CILIP London AGM 19 May 2005

1
CILIP London AGM19 May 2005

• Londons Public Libraries
• Presented by John Lake

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Overview

• Facts and figures 2005
• Library strategies/London Cultural Capital
  Strategy
• Highlights in current provision
• New and refurbished libraries
• Fulfilling strategies
• Partnerships
• Accessibility
• Bookseller ratings
• Future direction

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Facts and Figures 2005

• 33 Public Library Authorities in London
• 395 public libraries
• 2238 service points incl. hospitals, sheltered
  accommodation
• Open a total of 780,000 hours per annum
• 42 million books over 7.6 million audio visual
  material borrowed per annum
• Over 4,000 staff employed
• Nearly 9 million enquiries answered
• Over 50.5 million visits per annum

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Strategies

• Framework for the Future
• Social Inclusion, community identity and
  citizenship
• Access to digital skills and services incl. the
  Peoples Network
• Promoting reading and informal learning

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Strategies

• Select Committee Report on Libraries 2005
• Promoting reading
• Meeting national Public Library Standards
• Refurbishment of library buildings

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Strategies

• London Cultural Capital Strategy
• Key objectives of excellence, creativity, access
  and value under-pinned by the principle of
  diversity.
• Policy 5 Education and lifelong learning must
  play a central role in nurturing creativity and
  providing routes to employment
• Policy 6 Access to culture should be the right
  of all Londoners
• Policy 8 there should be a spread of
  high-quality cultural provision across London and
  at all levels local, sub regional and regional
• Libraries contribute to all of these but are not
  mentioned once in the strategy

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Highlights in Current Provision

• New libraries and cultures
• Tower Hamlets Ideas Stores
• Newhams Gate Library

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Highlights new and refurbished libraries

• Hendons modernisation of heritage buildings

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New and refurbished libraries

• Suttons customer led 100 self-service Central
  Library and newly opened The Library _at_ The
  Phoenix Centre opened in 2004.

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New and refurbished libraries

• Peckham Library award winning building.
• Stratford Library

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New and refurbished libraries

• Planned developments
• The Hook Project in Kingston a community
  regeneration project
• Kilburn Library incl. Youth Centre
• More Ideas Stores in Tower Hamlets including the
  flagship in Whitechapel in the Autumn of 2005.

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Fulfilling strategies

• Social Inclusion
• Refugees and Asylum Seekers work experience and
  Basic Skills training programme in Camden and
  Merton s community development scheme
• Multicultural Library and Information Service in
  Wandsworth since 1977.
• Newhams Community Outreach Scheme visits 600
  people and 90 community venues every month

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Fulfilling strategies

• Access to digital skills and services
• The Peoples Network available throughout
  London
• Enfields Its My Life Project for people with
  learning difficulties to produce life story books
  and their Sir Jules Thorn Centre free training
  for people with sensory impairments
• E-book and E-audio services in Richmond and
  Hounslow

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Fulfilling strategies

• Access to digital skills and services
• Wifi hotspot services in Haringey, Islington and
  Lewisham
• Internet introductory sessions to Gujerati
  speaking silver surfers at Roxeth Library

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Fulfilling strategies
Promoting reading and informal learning

• Chatterbooks (8-12) to Housebound Residents in
  Harrow
• Reading Agency Promotions e.g.World Book Day
  Celebrations Barbican Library

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Fulfilling strategies

• Promoting reading and informal learning
• Roll on Reading in Enfield. Targets reading in
  community groups for children who speak Turkish,
  Bengali and Somali, African Caribbean and refugee
  asylum groups
• Basic Skills collections in all authorities and
  initiatives in Camden and Croydon which link to
  education providers

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Fulfilling strategies

• Promoting reading and informal learning
• Sutton Libraries working with the local Dyslexia
  Association to make resources available to young
  people
• Mertons railway station service selling
  withdrawn books

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Fulfilling strategies

• Promoting reading and informal learning
• Croydons award winning Family Learning Week
  initiative involving organisations across the
  authority and Getting to Know Croydon scheme with
  adult learners

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Fulfilling strategies

• Promoting reading and informal learning
• Surestart schemes e.g. Hendons rhymetime
  sessions in Starbucks and Sainsburys cafes.

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Partnerships

• Training between authorities e.g. Selpig
• Purchasing partnerships to get better value from
  resources e.g. Central Buying Consortium
• Quality forums
• Association of London Chief Librarians
• MLA
• London Libraries Development Agency
• Project WiLL
• London Libraries Recommends
• Learners and Libraries in London

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Accessibility

• Opening Hours
• Changed to enable more people to use libraries
  e.g. Sunday Opening
• Remote access via web pages and telecoms
  technology e.g. for joining libraries, online
  searching, downloading, reading e-books,
  reserving material..
• Out of hours services outside libraries

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Accessibility

• Accessible to all?
• Award winning mobile library service in Redbridge
  with accessible vehicles and access to the
  Internet/Library catalogue
• Bexley are spending 5.7 million on a 2 year
  programme of modernisation of buildings to make
  them more accessible and welcoming and increased
  opening hours from 110 hours per capita to 125
  hours per capita
• Adaptive equipment and software for people with
  physical or visual disabilities in Lewisham e.g.
  screen enlargements, Braille document creation,
  and scanner audio reader facilities

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Accessibility

• Accessible to all?
• Suttons Mobile Library Service

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Bookseller Ratings

• Gold, silver and bronze ratings

the interior fulfils all requirements of a
modern library.
A community library for locals to cherish.
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Bookseller Ratings

• 7 libraries assessed for condition, content and
  conviviality
• 10 assessment criteria
• Audiobooks, books, CDs, DVDs, Internet Access,
  Magazines, Newspapers, Reading Groups, Reading
  Promotions, Videos
• Helpful assessment but assessment in stock is
  retail led not quality led.

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Future Directions

• Need to -
• Strengthen the support for reading with improved,
  quality book stocks
• Further improve buildings and accessibility
• Sustain the Peoples Network facilities
• Consider -
• A London Central Library?
• A deeper relationship with the British Library?
• A more unified service?
• A single authority for libraries in London?