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November 19, 2006
Hampshire libraries: the choice
About 5 years ago Hampshire County Council reviewed their public library service. They found falling visits, falling book issues and falling interest in the service and wanted to take action to redress the decline.
They decided that their libraries were out of date; what was needed was to reduce the emphasis on the old fashioned book-centric library service, smarten up the buildings, introduce other services and place particular emphasis on technology and other "media". Libraries were to be renamed, restyled and re-marketed as "Discovery Centres" Their plans were much praised by their peers and by the Government and the County Council instituted a large investment programme which meant adding to the council tax bill.
This investment and modernisation would, they predicted, bring substantial increase in use of the service and that, in its turn, would increase the use of books, improve literacy and add to the cultural life of the county. That, they said, was what everybody wanted them to do.
At the same time, by coincidence, I was invited to write a report about a council library service in detail. Hampshire offered to show me their figures. Controversially I told them I disagreed with their analysis. I said that the reason for the decline was that the public wanted more books, not less and that investment also needed to be in opening hours. The buildings needed to be cleaned up, but they didn't need so much money spent as was planned. I also said that they were wasting a huge amount of money on old fashioned librarianship practices out of sight of the public, and that if these were sorted out there was no need to take any more money from the people of Hampshire for the investment. It could be done for free. I didn't make up what I said. I was using 25 years experience in Waterstone's and WH Smith, where I had seen how the British people respond to book collections and I had used that understanding very successfully.
To Hampshire's surprise, and that of the library profession and the Ministry, my report received a lot of press attention. There were other people who knew that my observations rang true. It was called "Who's in Charge; Responsibilty for the public library service?" In it I criticised the way that the library service accounted for its expenditure and said that lines of responsibilty were not sufficiently clear. In some detail I explained how the operation should work and how the public need had to be more clearly understood before such sums should be spent. If they were, I said, a different route would be obvious.
Nevertheless, my suggestions were ignored, not just by Hampshire County Council but by the entire profession of librarians, who called them "flawed" and used all kinds of other abusive descriptions, which they continue, wrongly, to use. It's a shame.
The councillors in Hampshire were right to want the results that they did, but they have taken a long time to realise that the method proposed to them by their professional advisers is completely the wrong way to achieve their ambition.
Next week Hampshire County Council, at the request of elected councillors, are to hold a review of the operation of their policy. So I just looked up the figures since 1997:
In that time £13m has been spent on capital projects (up to March 2006)
Annual Revenue costs have risen by 43%
Annual visits have fallen by 12%
Annual Book Issues have fallen by 41%
Book expenditure last year was less than 5% of taxpayers' funds
A third of the professional staff are to be made redundant
The council has just cut a further £250,000 from next year's book fund.
Hampshire County Council since 1997 has spent £181m of taxpayers' money on the public libraries.
The Discovery Centre programme has proved not only a waste of money, but also extremely unpopular with the residents of the county who have become quite vocal in their objections. Several councillors have lost their seats. They chose the wrong path and it would help them if they were now to recognise that.
Posted by Tim Coates at November 19, 2006 3:39 PM
Comments
As an associate member of CILIP,I was fascinated/horrified to read that one third of Hampshire's professional staff are to be made redundant.
It is financially prudent in such cases of redundancies in local government, for the 'last in, first out' principle to apply - redundancy payments are in proportion to length of service, so it's cheaper to get rid of newer, younger members of staff.
This being the case, has anyone considered the effects on the profession?
If this is going to be the pattern for future cuts in other authorities (and we know it will be) where are the senior and chief librarians of the future to come from?
How long can CILIP remain silent on this vital issue?
In the words of the Prince of Wales (circa 1936) 'Something must be done!'...
Posted by: George Harding at November 20, 2006 5:44 PM
George
How very good to hear from you. Henceforth you shall be known as the Prince of Wales (c 1936)
tim
Posted by: tim at November 20, 2006 11:37 PM