Memorandum submitted by Lancashire County
Council
Lancashire welcomes the opportunity to submit
evidence to the Select Committee inquiry into public libraries.
Lancashire County Council values the contribution its library
services make to the development and well being of individuals
and local communities throughout this very large and diverse county.
LANCASHIRE
Lancashire serves a population of 1.1 million
people across a wide geographical area. It has a rich mixture
of cultures, a full spectrum of rural and urban issues, and a
diverse demographic mix from areas of extreme deprivation to considerable
economic wealth.
The network of 84 public library buildings provided
by Lancashire means that 94% of the population are within two
miles of a static library, 9% above the public library standard.
The fleet of 12 mobile and two trailer libraries gives 100% coverage
across the County.
Lancashire provides in total over 3,000 hours
per week of access to library facilities. Local people place a
high value on this library presence in the local community and
the quality of the services provided. The results of the Public
Library User Survey of over 15,000 library users in Lancashire
in 2003 showed 95.5% and 97% of respondents rated "staff
knowledge" and "helpfulness of staff" as good or
very good, both above the public library standard. An independent
MORI Survey of County Council Services reported that 93% of residents
were satisfied with the quality of libraries in their area—a
5% increase on the previous survey in 2000. With a net satisfaction
rate of 90% this places Lancashire at the top of the MORI table
of library authorities. The best results ever seen by MORI.
The County Council places a high priority on
the library service as will be seen from the sample evidence in
this submission. It also recognises the considerable change that
library services have addressed to enable them to continue to
play a significant part in the development of our society. We
therefore also welcome the opportunity this Select Committee gives
to identify those areas we feel require stronger direction and
support from the responsible government department, DCMS. We hope
our evidence will help to highlight the issues of capacity, skills
partnership and resources required to deliver a modern public
library service to local communities.
"Lancashire: a place where everyone matters"
We feel the use made of the wide range of services
libraries offer in Lancashire is best reflected by the views of
the public themselves and we have therefore included in this submission
of evidence a short two minute DVD of comments by library users
in Lancashire showing the value they place on and use they make
of the services of our public libraries.
ACCESS TO
PUBLIC LIBRARY
SERVICES
In 2003-04 Lancashire County Council provided
an additional £120,000 of revenue for the library service
to increase the opening hours. This included a pilot Sunday opening
at the county's largest library in Preston.
A LIBRARY NEAR
YOU
94% of Lancashire's population is within two
miles of a static library.
Services to those who cannot easily reach a
static library are provided through 12 mobiles, two trailer libraries,
deliveries to those who are housebound or in homes for the elderly,
six prisons, a school library service to over 500 primary and
special needs schools, and a developing service for travellers.
ACCESS STRATEGY
Lancashire has addressed four strategic areas
which have led to improved service access:
— Increased opening hours and maintenance
of a physical network of static and mobile libraries which ensure
100% of local people are within easy reach of a library service.
— Remote access to services through
use of Internet and computer facilities.
— An annual programme in excess of
£500,000 per year of building alterations to ensure compliance
with the Disability Discrimination Act.
— A programme for outreach work to
take services to "hard to reach" groups such as people
who are housebound or in homes for the elderly, travellers, asylum
seekers and disaffected young people.
The development of these strategies allows people
to choose their means of access to library services.
Despite this considerable investment and development,
library services struggle to secure the necessary external capital
funding to modernise many buildings, refurbish tired and ageing
building stock and relocate libraries to reflect major population
shifts.
Libraries are only given limited access to key
services of capital investment such as Heritage Lottery Funding,
which is more easily accessible to museums and galleries within
the cultural sector. Similarly there are important issues surrounding
a lack of joined up thinking at Government level in such areas
as Building Schools For the Future, and wider social and economic
regeneration projects such as ELEVATE and LIFT. Whilst in policy
terms libraries are often included in some of the initial thinking
funding is not flexible enough to allow schemes to progress in
the way that communities and Local Authorities would wish. This
has resulted in fewer new library developments than would have
been anticipated.
USE, DEMAND
AND EXPECTATION
The People's Network has made a significant
impact on library use. It has widened the range of information
and learning opportunities and given people access to these at
a much more local level. Like many authorities, Lancashire delivered
the installation and implementation of the People's Network within
time and within budget:
— 94% of the population of Lancashire
are within two miles of free access to Internet broadband.
— 957 public access computers are available
for learning and information.
The combination of People's Network facilities
and an extensive development in reading activities and improved
access to learning opportunities has resulted in a 12% increase
in visitor figures in 2003-04. This increase also needs to be
placed in the context of increased remote access for the public
to undertake routine transactions for enquiries, renewal of borrowed
items and computer bookings which previously require a visit to
the library.
There is much that can be done to increase the
use of local libraries. As the committee will be aware, the Museum
Libraries and Archives Council are leading on a detailed plan
of action to achieve the Government's vision for libraries in
2013 set out in its publication Framework for the Future. This
has involved developing strong partnerships with key agencies,
including the Society of Chief Librarians, The Reading Agency,
CILIP, DfES and external organisations and consultants.
At local level this is reflected in the delivery
of services in partnership with Health Authorities for Bookstart
schemes, Education and Social Service Authorities for Surestart
and Every Child Matters programmes, and the voluntary sector to
deliver wider services to socially excluded groups of travellers,
asylum seekers, the homeless, elderly people, minority ethnic
communities and people with disabilities.
SMILE CENTRES
Lancashire's 15 award winning Smile Centres
deliver new services to children with special needs, their parents
and carers. This partnership with Mencap, Social Services and
libraries offers wider access to ICT and other resources to young
children with physical and learning difficulties.
Fifteen People's Centres were developed to provide
similar services to adults with special needs. Comments from some
people who experienced the benefits of these new services are:
A man with sight deterioration introduced to
the range of equipment on library computers with big key keyboards,
large screen monitors, Windows Accessibility options and Supernova
magnification software said "This is fantastic, life changing.
I had begun to despair of my computer because I was frustrated
at not being able to see properly. I'm really looking forward
to getting going again and using it for my hobby of digital photography."
This man and his wife subsequently enrolled on a basic computing
course at the library as well.
Another man who has just learned to read was
provided with material from new services and collections called
First Choice and Life Skills. He has subsequently started to use
the library computers and basic skill web sites with staff assistance.
Operation Bookmark—The Community
Police Officer in North Lancashire has travelled regularly on
the mobile library service to offer crime prevention and safety
advice to elderly and infirm people in rural areas. The report
provided by the Community Police Officer said "I believe
this has been a success from the Police viewpoint. I have been
able to provide a pre-advertised surgery to all the rural communities
within my extensive area of responsibility. The profile of the
Police, and the role of the Community Beat Manager have been raised
accordingly, as has that of the ESCO. Older people are more comfortable
with face-to-face talking as opposed to telephone contact, and
this has helped them feel more reassured as to police presence
and activity in the rural area. Feedback from communities has
also been positive, especially from Parish Councils who see it
as further evidence of police commitment to the rural areas. It
could be seen as an extension to the PACT (Police and Communities
Together) meeting requirement."
LEARNING
Libraries have become instrumental in opening
up learning opportunities for everyone, but in particular the
opportunity for "hard to reach" groups and reluctant
learners is possible in libraries which pose less threatening
environments for these individuals who previously would be reluctant
to engage with other learning institutions.
In particular, if we wish to create the kind
of learning society that is currently being discussed then it
must be recognised that from a Learning perspective public libraries
are significantly more inclusive than either schools of FE establishments.
As such they should have a far more important role in these developments
than is currently possible.
— 44,589 Learner hours were delivered
through Lancashire's libraries in 2003-04 a 69% increase on 2002-03
— 5,283 people enrolled on learning
courses in Lancashire's libraries during 2003-04; a 64% increase
on the previous year.
Here is a Viewpoint comment:
The Library at Whitworth in Rossendale is
warm, friendly and welcoming. The displays change regularly and
are artistic and eyecatching.
I have learnt how to use a computer, how
to throw a pot and how to paint a watercolour. All these courses
have been led by friendly well-qualified tutors who have made
the impossible—possible.
I look forward to using the library and all
its many facilities for a long time to come.
There needs to be greater recognition and support
for learning in the community for the quality of life for young
and old.
There are many success stories including our
own in Lancashire, but potential is hampered by Learning and Skills
Councils which fail to recognise and support the real contribution
libraries make to this agenda and by the lack of resources to
equip libraries with toilet and catering facilities to cope with
more people spending more time learning in library buildings.
YOUNG PEOPLE
The focus on vulnerable children and the major
changes taking place as a result of Every Child Matters could
have a significant impact on and contribution from libraries.
However, as with the extended schools agenda, the DCMS and libraries
are ignored by the larger government departments of Education
and Skills and Social Services in considering the infrastructure
required to deliver services effectively in the community.
Libraries have a physical and permanent presence
in most communities and are recognised by local communities as
a source of help and information. Young people spend most of their
time out of school hours in local communities yet very few funding
opportunities are available to libraries from major initiatives
to provide out-of-school support or for family and parenting skills
support.
In Lancashire 56.2% of the young people are
members of the Library.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
The role of library staff and range of duties
have changed significantly in the last five years as public expectation
of higher quality public services has risen and as the impact
of new technology increases access to and provision of services
in local communities. Library staff, and subsequently library
users, have benefited from the investment in training of library
staff to ECDL level. Programmes of marketing, leadership and mentoring
are being delivered through Framework for the Future.
In Lancashire 695 staff have been trained in
two years to ECDL level and 507 have achieved the ECDL qualification.
Workforce development at higher levels needs
much greater attention and investment if staff in libraries of
the future are going to be skilled to deliver and manage modern
library services.
There has to be more centrally provided investment
in library leaders of the future if we are to develop innovative
and attractive services which offer real value for money and make
measured contributions to the development of individuals and local
communities.
PUBLIC LIBRARY
STANDARDS
In 2003 an analysis was commissioned by DCMS
of the impact of the public library standards in their first three
years of implementation. Many library authorities expressed reservations
that without new funding from central government these standards
would be impossible to meet and would have little impact. In two
major areas the analysis of actual returns showed significant
increase; in library opening hours and annual items added through
purchase.
In Lancashire an additional £60,000 of
revenue was provided to improve the purchasing power of the resources
fund to meet the annual items added through purchase in the public
library standards. This was in addition to the £120,000 already
mentioned for increased opening hours.
PLS 3 (i) Aggregate opening hours per 1,000
population for all libraries
This table shows the proportion of Library Authorities
achieving the Public Library Standard in each of the given years.
|
| PLS.3i | 2002
| 2003 | 2004
|
|
| Counties | 19%
| 26% | 50%
|
| Inner London | 10%
| 20% | 30%
|
| Metropolitan | 38%
| 50% | 62%
|
| Outer London | 0%
| 11% | 32%
|
| Unitaries | 26%
| 30% | 52%
|
| Total | 23%
| 31% | 50%
|
|
This second table shows overall achievement against the Standard.
|
| PLS.3i | 2002-03
| 2003-04 | 2002-04
|
|
| equal | 23%
| 25% | 11%
|
| higher | 62%
| 68% | 80%
|
| lower | 9%
| 9% | 9%
|
|
| PLS 17 Annual items added through purchase per 1,000 population
|
This table shows the proportion of Library Authorities achieving
the Public Library Standard in each of the given years.
|
| PLS.17 | 2002
| 2003 | 2004
|
|
| Counties | 35%
| 42% | 67%
|
| Inner London | 80%
| 80% | 100%
|
| Metropolitan | 35%
| 44% | 68%
|
| Outer London | 74%
| 68% | 84%
|
| Unitaries | 39%
| 48% | 67%
|
| Total | 45%
| 51% | 72%
|
|
This second table shows overall achievement against the Standard.
|
| PLS.17 | 2002-03
| 2003-04 | 2002-04
|
|
| equal | 2%
| 9% | 2%
|
| higher | 69%
| 56% | 71%
|
| lower | 29%
| 35% | 27%
|
|
The opportunity has been missed to continue to support this
level of improvement by the launch of a weaker set of library
service standards in 2004, which has excluded the free access
to Internet and included a lower satisfaction level for children's
services. This needs to be readdressed as the promised continuous
review of public library standards is rolled out and while new
impact standards are being developed.
CONCLUSIONS
The public library service is one of the great under-appreciated
assets of modern society. In particular it has a number of significant
advantages which are available from no other public service:
— With the demise of post office buildings and other
public facilities, particularly in rural areas, no other service
has the geographic coverage of the public library;
— The service is already well used and greatly appreciated
by a high percentage of the public. All the evidence shows it
comes out as being very highly regarded by users and non-users
alike. Government should build on this already significant level
of usage and trust by communities throughout the country;
— The service is not afraid of change and has shown
on many occasions the ability to shift the focus of delivery.
Much has been made of the fall in traditional book lending. This
is a superficial point. That decrease has taken place mainly in
the area of adult recreational fiction; for children's material,
purposive fiction and non-fiction in the adult market issues have
held up well and in some cases increased. Public libraries are
now shifting their focus back to the traditional roles of education
and learning and information and reference services. As such,
where reasonable levels of funding are provided they are continuing
to thrive;
— As previously stated, libraries present a non-threatening
atmosphere to the reluctant learner and represent a key asset
in the Government's drive to increase access to learning opportunities,
skills development etc. They are more than ever the People's University!
Lancashire would welcome the support of the Select Committee
in our belief that the progress made by Public Library Authorities
can be sustained only through external investment. We would further
welcome the Committee's support for the continued development
of the good work that has been achieved in recent years in partnership
with central government and other agencies to increase the range
and quality of both traditional and modern library services.
November 2004
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