Library transformation– Building a thriving service in difficult times
Despite the recession and the need to make significant budgetary savings, Warwickshire libraries are determined to continue making progress towards a 21st century service with wider appeal and more relevance to modern lifestyles.
Warwickshire County Councillors set out their first annual budget of the recession earlier this month. Savings will have to be made across all six directorates and overspending is simply not an option. A select committee of Councillors met last week to discuss proposals for the future shape of the Warwickshire libraries and the future continues to look bright for the library service.
Investment and change
There has been considerable investment in libraries in recent times including a new fleet of five mobile libraries, £600,000 on a new system called VUBIS which will improve both online and in-library experiences, and a further £800,000 to introduce automated, self-service checking in and out of books.
”The recession may be accelerating change but it was inevitable anyway,” said Ayub Khan, Head of Libraries (Strategy). “The way people use libraries, and what they value them for, is different nowadays.”
Whilst use of online library services has doubled and continues to rise, less than 20% of the local population borrow from libraries on a regular basis.
Falling footfall is a national trend. Information is easy to get via the internet and books are relatively cheap to buy and readily available - even in supermarkets. So it is no surprise that traditional library services are used less. That said, Warwickshire Libraries still receive nearly three million visits a year and handle around half a million enquiries.
Top county service
The latest ratings from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport take into account online and outreach library use. “On that basis, Warwickshire boasts the most used county library service in England - evidence that the local team has been making real progress towards developing services that are more relevant to more people,” said Ayub.
The team is currently surveying public opinion to find out what people like and dislike about current library services, and what further improvements they would like to see. People can pick up a questionnaire in any library or log onto: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/libraries to have their say - by March 11.
Savings
Exactly how the all the necessary savings will be made in the Library & Information Service has yet to be finalised. However some plans have been implemented which restructure the workforce to provide greater flexibility and focus of staff skills and resources. There are no plans for redundancies.
Some savings have already been made. Standardised charges were introduced last year (2008) for library events and activities. The library stock fund was reduced by £277,000 in this financial year but £100,000 will be put back into the service from April onwards.
Further, Warwickshire is looking at a joint buying option, with more than 30 other library services, to stretch next year’s stock fund further through extra discounts and economies of scale. “This could effectively give us an additional £30,000 to £40,000,” said Ayub.
Recessionary role
The library service must continue, despite the recession, to move towards services that are more relevant to more local people in the modern age. Ironically, perhaps, the recession might help libraries regain some of the lost ground, in terms of real (as opposed to online) visitors and borrowings.
Reports from as far away as Seattle in the USA suggest hard times are increasing both. In Warwickshire borrowings are already up by six per cent on this time last year.
Warwickshire libraries are working on specific initiatives to help local people through hard times. These include setting up Job Seekers’ Corners and Money Matters sections in all 34 libraries, and promoting a top tips chart of money-saving suggestions sent in by the public. A leaflet is being produced, aimed at people who have lost the library habit, outlining the free and low-cost services local libraries offer nowadays.
It may well be that increased library use during the recession could help justify ongoing investment in the Warwickshire service - which has so much to offer, particularly now, in such difficult economic times.