Devon's libraries praised in new report

Devon County Council’s Library Service has been upheld as an example of good practice in a national report on how England’s libraries could work best in the future.

Commissioned by the Department for Culture Media & Sport, the independent report highlights how the County Council has been exploring ways in which innovation can maximise the potential of its libraries to support happy, vibrant communities.

Over the past four years the Council has successfully expanded the role of Devon’s libraries into ‘community hubs’ providing a greater range of activities; extending libraries’ functions with meeting spaces and cafés and encouraging co-location with other services as a means of increasing footfall and sustainability.

Their introduction of new services to tackle digital exclusion and employability skills is also commended in the report, as well as the wide range of health and wellbeing initiatives established thanks to funding secured from Public Health.

Local authorities across the country have to make significant savings and find new ways of providing their library service and the report emphasises that community involvement can present creative ways to manage resources and help support the professional library workforce.

Councils are called upon to consult and involve communities more in the management of their library service so they have more influence on the services delivered so they better reflect the needs of their local area, and the community have a greater sense of ownership and engagement.

Communities already play an important role in Devon County Council’s library service, and last week it was announced that twelve communities across Devon have been chosen to take part in a pioneering new partnership project to test how they can support their local libraries and expand the services they provide.

Devon County Council will work with the dedicated community groups to help shape the service and try out new ways of involving local people so they can have more say on how their library is run.

Councillor Roger Croad, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for Devon’s library service, said: “We know that our libraries are highly valued by our residents, and despite significant reductions in budget, we have continued to grow our successful service.

“We have worked hard developing new and leading edge services in response to our local communities’ needs whilst continuing to get best value from our spending and by providing our services in more efficient and cost-effective ways, and being featured in this report recognises that.

“There is still much to achieve, and we will continue to work with our residents and partnership organisations, to think ambitiously and creatively to improve our libraries existing services and widen the offer our libraries make as important resources at the very heart of our communities.”

The report also finds that new models of delivery, such as community cooperatives, mutual and social enterprises, have shown encouraging signs of helping improve the quality of the library service. This is welcome news for Devon County Council as they are considering a new operating model for their entire library service, which could include creating a mutual society or trust that would run libraries on the council’s behalf in order to maximise the service’s potential in the future.

Such a move could save Devon County Council at least £400,000 a year in business rates, and mean greater flexibility and freedom for the service to secure additional funding and income which the Council can not access.

The Council is keen to hear what people think about plans for an alternative operating model for the whole service in the future. Comments can be sent via the Council’s Tough Choices website or by post to Devon Libraries, Great Moor House, Bittern Road, Sowton, Exeter EX2 7NL until the end of January.

Reacting to the publication of the Independent Library Report for England, Ciara Eastell, Head of Devon County Council’s Library Service and President of the Society of Chief Librarians, said:

“The public clearly value libraries as centres of the community - more people go to libraries every year than go to cinemas and premiership football matches combined. Libraries play a vital role in society and SCL will redouble its efforts on innovation in 2015.”

You can see the report here.