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David Lammy, Minister for Culture, has announced the launch
of Love Libraries, a campaign to explore a new vision of a
21st century reading service. The campaign kicks off with
the dramatic transformation of three libraries in 12 weeks
into models of a future library service with reading at its
heart.
Love Libraries has been created by The Future Libraries Partnership,
a unique alliance of the public and private sectors including
the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Society of
Chief Librarians, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council,
nine British publishers and The Reading Agency.
Combining existing best practice in libraries and new ideas
for an inspiring new vision of a reading-centred library service,
Love Libraries aims to showcase an exciting, replicable template
for other libraries. It also aims to galvanise consumers into
demanding a better standard of service from their local library.
The project will involve visibly transforming the image of
the library buildings, drawing on the expertise of retailers,
designers and space planners to re-model interiors. Library
opening hours and book stocks will be reviewed to ensure there
is a good range of the newest bestselling titles as well as
an extensive backlist, and publishing marketing mentors will
be attached to each library. New technology will be used to
make the borrowing experience more personal and convenient,
including the ordering and renewal of books online, and there
will be much imaginative promotion of reading including a
high-profile live events programme. The result will be vibrant,
inspiring community venues for consumers to visit on and off
line that are attractive to all ages and social groups.
Three local councils have joined with The Future Libraries
Partnership to make these transformations possible. The three
libraries to be transformed are Cornwall County Council's
Newquay Library, Kent County Council's Coldharbour Library
in Gravesend; and The London Borough of Richmond's Central
Lending Library in Richmond town centre. Local managers will
have 12 weeks to undertake a hothouse transformation that
will harness the combined skills, energy and resources of
the local authorities, library peers, the booktrade, celebrities
and the local community.
The makeover libraries will be revealed in July 2006 with
a programme of live events involving authors and celebrities
that appeal to large and diverse audiences.
At the end of the campaign there will be an online Love Libraries
toolkit for consumers, launched in July 2006. This will show
what readers can expect of a good library. There will also
be a toolkit with practical shared library advice for simple
and effective models of change.
Love Libraries is attracting a growing band of vocal champions
and celebrities including Phillip Pullman, Ahdaf Souief, Terence
Blacker, Caryl Phillips, Tracy Chevalier, Jenny Éclair,
Roy Hattersley, Michael Morpurgo and Tony Parsons who have
lent their name to the campaign. Each has offered their support
- becoming a Love Libraries Champion, offering to make personal
library appearances or simply saying why they love libraries.
More information is available at www.lovelibraries.co.uk.
(MLA press release,
15 March 2006)
Statistics from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and
Accountancy (CIPFA) show that in 2004/05 visits to public libraries
increased by over three million. There were over 17 million
more visits to libraries in 2004/05 than there were in 2001/02.
The figures show that 42% of library services are achieving
seven or more of the ten Public Library Service Standards. At
the same time they challenge libraries to improve, showing that
the number of active borrowers and the number of issues continues
to fall.
Commenting on the findings John Dolan, Head of Library Policy
at the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), said:
"These figures are a welcome spotlight on library performance
and their timely release means that public libraries services
can start the year knowing that more people are visiting and
also with a clear set of goals for the future.
"The impact of the People's Network shows that investing
in a new means of accessing information and learning was a wise
move. At the same time it will always be a priority for libraries
to focus on books and reading, and MLA is working with other
organisations including The Reading Agency and publishers to
implement best practice in this area."
David Lammy, Minister for Culture at DCMS, said: "Public
libraries continue to provide a vital and popular service to
individuals of all ages, to families and to local communities.
In the 21st century knowledge, information, and literacy skills
and reading for pleasure are at the heart of ensuring quality
of life as well as economic well-being. Local authorities must
ensure that their libraries provide the quality of services
people need and expect."
Through the MLA's public libraries improvement programme, Framework
for the Future, £9m of central government funding is being
invested in supporting reading and literacy initiatives, improving
leadership and management, challenging under-performance and
on a major campaign to attract a new generation of public library
staff.
(MLA press release, 4 January 2006)
England's public libraries are joining forces to provide a suite
of new online services - Enquire, Discover and Read. Managed
by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) the new
services will be available for the first time from a single
national website for public libraries with cutting edge 24/7
library services to help answer any question, guide you through
the web and explore books and reading online.
The Enquire service will give the public online access around
the clock to library and information staff. In a truly innovative
move which has involved cooperation with international partners
in the US and Canada, questions of any kind are answered in
real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for free either
via a live chat link or by email. Discover helps people to
find their way through the online world, bringing together
a rich range of resources, from news items and quick links
to websites to information about collections and objects in
libraries, museums and archives. Users can also personalise
Discover to access resources that match their particular interests.
Read aims to enhance enjoyment of books and reading by giving
people access to great reading resources as well as opportunities
to meet other readers either face to face or online.
Together, Enquire, Discover and Read make library services
even more accessible to people than ever before, opening up
opportunities to connect more and different people to the
valuable public services they have on offer.
The three new services were launched nationally on 19 October
2005 by Culture Minister David Lammy at the Public Libraries
Association Conference, and will be 'switched on' at public
libraries across England.
The new services are available at www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk
(MLA Press release, September 2005)
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council has commissioned
consultants to produce a "single, evidence-based document
that makes the case for museums, libraries and archives, both
in terms of government agendas and in terms of their intrinsic
value".
The brief explicitly aims to heal the divide between those
who argue that fulfilling Government agendas is the only way
to get funding, and those who fear that this undermines the
value of culture in itself. It is also a tall order. The MLA
is seriously getting to grips with its 2004-7 action plan,
which focuses on social cohesion, accessibility and celebrating
diversity. And it's well known that the Government thinks
of itself as an evidence-based policy-maker. But a research
team from Burns Owen has found painful gaps in the now-huge
pile of studies of social impact and the like, when it comes
to defining the contribution of libraries, museums and archives.
The three biggest are: no proper longitudinal studies of
long-term social impact; no agreed model to describe social
impact; especially poor cover of cultural diversity and health/mental
health.
The "generalised learning outcomes" invented by
the MLA to analyse success in informal learning, are useful.
Now a "social" version is needed - and the MLA has
already promised to get the job done this year.
The full report - New Directions in Social Policy: developing
the evidence base for museums, libraries & archives is
available from www.mla.gov.uk
(MLA press release, July 2005)
Libraries Minister Andrew McIntosh and the Museums, Libraries
and Archives Council have commissioned a study on value for
money in library services. Consultants from PKF Accountants
and business advisers are to report and make recommendations
on how public library services in England can give a better
and more cost-effective service to users.
PKF will conduct an in-depth review to find out what is the
best way to get a book from publisher to library user. The
Government hopes that the consultants will make recommendations
on improvements to existing systems, e.g. introducing changes
such as regional or national consortia, borrowing different
practices from other sectors, or using new technology and
ways of working to rework the entire supply chain. The study
will also examine how effectively library services are spending
their money and aims to identify what makes a library service
efficient, what resources might be required for different
models of delivery and what funding structures and flexibilities
can best meet these needs.
(MLA press release, 10 January 2005)
The Bookseller has reported that library investment in books will be at the top of the agenda
of a new select committee inquiry into public libraries. The
Department for Culture, Media and Sport's wide-ranging inquiry
will examine the Government's policy on public libraries,
the current state of the service and its future development.
Topics to be discussed include funding and the balance of
spending in libraries, whether opening times meet the demands
of the public, what can be done to increase library usage,
the effectiveness of the legislative, strategic and administrative
framework running libraries, quality of staff and the performance
of the "People's Network".
The 10-point guidelines laid out in Public Library Service
standards are a streamlined version of the 26 standards released
in 2001. One states that local authorities should buy 216
"books or other items" per 1000 people every year.
Library leaders have voiced concerns that the standard is
not book specific, unlike the 2001 report.
Details of the select committee inquiry are on the Parliament
website - www.parliament.uk.
DCMS's Report to Parliament on Public Library Matters
is available at www.culture.gov.uk
(Bookseller, 17 November 2004)
The Guardian has reported that the Government is to try to reverse the downward trend in
library book-borrowing by introducing national standards on
how many new books public libraries should buy and how often
they ought to replace worn-out stock. The move follows a 5%
nationwide fall in book loans in 2003.
The official standard will require libraries to buy 216 new
items per thousand of the population they serve each year.
The word item covers CDs, DVDs and other materials, but chiefly
means books.
(Guardian, 25 October 2004)
Framework for the Future has taken concrete shape with the
publication of three draft 'national offers' - a formalisation
of the standard services that public libraries all over the
country should offer. The Reading Agency has taken the lead
in developing offers for three target groups: reading clubs,
adult basic skills and youth (ages 11-19).
All three contain a clear definition of what libraries can
best do; a precise list of service actions and a three year
plan to get there. The national offer for basic skills is
based on well-developed pilot work in libraries -TRA's Vital
Link project. For reading groups the ideas are called a development
plan, acknowledging that there are already hundreds of reading
groups and nationally available support material. The most
revolutionary is the national programme and offer for youth.
The report explains that current thinking and legislation
can be summed up in the education green paper 'Every
Child Matters'. This says that 11 to 19-year-olds want
to 'make a positive contribution'. Libraries can help with
this, but are often being overlooked. TRA's research found
that 11 to 19-year-olds had both good and bad things to say
about libraries and their staff. But they 'loved the idea
of being involved in developing services.' The future may
depend on involving them in something, said the TRA.
Outline of offers
Ages 11-19
The library as 'the space' in the community for young people;
Inspiring, relevant reading material and creative reading
activities;
The library as the place to participate in the wider community
and democracy;
The library as the independent place for information and study
support;
The chance to get involved and shape the library service.
Example:
Standard: suggestion boxes and webspace to gather young people's
comments; yp involved in staff training; yp consulted on library
issues and library management plan; yp involved in developing
web content.
Medium: yp advisory group for stock and recruitment; yp rep
on forum that oversees yp service and plans events; library
used for work placements.
Enhanced: yp group with budget or regular visits to stock
suppliers; yp on job interview panels; yp board plans and
evaluates yp service; yp are library volunteers; yp plan own
events.
Basic skills/reader development
Library is accessible/welcoming;
Able to support adults' learning and help them move on;
Offers books that inspire and inform at the right level;
Offers creative activities around reading at the right level.
Example:
Standard: staff able to recommend titles.
Medium: staff involved in reading-for-pleasure activities,
integrated into curriculum.
Advanced: basic skills reading groups, chains and special
events in the library; BS work integrated into family work,
workplaces etc.
Reading groups
Local advice and provision of groups, progressing from basic
to sophisticated level;
Online and ICT-based support;
Local and national partnerships to develop groups' activities;
Suitable staff skills;
Reading group work linked to resource and service development;
Effective evaluation;
Research and evidence base for use in advocacy work.
(Library and Information Update, September 2004)
In March 2004 the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) launched a five-year vision, which it described
as an advocacy tool for the sector.
MLA had plumped unequivocally for a line that argues that everything
offered by museums, archives and libraries - including cultural
creativity - has solid value in terms of "the knowledge
society". The document summarises MLA's hoped-for position
under four headings: 'Education, learning and skills' (covered
by the Inspiring Learning for All programme - see below), 'Communities
and creativity', 'The knowledge economy' and 'Networking knowledge'.
(April 2004)
In March 2004, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council launched a programme to make museums,
libraries and archives central to the development of modern
education.
Inspiring Learning for All is supported by a web-based resource
- www.inspiringlearningforall.gov.uk
- that enables settings to review and develop learning activities
based on a framework of best practice and measure their impact
on learners. It aims to take institutions through a fundamental
culture change, making learning a core function.
The resource contains:
- activities to encourage organisations to explore what
learning is
- a framework to enable museums, archives and libraries
to assess the quality of their learning activities and to
plan improvements
- a way to measure impact on learning
- advocacy materials
- support for shifting the organisational focus to learning.
The evaluation of the 2003 Summer Reading Challenge, carried
out using Inspiring Learning for All methods, showed how libraries
support schools and teachers. It found that:
- 95% of the children who took part want to read lots more
books
- 45% read a book they wouldn't have wanted to before
- 59% found out something from a book they didn't know before
- 92% of the books read were new to the children
Inspiring Learning for All is linked to MLA's investment programme
for regional museums, Renaissance in the Regions, which has
developed work to promote learning through museums.
Public libraries are being urged to copy bookshops by introducing
comfortable sofas and serving coffee and cakes to transform
a visit into a social experience.
Framework for the Future, the 10-year strategy document published
in February 2002 by the Department for Culture, Media and
Sport, recommends the sort of Starbucks-style makeovers that
have revolutionised retail chains such as Books etc and Waterstones.
Extending opening hours in the evenings and on Sundays also
forms part of the blueprint.
Traditionally libraries have enjoyed enormous support. More
people visit libraries than attend football matches or the
cinema, according to official statistics. "But user numbers
are starting to go down, with young people in particular losing
the library habit once they leave school," a DCMS spokesperson
said.
Another attraction in the new-style library will be expert
tuition for the public in how to create websites and develop
other IT skills. This would extend the People's Network, a
lottery-funded scheme that has made the internet available
in every public library.
Libraries are also to be encouraged to run summer reading
challenges, and after-school homework clubs. And every library
will be expected to take part in the Bookstart
scheme, which gives all babies a free book and a library ticket
when they get their nine-month health check.
No extra money will be provided by the department, which
sees the strategy as a framework for local authorities and
funding agreements in future.
(Independent, 10 February 2003)
The LA Record has reported reader development has been given a massive vote of confidence
in the new Arts Council for England grants lists. The reading
partnership (the reader development agency backed by the Library
Association) will get a huge rise of 275% (from £16,000
to £60,000) followed by an increase to £65,800
in 2003-4.
(LA Record, May 2001)
Resource published its research strategy on 13 February 2001,
encompassing:
- commissioning statistical information about museum, library
and archive services
- mapping current trends
- identifying future priorities
- assessing need
- identifying best practice
Standards for libraries have been published by the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport, demanding all libraries match
the performance of the top 25% of libraries. Included in the
standards are the requirement that:
- Libraries open at least five hours a week beyond 9am
to 5pm
- all households in inner london to be within 1 mile of
a library, in unitary authorities 88% of household should
be within 1 mile. (This measure has changed from travelling
time to distance.)
- Request for books to be met: 50% in seven days, 70%in
15 days and 85% in 30 days.
- Annual visit to library websites should match the performance
of the top 25% of libraries.
- 95% of children/adult to rate knowledge of staff as good
or very good.
Libraries are required to identify and target the following
groups: children, socially excluded, ethnic minorities and people
with disabilites.
The standards can be downloaded from www.culture.gov.uk
(January 2001)
The Independent has reported that libraries will have to adopt "supermarket" hours, including
Sunday and evening openings to make them more accessible to
students and people who work, under guidelines to be unveiled
by Chris Smith, the Secretary of State for Culture.
The Government standards, published in January 2001, oblige
libraries to ensure that popular fiction and books written
in locally spoken languages are on the shelves.
The Government is concerned that reduced library hours and
closures are having a damaging effect on children's education.
The new standards will, in effect, prevent the closure of
libraries in England and Wales unless a local authority can
prove there is no public demand.
For the first time, local authorities in England and Wales
will be assessed on the quality of the library service, including
opening hours, rather than the annual plans for their local
library systems.
The new standards will require libraries to provide cheap
or free internet access for people who cannot afford home
computers. Libraries will be told that audio-visual material,
including taped books and videos, should be considered an
ordinary and integral part of services.
The standards will make it more difficult for local authorities
to sell libraries in high street locations and move them to
less accessible areas, offer new protection to rural library
services and ensure that urban libraries can be reached by
public transport.
If authorities fail to meet the new library standards they
will face redress and the possible withholding of Government
funding.
(Independent 8 January 2001)
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