Council seeks views on proposals for libraries
Devon County Council has announced plans to consult on an ambitious vision for a public library service that is sustainable, receptive to communities' needs, and fit for the future.
First, it is asking communities whether the proposals it is putting forward today are right for the service, with further engagement likely later in the year.
With a decline in traditional book lending and rise in the popularity of online and e-reader technologies, the face of Devon's library service is already changing as libraries become centres - 'Devon Centres' - for communities offering a broader range of services.
These factors, as well as a need for the service to save £1.5 million by 2017 on top of £3 million savings already made, is influencing the Council's current thinking on what Devon's library service might look like in future.
Arts Council England, which is responsible for public library policy, has published what it thinks a modern library service should offer. Their findings suggest that the Council's 'Devon Centre' model, with multiple services brought under the one roof, is spot on for what a modern library service should offer.
So in the footsteps of The Hayridge in Cullompton, the Passmore Edwards Centre in Newton Abbot, and after next month's opening of the multi-million pound refurbished Exeter Library, the Council is proposing to develop a further 19 Devon Centres including fifteen of its busiest libraries.
These include Barnstaple, Crediton, Dawlish, Honiton, Ilfracombe, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge, Okehampton, Seaton, Sidmouth, South Molton, Tavistock, Teignmouth, Tiverton and Torrington.
In Totnes, the Council wants to look at how the Mansion, where the library is now located after redevelopment last year, operates in order to make better use of the overall site. In Exmouth and Bideford, there are discussions already to replace those libraries with new Devon Centres. And in Holsworthy, the Council is exploring the possibility of creating a potential Devon Centre in another of the town's buildings.
These 22 Devon Centres, which account for nearly 80 per cent of the Council’s total library usage, would form the backbone of the county's future library provision, offering high quality services to encourage reading; support access to information and learning; and promote access to wider cultural activity alongside a wider range of complementary community services.
At the same time, the Council wants to talk to local communities to identify how 28 smaller libraries could be sustained in future.
Libraries serving smaller communities, those that are less well used or are close to other larger libraries, fall within a proposal to encourage and support communities to come forward with ideas on how the service could be sustained in future.
The Council has no single model in mind, recognising that Devon's towns and villages are very different.
However, plans shaping up in Topsham, where the Estuary League of Friends is anticipating taking on the running of the town's library as part of the charity's intention to expand its services, is an example of the type of approach that could emerge in communities across Devon.
Several community-led library services operate in Devon, with or independent of the Council's support.
In South Brent, the community has a busy library service, open six days a week, within a centre that hosts a range of local community activities.
In Broadhempston, residents have a library service open seven days a week, stocked by the Council, as part of a community shop, cafe and art space.
Ipplepen has a Community Hub, incorporating a library run by volunteers.
In addition, the Council is proposing to:
- Continue reducing the Council's management and support costs
- Develop new ways to maintain the reach of the current mobile library service, but at less cost. Even after recent efficiency changes, which saw mobile library stops with fewer than 3 users removed from routes, and stops move from fortnightly to monthly, the service is still expensive to run and the Council feels that there may be alternatives that are just as effective, but are lower cost.
- Find out how services to residents of residential homes could be more personalised as well as made more cost effective
- Identify how the Council's use of technology can be improved to widen access to the library service
- Continue seeking new sources of income and external funding.
Councillor Roger Croad, the Council's Cabinet Member with responsibility for the library service says that the Council's need to save £110 million by 2017 due to cuts in Government funding is not the only reason for the proposals.
"Changes in the way people use libraries, and in what they expect of the service, is also driving this consideration of what a future library service might look like.
"These proposals would see a consolidation of the service focusing on a network of enhanced Devon Centres, with resources and support to community-led initiatives.
“We know that, at their best, libraries have tremendous potential to support people of all ages to develop their skills and knowledge.
“We think these proposals represent the best opportunity to maximise the potential of libraries to support local communities in the future.
"Of course, we are continuing to reduce costs in other ways, in our management and support of the service.
"Over coming months we will be going out to communities to engage them in thinking about how they can maintain a local service, with as much support from the Council as we can give.
"I would encourage local residents, groups and organisations to give us their views and to put forward any other ideas or suggestions they have on how we can continue to offer this very important service whilst also reducing costs. We are happy to hear from organisations across the county who have innovative ideas on how this could be done."
The Council will put all seven proposals out for public consultation over the next three months, to gauge public reaction and hopefully to kick-start local conversations about possible community-led solutions.
Then better informed, the Council will announce firm proposals in the Autumn, followed by further engagement with local communities.
The Council's Cabinet discusses the proposal to commence consultation this Wednesday (9 April). Details of the proposals and information about engaging with the consultation will be available online at www.toughchoices.co.uk from mid April.
Devon's Library Service is currently delivered via a network of 50 static libraries, four mobile libraries, three prison libraries (funded by the National Offender Management Service) and a range of online and outreach services.
The annual revenue budget for the service for 2014/15 is £7.2 million.
The service has been re-modelled in recent years, and has benefited considerably from capital investment. This has enabled libraries to expand their services, far beyond a traditional book lending model.
As part of that investment, 'Devon Centres' have been created in Cullompton and Newton Abbot, incorporating modern libraries alongside other services including adult learning, cafes, work hub facilitiesfor business start ups and facilities for adults with learning disabilities.
The new Exeter Library, opening in May after significant refurbishment, will be the Council's flagship library for the city, offering a full and broad range of 'Devon Centre' services.
Physical visits to Devon's libaries have declined by 7 per cent in the past 12 months and by 17 per cent over the past five years. Some of this is as a result of reduced opening hours introduced in September 2011, but it also reflects other ways that customers are engaging with the the service - accessing information online, and accessing reading in different ways.
Usage of the library service website in Devon has increased by more than 30 per cent in the past three years, as more transactions and services, such as e-books, have been made available online.
Book loans have decreased by 8 per cent in the past 12 months and by 16 per cent over the past 5 years. E-books were introduced by the service in June 2012 and have generated over 50,000 loans since then. E-books currently generate 1.5 per cent of total book issues in the county but it is expected that this will continue to grow over the coming years.
The busiest 10 libraries in Devon generate over 50 per cent of total use of libraries when looking at visits and loans. Exeter Library and Barnstaple Library together generate approximately 25 per cent of total use.
Loans to children now make up 30 per cent of the total amount of books loaned across the county.
