Agenda item

The Committee is asked to review progress made to date and future plans for the delivery of the Libraries Plan 2019-2028, including capital investment in Croydon’s libraries.

The Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport, Councillor Oliver Lewis, was in attendance at the meeting to provide an update for the Committee on the delivery of the Libraries Plan, which had been approved by the Council on 15 July 2019.

During the introduction to this item by Councillor Lewis, the following points were noted:-

·         It was 18 months since Carillion, the company who previously managed the Libraries Service went into administration. As a result it was decided to bring the management of the service back in house.

·         The Libraries Plan had been developed over the preceding 12 months with a view to improving the delivery of the service going forward.

·         It was confirmed that all the libraries in the borough would remain open and be fully staffed. Where it was possible to do so options for extending opening hours would be explored to ensure the service remain convenient for local people.

·         There would be increased investment in the book fund to update the current stock and it was planned to increase access to online services such as e-books. It was also planned to re-join the London Libraries Consortium which would give residents access to a stock of approximately 6,000,000 books.

·         Provision had been made within the Plan to improve the IT services current available in libraries across the borough. With an investment of £5,000,000 allocated for improving both IT and the general fabric of libraries. The aim was to ensure that all Croydon’s libraries were welcoming and attractive with improved facilities for both residents and staff.

·         Thought continued to be given on how best to deliver a modern library service, one which was more than just a book borrowing service. This would include working with the Gateway Service on their localities work and also providing flexible spaces that could be used for a variety of events.

·         It was confirmed that European funding with the British Library had recently been awarded to provide support and resources for start-up businesses at local libraries.

Following the introduction the Committee was given the opportunity to ask questions on the report. The first related to the report prepared by consultant’s which set out possible options for the Library Service, which had been published after the Plan had been originally considered by the Committee in February 2019. As the content of the report had led to public concern about the future of certain libraries in the borough, it was questioned whether it could have been included with the previous report to the Committee, which would have provided the opportunity to dispel some of the misinformation. In response it was highlighted that the consultant’s report was a background document which set out possible options. The actual preferred options were set out in the covering report, but with the benefit of hindsight it was acknowledged that this could have been made clearer.

With plans being made to upgrade library facilities, it was suggested that the possibility of offering any unwanted equipment to local charities for reuse should be explored. It was highlighted that this had happened at the Selsdon Library and it was something that would be fine-tuned for future developments.

The investment in the Book Fund was welcomed, but it was questioned whether any analysis would be used to ensure that the correct books were being ordered. It was confirmed that usage was monitored and it was expected that there would be an increase in book borrowing with the introduction of new stock.

It was questioned whether it would be possible to track the cost of the Service going forward to enable an assessment to be made on whether it was best to offer to service in-house or for it to be out sourced again. In response it was highlighted that there had been a 10% overspend in the Service when it was brought back in house last year. A number of changes had been made to ensure that the Service was now operating within its means. The ongoing budget was tracked and at present it was on target for the current year, while also being able to deliver service improvement through the rationalisation of the budget process. Since the Service had been brought back in-house, staff were now being paid the London Living Wage.

In regard to the possible reconfiguration of libraries, it was confirmed that there were no plans to co-locate other services within libraries apart from the Gateway Service that would only use space while in the library and not permanently reduce floor space.  It was confirmed that the floor space for the Library Service would not be reduced.

In response to a request for confirmation, it was advised that there would continue to be thirteen libraries in the borough, run by the Council at hours of service no less than their current level. Furthermore the libraries would be fully staffed for their current hours with the use of technology being explored to offer extended hours.

It was confirmed that pop-up libraries would be used to promote the use of the library service. A pop-up library had recently been used during the Pride and Mela festivals to sign up new users, provide information about the services available within libraries and allow people to take out books. It was also possible that pop-up libraries would be used while libraries were being upgraded.

In response to a concern that offering the opportunity for council staff to hot desk within libraries might reduce the availability for other users it was advised that it was unlikely that the facilities would be over used, but if this was the case, then it would be managed by the library staff.

It was questioned whether there any plans to relocate any of the libraries within the borough. In response it was advised that at present there was no redevelopment planned for any of the libraries. Should there be any plans developed in the future, then it would include a significant amount of community involvement. 

In response to a question about investment in the Book Fund, it was advised that the fund was being increased by £25,000. The process used for buying books was also changing to ensure that the Council’s money went further. Both of these measures would lead to a net increase in the number of books available to the public.

As it had previously been mentioned that options for extending library opening hours using technology were being explored, reassurance was sought that this would not lead to a reduction in professional library staff. It was confirmed that the library service was being retained at its current level with no reduction in staff. Any volunteers would be used to provide additional services, such as digital champions who were based within libraries to help people access online facilities.

In response to a question about how the Council will ensure that the needs of people with disabilities are met by the library service, it was highlighted that a lift was being installed in Norbury Library to bring the upper floors back into community use. Options were also being explored to ensure that any updates made to library facilities included a dementia friendly design and were generally made as accessible as possible.

It was questioned how the Council would engage with residents to ensure that they were part of continuous improvement of the service. It was confirmed that many comments on the services were informally fed back via library staff.  However further opportunities to engage with the public would be explored going forward. 

It was advised that it was hoped that the Libraries Plan would be impact led and as such it was questioned whether performance indicators to measure the success of the plan had been developed. It was confirmed that an evaluation framework was being developed but the overall aim would be to improve library services and increase both footfall and reach from the level of 17% of all residents at present.

It was highlighted that study space was an issue for many young people and as such it was questioned what could be done by the Council through the library service to help. In response it was acknowledged that libraries were an important function for young people. Steps were being taken to improve the offer through volunteers running homework clubs and improved IT and wi-fi. Sunday opening at the Central Library was a reasonable aim going forward, but it would need to be met from within existing staffing levels which may affect the viability of doing so. As noted previously, some libraries within the borough may be able to support technology that would allow for extended opening hours.

It was questioned whether data would be used to map the usage of libraries across the borough. In response it was confirmed that some data was already available and used for this purpose. If specific gaps were identified then initiatives such as pop-up libraries could be used to address.

At the conclusion of this item the Chair thanked the Cabinet Member for attending the meeting and his engagements with the questions of the Committee. It was also highlighted that libraries were an important part of the social infrastructure in the borough which had many benefits for the wider public.

Conclusions

Following discussion of the report, the Committee reached the following conclusions:-

1.    That the engagement of the Cabinet Member with the questions of the Committee should be commended and looked forward to an update on the implementation of the Plan as part of the Question Time session with the Cabinet Members later in the year.

2.    Given the approval of the Libraries Plan by the Council on 15 July, there was concern that an evaluation framework to enable the success of the Libraries Plan to be judged, had not yet been developed.

3.    Although the openness and transparency displayed in publishing the report prepared by Consultants on possible options for the library service was welcomed, it was felt that it would have been preferable if it had been accompanied by a report setting out the Council’s position on the option included to prevent undue public concern.

Recommendations

The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to the Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport that the creation of an evaluation framework for the Libraries Plan should be a priority and it is request that it be shared with the Committee once finalised.

The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to all Cabinet Members that any future report prepared by consultants setting out options for Council services should be accompanied by a covering report setting out the Council’s position on the options.