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'Libraries are such a part of our way of life that it is easy to take them for granted. More people go to libraries than cinemas. Visits to libraries outnumber visits to professional football grounds.'Framework for the Future

'Libraries for the 21st Century'

Change for Excellence

2005 - 2015

‘Libraries for the 21st Century'Change for Excellence 2005 – 2015

CONTENTS

1 The Purpose of this Paper

2 The Context

3 The Case for Change

4 The Next Phase

5 Timetable for Development

Appendix 1: Compliance against Public Library Service Standards – 2004-5

Appendix 2: List of main communities in Hertfordshire

Appendix 3: Libraries for the 21st Century

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1 The Purpose of this Paper

1.1 'Libraries for the 21st Century' sets out proposals to take the library service from being a 'good service that has uncertain prospects for improvement' - Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) inspection result 2002 to an excellent service.

1.2 It takes full account of the national and local HCC policy context, particularly the first national library strategy document: Framework for the Future: Libraries, Learning

and Information in the next decade published by the Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) February 2003

The government's Public Library Service Standards (Appendix 1)

HCC Challenges House of Commons, DCMS Select Committee

Report on Public Libraries, March 2005.

2 The Context

2.1 Framework for the Future sets out the modern mission for library services: The promotion of reading and informal

learning Access to digital skills and services including

e-government Measures to tackle social exclusion, build

community identity and develop citizenship

2.2 The improvements that deliver a modern library service eg Bookshop stock display and marketing

techniques IT suites Facilities for disabled people such as assistive

technology and toilets Community language provision

All require a ‘makeover’ in library layouts and facilities in buildings that need to be fit for purpose.

2.3 However, the vision also articulates the essential role the library has in providing informal learning and community cohesion.

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Libraries' work with readers is unique. No other agency works with readers with the same mixture of access and inspiration – or the same ethos of support for individual growth combined with community trust and respect.

Perhaps most powerfully – no other agency is as well placed to get the benefits of reading to the disenfranchised.

What libraries do with readers is also unique: it injects the access and motivation necessary for the delivery of key government strategies, including the National Literacy Strategy and Skills for Life.

The Reading Agency: library advocacy

During the LearnEast project, HLS provided IT learning opportunities in libraries for groups suffering disadvantage in the labour market.

Outcome statistics for Hertfordshire learners: 86% had achieved their goal 30% had either gained or

changed employment 73% felt they had improved

their job prospects 65% would like to extend

their knowledge and do another course

96% had improved their skills and confidence

2.4 By delivering the modern mission, libraries make a significant contribution to the shared priorities between national and local government.

2.5 HCC Challenge – maximising opportunities for all young people to meet the outcomes of Every Child Matters:

Bookstart packs containing board books, information on joining the library service etc, distributed to 95% of live births to explain how important it is for children to start developing reading skills as soon as possible.

Baby Rhyme Times emphasise the importance of parents interacting with babies and develops early literacy skills.

Storytimes in 45 libraries.

Summer Reading Challenge is predicated on reading for pleasure, it maintains reading levels over the long summer break, and it also boosts confidence and self-esteem in young readers.

Stories from the Web uses the Internet to engage children and young people with reading and creative writing.

Young people's focus groups contribute to debate on library matters, eg the refurbishment of their local library or stock provision.

Free access to study space and ICT facilities in all libraries, with homework clubs in two libraries providing Out of School Hours Study Support.

Bringing to life curriculum topics through class visits to Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies (HALS) in conjunction with local museums, eg Victorian and Tudor days.

Chatterbooks reading groups in every district sustaining the reading habit and building confidence.

Fulfilling Their Potential, the teenage strand of Framework for the Future (F4F). Three Teenage reading groups to be launched in January 2006.

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'I cannot thank you all enough! My son would only read school reading books and was not confident enough to try other books, no matter how hard I tried to coax him. He was reading quite basic books at school, but now everything has changed! He is a boy on a mission! He is reading a book a day, some are over 40 pages long, no words seem to be a problem. All to be the first to complete the Rollercoaster! Every time we come in all the staff have been wonderful and really have encouraged him and made a fuss of him. Thank you all so much.'Mother of a 7 year-old boy who took part in the 2004 Summer Reading Challenge at Borehamwood Library

Summer Reading Challenge results 2004: 12,803 children took part, an

increase of 8% on previous year.

828 children joined the library.

7,080 children received medals and certificates at 120 presentation ceremonies.

561,307 children's books issued during the Challenge.

'There was a consensus around evidence showing that the earlier children learn to read, the better they do at school later in life. We congratulate libraries for the role that they have played in making a success of this scheme (Bookstart)'House of Commons, DCMS Select Committee Report on Public Libraries, March 2005

Schools Library Service. Working to benefit all pupils through adding value to their school library.

2.6 HCC Challenge – supporting the independence of the growing number of older people:

Large print books are a lifeline for many elderly people and people with visual impairments. They enable people to continue taking pleasure in reading and are only available through libraries.

Spoken Word Recordings. The depth and range of stock available in libraries and through the Cassettes for Blind People Service outstrips other outlets and is particularly important for elderly people who can no longer read large print.

Assistive Technology can help elderly people to remain independent in a number of ways, eg magnifying machines can make text on letters, medicine packets etc readable, obviating the need for someone else to be involved.

Offering information to individuals and especially carers which is also integral to the government's vision in their Green Paper on Independence, Well Being and Choice.

IT taster sessions for Silver Surfers in libraries and HALS help older people to realise the advantages that IT and the Internet can bring, eg staying in touch with family by email, researching their family history, home shopping, health information etc.

Mobile Service. Active elderly people living in their own homes may not be able to carry books for any distance and may no longer be able to drive. The mobile service enables them to choose their own items and offers a service equivalent to that of a small community library, providing access to the full range of library services.

Home Library Service is delivered by library staff and volunteers and takes the service into the homes of elderly or disabled people who can no longer visit a static or mobile library.

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'A wonderful community service for our area. Not only for elderly people who use it, it is also good for schoolchildren. It is an invaluable asset.'Comment from Mobile Library Roadshows, November 2004

"Individual taster sessions take place in … local libraries and are particularly effective. They enable complete beginners to gain an initial insight into different aspects of computing in a familiar and non-threatening environment. This provision is attracting those learners who have had little contact with learning since leaving school and who would not attend formal classes."Adult Learning Inspectorate – Hertfordshire report 2004

3 The Case for Change

3.1 Hertfordshire Library Service (HLS) has always achieved good results by whatever means we have been tested:

Our planning process has always been judged as good by the DCMS.

The quality of our stock has recently been judged as good, ranking 23rd out of 132 participating authorities in the Stock Quality Health Check assessed by the Audit Commission.

Our performance against the Public Library Standards has also been consistently rated as good.

However, HLS's overall good results mask the need to change in order to address some fundamental challenges.

3.2 Results from the Best Value Review of the Library Service 2003

Feedback from the Challenge and Recommendation Workshops and from more than 50 focus groups all of which included users and non-users, staff and other stakeholders, gave some very clear messages. People wanted:

more books

increased and more appropriate opening hours

better buildings and facilities, eg decorated and kept in repair to the best of retail standards, toilets, refreshments and parking.

more IT but not at the expense of books.

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"Libraries are an essential part of a community. It is important that all of us with an interest in libraries or in building better communities, understand the contribution libraries make. In DCMS we will be pressing on with partners to develop further the CPA Impact Measures, and to show the power of public libraries to help communities and individuals"

David Lammy MP, Minister for Culture

'Public libraries can and do have a vital impact on local communities' is the conclusion of a recent investigation and report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers for the Laser Foundation.

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

7,000,000

8,000,000

9,000,000

Issues 2001-2005

Issues 8,060,639 7,813,832 7,569,934 7,311,058

2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05

0

1000000

2000000

3000000

4000000

5000000

6000000

Visits 2001-2005

Visits 5,777,931 5,646,602 5,417,744 5,289,747

2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05

3.3 Decline in loans, visitor figures and active borrowers in Hertfordshire: Library loans have fallen from 8.1 million to

7.3 million since 2001/02, ie a fall of 9%. Library visits have declined from 5.8 million to

5.3 million since 2001/02, ie a fall of 8%. The number of active borrowers, ie people

who have borrowed at least one item of stock in the previous year, has fallen from 211,000 to 203,000, ie a fall of 3.6%.

Technological advances have contributed to this by offering remote access through the website and online services, eg automated renewals and reservations. People who use libraries for IT do not necessarily borrow books. Nevertheless, this alone cannot explain the decline in figures shown above.

3.4 Inadequate library opening hours to meet modern user expectationsOpening hours were extended by 30 a week in 2003 and are now at the maximum achievable within existing resources. Hertfordshire fails to meet Public Library Service Standard 2 – aggregate opening hours per 1000 population for all libraries:Standard = 128Hertfordshire = 116

3.5 Many library buildings in need of

replacement, repair or refurbishmentHCC Property Plan Target (no 1) is to achieve 95% of library property able to enhance service delivery by 2020. Current position on service delivery based on the 2005/6 Service Property Priorities is: 38% Unfit for purpose 11% Not fit for purpose but with potential for

economic improvement 49% Generally fit for purpose 2% Fit for purpose and will sustain service

delivery However, Libraries for the 21st Century aims to transform library service delivery in a much shorter timescale.

Put simply, if people are not attracted to come inside our buildings because the exteriors are uninviting, how will we ever increase the percentage of people using them?

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Hertfordshire’s aim is to bring all of its libraries into the 21st century to serve all of its main communities. Flagship iconic buildings, eg Bournemouth and Norwich can be inspirational and controversial, but smaller scale change can also be transformational.

In April1997, Bishops Stortford Library moved from a small inadequate building with 275 sqm public floorspace, (not far at all from its present location), into a new library created inside a former supermarket store. With 692 sqm public floorspace the effect was dynamic with an increase of 66% in issue figures for the following year.

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Bournemouth Library at nightSource: David Barbour / BDP

Bishop's Stortford – old library

Old Bishop's Stortford Library New Bishop's Stortford Library

3.6 These challenges are not unique to Hertfordshire. The House of Commons, DCMS Select Committee Report on Public Libraries (March 2005) acknowledged the vital role that public libraries continue to play, but the Chairman concluded:

"Urgent action is required from those responsible for the service to reverse the decline in visitors, lending figures and the fabric of the library estate."

Unless radical action is taken, the future is one of decline in spite of the many examples of good practice, partnership working, and fulfilling cross-cutting objectives that we already provide.

3.7 We will not achieve Excellence without continuing to improve against the Public Library Service Standards. To address these challenges will require a significant change in allocation of resources, an increase in partnership working and access to additional funding over a period of years.

4 The Next Phase

4.1 The transformation needs to include exteriors/interiors of buildings, opening hours, stock, IT, promotion and customer care. We need to reform the current library network in order to provide fewer but better static libraries that: meet Public Library Service Standard (PLSS)

2 for aggregate opening hours meet PLSS 4 for the total number of electronic

workstations are attractive buildings with retail standards of

décor, furniture and fittings will enable the service to be delivered within

budget will increase usage.

Appendix 3 gives a visual representation of the service and “Implementing the Hertfordshire Vision for Libraries for the 21st Century” provides a plan to achieve the vision.

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'Catchment areas for some libraries overlap significantly, especially when mobile routes are included, and it is not clear that existing provision is cost-effective.'CPA Inspection of Libraries, 2002

We regard a situation in which core performance indicators, and gross throughput, are falling – but overall costs are rising – as a signal of a service in distress. This must be reversed.House of Commons, DCMS Select Committee Report on Public Libraries, March 2005

4.2 We will ensure that: the 29 main communities of Hertfordshire

(listed in Appendix 2) will be served by static libraries

performance against standards we currently meet are not adversely affected by implementing the vision, eg PLSS1 (% of population living within two miles of a static library)

we achieve savings and re-allocations to set against costs

4.3 We will be using statistical information to formulate proposals, eg: Current usage patterns Demographic trends Retail shopping and leisure patterns Public transport availability Index of social deprivation.

4.4 We will be using feedback from: The BVR 2003 The Member, staff and stakeholder

engagement outlined in Section 5, Timetable for Development.

4.5 We will develop proposals for change that: are evidence based focus on community need, with services built

around the users take account of partnership working take account of all existing networks of

service delivery, eg static, mobile, home delivery and remotely accessed electronic services

take account of potential development, eg through Children's Centres and Extended Schools.

take account of different procurement methods for improving property stock including PFI.

Outline proposals for Development Plans can be found in the accompanying document “Implementing the Vision for Libraries for the 21st

Century”

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While there is plentiful provision of static and mobile libraries, the pattern of provision owes more to history than to logic.CPA Inspection of Libraries, 2002

5 Timetable for Development

Date ActionFebruary 2006 Present Libraries for the 21st Century with

outline development plans for library buildings, and opening hours to Culture & Libraries Panel and Cabinet.

February – April 2006 Members seminar Staff seminars Presentation to Unison Community engagement

March 2006 Opening hours to meet Phase 1 implemented

May 2006 Finalise detailed implementation plan for second and third phases

June 2006 Detailed plan to CabinetJune - July 2006 Road shows to present detailed plans to

Members Staff Unison Public Partners/Stakeholders

July - October 2006 Preparation for implementing Phase 2 Slotting Recruitment

September 2006 1.9.06 Identified libraries close and their opening hours absorbed into remaining libraries

November 2006 Phase 2 opening hours implemented from 01.11.06

December – March 2007 Recruitment for Phase 3March 2007 Phase 3 opening hours implemented

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Appendix 1Compliance against Public Library Service Standards - 2004-5

PLSS Description Suggested standard

Hertfordshire's performance

PLSS1 Proportion of households living within specified distance of a static library 85% 93%

PLSS2 Aggregate scheduled opening hours per 1,000 population for all libraries 128 116

PLSS3Percentage of static libraries providing access to electronic information resources connected to the Internet

100% 100%

PLSS4Total number of electronic workstations with access to internet & library catalogue per 10,000 population

6 4

PLSS5 Requests:

i within 7 days 50% 69%

ii within 15 days 70% 86%

iii within 30 days 85% 92%

PLSS6 Library visits per 1,000 population 6600 5,100

PLSS7Percentage of library users 16 & over who view their library service as very good & good

94% 92%

PLSS8 Percentage of library users under 16 who view their library service as good 77% 75%

PLSS9 Annual items added through purchase per 1,000 population 216 232

PLSS10 Time taken to replenish the lending stock on open access or available on loan 6.7 years 5.8 years

Not met Nearly met Met

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Appendix 2

List of main communities in Hertfordshire

From the HCC Structure PlanPolicy 6 of the Development StrategySettlement Pattern and Urban Concentration

Abbots LangleyBaldockBerkhamstedBishop's StortfordBorehamwoodBusheyCheshuntChorleywoodCroxley GreenHarpendenHatfieldHemel HempsteadHertfordHitchinHoddesdonLetchworthPotters Bar RadlettRickmansworthRoystonSawbridgeworthSouth Oxhey St AlbansStevenageTringWaltham CrossWareWatfordWelwyn Garden City

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Libraries for the 21st Century Appendix 3

Retail standard exterior

Mobiles

Home Library Service

Remotely accessed services

Books

Meetings Cafe

Social Drop-in

Children &Young People

ICT

Information Zone