local level when the closure of a library or a major reduction
in service becomes an election issue. An electoral backlash may
be one reason that some Councils veer away from wholesale changes
to service delivery. One answer may be to take the public library
service out of the local government arena and to establish local
library boards. If such a system can work in other countries it
is worth considering here.
7.5 If one thing is clear it is that public
libraries cannot continue as they are. Funding problems, confused
roles and a low political profile are inflicting major damage
on the service. Despite some excellent initiatives and new partnerships,
Framework for the Future has not been a sufficient catalyst
to galvanise a major improvement. At the national level, current
proposals are only re-arranging the road signs on a road map that
has lost its way.
19 November 2004
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