The Good Library Blog

"all you havbe to do is ask me."
Ok, I'm asking. In a spirit of genuine enquiry.
How does it work?
What does it deliver?
How will it save money?

You need to be from a public library authority - and your councillor and director need to know you are asking. My email address is tim.coates@yahoo.com

I should be happy to talk to 2 or even 3 councils at the same time. In a way that makes some of the issues easier to tackle.

But you cannot begin without full councillor support and a genuine desire to understand and solve the problems. Otherwise we get nowhere.

Tim, you say:

"But you cannot begin without full councillor support..."

I can't go and get that support until I know what kind of thing we might be looking at. Please could you be a little more forthcoming about the broad scope of your solution.

Pete- sorry, I mangled your comment by mistake- please can you send it again? Tim

Philip

But your councillor must be aware that various efforts have been made and reports have been written about efficient library operation and so on? No? About BSBL and the PKF and PWC reports? Your councillor must have a view on these? If not then this is a way to acquaint them with those issues. Perhaps that is what I am offering? We need them to understand what the problem is and the very specific forms it takes in their authority-- or if they have any problems at all - otherwise they can't possibly understand why a proposed solution might be helpful to them. But you can tell them that there is a large saving on offer, for them to decide what to do with. That might make it worth discussion.

Tim,
I was just saying that i too would like to see the general thrust of the proposals. I'm not in public libraries, but am nevertheless interested in the mechanics of the proposals.

Pete-- thanks, you've given me the opportunity to make a big point which I think is really important (and is one that the MLA has never grasped but needs to) - and that is that there is no general solution. Each council is incredibly different and most of the solution lies in actions within the council itself. It's true that there are certain relatively small things that suppliers do-- but they are not the solution.

I don't like to use this analogy, but I can't think of a better one: the problem of efficiency is a bit like an illness. While its true that certain medical procedures will help resolve the case and their are similariries in the cause of the symptoms, every patient is completely different and each needs to be listened to and each will approach the questions in their own way. That's why this matter can't be resolved by a leaflet or a presentation at a conference. It has to be done, in my view, by detailed discussion and care within each council. The reason for sometimes working with 2 or 3 is that it helps people to see that others sometimes share the same problems or have their own variation on them.

The solution to the efficiency problem in public libraries is not difficult, but it is tender and private and needs care and sensitivity. That's why one doesn't broadcast matters from individual councils - that helps no one-- least of all the public who need the work to be done quickly.

This is not a new theory I am describing. I have always thought this was the right way, as I said in my evidence to the Select Committee in 2004.

The MLA cannot resolve this matter with a national initiative-- that approach will never never work .

I know it looks like a cop -out and I could tell you that the magic answer is to put a label on the front of the book rather than the back - but this is not that kind of a matter. There is no 'general thrust' - other than the exercise of common sense in fine detail -- and that's not very clever at all.

Well, that seems fair enough. Fascinating holistic medicine analogy... Every patient is psychologically (procedurally here) different and that is the key issue.

Noone is asking for specifics of individual councils. I do think that the key is actually in procurement policies and procedures, which do need to be changed to allow for more flexible purchasing etc.

Whilst you are not offering a magic bullet, you are offering 'perfectly simple' solutions which is why people are asking for them; surely a simple solution can be summed up in a few words.

I assume that for all the indivduality of needs certain things can be learned from other similar situations- as I believe happens in medicine.

Yes, but if a patient comes to you and says 'I have a runny nose and I feel tired' - there are a lot of possible problems- from extremely mild to extremely serious. And as for solutions: We could be talking surgery or we could be talking a run in the park. Even if the problem is grave, the person is going to have live with the treatment according to their own circumstances- some people cope easily, some people find simple changes very difficult.

We give the responsibility of running public libraries to individual councils. When they solve problems the solutions must be their own-- even if someone else has tried to work out with them what they are.

What one would say to Rotherham council and to Richmond council and what they would say to you and feel are completely, completely different.

It's also true-- to continue the medical analogy, that there are certain treatments, certain operations, certain medications which can possibly be used in many cases. However - if you say that and make them generally available, you can be certain that patients will take the wrong doses, chop off the wrong limbs, use the wrong aftercare etc. Certain councils will rush into the latest technology - and not have solved the fundamental problems at all.