Public Libraries : Building Futures

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Public Libraries Building Futures
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Tony Durcan President of the Society of Chief
Librarians Head of Culture, Libraries and
Lifelong Learning Newcastle City Council
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What is a public library?

• And why have one?

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What am I going to cover today?

• original philosophy and swift history
• how we have developed until very recently
• the 2009 agenda
• and the associated challenges
• with a light touch Newcastle context.

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Its all about the booksisnt it?

• is it a reading role, with everything else
  subordinate to that?
• or is about equal roles
• reading
• information
• community and place?
• do we have other, broader roles?

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Public Libraries how did we get them?

• 1850 and 1855 UK Public Libraries Acts
• powers for the Library Authority to provide
  schools of Science and Art so learning a core
  responsibility from the start
• 1919 Libraries and Museums Act resulted from the
  third interim report of the Adult Education
  Committee

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• 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act
• clearly there has been a strong learning role,
  right from the beginning
• in the early days the book was far more central
  to this. It had an importance beyond reading for
  pleasure
• and there was also a whiff of radicalism.

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Public Libraries in the twentieth century

• the reading role grew stronger, and became the
  traditional, commonly perceived role
• the learning role remained, but apart from the
  larger (usually urban) libraries was a less
  evident service
• and both were quite passivecome and get it if
  you want it?

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• this is not to say that services were poor or
  restricted
• there were pockets of excellent professional
  practice and development, for example
• Services to Children
• Local Studies
• Business Information.

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Twentieth century change, 1975-2000

• apart from local studies and business
  information, there had been a tendency to regard
  the public librarys information role as being
  part of its support for learning
• as computers came into public libraries they were
  seen as a staff tool to develop that information
  role
• but then there began a renewed emphasis on
  information community information, public
  information

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• a radical questioning of come and get it if you
  want it
• the age of community librarianship
• but you can get anything but a book
• followed by the renaissance of the book the
  Reader Development movement.

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Public Libraries in 2009roles and challenges
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Reading

• reading, and support for reading is and always
  has been core to public libraries
• its what we spend and target most of our
  disposable resource on
• were about creating a fluency of reading

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• that fluency underpins our customers
• use of all our services, and more
• importantly it underpins peoples
• successful participation in active
• citizenship
• that fluency of reading is also an essential
  ingredient in a truly successful digital
  environment.

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The digital agenda

• every service point in the UK was expected to
  provide public internet access by December 2002
• digital access a core service
• but what is its future?

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My Library (library on-line)

• a personalised library space with access to wider
  library and online communities and online
  resources
• integration of services into one digital site,
  accessible from any mobile or static internet
  connection.

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Information

• equality of access is so important
• expert, mediated help for print and digital
• the flipside of the recession
• where else does/can someone go?
• are we the honest brokers?

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Space and place

• .to produce buildings that are free for the
  public to come into and enjoy. We know just how
  important libraries and their computers are for
  those who dont have those facilities at home.
• Councillor John Shipley, Leader of Newcastle City
  Council

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Community engagement

• cultural services generally are such a good route
  to developing engagement, and developing trust
• indeed we start out from a position of trust
• public libraries/culture have an essential role
  to play in improving places and lives and
  bringing communities together.

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Supporting the Town Hall

• Key buttons to press
• reflecting local authority issues and
  characteristics
• and helping deliver local priorities
• and keeping the Service visible in the Council.

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Supporting national policies

• identity and place
• in the heart of the community
• but also belonging to the whole authority
• civic (and national) pride
• regeneration
• community cohesion
• key cultural facilities.

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A current , live example

• West Bromwich Library
• Remember that many of these people just live in
  one roomthis is where they integrate.
• Linda Saunders, Solihull, West Midlands.

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Partnerships

• National
• BBC DCFS DIUS ACE, UK Online, etc
• Local
• Sure Start universities/colleges/schools RDAs
  Adult Education/IAG economic development.
• Funding
• PFI joint services health education.

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The 2009 Modernisation Review of Public
LibrariesDepartment for Culture, Media and
Sport DCMS
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Why this Review, why now?

• Ministerial interest
• is it time to update/replace the 1964 Act?
• why do some services do well, and others perform
  badly?
• how do we get national vision and leadership
  and where from?

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Five themes/workstreams

• digital services and information literacy
• a skilled and responsive workforce
• capturing impact
• a community-led service
• funding innovation.

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The future?

• The TV model?

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What do Public Libraries need to be?

• easy to use
• well known
• multi choice
• high definition
• technicolour
• widescreen
• and fully digital!

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Newcastle since 2002

• six new librariesand a new mobile
• four decants
• a new Customer Service Centre partnership
• new opening hours
• performance improvement
• and budget cuts.

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The Library Service Vision

• City Library
• Library Extra
• Library Plus
• My Library, My Council
• Library Express.

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Newcastle - why a new City Library?

• Best Value Review
• modernising Newcastles library buildings
• new principles, new services, new ways of
  working
• using a transformed building to drive
  transformation.

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What else have we got?

• new ways of working
• impetus for service modernisation
• better local profile
• next practice
• national links and reputation.

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What we wanted for a new City Library

• a beautiful, high quality building
• a welcoming building
• transparent building
• a building that complemented the surrounding
  cityscape
• a building with street frontage and a high
  profile main entrance
• improvements to the public realm.

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The Observer 22 February 2009

• A shining light and a beacon for what a library
  should be doing in the 21st century
• Andrew Motion, when Poet Laureate.