Public Libraries in the 21st Century

Defining Services and Debating the Future

Anne Goulding

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317073598
• Subtopic: Library & Information Science
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Public Libraries in the 21st Century presents a comprehensive analysis of the impact of recent policy initiatives directly targeted at public libraries along with broader developments in the public sector environment within which they operate. Key features include: ¢ An exploration of the context within which public libraries are operating and analysis of their role in local and national life; ¢ Examples of best practice in service delivery; ¢ Evaluation of the challenges and opportunities confronting public library managers; ¢ Wide ranging coverage, including information from published and unpublished sources, supplemented by interviews with key stakeholders in the public library sector. The book provides a unique and thorough guide to the contemporary discourses surrounding issues of identity, social purpose, value and strategy facing the public library service.

PART 1
THE ENVIRONMENT

Chapter 1

Setting the Scene

Introduction

There are nearly 5,000 public library service points in the United Kingdom (Cipfa, 2004), 60 per cent of people hold a public library ticket, there are around 400 million visits to public libraries every year and 10 million people make a visit to a public library at least once a fortnight (Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2004a). This scale of activity suggests that the public library service is a thriving and dynamic system, successfully supporting the literary, leisure, learning and cultural pastimes of the population. Many working within the public library field would confirm that the service is indeed prospering and operating effectively, albeit acknowledging that there are some problems which sometimes prevent public libraries being positioned at the heart of the intellectual and creative lives of the communities they serve. Certainly, a popular image of public libraries as down-at-heel, unwelcoming, uncomfortable places which have old and incomplete collections is enduring, often reinforced by media stereotypes and immoderate press reactions to published reports detailing declines in some of the more conventional aspects of public library provision. And there have been declines. Despite innovative initiatives, programmes and activities enabling public libraries to reach out to communities and engage those who have not in the past made good use of public library services, the statistics show a steady downward trend in the use of many of the core services provided by the public library service including book issues and visitor numbers, although the latter did show a slight increase for the first time in many years in 2002/3 (Cipfa, 2004).

This study takes stock of the public library service in the UK at a volatile time in its history. On the one hand, public goodwill towards the public library service remains strong, reinforced by government commitment since 1997 to improve standards and strengthen its contribution to important aspects of public policy. There is a good deal of optimism within the public library field that the service is raising its game and playing a significant role in achieving political priorities. On the other hand, reports of public libraries as ‘a service in distress’ (Culture, Media and Sport Committee, 2005, p. 3), ‘sleepwalking to disaster’ (Leadbeater, 2003, p. 13), ‘due for renewal’ (Audit Commission, 1997, p. 57) and ‘losing their place in people’s lives’ (Audit Commission, 2002, p. 45) to the extent that they will be out of use by 2020 (Coates, 2004), suggest that, at the beginning of the 21st century, the service is at crisis point. The chapters which follow assess which of these accounts is most valid by analysing the current position of this valued public institution and its role in local and national life. The impact of recent policy initiatives directly targeted at public libraries is evaluated, as are broader developments in the public sector environment within which they operate. Examples of best practice in service delivery are explored as we consider the challenges and opportunities public library managers face in directing their services within an evolving social and policy environment and within shifting national and local priorities.

Developmental Factors

The following discussion does not attempt a full situational analysis of the public library service in the early years of the 21st century; that would require a separate study in itself. Rather, the key political, economic, social and professional developments raised by the representatives from the public library community interviewed for this study are clarified to set a context for the commentary which follows. This is only a brief overview that sets out to give an indication of the range of developments impacting on public library services and many of the issues are explored in more detail in subsequent chapters

Political Forces

The political forces impacting on the public library services in the United Kingdom are numerous and diverse because not only are public libraries a local government service having to respond to local political priorities, but they also have a national position as a statutory service. In many places in the discussion that follows, reference is made to the Government’s agenda, often in relation to how public libraries can contribute to the achievement of government aspirations. This is in recognition of the fact that government policy is the key force driving changes to local public services and that to be part of the Government’s plans, public libraries must respond positively to its priorities and vision in areas including education and lifelong learning, modernizing government, tackling social inclusion and strengthening communities. In fact, the ideological climate for libraries has improved as Westminster has already recognized the various ways in which public libraries contribute to wider government objectives on social inclusion, education, community development and ICT provision. Since Labour came to power in 1997, there have been two parliamentary debates on public libraries (Hansard, 2004a and 2004b) and two House of Commons Select Committee inquiry reports on public libraries, the first of which noted in its Conclusion:

We can recollect few if any inquiries that have generated as many submissions to the Committee. That public interest reflects both the need for public library services and the high regard in which they are held by millions of people (Culture, Media and Sport Committee, 2000, para. 104).

The second inquiry reported early in 2005 and confirmed that public libraries are ‘an important national resource’ (Culture, Media and Sport Committee, 2005, p. 3). It also found much to criticize, however, details of which are given throughout this book.

Political recognition of the value of the public library service does appear to be growing at a national level, therefore. It is important to remember, however, that as far as public libraries are concerned, ‘national’ does not mean UK-wide as, following devolution, the governing bodies of each of the home nations of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are responsible for the provision of public library services to their own citizens¹.

Devolution Referenda on devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were key promises made in the Labour party’s manifesto of 1997. During 1997 and 1998 referenda were held in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland the referendum asked whether there was support for the Good Friday Agreement, which, alongside other important provisions on the constitutional future of Northern Ireland and power sharing, also provided for the establishment of a Northern Ireland Assembly with devolved legislative powers. Seventy one per cent voted in favour of the agreement. Elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly took place in June 1998, and the Executive took up its powers in December 1999 although it has since been suspended. In Wales and Scotland, the electorate was asked to vote on whether systems of devolved government should be established in the two countries. In Scotland, a clear majority (70 per cent) voted in favour while in Wales the result was much closer (50.3 per cent in favour). As a result, elections for a new Scottish Parliament and a new National Assembly for Wales were held on 6 May 1999 and devolved powers were formally transferred from the UK Government to the two devolved administrations on 1 July 1999. There are different levels of devolved responsibilities in the different home nations and there is no common pattern although all three new bodies have devolved responsibility for culture.

Although prior to devolution in 1997, both Scotland and Northern Ireland had separate library legislation and domestic Ministers (in the Scottish Office and Northern Ireland Office) responsible for public libraries, devolution has arguably strengthened the hand of the devolved administrations in their handling of public library issues and encouraged all four home countries to follow distinct paths in serving what are often quite different communities with very specific needs. The differences between public library services in the four home countries of the UK may not be very apparent yet but it is likely that as the separate assemblies and parliaments develop policies, priorities and agendas in this and other areas, divergence will become more evident, especially as cultural strategies are developed in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Scotland published its cultural strategy in 2000 (Scottish Executive, 2000) and Wales in 2002 (Welsh Assembly Government, 2002).

In recognition of the effects of devolution, Chapter 3 is titled ‘National Agendas’, the plural deliberately containing a double meaning – agendas because there are many national political developments impacting on public libraries and also in acknowledgement that the departments responsible for public libraries in the four home countries will be developing separate agendas for their public library services. The main focus of this book is mainly on English public libraries, however, primarily because of the better access to resources – printed, electronic and human. Framework for the Future, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) long term strategy for public libraries in England was published in 2003 (Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2003) and the implementation of the action plan to realize its recommendations has led to considerable activity under the direction of the Council for Museums, Libraries and Archives (MLA) for England. MLA is the development agency for museums, libraries and archives in England, advising government on policy and priorities for the sector.² There is no equivalent body for the other three home countries although for Wales, CyMAL (Museums, Archives and Libraries Wales) was established in 2004.³ This is in a different position to the English MLA, however, as it is part of the Welsh Assembly; it is not a separate agency but a policy division of the Assembly, developing policy and giving policy advice directly to Ministers.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland there are no cross-domain bodies similar to either the English or Welsh models although both the SLIC (Scottish Library and Information Council)⁴ and LISC(NI) (Library and Information Services Council Northern Ireland)⁵ advise their respective governments on library and information issues and act as a focus for activity in the domain. At the time of writing, none of the three bodies in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland had published a strategy document for libraries similar to Framework for the Future although CyMAL has issued a prospectus outlining its roles, responsibilities and work programmes across the cultural sector of museums, libraries and archives (CyMAL, 2004). In Northern Ireland, Tomorrow’s Libraries, was commissioned by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure for Northern Ireland (DCAL), ‘to establish the current position of and to create an agreed future vision for, the service’ but to date there appears to be little progress on the report’s recommendations (Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, 2002). The Scottish Executive has asked the SLIC to develop a standards and evaluation framework with the key themes of information, reading, access and community and also established a Cultural Commission to review existing cultural provision, including public libraries, and make recommendations for the future. The Commission published its final report in June 2005, recommending that the SLIC be re-constituted as the Library and Information Council of Scotland and continue its work on the establishment of national public library standards (Scottish Executive, 2005).

Because of the number of initiatives and publications as a result of Framework for the Future, the emphasis of this study is on English public libraries although references are made to the systems in the other three home countries where possible and when relevant. Representatives from the other three home countries were interviewed and their responses and comments give an indication of developments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Regional government New Labour’s enthusiasm for constitutional reform did not stop at the creation of assemblies and parliaments for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland but also included plans for regional devolution for England. The creation of regional government in England was another commitment that the Labour party made in its manifesto before it came to power in 1997. A government white paper published in 2002, Your Region, Your Choice (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2002), defined the powers available to regional government, should any of the eight regions outside London choose to establish regional assemblies. The assemblies would take over the roles and responsibilities of various bodies or quangos operating in the areas of: sustainable development; economic development; skills and employment; spatial planning; transport; waste; housing; health improvement; biodiversity; and, most importantly for public libraries, culture (Mulholland, 2004). Currently, all regions have unelected assemblies made up of local councillors, business and community leaders but to take over the powers envisaged for them by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), the government department driving the regional agenda, referenda on whether to establish an elected assembly must be held. The first three of these were to be held in the autumn of 2004 but two were postponed following fears that the ‘no’ campaigns would prevail and the vote would be lost. In fact, the referendum that did go ahead in the North East of England returned a resounding ‘no’ to the concept of regional government, throwing the Government’s regional devolution plans into turmoil.

There is certainly considerable opposition to regional assemblies, many feeling that an extra tier of government is an unnecessary and bureaucratic waste of money. Those in favour argue that elected assemblies would be democratically accountable to local voters, unlike the hotchpotch of appointed assemblies, consortiums, boards and regional government offices that is currently responsible for a whole host of issues at a regional level. Supporters also feel that the regions would gain an economic advantage if they had regional government and attract more investment from both UK and European parliaments. The main obstacle to regional government could be public apathy, however, as a vigorous public debate around regional government has yet to take off.

In the meantime, as far as public libraries are concerned, regional cultural consortiums have been created, regional cultural strategies have been formulated and Single Regional Agencies representing museums, libraries and archives have been established, all of which have implications for the operation and delivery of library services. Despite the stalling of referenda for elected regional assemblies, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport published a consultation paper in June 2004 setting out its approach on the role of elected regional assemblies in relation to the cultural sector (Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2004b). It proposes that elected regional assemblies would be directly responsible for regional cultural consortiums, would prepare the regional cultural strategy and would have powers to provide funding for the Single Regional Agencies. The extent of regional cultural activity envisaged raises the question of whether library services should be provided on a regional basis to benefit from large, cross-sectoral partnerships, economies of scale and to counteract the effect of the local government review of the late 1990s which often split single large authorities into several smaller ones. Certainly, talk of ‘fragmentation’ and its downsides is prevalent but, initially, regional co-operation is considered vital to raise the profile of the cultural sector, encourage and support innovative service delivery and improve the sector’s chances of accessing new sources of funding directed at the regions.

Public sector reform The Labour Party manifesto of 1997 promised to modernize local government and, duly elected, it published its plans in Modern Local Government: In Touch with the People (Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, 1998). Many of the elements of its reform agenda and how they have impacted on public libraries are discussed in detail in later chapters but, in essence, the Government was determined that local government should be more open, efficient and accountable, that services standards should be raised through a challenging performance management framework and the dissemination of good practice and that links between local councils and local people should be strengthened. Professor John Rouse explores New Labour’s approach to performance and quality management in public services in a paper questioning how comfortably the Government’s performance agenda sits with its claim to allow local public servants the freedom to deliver services as they see fit, providing those services show acceptable results (Rouse, 2001). In fact, he argues, the regulatory framework developed for local government continues a move towards ‘centralized-decentralization’ (Hoggett, 1996, p. 10) begun under previous Conservative administrations, driving out local autonomy and difference, which are increasingly regarded as deviations and cause for concern. As central government control over local government has tightened, so local development of services could become increasingly constrained as Whitehall expects to play a greater role in policy development. For public libraries in England, the DCMS established national ‘offers’ in Framework for the Future and instituted a performance management and standards regime in an attempt to improve quality and strengthen accountability, which can be seen as part and parcel of central government’s efforts to modernize local government and raise standards in public service provision.

To support modernization, in July 2002 a statement of ‘shared priorities’ between local and central government was issued that identified seven priority areas in which both should focus their efforts to improve public services:

• Raising standards in schools;

• Improving the quality of life of children, young people, families at risk and older people;

• Promoting healthier communities;

• Creating safer and stronger communities;

• Transforming the local environment;

• Meeting local transport needs;

• Promoting the economic vitality of localities.

The challenge for all public services, including public libraries, is now to demonstrate how they help deliver these shared priorities. A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (2005) funded by the Laser Foundation sought to establish the impact of public libraries on the shared priorities. The research found evidence of ‘a clear and measurable contribution made by libraries to wider policy priorities at b...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Acknowledgements
• PART 1: THE ENVIRONMENT
• PART 2: SERVICE DEVELOPMENT
• Appendix 1: List of Research Participants
• Appendix 2: Sample Interview Questions
• Appendix 3: Glossary of Common Abbreviations
• Bibliography
• Index