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November 30, 2009
For only £345
There is to be a conference in London on the future of public libraries on 14 Dec. It has been organised by the MLA. Tickets are only £345 for the day (but you will have to claim your travel expenses from someone else)
It is called '1964 and all that' (not 1984 and all that) -- which is a reference to a book called.....
I hope for that price, you get a good lunch. If 100 people came, it would have cost the taxpayers £34,500 -- ! I am sure they will at last think of something to say, although the preamble is not that exciting "Modernising our public libraries is a hot political issue right now" it says.. "with the DCMS review imminent" (no one told them) .."Digital platforms have the potential to revolutionise the way we access information, colocation with other public services can make libraries more efficient for both users and local authorities and there is the continual challenge to make sure that the rest are delivering as succesfully as the best."
Fine use of English guaranteed, evidently... and a clear understanding of the problems, too? I'm afraid not.
More books, longer hours and better buildings-- that's all-- it's as simple as that, ask the residents of Hillingdon. I did... and they like what was done, but who would be so foolish as to listen to a small black cat. For that money I could sort out the entire library service and have some packets of Whiskas left over.
Posted by Perkins at November 30, 2009 11:32 AM
Comments
Any fool knows that Government conferences in December are for the purpose of allowing Lady Mayoresses from the spires and shires to do a little shopping in Knightsbridge. All at the expense of the council. We will talk about the recession and so forth. It is hitting us very hard you know- and this is important work. My salary is going to be capped at £200,000. (per annum)
Posted by: The Mayor of Casterbridge at November 30, 2009 1:46 PM
The whole thing is a pantomime.
Posted by: Dick Whittington at November 30, 2009 1:59 PM
Regarding the Hillingdon libraries experience, can you explain why up until 2007, issues were increasing and then dropped in 2008? It seems odd that in 2007 issues increased by around 30,000 on 2006, and yet in 2008 they decreased year on year by around 40,000. Furthermore, visits to Hillingdon dropped by 135,00 between 2007 and 2008 and yet the decrease between 2006 and 2007 was only 45,000. That seems like an awfully big drop in both issues and visits. Can you explain this? And can you provide evidence that the people of Hillingdon are happy with the changes? Thanks.
Posted by: Ian at December 1, 2009 6:38 PM
Ian
(sorry to have been slow to pick up your comment; I have been away)
I can't answer your questions properly because I don't have any access to the full figures and haven't had for some time. You would need to ask Hillingdon council. However I think the analysis will be along these lines: By the time of the 2007 figures only one library had been re-worked in the way that the programme recommended and that was one of the smaller ones out the 17 in the borough. I have no idea what the situation of the others was... but their results obviously would dominate. Similarly only a further 2, one small and one medium sized libraries were worked by the time of the figures for 2008 and there is a similar pattern for 2009. In other words it will be some years before the programme results show up in CIPFA data. The figures for the libraries that have now been done are, mostly, very good indeed- and they are the ones that Hillingdon quote in their press releases. I would wish that three things were different. I wish that CIPFA data was in real time. I think library services should post headline performance figures at least monthly on a national website for all to see (especially the public) straight away. (Retailers post daily figures). I also wish that CIPFA would show figures for each individual library rather than for councils as a whole. Thirdly I wish it were possible to speed up the Hillingdon programme, but that matter is entirely out of my hands. Tim
Posted by: Tim Coates at December 6, 2009 9:12 AM