LIBRARIES AND INFORMATIOO NEEDS OF RURAL <XMIDNITIES IN NORm WEST LEICESTERSHIRE by vinodrai Kikubhai Ghadjal j A Masters Dissertation, submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Master of Science degree of the Loughborough University of Technology Sept~ 1991 . Supervisor: Miss Deborah Goodall Department of Library and Information Studies . (cl v. Ghadiali, 1991 Dedicated to my first Guruji the late Mr. Chhaganlal Pandya, who taught me A,B,C, and my last Guruji in India, Or Hiren Pandya, Head of Department of Public Administration, fran whan I learned self confidence. INDEX Acknowledgements .1 Introduction 2 Cllapter Cbe Library services in North west Leicestershire 7 Cllapter n.o Library and information provision 23 Cllapter Three North west Leicestershire • 34 Cllapter Four Methodology 48 Cllapter Five Analysis of the findings 54 Primary reasons for visiting the library 81 Type of information sought 102 Mobile library service 117 CllapterSix Surrmary of the findings 128 <llapter Seven Conclusions and recommendations 131 Cllapter Eight Future developments 137 Bibliography 140 Appendix 143 ABSTRAcr Library and information needs in many rural communities are undergoing rapid transformation in response to profound economic and demographic change. The changes now occuring in North West Leicestershire are, in many respects, typical of this phenomenon, and this survey sets out to analyse and investigate the changes that are taking place, and the con­ sequences that this carries for library·and information provision within this part of Leicestershire. North West Leicestershire for the past thirty years has been characterised by long term industrial decline, symbolized above. all, by the collapse of the coal mining industry. The impact that this has had on the indigenous communities in this area has been far reaching and, for the most part, adverse. On the positive side, nearby motorway links now provide convenient access to major cities such as Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham, and, as a result, the area has seen the rise of middle class CUlture, no longer dependent for its livelihood on the immediate locality. Library and information provision in consequence is having to respond to a multiplicity of competing demands, often of a con­ flicting nature, and not necessarily reconcilable. The findings are based on actual questionnaires completed and returned by the public themselves. The survey covers seventeen villages in the region. -1- My sincere thanks to all those who helped me to achieve this goal. Firstly, to Leicestershire Libraries and Information Service, who sponsored me to take this course. I ...:)uld like to thank my former Area Librarian, Mr Pravin Lukka, who constantly encouraged me to acquire a professional qualification, and Mr Paul Leivers, Area Librarian of the St. Barnabas area, for his kind help. My thanks also go to our Personnel Department, especially to Mrs Lindy McHugh, Mrs Annette Lear and Mrs Joy Brindle, for their special interest in my personal development. At this point, I ...:)uld like to thnak the staff of Coalville Library, in particular Mrs GIll Loveridge, Area Librarian, and Mr Harry Weston, the mobile librarv driver/assistant. My special thanks go to Mr Maganbhai Patel for the use of his typewriter, Mr Stephen Eales and Mr Mark Hayter for their computer expertise, and lastly, Miss Jenny Wragg without whose help, this project might not have been completed on time. I cannot ,. of course, forget those who are closely associated with this project. My grateful thanks go to Mr Lionel Durbidge, my former supervisor, and Miss Deborah Goodall, my present supervisor, who have both helped me through this entire dissertation. -2- ! INI'RODUcrION General Background "Very little research has taken place on the information needs of rural inhabitants and arguments about needs have usually been based on presumption that those living in the country do not have problems or, if they do, these can usually be sorted out by the ccmnunity." <1> So quotes Allan Bunch in his book - "Ccmnunity Information Service". Up to a certain extent, the above statement is still right and valid. In Leicestershire however, attempts have been made to provide an Information File. In 1983, a joint project between Leicester­ shire Libraries and Information Service (LLIS) and Leicestershire Rural Ccmnunity Council (LRCC) , was undertaken to provide local information files to the rural areas. As a result, sane four hundred files have been distributed throughout Leicester­ shire. The need for an Information Service developed from observations made by the Leicestershire Rural Ccmnunity Council. In 1985, the Libraries and Information Service agreed to undertake the maintainance and developnent of the files, and to periodically update and review its contents. <2> -3- The Survey The information files were designed to cover the whole of Leicestershire. However, there was relatively little information about North West Leicestershire. In 1988, when I was posted at Coalville Library, I became increasingly aware of this, so I personally decided to carry out a user survey to find out the library and information needs of the rural communities in the area. The survey served a t"-D-fold purpose in that it was a good opportunity for me to beccme better acquainted with the community and individuals, and at the same time, people were able to express their views honestly, and of course, confidentially. North West Leicestershire North West Leicestershire has a large area of unspoilt countryside. It lies at the heart of the midlands within a triangle formed by a net"-Drk of rrotorways: the Ml, M42 and the M69, which provide easy access to major surrounding cities such as Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham. In the past~the area was mainly a coalmining centre, with a quarter of its "-Drk force directly involved in mining and quarrying. But in the last few years, the coalmining industry has declined considerably with heavy job losses. However, due to the efforts of the City Council, the service industry has -4- successfully expanded and has provided much needed employment opportunities in the area. Methodology The questionnaires were designed to serve two purposes: (a) to collect information and (b) to give information about the range of services available in the area. Questions four and six in particular included details of the kind of material and information which are readily on offer. Over a two week period, sane two hundred and fifty questionnaires were delivered to households in seventeen villages in the area. All the questionnaires were supplied with pre-paid envelopes. OUt of two hundred and fifty, eighty six were completed and returned. Contents In this survey report, the first chapter deals with library services in rural areas, which describes how the services developed and what efforts have been made to provide these services. Chapter two covers the library provision in Leicestershire and in particular North West Leicestershire. There is an introduction to the area in chapter three. It includes the population pattern, its industries and employment -5- and, a brief description of some of the villages. In chapter five, information and data have been analysed by age, sex, distance, occupation, frequency of use, reasons for visiting the library and use of the moblie library. Tables have been included at the beginning of each analysis and the findings have been sumnarised in chapter six. A sample of the questionnaire is enclosed in the appendix. Limitations and Scope Although a 32% response is not too bad, it is, in many ways, too small an amount to analyse and draw up conclusions. For example, from among a group of 15 to 17 year olds, only one person (female) responded. This shows it is not only difficult but virtually impossible to form any solid conclusions relating to single point details • Another restrictive factor was time. I had to use the mobile library to travel to each of the villages. Wherever it stopped, I delivered questionnaires to a selection of the houses. I am convinced however, that I ~uld have received a better response to the survey had I had sufficient time to complete the questio­ nnaires with the people instead. Nevertheless, this survey will provide useful information to the Leicestershire Libraries and Information Service. It will help in achieving its goal of providing a better service to all. -6- REFERENCES <1> BUNCH, ALLAN. Connunity Information Services. 1982. pg 99. <2> FRANK, M. Leicestershire village information files. 1983. CHAPI'ER ONE -7- LIBRARY SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS General Background It will help to give an understanding of the way in which the library service is provided if the development of the service in rural areas is put into an historical perspective. Public libraries first developed in urban areas; indeed by 1915 it was estimated that only 7.5% of the rural. population had access to public libraries (as compared to 79% of the urban population). The 1919 Public Libraries Act however, empowered county councils to establish libraries and the Carnegie Trust provided grants to enable the service to be set up. <1> The county library service developed along different lines to those adopted by boroughs. Generall y, the county service depended on one or more central book stores from which the library van delivered a book collection to voluntary librarians as opposed to the full-time lending and reference libraries in the towns. This was the 'deposit =llection' system which is still retained in some counties, albeit on a much reduced scale. There is, therefore, sanething of a tradition of voluntary involvement in providing the library service in rural areas. -8- The limitations of this system have caused the development of t= alternative schemes. In larger villages, part or full-time libraries in purpose built premises manned by professional staff have been established. In addition, the rrobile library service, serving small communities and isolated farmsteads, has been substantially expanded.