Southwark Council

Southwark leisure

DIRECTOR: STEPHEN WRAY

15 SPA ROAD
BERMONDSEY
LONDON SE16 3QW

TELEPHONE: 071-525 1993

FAX: 071-525 1505

Public Library Review Secretariat
ASLIB
20-24 Old Street
London EC1V 9AP

24th June 1994

Dear Colleague

You wrote to me recently concerning the above and inviting the Council to submit its views on the future of the public library service.

I drafted a response which used as a framework the questions raised by Mr lain Sproat in his Public Libraries Authorities conference speech last Autumn. I used this method of reply because the questions did seem to cover the major issues and because they have been widely debated among the staff in Southwark.

This draft was submitted to the Environment and Community Services Committee of the Council, which includes the public library service in its remit, at its meeting on Tuesday 14th June where it was approved.

Therefore, I enclose a copy as the Council's official response to the Review.

Yours sincerely

Adrian Olsen
Borough Librarian

in the form of replies to questions raised by lain Sproat, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of National Heritage, at the Public Library Authorities' Conference on 30 September 1993 concerning the Review of the Public Library Service.

1 In a world where nobody can realistically offer a comprehensive information service, and where we are bombarded with offers of information on all sides, what kinds of information should be the concern of a public library, and why?

a The word "comprehensive" is slightly misleading here. Obviously, no service can be comprehensive without infinite resources but here it should be defined in terms of the needs of the local community. In other words, we have to prioritise our provision around those needs - in Southwark, we concentrate on areas such as health, rights, benefits, jobs, careers, education and leisure.

b Following on from this, few other public institutions are in a position to structure and organise the welter of information that bombards us and to present it in an unbiased and neutral way. We have no axe to grind.

c As well as giving information directly, the public library is a major referral service to other agencies or sources. It is the place to go when you don't know where to go.

d The public library should be the information arm of the local council, acting as the information co-ordinator within the council and for information provision from the council to the public.

e The public library is neutral ground and the self-service aspect enables people to access information without necessarily having to go through intermediaries who interpret their needs. The privacy aspects of this are important.

f The public library is a major support to local, regional and national initiatives, acting as a referral point and distributor of information e.g. the Health of the Nation initiative and information from other council departments.

g The public library is in an unique position to collect, organise and disseminate specifically local information, such as clubs, societies and welfare agencies,

h Public libraries are widely dispersed and act as a focus for local life. They are therefore ideally placed, physically and socially, to be the information nerve centres of their communities. The importance of the networking and co-operative arrangements that public libraries are part of cannot be stressed enough. The resources of any single library cannot be sufficient to satisfy all demand and one of the great strengths of the service is that even the smallest library is an access point, available to everyone, to the local, national and, indeed, international library and information network.

This network does depend on voluntary co-operation undertaken in the spirit of free access to information, a spirit which is rather fragile and which has come under threat recently from the decisions of one or two authorities to charge for some services or to scale down their commitments. If this were to spread much more then the whole system would be in danger of collapse. It is therefore important that future arrangements for public libraries seek to preserve this valuable aspect of the service.

2 Is there still something sufficiently distinctive about reading as a recreation, to justify its being made publicly available without charge?

a A key word here is "recreation". It is unlikely that anyone would deny the value to society of reading in a broadly educational sense and the importance of literacy standards, particularly in a borough like Southwark, goes without saying. However, for very many people at the poorer end of society, recreational reading is a main method by which literacy skills are both acquired and kept up. This applies both to young people practising newly acquired skills and to adults trying to maintain them. Therefore, in Southwark, recreational reading has an educational importance beyond what is immediately obvious.

b Recreational reading also has a great social significance. As the recent Comedia report on public libraries showed, for many vulnerable people in society, it is a way of keeping in touch with the wider world from which they are in danger of being excluded and a method of contacting their local community. For example, the reading of light fiction by the elderly should be seen in this important social context. For many groups, the public library is the only source for a range of recreational material such as large print, talking books and ethnic languages that helps sustain their lives. To many such people, the visit to the public library is their lifeline and main contact with society; again, as the Comedia report highlights, the economic as well as the social value of recreational reading needs further investigation.

c A further key phrase is "without charge". The Government has recently re- affirmed its commitment to a free core public library service. If recreational reading were not to be considered "core" and charges were introduced, there is no doubt that use would decrease significantly. The introduction of modest charges in Southwark for audio materials several years ago led to a significant decrease in use, although the introduction of new charged services such as videos, that have never been provided free, has been a success. It is very likely that the people who would stop using any previously free book service would be those same vulnerable people mentioned above and the consequent educational and social loss would be great. It is therefore important that recreational reading is kept as part of the free core public library service.

3 Are libraries part of a state guarantee of education for all, and if so what are the specific educational needs which libraries serve?

Public libraries have their origins in the mass education movements of the 19th century and today they still play an important part in the general educational infrastructure. In recent years, there has been an explosion in the variety and extent of educational provision and this has had a major impact on public libraries. As a result, public library support for education has developed in 3 main areas:

a Support for schools has generally developed around the requirements of the National Curriculum. In most authorities, including Southwark, this support is divided between a Schools/Education Library Service, which directly serves the needs of teachers and others, and the general public library service for children. This latter is not just an adjunct to education and provides for the wide leisure and cultural needs of children. Nevertheless, it has strongly educational aspects which in Southwark includes class visits, project/homework materials for individual children, a quiet space for homework, family reading groups, an introduction to new technologies such as CD-ROMs and so on. In Southwark, these two aspects of provision are co-ordinated and managed together strategically in the library service and the advantages of this approach needs to be emphasised.

However, from whatever source, the provision of services to children is certainly one of the most important aspects of public libraries and one of its great strengths. Libraries have a great beneficial influence on children's literacy levels, educational attainment and knowledge and appreciation of the wider world. Levels of achievement in these areas are generally low in Southwark and it is a key aim of the library service to help to improve them by providing a wide range of both recreational and educational materials for children.

b Support for students has become an increasing demand on the public library as higher and further education has rapidly expanded and as library resources within colleges have kept pace. There is overwhelming demand for study materials, support materials, study space and the facilities that accompany this kind of use e.g. photocopying and on-line computer databases. These needs are not confined to full-time students on college courses; they also apply increasingly to those such as school children whose requirements have to be met outside the class room and adult or distance learners who do not have access to a college and who do not have such facilities at home. In Southwark's case, this increased demand is particularly noticeable in the north of the borough, around the Elephant and Castle with its concentration of colleges, and Newington Reference Library can barely cope with this intense use e.g. students sitting on staircases and window-sills to work.

c The public library has always acted, and will continue to act, as an informal "university" for the general public who are not in formal education. With the growth of less formal educational methods which are geared to the needs of individuals, such as distance and open beaming, this support for adult learners has become more focused and organised. The public library is in an ideal position to provide this support, being accessible, flexible and neutral. The fact that the Department of Employment has chosen the public library service as the main vehicle for delivering its Open Learning initiative shows that this has been recognised in government circles. Indeed, Southwark is in the process of establishing an Open Learning centre at John Harvard Library funded by the DOE.

4 Should public libraries be serving private businesses, and if so on what basis?

a Business information covers a wide range of provision, from multinational companies, with their own very sophisticated hi-tech library services, to the occasional enquiry for the yellow pages from a small local company.

b Clearly, it is the role of the public library to provide information to the smaller, local business that does not have information resources of its own. Free, public access to basic information sources should remain but there is scope to "package" more sophisticated services, particularly the costly on-line computer searches, on a charged basis. Additional, "value added" facilities for small businesses, such as fax and word processing facilities and a consultancy referral service, would emphasise the enabling side of the library service.

c A strategic approach is very desirable in this area, co-operating with agencies such as the local Chamber of Commerce and participating fully in schemes such as Business Link. European information is particularly important in this area as few authorities, particularly in London, can hope to be comprehensive in this area. The recent proposal by the south-east London reference librarians group (SEAL) to act as a co-operative agency for the dissemination of European information is a good example of what might be achieved.

d London does present a difficulty in this area. Local Chambers of Commerce tend to be more diffuse in their impact than in other metropolitan areas and it is more difficult to establish centres of information. In Southwark, the proximity of national resources such as the Patent Office and the City Business Library just a tube journey away emphasises the need to provide complementary services, including referral services pointing to other sources of help, that are tailored to match local needs with both local and national resources.

5 Should libraries be concentrating on books, or should they try to provide information and works of the imagination in all media?

a The concept of the electronic library grows ever more important. Of course, books will last for a long time, perhaps indefinitely, as a source for information. However, from computer databases to CD-ROMS, from cable networks to hypertext and multimedia systems, the explosion in the sophisticated methods of processing and accessing information points clearly to the future. Libraries of all kinds have been in the forefront in making the new technology publicly available. It is crucial that they continue to do so, not only because the public will expect it but also because it will become increasingly the principal means of accessing vital information about the world around us and how we live. The local library is increasingly the access point to local, national and international electronic networks and are in an ideal position, with trained staff and distributed locations, to develop this role.

b Information needs to be managed and organised if it is to be of any use and libraries have an important role here, as well as in disseminating it. This relates particularly to local information, whether for the council as a whole internally or for the local community.

c Users now demand both information and leisure materials in the widest range of formats. For the time being, books remain the primary method of satisfying these needs. But over the years, libraries have responded to public demand and new technologies by providing other materials such as records, cassettes, CDs, videos and computer software. These formats are just as valid as books and in some cases actually more suitable. Learning a language may be easier using a taped language course, a new hobby may be better acquired by watching a video and a laser disc will make an opera more accessible than a score. Certainly, many elderly and blind people find talking books a life-line. In addition, many young people these days relate more to music than to books and, as we have a duty to serve the whole community without prejudice, they have a right to see their tastes and interests reflected in what the library provides.

d Most library authorities now charge for the loan of non-book materials as a way of raising income, mainly as a result of pressure on resources in recent years and because the law allows them to charge for this category of material. One can understand the pressure to raise income but there is no logic in distinguishing between books and other materials. As we have seen, both are equally valid and necessary - a student studying "Romeo and Juliet" is just as likely to benefit from the tape, CD or video as the book version. It is only expediency that makes one free and the other not.

6 Should libraries have a role in promoting cultural appreciation, rather than merely following customer demand?

a Culture is a highly charged word and its definition often simply reflects the particular culture of the person doing the defining. There is a common assumption that culture equates with "high" culture. Of course, there is a place for the promotion of this type of culture in all libraries but if they are to be truly responsive to local needs then libraries must also by definition reflect the local community and its culture. This local culture will differ widely, even within the confines of one London borough - consider the difference between Dulwich Village and Bermondsey and also the variety of ethnic cultures in a borough like Southwark. Public libraries must be Firmly rooted in their local cultures and play an active part in promoting those cultures.

b However, there is a danger here because it is easy to confuse this principal with the lowest common denominator factor. If libraries consider that they should provide the most popular material and little else then the argument for public provision of such a service is weakened. The main thrust of the public library service should, of course, reflect local tastes and needs and in its provision it should reflect the nature of the community back to itself, like a mirror. But there should also be a wider dimension to the service whereby the library mirrors the wider world as well as the local community and users are given a choice and invited to try ideas, information and imaginative works different from their normal needs or experience. Particularly in a period of rapid change, communities need to maintain contact with their own past (hence the importance of local history) and with wider cultures, past and present. The librarian's skill is in assessing what may stimulate users in a given community. This widening of horizons is not an imposition of someone else's culture but an invitation to experiment and try things out, a genuine choice, with plenty of customer feedback required about what is successful and a willingness change and be flexible as a result. It is not a case of bringing "high" culture to the masses, although of course this may happen - it could just as well be a case of promoting the merits of black writers to a white, middle-class suburb. However, this service dimension is impossible to achieve without a solid core of high-use, popular material, just as supermarkets have had a large influence on extending our culinary choice into exotic foods such as green peppers and avocado pears whilst maintaining high-volume staples such as sugar and potatoes. In other words, libraries should be popular but not populist and should both follow and lead public taste and help communities develop in the directions in which they wish to go. This kind of service is particularly important in Southwark where expectation and achievement levels are generally low, community change has been extremely rapid over the last generation or two and where libraries do play an important part in maintaining and developing community culture.

7 Are libraries to be used specifically to sustain various types of activity within their local community, and if so which?

a The recent Comedia report emphasised the positive impact that libraries have on the economic development of both city centres and local communities. Libraries have always done best when located in centres of population and, particularly, shopping and many planners and developers are now accepting that the relationship is two-way, that the sheer amount of footfall that a library generates is of great benefit to shops and businesses in the area. There are numerous anecdotal examples of this - the turnover in the new Treaty Shopping Centre in Hounslow went up appreciably when the new Central Library opened in the centre - and this is an area that needs further research. Clearly, library developments in areas such as Peckham and the Elephant and Castle could play an important part in their regeneration and equally the maintenance of small libraries in small communities, such as the Brandon council estate, would have a similar impact.

b A weakness of public libraries is that they tend to be permanently fixed in their locations and when populations, shopping developments, etc. move they can left isolated and inevitably lose much of their use. We must be much more dynamic in opening new libraries and/or re-locating old ones to where they are actually needed. Joint development projects with the private sector, such as libraries in shopping centres, or indeed with other parts of the public sector, have been very successful and mutually beneficial in some authorities. The further enablement of this process, for example by including strategic public library requirements in local authority development and other plans, should be a priority as libraries have frequently been left out of this area in the past.

c Libraries have also acted as a focus for their local communities, in many ways as important as the local church, post office or pub. They provide many facilities for their communities - notice boards for local information, a distribution point for anything from government health leaflets to plastic bags for rubbish collection, meeting rooms and halls for local groups and societies to hire at an affordable rate, children's libraries where local parents and carers can meet for organised sessions, space where local and national agencies can hold advice sessions and similar activities, study space for students and others who cannot work at home and more recently equipment that individuals or small groups may not have access to, such as photocopiers, faxes, on-line databases and special facilities for the blind, partially-sighted and the hard of hearing.

d The various types of outreach and equal opportunities activities that libraries carry out help to open up the library to people who find access to such services difficult or, in some cases, impossible. In Southwark, the work of the Special Library Services and the Bookbus with the disabled and the housebound, the deposit collections to nurseries, the Local Studies Library and its reminiscence work with the elderly, the work with under 5s and their parents and carers, and the provision of materials and activities for ethnic minorities are examples of what would be considered "core" services in sustaining the local community.

e Generally, the impact of public libraries on local communities is much greater than the sum of their individual services. Up until now, this has been hidden or taken for granted. It is vital for the future of the public library service that the beneficial impact it has on the economic, social and cultural well-being of communities is recognised and incorporated into the mainstream strategic planning and development of local and national government.

8 Should library services be seen as a social service for certain customers with limited recreational opportunities?

a Libraries have always been in the forefront of targeting services at minority or more vulnerable parts of the community and in Southwark this is considered key in carrying out the Council's Equal Opportunities policy. In Southwark, a whole range of services is provided - the Bookbus and Housebound service for pensioners and people with disabilities, books and other materials in minority languages, large print, talking books and other facilities for the blind and partially- sighted, special collections for those with learning difficulties and many more. Time and time again, research has shown that people regard the library as neutral ground, where they are not threatened, not charged to go in, not hassled when inside, as a safe haven in a dangerous environment. This applies to everyone but is particularly valuable to minority groups.

b Also, many of the mainstream services provided are of help to those with very limited financial resources who would not otherwise be able to afford them. The importance of this in an economically deprived borough like Southwark cannot be stressed enough. Freedom of choice so often depends in the first place on having the money to exercise that choice. This is where a public service like libraries can help to fill the gap where the disposable income of many local people on things that are not absolutely essential to life is very small. Providing local and national newspapers in libraries is a very simple example of this.

c Of course, the provision of all this is not a direct social service. However, the Comedia report emphasises the strong impact that libraries have on the lives of many in the community and suggests that libraries are an important indirect social service. This could be argued very strongly for all the "targeted" services mentioned above but the report chooses a more day-to-day service as one example - the loan of light fiction, particularly to the lonely and the elderly. This has often been held up as an example of a "frivolous" service but Comedia argue persuasively that in fact for many vulnerable people it is a way of "taking them out of themselves", perhaps of making their only contact with other people by going to the library and so on. Other examples used are single mothers and teenagers. In other words, for many groups the social, psychological and health benefits of this and other forms of library use go far beyond the simple provision of the service and the report goes on to suggest that further study could actually place a cost on the savings to national health and social security/services budgets.

9 Underlying all these questions is the inescapable basic question what services libraries should charge for and what should be free. Ideally we should have a far more rational basis for that dividing line than merely carrying on providing free what has customarily been so and charging for what is new.

a One way of interpreting the question is that implicit is the assumption that there are certain services that are "core" and which should be provided free and that "non-core" services should be charged for. It is some comfort to have the recent reassurance from Peter Brooke that it is the Government's intention that the basic public library service should remain free. Looking at the general public library services and taking into account the points raised above, it is difficult to decide what one would define as "core" and "non-core". Services to children, reference and information services, educational services of various sorts, services to ethnic minority groups, services to the elderly and the housebound, the local studies service, leisure provision through books and other audio-visual media demanded by the community - all of these seem to be of "core" value to the community, particularly in an inner-city borough like Southwark, and should remain publicly funded.

b If any or all of these services were to be charged for, then in Southwark, with a population that has a very low level of disposable income, use of those services would decline steeply, as has already been seen when charges were introduced for audio-visual materials. Other authorities with higher literacy levels and greater affluence may be able to package such charged services in a way that maintains use. But inner-city areas and also those poorer areas in better-off authorities, both of which, it could be argued, need libraries most, would suffer badly from such a blanket requirement.

c Therefore, it seems necessary to maintain a strong element of choice for individual local authorities to choose what is suitable for them. There should be a requirement to maintain the authority's "core" services as defined above with the possibility of enabling the authority to provide extra packages of services on a charged basis, either acting alone or in conjunction with the private sector. The relationship between the free and charged services would need careful definition and control, for example in any re-definition of the Public Libraries and Museums Act, in the SSA allocation and in the Secretary of State's assessment of how the authority was carrying out its statutory duties, if the free services are not to become a second-rate, poor relation. If this were to happen, the ethos and purpose of the public library system would be undermined and those who are most in need of its services would be the losers.