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Library recommendations
considered
AN independent report which makes
recommendations to help secure the future of Liverpool Libraries is being
considered by Councillors.
The Library Advisory Task Group; chaired by the former President of the
Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, Jan Parry; was
set up to look at ways to make Libraries, in Liverpool, sustainable in the face of
huge cuts in funding from Central Government.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson announced in March 2017 that he had reversed a
planned ₤1.6 million reduction in the Libraries budget, over 3
years, but the Council remains determined to find new ways of diversifying the
service and making it less dependent on public subsidy.
The recommendations include:-
► Introducing paid events and seeking sponsorship to generate income.
► Working with other Library services across the City Region, eg:- introducing a
single membership which can be used across all areas.
► Co-locating with other organisations such as health centres to promote health
and wellbeing.
► Continuing to put on arts and cultural events.
► Extending opening hours through self service and generating income from online
sales.
► Setting up a volunteer-co-ordinator role to support activities in
Libraries.
► Extending the Home Library Service for people who can't get to a
Library
building, perhaps across the City Region.
Jan Parry, Chair of the Library Advisory Task Group, said:- "We were asked
to apply new thinking, ideas and recommendations to help make sure the City has
a vibrant, sustainable and high quality Library service in the future. I would
like to thank my fellow task group members and Library staff for their
suggestions and support which have helped shape this report, as it has been
absolutely invaluable. We have also drawn on the experiences of other Libraries,
museums and other service providers around the world for inspiration. Standing
still with no further change is not an option and more needs to be done to
ensure that the City has a sustainable Library service for the future. So I
strongly recommend that any additional income generated by the Library Service
is ring fenced to ensure its sustainability into the future. It is also vital
that is retains professionally qualified and experienced staff in order to
ensure the service is delivered to a professional standard. I hope the ideas and
recommendations are helpful to the Mayor and the Council and enable it to
continue to provide a high quality service for all communities into the future."
Liverpool has 14 Libraries and another five which are now managed by community
organisations, meaning residents still have access to Library membership and can
order the full catalogue of books and other items.
Assistant Mayor and Cabinet member for Libraries, Councillor Wendy Simon, said:-
"Liverpool is hugely proud of its Library service, as we were one of the
1st Cities in the country to have one, and they have always been hugely popular.
In the face of huge cuts in our funding from Government, we have worked hard to
shield Libraries as much as possible, while at the same time driving forward
improvements such as the stunning new Central Library and the introduction of
eBooks and free Wi-Fi. I very much welcome this report, which makes a number of
creative and practical suggestions about ways we can diversify Libraries. It is
a blueprint which we can build on to ensure they have a secure future."
The report has now been considered by the Culture, Tourism and Events Select
Committee and can be found at:-
online.
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