Corporate report

Six month progress report (April to September 2018)

Published 10 October 2018

1. Introduction

Public libraries are a unique and valued statutory public service. They reach and support the whole community regardless of age, gender, socioeconomic status or educational attainment. The annual library statistics published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy on 11 December 2017 shows that libraries are popular, with large numbers visiting each year. In 2016 to 2017 alone, there were 204 million visits to, and 165 million book loans from, libraries in England. This is more in total than visits to Premier League football games, cinemas across the UK and visits to A&E major injuries clinics in England combined. The data also revealed that:

• 25 local authorities reported an increase in the number of physical visits from 2015/16 to 2016/17
• 7 local authorities reported an increase in book issues for 2016/17, over 2015/16

Libraries and their staff don’t provide a service that sits in isolation; they support other public services that are vital for local and national prosperity and wellbeing. They not only encourage a love of reading, but also provide business support, build digital skills, organise cultural activities, host community events, offer a quiet space to study, and support people to live happier and healthier lives. All this builds on one of the most important strengths of libraries; the trust people have in them to provide objective and accurate information and guidance in a confidential and even-handed way.

Local authorities in England continue to invest in their library service with net expenditure in 2016/17 totalling £643 million. That’s a relatively small spend given the huge impact they have on their communities and the outcomes they help deliver.

However, almost every aspect of modern life is changing rapidly. Shopping, learning, leisure and entertainment have evolved considerably from a decade ago, and all expect to change radically over the next few years. Libraries aren’t immune from these challenges.

2. Who we are

The Libraries Taskforce was established in March 2015. Annex A sets out background information on the Taskforce.

The Taskforce undertakes a wide variety of activities through collective and individual member actions. This collaborative approach has helped build stronger links across the library sector, as well as increasing the impact we can make in promoting the continuing value of libraries. The Taskforce publishes progress reports every 6 months. This sixth progress report covers April to September 2018. It includes:

• what we’ve done to take forward commitments in the Action Plan to March 2020 that accompanies Libraries Deliver: Ambition for Public Libraries in England 2016 to 2021 - details of both documents are set out in Annex B
• the areas of work we’ll focus on over the next 6 months
• some information on changes to the way the Taskforce is supported, by transitioning work previously undertaken by a dedicated team within DCMS to Taskforce member organisations

This progress report should also be read alongside the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Annual Report to Parliament on Public Libraries in England during 2017 which was published on 9 October 2018. This describes, amongst other things, how DCMS carries out its superintendence role of library services as set out in the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.

Annex C lists meetings with government departments and partners, and library visits that have taken place in the reporting period.

3. What we’ve done between April 2018 and September 2018

3.1 Promoting public libraries to the public and to decision-makers

Taskforce member organisations are developing programmes of communications activity, materials and protocols to help promote the main themes within Ambition, and to support collaborative approaches between Taskforce partners. We’ve been working together to plan and support a number of important initiatives, including the CILIP-led Libraries Week which takes place in October 2018 with a focus on well-being.

The Taskforce team works within government to promote libraries to decision makers, seeking to have the value of public libraries acknowledged in a variety of government strategies.

On 14 March 2018, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) published its Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper, which recognised the role of libraries in bringing together people from diverse backgrounds. Libraries and other community hubs were challenged to maximise their future contribution to this work. The Suffolk Libraries ‘Chat and Chill’ project was featured as a case study of good practice. Libraries Connected has submitted a bid to the Integrated Communities Innovation Fund, which was launched in July, to support pilot activity in libraries to generate a toolkit for national roll-out across libraries.

In May, the government published its response to the Internet Safety Green paper consultation. This acknowledged that public libraries offer a trusted source of information, both on and offline for many and noted that a number of libraries and librarian organisations responded to the consultation. The responses highlighted a high level of activity in this area with librarians keen to upskill in a range of digital and online safety areas; and featured the family learning activities being undertaken by the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL, now Libraries Connected) as a case study. The government said that it would work with Libraries Connected and the Association of Senior Children’s and Education Librarians (ASCEL) to explore the sharing of best practice and how online safety is integrated into:

• educating parents/carers, adults, and children and young people
• training for library staff
• both existing and bespoke new work

On 9 August DCMS published its Civil Society Strategy. This acknowledges that many public libraries have an established track record in developing their role as community hubs bringing together local people, services, and organisations under one roof. The strategy noted that there was a growing number of public libraries which are directly run or managed by the communities themselves or as mutuals by the people who work in them (or as a combination of the two), with varying levels of support from local councils at all levels. Suffolk libraries features as a case study. It said that government would encourage further peer learning and support between mutual and community-managed libraries, and ongoing positive relationships and support between them and their local library authorities.

In January 2018, it was announced that the government had accepted a series of recommendations from the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness and would be embarking on cross-government work, led by DCMS Minister Tracey Crouch, to combat loneliness and social isolation. The Taskforce had discussions with the team working on this initiative at its meeting in June 2018, and is promoting the wide range of valuable initiatives being taken forward by public libraries across England.

In June JUSTICE launched its latest Working Party report, Preventing digital exclusion from online justice. The Working Party was concerned about the wide range of digitally excluded people – such as those without access to technology or with low digital capability in light of court reforms underway in England and Wales which have a strong digital element. The Taskforce team provided evidence to the Working Party on the role that libraries can and do play in combating digital exclusion. The report contains a number of positive mentions about the role of libraries, and examples of good practice. Its recommendations – mostly directed at HM Courts and Tribunals Service - include:

• greater investment in “trusted faces” in “trusted places”, such as services already providing digital support and internet access [the full recommendation specifically mentions community hubs and libraries]
• considering the specific challenges of providing support to the digitally excluded, especially hard to reach cohorts - including testing Assisted Digital services in regions where the internet may be difficult to access
• paying specific attention to highly digitally excluded groups, like homeless people and detainees

Malaysia hosted the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) world library and information conference in August 2018. This is the international flagship professional and trade event for the library and information services sector. It brings together over 3,500 participants from more than 120 countries, sets the international agenda for the profession, and offers opportunities for networking and professional development to all delegates. Mark Freeman (Head of Stockton library service, and President of Libraries Connected), delivered a paper on best practice in UK libraries, based on Universal Design principles. Examples cited included libraries in Chelmsford, Ammanford in Wales, Great Stanley in the north west and one of Mark’s own branches in Yarm.

Promoting Ambition and what it says

The Ambition document is published on GOV.UK, both as an html version and a PDF. It’s also available in hard copy. If anyone wants copies, they can email us on librariestaskforce@culture.gov.uk. We also produced a 4 page brochure to introduce the document and highlight priority actions for use in advocacy work, to start conversations and provide context. We’ve continued to promote the document via our social media channels and through events, and encouraged each Taskforce partner to do the same. Between publication on 1 December 2016 and 27 September 2018, it has been viewed online over 36,000 times.

In mid 2018, we worked with a secondee to create a series of brochures to illustrate some of the Outcomes described in Ambition in more depth. These are intended to be used as advocacy material with decision makers, both in local authorities and in potential partners who might be able to work with or in libraries. We published brochures on wellbeing, stronger more resilient communities and greater prosperity, and all were distributed and promoted both in digital and printed form. A fourth, which merges the digital and learning Outcomes, was published at the end of September.

We’ve followed up its publication by featuring the main themes and issues on our Taskforce blog. For example, we’ve published posts which illustrate the Outcomes libraries contribute to - including:

• National Poetry Day: examples from Leeds libraries (culture)
• Engaging Libraries and Empathy Day 12 June 2018 (wellbeing and communities)
• Simplicity as a force for innovation (from Suffolk libraries - digital)
• Single Sign On – Access to eResources for libraries (digital)

We’ve been promoting the Ambition document and the role of public libraries more generally, at events run by other organisations. For example Taskforce organisations and the Taskforce team spoke at a Public Policy Exchange event in June, and the Taskforce team at the Local Authorities Customer Service Group in July.

We continued to publish a ‘Libraries Deliver Newsletter’, designed for frontline staff, intended to be printed and displayed on noticeboards. It responds to the direct comments we received from people working in frontline roles, and suggestions from library managers, who felt their teams were less aware of national initiatives and wanted to hear about what was going on in other library services. We’ve now produced 13 editions, and have used feedback from frontline staff to shape the content. It is sent to around 700 subscribers and shared with many others via the Innovators network, and includes

• updates on Libraries: Opportunities for Everyone (LOFE) innovation fund projects
• examples of how libraries deliver activities to achieve the 7 Outcomes
• news about people working in libraries around the country

Raising our profile with other influential bodies

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Libraries held a meeting in July. It will be supporting Libraries Week in October 2018, hosting a launch reception.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) is developing a Cultural Infrastructure Plan for the city, which it is planning to publish in 2018. We’re talking to the GLA to ensure that libraries’ important role in providing local access to cultural opportunities is recognised.

Libraries featured in the Innovation Zone at the Local Government Association’s (LGA) 2018 annual conference. This is attended by leading politicians and officials in local government, and was held in Birmingham in July. Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Storyhouse presented on its work.

Raising public awareness

We’ve been using our Taskforce owned channels (primarily the website, Twitter, the Taskforce blog, and flickr) throughout the period, and we’ve seen increased traffic and engagement on all of them. We publish all official information on our GOV.UK web pages: including minutes of meetings, published reports and information on Taskforce members. We use our blog more flexibly: we update people on what we are doing and publish ‘guest blogs’ where others share good practice so we can raise awareness of what different parts of the sector are achieving. We’ve used Twitter to publicise Taskforce activities, point people towards our blog and website, amplify what other people are doing or saying, and engage with people who have an interest in libraries. We also use it to pass on information in ‘real time’, for example, alerting people to deadlines for bids or consultation responses.

Our focus is on supporting library services to do more local communication themselves. We’ve been creating shared assets, by inviting people to make photos available under a creative commons licence, and reminding people that they can reuse the diagrams and icons that appear in Libraries Deliver. We commissioned some work with Studio 12 (based in Leeds library) and some library secondees. This was hampered by pressures of other work, but there were some useful lessons learned, which will inform general guidance on how to create different sorts of content, and adapt existing material.

As mentioned above, we continued to produce a one page newsletter for frontline staff that provides consistent short messages about national activities, so we can share a set of easy-to-reuse facts and examples of innovative activities taking place in libraries.

Over the 6 months covered in this report, blog posts have received over 46,000 page views and we have over 500 subscribers. The most popular posts during this period have been about Storyhouse, income generation and our making an impact workshops.

CILIP announced that this years Libraries Week (8 to 13 October 2018) would focus on wellbeing, providing libraries with the opportunity to showcase how they bring communities together, combat loneliness, provide a space for reading and creativity and support people with their mental health. It made a range of downloadable resources available, and urged public libraries to sign up to take part and be kept updated. LGA are preparing a libraries feature for Arts Professional in October, to coincide with Libraries Week, which will be complemented by national press activity.

3.2 Providing library services and potential partners with easy access to evidence and data to inform their decision-making

Making a compelling case for investing in libraries, and thinking ‘libraries first’ when delivering services to communities, needs a strong evidence base, both qualitative and quantitative. One of the priority actions in our document was to develop a core set of data that can be consistently and regularly collected (preferably via automated mechanisms), and openly published. Libraries could then use this data to promote the value of library services to secure future investment and encourage increased usage. They can also use it to understand user needs and behaviour better, support longer-term planning, manage day to day operations more effectively, and identify areas for improvement.

We published basic data on libraries across England (as at 1 July 2016) on 30 March 2017. Since then, we’ve extended this dataset to include more information on the libraries listed. We worked with organisations across the sector to define what should be in a wider core dataset - something which all library services will be encouraged to collect, use and publish in a consistent way. We’d like this to be used to help inform and improve local library service delivery, as well as being used for advocacy purposes at a local and national level (when aggregated). There may, of course, also be other data which authorities choose to collect in addition to this for their own local purposes.

We’ve worked with library management system (LMS) and other technology suppliers to see how they can help with the data collection for some of the core dataset, supporting library services to publish their own data, and are running some pilots to test data collection methods. We have been working with CIPFA, who produce benchmarking statistics for library services to negotiate an alignment of their future plans and data definitions with ours. For example around types of libraries and investment in libraries. We’re working with the LGA to develop a schema for the core dataset that everyone can use to achieve the consistency we need.

For the sixth consecutive year DCMS provided funding to enable CIPFA to make the comparative profile reports publicly available. The reports compare data in 2016 to 2017 for those local authorities in England that returned data (129 of the 150 councils). They are intended to help library services see how their reported service performance and costs compare to peers and support evidence-based decision making. At its June meeting the Taskforce received a report from Joan O’Bryan, a Cambridge MPhil intern, who undertook an analysis of CIPFA statistics from their inception, to draw out how they can or might be used to inform sector development and library services’ improvement planning.

We’ve also been considering how we can strengthen the evidence base about the impact library services have on the lives of individuals and communities based on research findings. This becomes increasingly important where local authorities and other partners commission libraries and pay them based on achievement of outcomes. As robust survey-based research can be resource intensive and time consuming to collect at a local level the Taskforce team undertook work to marshall what research already exists or is underway (including research commissioned by other administrations, such as Scotland), together with gathering views from the sector about the priorities for further investigation - for example evaluating the impact of our LOFE fund projects. The Taskforce used this to produce a list of future research priorities on an England-wide basis which we published in early April 2017. We’re actively discussing with partners how the projects listed can be taken forward.

Arts Council England has been working on further research reports on the impact of public libraries. These contribute to informing political and sector stakeholders about libraries’ contribution to public policy areas, and to sharing models of good practice with the libraries sector.

Rhyme-times and maternal mental health

In May 2018 it published findings from a 2 year study, undertaken across a number of Essex libraries, on Rhyme-times and its positive impact on maternal mental health. Self-reported mood of mothers was higher immediately after the sessions compared to before. The findings of this research are likely to be of interest to other organisations and government departments; for example, Department for Education has a growing interest in work with early years and the home learning environment. Discussions are taking place with health sector bodies to consider what role libraries might play in national efforts to develop new forms of Maternal Mental Health support, especially in areas with least existing services.

Libraries Welcome Everyone: six stories of diversity and inclusion from libraries in England

In July 2018 it published Libraries welcome everyone: six stories of diversity and inclusion from libraries in England which looked at how public libraries have supported different aspects of equality and diversity provision through arts and cultural activity that engage across the widest and most inclusive participant, audience and customer bases. The intention is to use the findings to support advocacy on the valuable role public libraries can play in equality and diversity work. It contains numerous examples of activities across a number of library services, in addition to 6 in-depth case studies (Barking and Dagenham, Coventry, Leeds, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and West Sussex). Amongst other findings it highlights the wider benefits of visiting libraries, reading and associated activities, for example on health, wellbeing, tackling loneliness, digital inclusion, improving literacy and digital literacy. As well as the power of linking initiatives into national, regional or local policy priorities, and building strong partnerships with local communities and community organisations based on sound and sensitive consultation.

In April DCMS published Public Service Mutuals: The State of the Sector, a piece of research conducted by Social Enterprise UK. It provided up to date and comprehensive research and evidence on this sectors. It also offered insight into the challenges faced by mutuals, and recommendations as to how government could further support the sector to sustain and grow over the longer term. The research also recognises the critical part highly engaged staff play in the success of a mutual.

3.3 Providing clearly signposted, step by step guidance and peer support

Toolkits and guidance

The Taskforce continues to promote the good practice guidance set out in its toolkits:

• Libraries Shaping the Future: good practice toolkit and case studies
• Community Libraries: good practice toolkit and case studies
• Libraries: Alternative Delivery Models
• Longer-term evidence-based, sustainable planning
• Benchmarking Framework for public libraries

Since publication, these toolkits have been viewed almost 166,000 times (over 30,200 during the period covered by this report). We also provide advice and support to individual library services when they approach us for help or guidance. We ran masterclasses on:

• applying for funding from a variety of organisations and charitable foundations (which complemented an earlier series run by the Arts Council which focussed on applying for their own funding),
• impact measurement

Both sets of masterclasses were designed and run in response to feedback and requests from the sector. Further sets of masterclasses, on evaluation and on user research, will be run later this financial year, again as a direct response to sector requests.

Libraries: Opportunities for Everyone innovation fund

DCMS and the Taskforce set up a ‘Libraries: Opportunities for Everyone’ (LOFE) fund (managed through Arts Council England) to pilot innovative activities in public libraries in England that will support all parts of society. In mid-March 2017, it was announced that 30 bids, covering 46 local authorities’ library services from across the country, would receive a total of £3.9 million from the innovation fund to be spent in 2017/18. We have been publishing blog posts about some of the projects as they have got up and running, and we are working to identify and share lessons learned with other library services.

DCMS and the Taskforce commissioned (and funded) the Office for Public Management (OPM) - now Traverse, to undertake a programme wide, independent evaluation of the LOFE programme. We will receive their final report in October, and will be holding an event in early November to share the findings. Some of the feedback from workshops held with the project teams as part of the evaluation process was that it would be helpful to learn more about conducting evaluations. We ran masterclasses in August to provide practical hands-on experience of this and will follow up with detailed guidance on conducting project evaluations. We’d like library services to be well equipped to build evaluation mechanisms in from a project’s inception, so they can use the outputs both to prompt project iteration and improvement during its delivery, and to use the findings as future advocacy material. For example, using evaluations to demonstrate opportunities for activities to be more widely rolled out following an initial successful pilot.

A number of library services received LOFE funding to establish a makerspace (or similar) in one or more of their libraries. We’ve continued to develop and add to the guidance we published on GOV.UK, pulling together case studies, links and resources for library services with makerspaces or those who are thinking of creating one. There is also a map showing all libraries with makerspaces and those in development. Between April and September new makerspaces have opened in:

• Barnstaple library, Devon (FabLab PLUS)
• Coleford library, Gloucestershire (Innovation Lab)
• Hull central library, Kingston Upon Hull
• Thornaby library, Stockton-on-Tees (Imagination Station)
• Stockton Central, Stockton-on-Tees (Innovation Station)
• Nuneaton library, Warwickshire (Let’s Make)
• Rugby library, Warwickshire (Let’s Make)

Partner activity

Individual Taskforce members are also undertaking work that contributes to the Ambition document’s strategic aims. For example, Libraries Connected’s Universal Offers provide a framework for partnership development at a national level, to help deliver tangible benefits within local communities.

To support the Culture Universal Offer, Libraries Connected produced a brief film providing top tips on developing an inspiring, audience-building programme of cultural events in libraries.

Ada Ada Ada was a 2017 pilot library tour (covering 29 libraries, and attracting attendances of around 250,000 people). A bid for a next phase of libraries activity in autumn 2019, a multi-platform Ada’s Army festival (involving live-streaming of events and branding of STEM activities, plus an online channel of resources that libraries can use at any time) is underway, building on this pilot. It would to aim to further expand and diversify audiences, prioritising reaching communities currently under-served for arts and for STEM; promoting libraries as the ‘go to’ hub for access to arts and technology. The ambition would be to reach more than 20,000 people in libraries and additional venues as well as 500,000 people through the online channel.

The British Film Institute (BFI) is launching part of its BFI Player product in libraries - specifically, free archive videos - to widen access to the UK’s rich film and TV heritage. The content will come from the BFI’s National Archive as well as national, regional and cultural partners - and, over time, the new platform will show videos that are not available online via BFI Player. The project is part of the BFI’s film preservation strategy, Heritage 2022 (H22) - and it has a particular emphasis on improving access to films for diverse audiences. The BFI is working with Libraries Connected to help ensure efficient delivery, promotion and tracking of the platform. The roll out to libraries across the UK is planned for early 2019, supported by iterative design and testing, with increasing numbers of libraries, in the coming months.

ASCEL commissioned The Reading Agency to research recommendations for a possible children and young people’s strand of the Universal Health Offer. Its report was published in March 2017 and recommended that libraries run more children’s activities and events promoting healthy living, physical activity and oral health. Consultants were commissioned to research and develop a range of creative and engaging family learning activities to be used by library staff for events focussing on combating childhood obesity. A toolkit, ‘Growing Well’ has been published on the ACSEL and Libraries Connected websites.

Engaging Libraries is a programme for public libraries across the UK and Ireland that want to pilot creative and imaginative public engagement projects on health and wellbeing. Public libraries have a major role in delivering on health and wellbeing as outlined in Ambition and the national library strategies across the UK and Ireland and the Libraries Connected Universal Health Offer. The programme is a partnership between the Wellcome Trust and Carnegie UK Trust and is the outcome of joint work between the Wellcome Trust and SCL. It is supporting 14 projects to complete activities between October 2017 and October 2018 (over and above the original funding levels intended, because of the number and quality of the bids received). The Taskforce has set up a hashtag, #engaginglibs, on our blog to highlight updates about this programme.

The Reading Agency has been working with Libraries Connected to promote the Universal Health Offer through the development of an advocacy infographic. Library services will be supporting the delivery of a Public Health England national mental health campaign in partnership with libraries. The regional pilot launch in the Midlands will happen in the autumn, with the national launch planned for spring 2019.

The Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme (developed and delivered jointly by The Reading Agency and Libraries Connected) launched a new adult mental health list in June at the Wellcome Trust. Since the launch of the first scheme in 2013, Reading Well has reached nearly 800,000 people through public libraries. Reach figures for 2017 to 2018 will be released in October 2019 along with the fourth year evaluation report produced by BOP Consulting.

The Reading Agency’s new reading befriending programme, “Reading Friends”, funded by the Big Lottery, supported by Libraries Connected and aimed at vulnerable and isolated older people completed its test phase at the end of August. Public Libraries were a partner in test projects which took place in 4 sites across England (West Sussex, Oldham, Newcastle and Sheffield). Evaluation from the first phase of work across the UK shows that the programme has reached over 700 people (624 Reading Friends and 104 volunteer Reading Partners). Almost all, 88% of participants said that the programme had increased opportunities for social contact. Work is now underway to expand activity in the test sites as part of the pilot phase of the programme starting in the autumn.

The Reading Agency ran its 2018 Summer Reading Challenge on the theme of Mischief Makers, working in partnership with Beano comic. This is delivered in partnership with Libraries Connected. The Libraries Minister, Michael Ellis, attended the launch, 96% of library authorities in England, Scotland and Wales took part (197/205 authorities) and there was national PR coverage in the Guardian, Evening Standard as well as a selection of online/regional press items. Exact figures for participants will be available in the autumn when the Challenge is over.

The Fun Palaces programme will take place on 6 and 7 October 2018. As their evaluation showed, this is an initiative that meet lots of the outcomes around community resilience, reducing loneliness, and diversity. Last year, out of 362 Fun Palaces, 55% took place in libraries and many more libraries plan to take part in 2018.

The Living Knowledge Network (LKN) puts into action the British Library’s vision to make our intellectual heritage available to everyone for research, inspiration and enjoyment. It brings together 22 public libraries across the UK, as well as the National Library of Scotland and the National Library of Wales. It shares resources, skills and ideas, promotes the enduring values (and value) of libraries in the 21st century, and reinforces the idea of the library as a transformative and accessible public asset.

The British Library has been planning the Network’s development from a pilot project towards a sustainable funding model which will launch in April 2019 which has been happening in consultation with LKN partners. Regular LKN activity has continued with 2 skills sharing days, one on evaluation and another on digital sustainability. Two exhibitions have been on display: Quentin Blake: The Roald Dahl Centenary Portraits and Harry Potter: a history of magic. The Harry Potter exhibition included regional panels, live screenings, Harry Potter quizzes and a bespoke Beasts among the bookshelves event, with 170,000 visitors in London and over 775,000 people across the country visiting the regional displays.

During the pilot, LKN developed a digital vehicle known as BL Live, through which libraries produce live broadcasts of events held on their premises and stream them to audiences gathered in other libraries in the UK. The BL Live streams have been running since September 2016 and they have been well received by partner libraries. Over the last 3 months LKN have been developing a pilot with the support of an external consultant. This pilot programme, running from October 2018 to March 2019, will test new approaches and deliver a more consistent programme of broader content.

The British Library’s BIPC network ran its third annual Start-up Day on 20 September where all 14 city libraries across the national network hosted an action packed day of masterclasses, mentoring and networking for over 2000 entrepreneurs. Santander sponsored the day as part of a £100,000 funding package. Libraries Minister, Michael Ellis, provided a video message in support of the BIPCs’ business support. The British Library also announced 3 new BIPCs which will launch in the autumn in Cambridge, Nottingham and in Glasgow - the first site outside of England.

A new round of Carnegie Trust UK’s Library Lab began in June. The Trust was looking for applicants in early or mid-management roles that had an innovative idea that they would like to implement or develop in their library, and who had a commitment to self-development and collaborative working. Those receiving awards in public libraries in England were:

A world of recycled robots (Maria Reguera, Redbridge Central Library)

The project will inspire children to create and program robots using recycled materials and affordable electronic components, showing them that robots can be made from materials they would usually discard. It will also educate children about the importance of recycling.

Unhampered Reads (Claire Pickering, Wakefield Libraries)

The project will see themed reading hampers developed to help inspire conversation, reminiscence, creative writing and spoken word in local communities. A training package will also be put together to encourage further use of the hampers by library service staff, health partners and volunteers.

Count and Code (Kate Smyth, Oldham Libraries)

The project will deliver sessions focusing on maths through play and coding for children ages 3 to 6, their parents and carers. Activities will be followed by Story and Rhyme sessions with counting songs and books. The sessions will encourage children to explore, investigate and learn, while supporting their parents and carers to access these activities.

Libraries at Night (Emma Hubbard, Bexley Library Services)

This project will deliver an innovative cultural programme in library buildings at times they would normally be closed to the public, and used to develop a business case for a longer term approach to using libraries as evening venues, at the heart of a local cultural offer.

3.4 Helping the sector (paid staff and volunteers) obtain the insights, skills and support it needs for the future

To transform public library services across England, we need to harness the talent and creativity of the people who work in them - both library staff and volunteers. We also need to continue to identify and support the learning and development needs of councillors, commissioners, senior council officers and the board members of new library delivery bodies (such as mutuals and trusts). Equipping everyone involved in public libraries to understand the 7 Outcomes that we’ve identified in Libraries Deliver: Ambition and deliver them successfully, leading and succeeding in a changing environment, is a vital investment.

CILIP and Libraries Connected are continuing work on the implementation of the ACE-funded actions in the Public Libraries Skills Strategy. This joint initiative aims to support the development of the public library workforce in England, ensuring it continued to meet the changing needs of library users.

A successful 2-day residential leadership course was held in April 2018 with a 1-day follow up session in May. Evaluation based on participants’ feedback is being used to help plan the roll out of a leadership programme across the UK. The Project Board agreed a plan to develop a Digital Skills Portfolio for public library staff, which builds on the existing Libraries Connected Digital Offer. It used the results of a learning needs survey sent to all public library staff in England, and consultation with CILIP’s special interest group on Public and Mobile Libraries to identify topics to be covered. Content was delivered at the end of May, with testing undertaken in June.

A workshop on Developing the Public Library Workforce of the Future was held on 28 June at Leeds Central Library. The event was aimed at heads of service and gave them an update on the progress of the Public Library Skills Strategy, looked at a report on the recently completed Public Library Leadership pilot course, with discussions on next steps and information about a shared learning platform from CILIP and Libraries Connected. There was also a workshop exploring job creation and an opportunity to discuss and plan next steps.

CILIP launched the Ethics Review and Privacy Review in 2017. A comprehensively revised, simplified and updated Ethical Framework for Librarians and Information Professionals, which is the output of the Ethics Review, will be launched at the CILIP AGM on the 11 October in London and then rolled out to all CILIP members. The output of the Privacy Review will be published later in the year. CILIP is undertaking 2 further sector consultations during 2018:

• a sector-wide discussion and consultation about International Working, led by CILIP President Ayub Khan (the ‘International Commission’)
• a Review of Professionalism and Professional Registration in the Library and Information Sector, led by independent Chair and incoming Chief Librarian of the British Library, Liz Jolly

The International Commission plans to report with recommendations by the end of 2018 for implementation in 2019. The Professionalism Review is scheduled to report in early 2019.

3.5 Other sector projects

In January 2016, SCL published a report, commissioned from BiblioCommons, on the potential for a Single Digital Presence (SDP) to offer existing and potential users of libraries a more engaging, interactive digital experience, to help retain existing users, attract new ones and change the perceptions of public libraries. The British Library is leading an 18-month scoping project to establish the demand for, and possible shape of, a single digital presence for UK public libraries. Funded by Arts Council England and the Carnegie UK Trust, the project is investigating user expectations and demand for what a national online platform for public libraries might deliver, and will explore the network of stakeholder groups and organisations best placed to make it a reality.

Over the last 5 months the SDP team has researched:

• national libraries and digital collections
• digital innovation in public libraries
• the UK picture and digital and technology trends

Over the next 4 months the team will be expanding its research plan to focus on spatial, digital and experiential trends both in libraries and in a wider social context. It has also conducted its first user workshops, with 60 participants (covering 20 library services) in London, Boston Spa and Cambridge, mapping current library services and scoping potential new services that could be provided via SDP. The work will culminate in a draft set of options and emerging findings. These will be shared in autumn 2018, with the final report published in 2019.

On 27 July, the British Library released the latest annual information from Public Lending Right (PLR) data about the most borrowed authors and books in UK public libraries during the July 2016 to June 2017 PLR scheme year (for which authors received PLR payments in February 2018). James Patterson was (for the 11th successive year) the most borrowed author from UK libraries, with Julia Donaldson the most borrowed children’s author. The PLR website includes further detailed information about the most borrowed authors and titles.

The provisions in the Digital Economy Act 2017 (which extended the PLR to include remote lending of e-books and e-audiobooks) came into force in relation to e-lending in England, Wales and Scotland on 30 June 2018. The secondary legislation was also amended to remove an outdated administrative burden on authors when first registering for PLR. These changes were in time for the start of the new PLR year (1 July to 30 June) and will enable payments to authors for e-lending by early 2020 in relation to the July 2018 to June 2019 PLR Scheme year. The PLR team are continuing to update and improve the PLR operating model as it transitions from its physical base in Stockton-on-Tees to the British Library’s Boston Spa campus. This involves, updating IT infrastructure, improving data collection methods and streamlining the processes for authors. This transition should be finished by March 2020.

As the subject matter of the PLR is is transferred (devolved) in relation to Northern Ireland (although the PLR fund is UK wide) it means a legislative consent motion is needed from the Northern Ireland Government before PLR can be extended to remote e-lending there. As noted above, the PLR extension therefore currently relates to remote e-lending in England, Wales and Scotland. The government intends to extend it in relation to Northern Ireland at a later date when a Northern Ireland Government is re-established and their legislative consent can be secured.

DCMS also prepared a draft statutory instrument (SI), using powers under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. This will make a necessary amendment to the PLR Scheme in order to ensure that UK resident authors will remain eligible to register for PLR after the UK’s exit from the EU. This draft SI has been laid before the Sifting Committees in Parliament to begin the process for Brexit related SIs.

3.6 Building sector capability

Arts Council England’s 10 year strategy document, “Great Art and Culture for Everyone” comes to an end in 2020. This strategy and its 5 goals have guided their work, giving a vision and framework for investment and development work. But in an evolving and changing world, the Arts Council recognises that the priorities that once served audiences, artists, arts and culture organisations and the Arts Council itself need re-examining. They are therefore in the process of working on the strategy document that will cover the period 2020 to 2030. For the first time, libraries and museums will be an integral part of the Arts Council as they develop and refine this major document.

The process so far has included direct engagement with stakeholders in all areas that the Arts Council influences, including library services. As well as an online consultation process, in the spring, Arts Council invited a range of library stakeholders to a series of roundtable discussions to talk about libraries issues that should receive consideration as part of this process. That information has been collated and fed back to the team working on the new strategy and has informed the next stage of the process of consultation, which will begin in the autumn.

Arts Council England appointed SCL as a national Sector Support Organisation within the Arts Council England National Portfolio. Sector Support Organisations focus on offering support services to a sector, as opposed to directly producing or delivering art and culture. A new Chief Executive, Isobel Hunter took up post in April 2018, alongside new Trustees.

At its Annual Seminar in June it announced its new name: Libraries Connected. Libraries Minister Michael Ellis spoke at the seminar, and sat in on a session which focused on several innovative LOFE projects from library services in Barnsley, Luton, Lincolnshire and Staffordshire.

Libraries Connected has secured 2 contracts to support delivery of government digital services. An internal review is now underway of the commercial capacity of the organisation and libraries sector, to inform management of the current projects and whether or not to pursue additional opportunities. This has included development of a draft set of commercial principles, in partnership with CILIP.

Arts Council and the LGA advertised an offer of 4 peer challenges for library and cultural services. Doncaster, Epping Forest, and Warwick District Council took this up. Each council has been provided with a report of the findings, recognising achievements to date and highlighting opportunities to further strengthen the service, and is being offered bespoke follow up support. Arts Council England and the LGA are now in discussion about further improvement work for 2018 to 2019.

As Taskforce funding is scheduled to cease after March 2020, at its March meeting the Taskforce agreed a transition plan for how work currently undertaken by the dedicated Taskforce team might be delivered in future. Elements of the Taskforce’s work previously undertaken by a dedicated team within DCMS will be transitioned to Taskforce member organisations. We have been working through implementation planning, and from October this process will get underway; we will be informing the sector through our blog as any changes that might affect them come into force.

4. Our reporting

The Taskforce monitors progress against its action plan at every meeting. In line with our Terms of Reference we’ll continue to present these narrative progress reports to DCMS Ministers and to the LGA’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board every 6 months and publish them on GOV.UK.

We publish minutes of our meetings on GOV.UK - links to those that took place during this reporting period are listed in Annex A.

Progress is also reported to Parliament via the DCMS Annual Report to Parliament on Public Libraries. The latest one was published on 9 October 2018. The time period for this Annual Report includes the 2017 calendar to the end of March 2018. This is to ensure that future Annual Reports to Parliament align with the annual reporting periods for other relevant libraries sector bodies, including Arts Council England and the British Library, as well as six month reports of the Libraries Taskforce.

5. What we’ll achieve in the next 6 months

By the time we next report (at the end of March 2019), we’ll aim, amongst other things, to have:

• transitioned some work previously undertaken by the Taskforce team to Taskforce member organisations, in line with the plan agreed at the Taskforce’s March meeting
• produced further advice on undertaking user research and project evaluation; and run masterclasses to help promote the advice and embed it as sector good practice
• held an event to mark the evaluation report on LOFE projects and to celebrate the scheme’s successes
• taken forward our work on supporting library services to publish their data through a common schema, in line with our core dataset and updated the information on public libraries (part of the dataset)
• commissioned a supplier to develop a common Library Management System specification for all library services to use
• developed a new communications strategy for the Taskforce and its work

6. Annex A: Information on the Taskforce

Background and structure

Information on the background and structure of the Taskforce is set out in our GOV.UK web pages. Our Terms of Reference were last updated in February 2018.

The Taskforce reports to the DCMS Libraries Minister, and to the LGA Culture, Sport and Tourism Board. The Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism is Michael Ellis MP. Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson chairs the LGA Culture, Tourism and Sport Board.

The Taskforce adopted an Action Plan to March 2020, which was published on 7 March. This sets goals for 2018, 2019 and 2020, and the outcomes the Taskforce is working towards for 2021.

The main action areas are:

• promoting public libraries to the public and to decision-makers
• providing library services and potential partners with easy access to evidence and data to inform their decision-making
• providing clearly signposted, step by step guidance and peer support
• helping the sector (paid staff and volunteers) obtain the insights, skills and support it needs for the future

We’ll also continue to identify other emerging challenges which would benefit from central support or where we can use our collective influence and convening power to make things happen.

Taskforce meetings

Over the period covered by this progress report, the Taskforce held the following meetings:

• Barking and Dagenham
• Warrington

Taskforce membership

Kim Bromley-Derry left the Taskforce in August, following his departure as Chief Executive of the London Borough of Newham. The Taskforce would like to record its thanks to him for his leadership and commitment during his period as a Taskforce member and as chair. He was succeeded as chair by Professor Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of Warrington Borough Council.

Funding for the Taskforce team

DCMS provided initial £250,000 funding for 2015 to 2016 to set up and support the Taskforce. Continued funding of £500,000 per year to March 2020 was confirmed as part of the DCMS Spending Review on 25 November 2015. This covers the costs of the core staff and Taskforce administrative costs (such as Taskforce publications and the workshops, sector forums and events the Taskforce runs). The Taskforce identifies other funding and resources to support delivery of its main priorities.

At its December meeting, the Taskforce started to consider how work currently undertaken by the dedicated Taskforce team might be delivered in future. Following meetings with relevant member organisations to discuss whether (and, if so, at what point) certain elements of the Taskforce team’s work might be mainstreamed into their remit. A transition plan was agreed by the Taskforce at its March meeting, and action has been underway to implement this.

Taskforce staff

During the period covered by this report, the team supporting the Taskforce comprised 4 full time staff:

• interim head of Taskforce team
• communications lead
• programme and project manager
• PA and business support

An Arts Council secondee covered the Secretariat manager role.

The Taskforce team was also supported during this period by some part time (unpaid) secondees contributing to our work:

• Alyn Thomas (Kent Library and Information Services) working on communications and advocacy material
• Paula Carley (Manchester Libraries) working on communications material
• Joan O’Bryan, a Cambridge MPhil student, who undertook analysis of CIPFA library statistics

The Taskforce is very grateful to all secondees for their insights and assistance, and to their organisations for agreeing to their release.

7. Annex B: Libraries Deliver: Ambition for public libraries in England 2016 to 2021

Developing a vision for public libraries in England

In November 2015, DCMS asked the Libraries Taskforce to develop a vision for the next 5 years, providing a framework to stimulate and inform discussion about library services at local and national levels. To develop the document, we drew on the knowledge of Taskforce members, information gained from visits to libraries, meetings with library staff and stakeholders, and previous reports such as the Independent Library Report for England and Envisioning the library of the future. As well as consulting widely through an online questionnaire and wide range of events run throughout England.

What the document covers

The document we published on 1 December 2016, which is endorsed and supported by central government and the LGA (on behalf of local government), sets out the context that libraries operate within. It looks at how they are adapting and developing their offer in response to these changing needs and circumstances, and will need to do so in future. It describes the Taskforce’s vision for public library services in England and details the 7 Outcomes that the public library network supports:

• cultural and creative enrichment
• enhanced reading and literacy
• increased digital literacy and access
• helping everyone achieve their full potential
• healthier and happier lives
• increased prosperity
• stronger, more resilient communities

It also explores:

• how leaders of councils and other public services can invest in libraries to achieve their strategic objectives around the future health, well-being, strength, happiness and prosperity of local people and communities
• how libraries can innovate and adapt to meet users’ and communities’ changing needs
• how strong local leadership of libraries can be complemented and supported by nationally co-ordinated initiatives
• ways to support libraries’ longer-term financial resilience and sustainability by looking at new delivery models and financing approaches

Our action plan

When we published Libraries Deliver: Ambition in December 2016 it was accompanied by an action plan, saying what the Taskforce would contribute to make our vision a reality. However, recognising we couldn’t achieve all this on our own, the action plan also included challenges to both central and local government. Clearly these could only be challenges as we couldn’t mandate them; however we looked for opportunities to incentivise delivery and also continued to showcase good practice.

The Taskforce reviews the Ambition document and its accompanying action plan annually. In December at its meeting in Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Storyhouse, the Taskforce reviewed the Libraries Deliver: Ambition document. It confirmed that it remained appropriate for the current operating environment; and refreshed its action plan, which was published on 7 March.

8. Annex C: Meetings, visits, and presentations

The Taskforce team and chair have met with and/or requested meetings with various government departments at official and ministerial level, and with a wide range of individuals and organisations from partner organisations, the library sector and beyond. This is to highlight the value of libraries and the work that libraries are already undertaking to support various policy and outcomes work. These meetings also seek to identify future opportunities for collaboration and options for library investment. Some of the most important meetings held during the period covered by this report were with:

• Audience Agency
• BIC Library Suppliers Liaison Group
• City University
• Carnegie UK Trust
• Chief Cultural & Leisure Officers Association
• Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
• Department for Education
• Doteveryone
• Education Endowment Foundation
• Exeter University
• Good Things Foundation
• Greater London Authority
• Halifax
• iStandUK
• Locality
• Ministry of Justice
• Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
• Overdrive
• Public Policy Exchange
• Solus
• The National Archives
• The Publishers Association
• UK Visa and Immigration
• Westminster City Council

Visits

The Libraries Minister and Taskforce team have visited a range of local authorities and libraries to get a better understanding of the different models and services they provide to their communities. These have included discussions with the library workforce and users, as well as meetings with senior councillors and local authority chief executives and directors, to:

• promote what libraries do to support delivery of their services and agendas
• highlight the range of delivery models possible for library services
• identify and share good practice
• seek views on how the Taskforce can help reinvigorate public library services

We’ve visited a number of libraries over the last 6 months. This takes our total in the 3 years since the Taskforce was formed to over 10% of the libraries in England. These include:

• Barking Learning Centre - for Taskforce meeting in June
• Barnsley central library
• Battle library, East Sussex
• Brighton and Hove libraries:
  • Hangleton
  • Hove
  • Patcham
  • Portslade
  • Woodingdean
• British Library, Boston Spa - ministerial visit
• Cambridge Central Library, Cambridgeshire
• Canary Wharf Idea Store, Tower Hamlets
• Crayford library - for the official re-opening, minister attended
• Durham libraries:
  • Clayport library, Durham
  • Newton Aycliffe
• Fratton library, Portsmouth
• Fulham library
• Greenwich libraries:
  • Greenwich centre
  • West Greenwich
• Grimsby
• Halifax - ministerial visit
• Hastings library - official opening
• Holborn library
• House of Lords library
• Isle of Man libraries:
  • Douglas (Henry Bloom Noble library)
  • Onchan (Harvey Briggs library)
  • Ramsey
• Islington libraries:
  • Cat and Mouse
  • Islington Central
• Kent libraries:
  • Cranbrook
  • Staplehurst
  • Tenterden
• Kettering library
• Kirkwall library, Orkney
• Medway libraries:
  • Gillingham
  • Walderslade village library
• New Eltham library
• Nuneaton library - Make it digital makerspace opening
• Oxfordshire county library - for the official opening, minister attended
• Plymouth libraries:
  • Central library
  • Devonport
  • North Prospect
  • Peverell
  • Plymstock
  • Plympton
  • Southway
• Portsmouth central library
• Redbridge libraries:
  • Fullwell Cross
  • Gants Hill
  • Wanstead
• Rotherham libraries:
  • Mowbray Gardens
  • Riverside (central library)
• Somerset libraries
  • Priorswood
  • Watchet
  • Williton
• Suffolk libraries
  • Bury St Edmunds
  • Ipswich county library
  • Hadleigh
  • Lavenham
  • Long Melford
  • Needham Market
  • Thurston
• Sutton library - for the official opening
• Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Storyhouse, Chester - for the official opening by HM the Queen, minister attended
• Swiss Cottage library, Camden
• The British Library
• The Curve, Slough
• Warrington libraries
  • Orford Jubilee Hub, Warrington - for Taskforce meeting in September
  • Warrington central library