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March 18, 2009
North, South, East or West ?
This message popped up on lis pub libs , the chat page for cheerily idle public librarians this afternoon, I am not sure which drection it sends us in...
Dear Colleagues,
Just because I don’t contribute too often does not mean we in MLA are not always listening…….! Perhaps I can help with the following comments:
Delegates at the LGA conference in Brighton this week will have heard DCMS and MLA jointly on a panel (together with Sally McMahon (of Brighton)). We described the progress on the Libraries Review, which reports in June. There is strong political backing for libraries leadership and a united commitment to public libraries. The question of ‘national identity’ is being picked up; I feel sure that the recent creative writing of this Forum will be materially useful. The Review team is working hard on as exciting an agenda as the combined brains can devise.
In the meantime, there is nothing to stop individual library authorities establishing their own brand and slogan right now. My personal prize for ‘best practice’ branding goes to Leicestershire, where each library has a good, clear statement at the door, on an eye-catching, attractively designed board with common logo and colour pallet, describing exactly what’s on offer inside. I wish more would do that right now; no prizes for libraries I have visited lately where even the front door is hard to find …. I have a list.
Leadership, branding, slogans ….. these are everyone’s business. To which I would add shared delivery, more political join-up, convergence with other consumer-facing local services and fewer professional and practitioner silos. The best get it; the rest need to. The MLA’s new website includes ‘best practice’ examples in these areas that I commend to all Forumites.
In a separate post, the Reading Agency writes this morning: QUOTE: As the recession cuts deeper, there is already evidence of growth in library use in the US. ……What’s needed is a focused plan….. Councils are much more likely to invest in a service that looks like it’s going places. With the right focus and partnerships, libraries can become more important to their communities than they have ever. UNQUOTE
I agree wholeheartedly with TRA, with the following supplementary points: there is also evidence of strong growth in the UK; and the MLA is indeed analysing IMPACT, just so that we can present more evidence and obtain stronger national and local support for our fantastic library services. But the best services also recognise that ‘book issues’ are no measure of success. Just as library buildings are not the key issue, but library services certainly are.
More I could say, but probably enough for now. Hope this fuels debate on this never dull Forum!
Kind regards,
Roy
Roy Clare CBE
To the asylum, perhaps, for some of us. Generally speaking the public put buildings and books at the top of the things they would like libraries to do better... but that's just the public. Who are they?
PS The CIPFA figures reveal that Brighton and Hove spent just a whopping 3% of their library funding in 2007/8 on books. And 0.5% on books for children. Wow. Of course that's not 'a key issue' unless you were a person in Brighton looking for a book to borrow and .. urgh... read,.
Posted by Perkins at March 18, 2009 6:15 PM
Comments
This little piece does not do Mr Clare justice. He had no difficulty finding the front door to my library, fortunately, and seemed to like books and the public. The MLA has assisted us in Swindon. I am therefore going to ignore what he says here and carry on maintaining my good impression of him, as in Swindon at least actions speak louder than words.
Posted by: Shirley Burnham at March 19, 2009 6:43 AM
What,pray, are consumer-facing services and professional silos ?
The man is a blithering idiot.
Posted by: postumus at March 22, 2009 11:04 PM