Taking Stock: the Future of Our Public Library Service
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September 2008 Taking stock: the future of our public library service TAKING STOCK: An independent report for Contents THE FUTURE OF OUR UNISON by Steve Davies Executive summary 4 Staffing, skills and training 30 PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE Senior Research Fellow Adequate resources and funding for Table 10: Staff in post (SIP) (at 31 March 2007) 30 Cardiff School of Social library services, staff and premises 4 Figure 5: Total staff in post 1997-98 to 2006-07 30 Sciences Empowerment of staff and communities Table 11: Staff in post 1997-98 to 2006-07 31 to shape services together 5 The public sector ethos 33 Partnership working between libraries The public service reform agenda 34 and councils across the UK to share Figure 6: UK Government’s public service information and good practice 5 reform agenda 34 Responsiveness to library users The PricewaterhouseCoopers proposals 37 from all backgrounds 5 Figure 7: Competitiveness and maturity of key Provision of staff training and local government market sectors 37 Steve Davies is a Senior professional development 5 Figure 8: Overall trends in procurement Research Fellow at the expenditure in local government 38 Centre for Global Labour Introduction 6 Research based in Cardiff History of public libraries 7 Discussion and conclusions 44 University’s School of Social The state of the library service Adequate resources and funding for Sciences. Over the past and the challenges ahead 13 library services, staff and premises 44 twenty five years, he has Empowerment of staff and communities conducted extensive research Key dates in the development to shape services together 44 on public sector reform, work of the UK public library service 11 and employment relations Introduction 13 Partnership working between libraries and councils across the UK to share at UK, European and global Governance and funding 14 level. information and good practice 45 Table 1: Distribution of UK library authorities 14 Responsiveness to library users from Measuring value and quality 15 all backgrounds 45 Funding and costs 18 Provision of staff training and Table 2: Total net expenditure on the UK professional development 45 library service 18 References 46 Table 3: Public Library Expenditure and GDP 1965-2000 (England) 19 Annex 54 Charging 20 Table 12: Territorial Library Spend 2006-2007 54 Table 13: Total visits to UK public libraries Library visits and usage 21 1997-98 to 2006-07 54 Figure 1: Total visits to UK public libraries Table 14: Total book stock 54 1997-98 to 2006-07 22 Figure 9: Book acquisitions 1997-98 to Table 4: UK visits and usage 22 2006-07: UK and constituent countries 55 Book stocks, acquisitions and issues 23 Figure 10: Book acquisitions 1997-98 to Figure 2: Total book stock 23 2006-07 Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland 55 Figure 3: Total UK public library service Table 15: Total visits to libraries in the UK book acquisitions 24 (selected years with territorial breakdown) 56 Table 5: Book acquisitions per 1,000 population Table 16: UK libraries total stock and issues 56 2005-06 to 2006-07 (by territorial unit) 24 Table 17: Changes in book stock 2006-07 Figure 4: Total book issues 24 by territorial unit 56 Library facilities 25 Table 18: Book stock per 1,000 population 2006-2007 by territorial unit 56 Table 6: Library closures and openings in government regions in 2006-07 (England) 25 Table 19: Book acquisitions 1997-98 to 2006-07 57 Table 7: Percentage of all service points open Table 20: Total UK public library service book 60 hours a week or more (territorial units) 25 acquisitions 57 Table 8: UK library service points 1975-76 to Table 21: Total book issues 58 2006-07 26 Table 22: Total service points open 10 hours a week or more and population per service point Table 9: UK library service electronic facilities 26 58 Figure 11: Professional and non-professional The Private Finance Initiative 27 staff in post 58 2 3 TAKING STOCK: Empowerment of staff and communities THE FUTURE OF OUR Executive summary PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE to shape services together Libraries rest on a bed of goodwill from local communities. They are valued and trusted. But much more could and should be done to involve both the staff and the local communities in the For over 150 years, Britain’s public library service has made an essential contribution to the shaping of the service. This should involve current users, the ‘Friends of the Library’, supporters social, educational, cultural and economic well-being of local communities throughout the groups, but should also develop means of reaching out to those who currently do not use the country. In 2006-07, there were over 337 million visits to more than 4,700 public libraries; 315 library as well. New and imaginative methods should be deployed rather than relying on the blunt million book issues from a total stock of 103 million books; 8.7 million issues of audio, visual or tools of market exit. electronic items; 64 million visits to library websites and a budget of over £1 billion. More people visit libraries than either football matches or the cinema. Partnership working between libraries And yet despite this, the service is regarded as being in crisis. This is primarily due to the long term nature of the impact of decisions which cut expenditure, building budgets, staffing, and and councils across the UK to share training. The policy of commercialisation, privatisation and cuts in public spending pursued by the Conservatives in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in falling book acquisitions, a decline in information and good practice library visits and book issues and a deterioration in the building stock. Many library authorities have pioneered new ways of working and this needs to be more widely shared. Innovative methods of delivering the service within a publicly accountable The two decades of neglect have yet to be reversed despite some additional funding since framework should be encouraged within each library authority and lessons shared across council Labour came to power in 1997. Unfortunately, the government’s public service reform boundaries. agenda has disinterred some of the failed ideas of the previous administration – in terms of commercialisation and contracting out. For example, without any hard evidence, the PricewaterhouseCoopers proposals recommend a programme of change which would push the Responsiveness to library users from all library service into the orbit of the private sector and change irrevocably the character of the backgrounds service. Libraries should reflect the society that they serve and should be welcoming places to all Greater demands are being made on libraries at a time when there is a squeeze on public sections of the community. The very best already do this, but more could be done to ensure that spending. Local authorities need to ensure that the library service is not lost among the the library is firmly rooted in the locality. general leisure services remit of over-stretched Cabinet members and should see the network of branches as a priceless – if often underused – link with the community that the elected Provision of staff training and professional members serve. Local people (both library users and potential users from all backgrounds) should have the opportunity to work with library staff to shape the service to suit the needs of the development local community, within the context of a broader library service. As part of an attempt to cut costs, some authorities are deskilling the library service, replacing professional librarians with less skilled staff and permanent library staff with volunteers. Skills UNISON has called on the government and local authorities to adopt a five point plan to maintain possessed by qualified librarians should be valued and deployed effectively, rather than regarded and improve the library service. The basic needs of libraries are fairly straightforward. A as an unfortunate over-head. Staff training should be increased for all staff and a discussion commitment to these five broad objectives can be the beginning of a real debate on the detail opened up with the union both nationally and locally, involving the library schools, on the skill and implementation: set likely to be required of tomorrow’s library staff. This is especially urgent for library assistants who have suffered cuts to their pay and grading through single status. They would particularly Adequate resources and funding for benefit from training to enhance their skills to meet the new demands of the service. Such library services, staff and premises training should also assist them to follow a coherent career path. Central and local government need to ensure that libraries have sufficient funds to maintain and One of the great strengths of the library service, and a source of the trust with which it is develop an attractive book stock. They also need to be able to provide the traditional range of regarded in the community is that it is not a commercial service. Public libraries are an integral services, in terms of children’s, reference and local studies sections. Online access to reference part of local public services and should remain so. sources and general use of the internet should be maintained and developed but should not The public library service should build on its past successes; learn from the failed experience be done at the expense of the book stock. The library premises need to be both attractive of contracting out other public services and go forward as a well-funded, publicly provided, top and functional – for both the public and the staff that work there. Library users and, just as quality public service fit for the 21st century. importantly, potential users, need to be able to access libraries at times that are convenient for them, so opening hours and working patterns have to be adjusted.