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May 16, 2006
Urgent Action
For a long time I thought that there was no point in changing the arrangement of ministerial responsibilities for libraries. That, I argued, would just be the equivalent of shuffling the mouldy bananas: what was really needed was for the people in their positions in local and national government simply to do the job for which they are paid.
However in the time since I have watched the horrors of administration which currently include a huge increase in expenditure by MLA, the body responsible, at the same time as 100 or more libraries are actually closing.
Now I feel there needs to be a dramatic change:
The public library service needs to be taken out of the hands of the DCMS. Having been asked to "raise their game" by Parliament, they could hardly have lowered it further.
It would be straightforward to place responsibility for public libraries with the new department of local government and with a minister there. There has to be a way of accounting to Parliament for the service and the expenditure
The MLA and its regional offshoots should be stripped of any connection with public libraries.
A new "Library board for England" needs to be set up with management responsibility and accountability. It should report to the new Minister in the way that the BBC governors report to the Secretary of State. This body should also take responsibility for proper management training for the service. The existing professional bodies for public libraries should be replaced by a new training programme. The new library board must represent the view of the public and also contain outside professional management experience
Management of library services should remain with local government but be susceptible to much closer influence by the Library Board, by virtue of an active professional project team who will proactively offer help to councils who struggle to provide an excellent service.
The most difficult aspect of improving libraries lies within the knotty problems of management within each council. That is where the effort, help, expertise and resource needs to be directed. It does not need to be spent on regional boards, strategists and teams of PR experts.
These changes of direction need to be made within weeks if not days. The lead time for making changes is long. The public deserve no less. They cannot be forced to keep paying for the complete shambles we are watching at present. It is not just, fair or democratic.
Posted by Tim Coates at May 16, 2006 8:45 AM