Friends of Richmond Libraries - what we do and why it matters

FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARIES

Libraries work best when they work in the interests of the whole community. Local needs differ, and meeting those needs is an important priority. To help us achieve this, we need to talk to the people who use the library, and care about its present and its future, we want to hear their suggestions, debate their ideas, and then see that decisions are put into action for the benefit of everyone.

That's what the Friends of Richmond Libraries are about - helping the library service respond to your needs.

So, if you care about your library, share our view that libraries are important to the community, and believe that local representatives should have a role in their library, do please contact us.

Latest Developments - Library Service

The Council has just published its library strategy Connecting Communities, Library Strategy 2011-2014 which will go to cabinet for discussion and ratification on July 21 2011. Visit : http://www.richmond.gov.uk/council_committees_list?mgl=ieListDocuments.aspx&CId=163&MId=2750&Ver=4  for details


The Friends of Richmond Libraries have issued a brief response in the form of a letter to Cllr Pamela Fleming, the Cabinet Member for Community, Business and Culture with responsibility for the library service.
Dear Cllr Fleming

Library Strategy 2011-14

The Friends of Richmond Libraries have now had the opportunity to study the recommendations in Connecting Communities and the associated cabinet paper. We welcome your assertion that the Council values the library service and recognises its importance to local communities and we are relieved that there will be no imminent closure of libraries. Broadly, the six key themes underpinning the strategy have our support as does the aim to deliver an efficient and effective library service to the borough. However, we do have serious concerns about certain proposals.

“Village Libraries”

The transference of Ham, Hampton Wick and Kew to community groups to run appears to be unsupported by local demand. We trust that an extensive local consultation on this specific issue will take place before any action ensues. The experience in Lewisham of handing over the delivery of library services to social enterprise and other local groups has not been a happy one (a).

Extending the range of e-books and online subscription services

We acknowledge and applaud the aim to extend e-services which are so important in skills development and extending educational access. However, we feel that some of the terminology used “extended the range of e-books…through the library network” might actually be in conflict with the Digital Economy Act. It is reasonable to suppose that the legal provisions specified in the Bill will be adhered to.


Creating a not-for-profit organisation with charitable status

As far as we can ascertain there has been no popular demand for this which appears to be driven by cutting the library budget by 20% over the next four years.

We appreciate the intention here is to save money, but transferring cultural services outwith local control is fraught with difficulties and dangers to the service and community. As ever, the devil is in the detail. Until we have seen the business case, the quantified service standards and the results of statutory and local consultation we remain sceptical. The Friends are relieved that the library service is not being outsourced to the private sector.

Should the cabinet approve the strategy a detailed business plan will be needed both for the development of the “village library” concept and the alteration to the governance. We look forward to commenting on the plan and assisting, if we can, will local the local consultation process.

David Ward
Chairman, Friends of Richmond Libraries


(a)
comments on MLA's June 2011 'Community Libraries' Report
Patricia and Peter Richardson,
The Users & Friends of Manor House Library, Lewisham, London SE13
Libraries for Life for Londoners
The Library Campaign


Open Forum for Library Users - The Future of the Library Service was held on Thursday April 14th at 7.30 pm
with Councillor Pamela Fleming, Cabinet Member for Community Development and Ian Dodds, Head of Culture, LBRUT.

Report of Ian Dodds' talk      

  CONNECTING COMMUNITIES
You don’t have to stick your head far above the parapet to know that this is an incredibly challenging time for libraries as we struggle to maintain services against a backdrop of massive Government-led public sector cuts. 51 libraries in London are scheduled to close in the coming months. Others have reduced opening hours and their book budgets. 

We are not immune to these public sector budget cuts. In the last year we have reduced the library service’s budget by £350,000. This has largely been achieved by prudent financial planning - but it has not been without some pain – including the closure of Heathfield Library last month. Wherever possible we have tried to limit the impact of these budget reductions by first cutting back on management and administration costs – and where we have needed to cut frontline service we have worked to minimize the impact on library users and local residents – so in Heathfield we have opened a Library Access Point in the local Community Centre to provide books and IT access to local residents.

But the budget situation remains bleak and the Council still needs to identify between £12 and £15m of savings in the next 2-3 years. At a time when the outlook is so bleak it is difficult to be visionary about the future of the library service - but that is precisely what we need to be. We must ensure that our services are modern and relevant and – most importantly – responsive to the needs of our local communities.

At this Forum last year I said that we must be absolutely clear about why libraries matter to people in Richmond upon Thames –why local people use them and value them – and to crystal-ball-gaze as to how they will use them in the future.

We know that libraries are held in great affection by local residents. As Cllr. Fleming has said 20% of households responding to the borough-wide All In One survey said that library service were one of the most important services in their local communities – the second most important Council service after Parks. In our own consultation about the future of the library service in November last year, 1200 residents gave us a very clear steer on what they want from their library service.

30% of residents said that we must invest in books and that books must remain at the heart of our offer. Over the last year we added more than 70,000 new books to our collections. We have implemented a new stock supply contract which has provided us with access to a better range of stock at a larger discount – which means that we have been able to buy more. In the coming year we will continue to protect the budget spent on books because we know that’s what local people want.

26% of residents said that they wanted us to focus more on hosting events that promote reading and support learning. Our libraries are home to reading groups – poetry circles –exhibitions – performances - and events with writers and storytellers. This year 2,800 children completed the Summer Reading Challenge. We delivered more that 1,500 hours of ICT learning helping people to learn how to use email or the Internet. And we held events for World Book Night – Adult Learners Week – National Storytelling Week – and I could go on. In the coming year we will continue to ensure our libraries are focal points for these cultural activities.

18% of residents said that they wanted us to improve library buildings. In the past year we have completed building improvements to Richmond Library. In the coming year we will refurbish Whitton Library and we still have work to do on Ham Library which has changed very little since the 1950s and Kew Library which has changed very little since it was a temporary library in 1971. We will also investigate options for co-locating libraries with other public services. This will have the benefit of improving buildings and locations and extending the range of public services on offer whilst enabling us to share building costs.

17% of residents said that they wanted us to extend library opening hours and move away from a standard pattern to one based more clearly on local need. We have extended opening hours at most libraries by opening earlier and have introduced a much more memorable pattern based on consultation with local residents. In the coming year we will complete the installation of RFID self-service technology in all libraries. This will enable us to further extend opening hours including an option to open the town-centre libraries on Mondays.

17% of residents also said that we should improve our IT services. We know that more than 70% of Britons now have a connection to the Internet and three quarters of them access the Internet daily. This will increase. Mobile and wireless access will spread. More and more information will be available in online spaces. E-books and tablet technology (whether it is the I-Pad or Sony E-Reader or Kindle) are becoming cheaper and more popular. The majority of our traditional information sources are now published online making them more accurate and more accessible to people from their home or office or from an Internet-enabled mobile phone. There is increasing demand for digitized local history resources. In the coming year we will grow these services and make sure we are at the cutting edge of developments by extending access to e-books and online subscription services through a virtual library portal – and by creating digital content and ensuring our libraries offer the most up-to-date technology.

16% of residents wanted libraries to develop their roles as community spaces. They wanted libraries to be used as social spaces with coffee shops – as access points to other Council and public services – and as community meeting spaces. We agree. Libraries are the cornerstones of their local community. Let me say very clearly that there are no plans to close any of our libraries but we will look carefully at the different ways in which we can manage them and how we can work in partnership with local community groups and volunteers to ensure that they remain public buildings at the heart of their local communities- delivering the services that local people want and need.

It is very clear that libraries – like all Council services - will continue to face challenging times over the next 3 years. I am confident that if we hold dear to the core values of the public library service – as gateways to books, reading, learning and information – if we fully grasp the opportunities of new technologies – if we think differently and work with local residents to keep libraries as the focal points of their communities - if we listen hard and deliver what local people need and want - then our libraries will have a strong future.



Teddington Library
Teddington Library

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