Corporate report

Twenty-first meeting of the Libraries Taskforce

Published 4 October 2018

Meeting date: Wednesday 12th September 2018: 13:00 to 16:00 Location: Warrington Libraries, Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub, Jubilee Way, Orford, Warrington, WA2 8HE

Attendees

• Prof. Steven Broomhead (Chair) - Chief Executive: Warrington Borough Council
• Dr Neil Churchill - Director of Participation and Experience: NHS England
• Jane Ellison - Head of Creative Partnerships: BBC
• Isobel Hunter - Chief Executive: Libraries Connected (formally known as Society of Chief Librarians)
• Nick Poole - Chief Executive: The UK Library and Information Association (CILIP)
• Simon Richardson - Head of Libraries: Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
• Liz White - Head of Strategy Development: British Library
• Helen Williams - Deputy Director, Arts, Libraries and Digital Culture: DCMS (job share)
• Sue Williamson - Director of Libraries: Arts Council England
• Sheila Bennett - Head of Libraries Strategy and Delivery, DCMS; and Interim Head of Taskforce Team
• Julia Chandler - Communications Lead: Libraries Taskforce
• Charlotte Lane - Taskforce Programme and Project Manager: Libraries Taskforce
• Sophie Lancaster - Secretariat Manager: Libraries Taskforce

Apologies

• Cllr Mike Bell - Local Government Association: Culture, Tourism and Sport Board
• Felix Greaves - Deputy Director of Science: Public Health England
• Polly Hamilton - Assistant Director, Culture, Sport and Tourism: Rotherham Council and Vice-Chair: Chief Cultural & Leisure Officers Association
• Roly Keating - Chief Executive: British Library
• Kate McGavin - Deputy Director, Arts, Libraries and Digital Culture: DCMS (job share)
• Sue Wilkinson - Chief Executive: The Reading Agency

Presenters/observers

• Jenna Birley - Governance Officer, Libraries Taskforce, Arts Council England (Minutes)
• Tim Bidey - Project Manager, Traverse
• Rob Francis - Project Director, Traverse
• Dean Jones - Executive Assistant to the Deputy Chief Executive, Arts and Culture, Arts Council England
• Emma Squire - Director, Arts, Heritage and Tourism, DCMS

1. Introduction

The Taskforce held its 21st meeting at Warrington’s Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub. Prior to the meeting the Taskforce was given a tour of the library which was based in a larger leisure and wellbeing complex run by the community interest company LiveWire. It then had a welcome introduction from Councillor Tony Higgins, who holds the area’s leisure and community portfolio. More details of these parts of the meeting are contained in a Taskforce blog post.

Emma Hutchinson, Managing Director at LiveWire, and Eleanor Blackburn, Head of Strategic Partnerships and Commissioning Families and Wellbeing Directorate, gave a presentation on the work done to create community hubs, such as the one in Orford, and what this has meant for the future of library provision and services in Warrington.

Emma highlighted the driving factors behind the creation of the neighbourhood hubs and the reasons behind modernising the library, namely:

• to meet legal requirements and promote an efficient service, thereby using public funds effectively
• to respond to local needs
• to support care offers
• to promote local partnerships, innovation and enterprise

Taskforce members then heard from a stakeholder group representative and member of the Libraries Partnership Board, Gary Borrows. He informed them of the work of the Save Warrington Libraries and the influence of this local community group on the development of the library hubs.

1.1 Taskforce meeting

Professor Steven Broomhead welcomed everyone to the meeting, and outlined his priorities as the new Chair of the Libraries Taskforce.

Professor Broomhead wanted to build on the previous work and achievements of the Taskforce, continue the focus on the sustainability of libraries and the work to develop a vision for the sector post 2020. He also expressed an interest in further exploring the social impact and value of libraries.

2. Libraries Opportunities for Everyone: innovation fund

Rob Francis and Tim Bidey introduced this item which updated the Taskforce members on an evaluation conducted by Traverse on the Libraries Opportunities for Everyone: innovation fund (LOFE) which had been established to benefit disadvantaged communities through their public libraries. The evaluation report and supporting infographics would be published on GOV.UK. These would be published before the wrap-up event planned for 1 November.

Rob and Tim highlighted the main challenges and enablers the report had identified within staffing, partnerships, engaging participants, and project management and delivery.

They also shared the main ‘lessons learned’, and their draft recommendations.

Members thanked Rob and Tim for their presentation and discussed the findings.

The Taskforce felt that the legacy of the LOFE fund was an important issue. This evaluation highlighted the wide range of services and projects that libraries can and do deliver, and the additional benefits that targeted funding can unlock. The examples derived from the write-up of these projects could be used for wider advocacy work to decision-makers outside the sector, emphasising the role that public libraries can and do play in delivering these benefits within communities.

3. Funding options post-2020

The Taskforce held a discussion on potential future funding streams to support increased resilience for the public libraries sector, and how to position public libraries most effectively through strengthened advocacy and partnerships, and increased entrepreneurial activities. It was agreed to discuss further at the December meeting, the forum for determining the Action Plan for the following year.

The Taskforce felt the time was right for more than a development programme but further work would be required to determine the direction of travel. This approach was welcomed by CILIP and Libraries Connected and it was agreed that the first step is to explore options presented by international models. CILIP agreed to share examples of successful business models from other countries such as the Netherlands in advance of the Taskforce meeting in December 2018.

Dr Churchill informed LTF Members that National Health Service England (NHSE) were also in the process of discussing future funding options, and agreed to share thoughts with the Taskforce.

4. Single Digital Presence

The Taskforce received an update on progress towards scoping a UK-wide Single Digital Presence for public libraries.

The project covered:

• demand and user expectations
• feasibility
• funding and business models
• governance

It was noted that the project work had already included nearly 50 workshops with local groups with a few more to be completed.

The project aimed to develop a prototype. It was aiming to publish a report on this discovery phase of the work early in 2019.

In discussion, the Taskforce recognised the importance of the project factoring in current and future technological developments and ensuring that any proposals could fit with the current varied levels of infrastructure across public libraries.

The Taskforce noted the update and requested they be provided with a further update at a future Taskforce meeting, before the publication of the single digital presence report.

5. Ambition Action Plan: Six month report

The Taskforce received a draft of the six month progress report, covering the period April 2018 to September 2018.

The Taskforce agreed:

• to provide any final amendments, additions and comments on the report to the Taskforce Secretariat by noon on Wednesday 19 September
• to the publication of the six month report on GOV.UK at a suitable date, once reviewed by the Local Government Association’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board and the Libraries Minister

6. Ongoing changes by library authorities

The Taskforce discussed current proposals under consideration by library authorities.

It noted the outcome of 2 judicial reviews, relating to Northamptonshire and Darlington, and that DCMS would be considering the implications of these for the handling of the complaints it was considering for each.

The Taskforce reflected on how it might assist councils facing future decisions about changes to the provision of libraries services, as a body and through each organisation’s separate remits. It discussed how the Taskforce partner organisations could work more closely together in the future; for example by actively promoting Taskforce toolkits and guidance at an earlier stage, and by sharing intelligence and signposting councils in this position to organisations well placed to offer advice or assistance.

It also noted the potential value of the existing self-assessment Benchmarking Framework for Libraries, and a possible future accreditation framework, to assist libraries in considering their services in the context of local needs and priorities.

7. Transition update

The Taskforce were informed of the position relating to implementation of arrangements to transition work previously carried out by the dedicated Taskforce team to other member organisations.

The implementation of these arrangements will be subject to a detailed Memorandum of Understanding between DCMS and Arts Council England, based on the outcomes required in return for transfer of resources.

8. Information Update

The Taskforce received updates on initiatives since the last meeting.

It included updates on:

8.1 the Government’s Civil Society Strategy

The strategy says that government will 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.

8.2 Libraries Welcome Everyone

The Arts Council report on 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

8.3 British Library/Public Lending Right

The latest annual information about the most borrowed authors and books in UK public libraries during the July 2016 to June 2017 PLR scheme year.

8.4 Place Based Libraries Transformation work in Cambridgeshire

The project, currently at the feasibility stage, is looking at the possibilities of setting up a major investment in designing the libraries of the future, at a scale large enough to offer the opportunity to design solutions that can be translated across the UK

8.5 Libraries All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) meeting

CILIP worked with the Taskforce team to arrange a round-table meeting in July for the Libraries APPG.

8.6 Arts Council England’s 10 year strategy development

The Arts Council is in the process of working on the strategy document that will cover the period 2020-2030, including public libraries support as an integral element of its work.

8.7 Taking Part 2017/18 Annual Report

The latest Taking Part report was published on 30 August, which includes information on public libraries’ users.

9. Communications update

The Taskforce noted the communications update which included an update on the creation of a set of Outcomes brochures, feedback gathered in relation to different communications channels and updates on communications activities.

10. Taskforce Action Plan monitoring report

The Taskforce noted the agreed milestones in the action plan and the progress made against it so far this year.

11. Minutes of the previous meeting

The Taskforce noted that the minutes from the last meeting (held in Barking Learning Centre on 12 June 2018) had been approved by correspondence, and published on GOV.UK.

12. Taskforce Forward programme

The Taskforce noted the forward programme, action log and the dates of future meetings and added the following items:

• update on research work being undertaken by Libraries Unlimited and Exeter Business School
• a report from PHE and NHSE on rhymetimes and maternal mental health

13. Any other business

Dr Churchill updated the Taskforce on potential opportunities for involvement of public libraries in social prescribing initiatives. He would share further details once they had been approved by Matthew Hancock, Health Minister.

The Taskforce noted that Libraries Week would take place between the 8 and 13 October and that the focus this year would be on mental health and wellbeing.

14. Date and location of next meeting

The Taskforce noted that the next meeting would be held on 11 December 2018, 10:30-16:00 at Colliers Wood Library, 105 to 109 High Street, London, SW19 2HR.