Corporate report

Libraries Taskforce: six monthly progress report (October 2018 to March 2019)

Published 3 May 2019

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

© Crown copyright 2019

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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 (CIPFA) on 7 December 2018 show that libraries are popular, with large numbers visiting each year. In 2017/18 alone, there were 194 million visits to, and 157 million book loans from, libraries in England. This is more in total than visits to Premier League football games, UK cinemas and English Heritage sites combined.

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.

Councils in England continue to invest in their library services with net expenditure in 2017 to 2018 totalling £616 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 can be expected 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 seventh progress report covers October 2018 to March 2019. It includes:

3. Transition of Taskforce activity

At the December 2017 meeting, the Taskforce agreed to move the management and coordination of its work from the dedicated Taskforce team (based in DCMS) across to Arts Council England (ACE), in its role as the development agency for libraries, for the duration of the life of the Taskforce.

Over the past year, work has been undertaken to ensure a smooth transition. As a result, at the Libraries Taskforce meeting in December 2018, responsibility for governance and co-ordination was formally transferred to ACE via a Memorandum of Understanding.

The Taskforce reviewed its action plan in December 2018, identifying new goals up to March 2020. These will be set out in its revised Action Plan to be published shortly.

4. What we’ve done between October 2018 and March 2019

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

One of the Libraries Taskforce’s goals is to ensure that the invaluable contribution libraries make to society and local communities is actively promoted to stakeholders such as local government, national government, potential funders and the public.

The Taskforce and its partners aim to revitalise the image of libraries. Taskforce member organisations are collaborating on programmes of promotional activity, to seek the inclusion of libraries in government strategies and greater recognition by councils libraries’ capacity to deliver on their strategic objectives.

ACE 10 Year Strategy

On 2 January the consultation period for ACE’s next 10 year strategy closed. ACE’s current strategy, Great Art and Culture for Everyone ends in 2020 and this new strategy will guide ACE’s work and provide a framework for its development, advocacy and investment approach between 2020 and 2030.

The library sector and stakeholders have been a vital part of this consultation and libraries’ role in communities, the welcoming, safe space libraries provide and the free access to literature and knowledge have all been reflected on during the process.

The findings will be reported in Spring 2019 ahead of a planned publication of the new strategy in the autumn. The new strategy will contain ACE’s plans for the library sector as the national development agency for libraries and will come into effect at the beginning of 2020, as the Taskforce comes to the end of its life.

Libraries Week

On 8 to 13 October the annual Libraries Week took place with a theme of wellbeing. Led by CILIP, over 1000 libraries took part, running a series of activities which helped demonstrate how libraries aid wellbeing by combating loneliness, supporting better mental health and bringing communities together.

The All Party Parliamentary Group for libraries (APPG) launched Libraries Week with a reception in the State Rooms of the Speaker’s House in the House of Commons. The speakers included Libraries Minister Michael Ellis MP, Chair of the Libraries Taskforce Professor Steven Broomhead, Chair of the Libraries APPG Gill Furniss MP and CILIP Chief Executive Nick Poole.

During Libraries Week, the Taskforce published a series of blog posts which started with a post by the Libraries Minister, and then went on to illustrate each of the 7 Outcomes from Libraries Deliver:

The Libraries Minister, Michael Ellis, visited Wimbledon library to help mark the week, as did the Secretary of State, Jeremy Wright (who visited Salisbury library) and the Schools Minister, (who visited a library in his constituency).

The Taskforce team sent out a printed series of advocacy documents to heads of library services, available electronically on our GOV.UK Ambition page - these had a very positive reception, with numerous requests for further copies to use in local advocacy.

To coincide with libraries week, Redbridge Library and Culture Service ran their annual Fabula Festival. Funded via ACE’s National Lottery funded Grants for the Arts Libraries Fund, the festival ran for 5 days and delivered a varied programme of artistic events all delivered in library settings.

Libraries Week 2019 will take place between 7 to 12 October with a digital theme and will celebrate and explore how libraries are:

  • engaging communities through technology
  • building digital skills and confidence
  • encouraging digital participation and inclusion
  • supporting health, wellbeing and education
  • supporting local business and enterprise

APPG on Arts, Health and Wellbeing

On 21 January the All Party Parliamentary Group for Arts, Health and Wellbeing held a meeting which was attended by Taskforce members. Representatives from CILIP, DCMS, ACE, The Reading Agency and Libraries Connected all spoke at the meeting and emphasised the vital role libraries play in improving the health and wellbeing of communities.

Advocacy work

The DCMS Libraries 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. Having identified opportunities, it then involves other Taskforce members as work progresses.

Department for Education (DfE) is undertaking work on changing behaviour to help promote early language and literacy development through the home learning environment (HLE). In November the Education Secretary hosted a summit bringing together nearly 100 businesses, charities and public-sector organisations designed to discuss how best to support parents with learning at home. DCMS and ACE helped ensure that public libraries were represented at this event, and they will be involved in the next stages of developing this initiative. ASCEL updated a statement about its Early Years Offer to help contribute to thinking on the next steps.

DCMS also talked to the Early Intervention Foundation with a view to recognising the contribution public libraries can make within the guidance prompts for early years speech, language and communication peer review/ challenges run by councils. We hope that this will be reflected in increased library services’ involvement in these reviews for the future.

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 sector organisations responded to the consultation.

Following a DCMS introduction to Newsguard, an organisation that has developed a browser add-on that provides a ‘nutrition rating’ for credibility and transparency of news sites, Libraries Connected and ASCEL have been promoting a rollout of this tool across public and school libraries across the country. The rating is drawn up by a team of experienced journalists based on 9 journalistic criteria such as whether the site regularly publishes false content, reveals conflicts of interest, discloses financing, or publicly corrects reporting errors. Newsguard launched in the UK in April 2018.

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, to promote the wide range of valuable initiatives being taken forward by public libraries across England. The strategy was published in October 2018. It mentioned the 2018 Libraries Week, which as part of its wellbeing theme covered loneliness issues. It also noted that Taskforce masterclasses on evaluation and measuring the impact of library services would cover the proposed new loneliness measure, to improve evidence and understanding of the important role that libraries play in preventing individuals from feeling lonely. The strategy specifically mentioned the work being undertaken by Norfolk’s Library and Information Service to support the council’s In Good Company campaign, which promotes the message that no-one in Norfolk should have a lonely day unless they choose to, and that everyone can do their bit to tackle the problem. The library service runs a large number of activities, including its popular ‘Just a Cuppa’ sessions across the county.

As part of the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) unveiling of new strategic approaches to healthcare, the Secretary of State, Matt Hancock gave a major speech about the power of the arts and social activities to improve the nation’s health. This focussed heavily on the role public libraries play already, and the potential to extend this as part of developing a social prescribing approach. This was reinforced by the Culture Secretary in a speech about the value of culture. Officials in both DHSC and DCMS’ culture teams are now working together on social prescribing policy and NHS England (NHSE), Public Health England and ACE will be involved in further conversations surrounding arts, libraries and health. NHSE are running the Social Prescribing Task Group, which both DCMS and Arts Council are part of.

In the Autumn Budget it was announced that DCMS would be undertaking work to use public buildings as fibre hubs in areas with very poor broadband connectivity. Amongst other public buildings, DCMS is looking at using libraries in those ‘cold spots’ and the Local Full Fibre Network Team in DCMS is discussing this with the relevant library services.

The DCMS policy team and ACE have been engaging with the Greater London Authority to ensure the important role in providing local access to cultural opportunities is recognised. Its Cultural Infrastructure Plan was launched on 19 March and featured libraries both as part of its interactive map, and also in the launch video.

The DCMS Libraries team has been talking to colleagues elsewhere in DCMS working on initiatives such as youth policy, place work, and the 2022 Festival of Britain, alongside a range of external organisations (such as the Social Mobility Commission, Youth Employment UK and NHS Digital), to ensure that they are aware of the contribution that library services can make as they develop their future policies and work programmes.

On 15 October DCMS libraries team laid in Parliament a statutory instrument, signed by the Libraries Minister, to ensure that UK-resident authors will remain eligible to register for the Public Lending Right (PLR) when the UK leaves the EU. PLR is the system through which authors are paid from a government fund for public library lending of their books. This change in the regulations will automatically come into force on the day that the UK exits the EU and means that the PLR will continue to be open to authors living in the UK and other EEA States.

We’ve been using our Taskforce owned channels, primarily the GOV.UK website, Twitter, the Taskforce blog, and Flickr throughout the period. We currently publish all official information on our GOV.UK web pages including minutes of meetings, published reports and information on Taskforce members. During the period of this report, blog posts on the Taskforce platform were read almost 40,000 times. This is the last quarter we’ll report on the Taskforce blog. During the 3.5 years it was run by the Taskforce team, we published over 360 posts, which were read almost 250,000 times. ACE have developed a new collaborative communication strategy for the period up to March 2020 which was agreed at the 23rd Taskforce meeting in March.

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

The Taskforce believes that the ability of library services to advocate effectively to relevant stakeholders and make strategic decisions to improve services is strengthened by a strong evidence base. Its action plan includes goals to ensure a shared approach to data gathering, to maintain and develop the existing research database, to encourage funders to fund further research work and to ensure library staff have an awareness of and ability to use the existing resources.

CIPFA Comparative profiles

For the seventh consecutive year, DCMS provided funding to enable CIPFA to make the comparative profile reports publicly available. The reports compare data from 2017 to 2018 for those councils that returned data (122 of the 151 library authorities in England). They are intended to support evidence-based decision making and to help library services see how their reported service performance and costs compare with their peers.

Libraries dataset

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 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.

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

The Taskforce believes that national support through toolkits and guidance, as well as the example set by library services that continue to excel in challenging circumstances, are crucial in helping libraries improve. The Taskforce aims to ensure that good practice is shared with the sector, that practical guidance is readily available and that library services are aware and supported in the use of the available toolkits and resources.

Toolkits and guidance

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

Since publication, these toolkits have been viewed almost 153,000 times (over 31,600 times during the period covered by this report). The case studies associated with them have together been viewed almost 50,000 times. We also provide advice and support to individual library services when they approach us for help or guidance.

The Ambition document is published on GOV.UK and available in hard copy. Between publication on 1 December 2016 and 19 March 2019, it has been viewed online over 52,000 times. In addition, there are a number of supporting brochures to be used for advocacy. If anyone wants copies of these, they can email a request to [email protected]

DCMS is currently in the process of revising the information available on GOV.UK about its statutory superintendence role. This information, used in conjunction with the Taskforce resources, will help to guide and support library services considering major changes to their delivery model.

Libraries Connected has updated its website with a database of toolkits and guidance to provide easy access to these resources.

Libraries: Opportunities for Everyone innovation fund evaluation

The Libraries: Opportunities for Everyone innovation fund (LOFE) was launched in December 2016 alongside Libraries Deliver: Ambition.

Its primary aim was to enable library services to trial innovative projects that would benefit disadvantaged people and places in England. Funded by DCMS and managed by the Arts Council, the £3.9 million fund awarded grants of between £50,000 and £250,000 to 30 projects across 46 library services in March 2017.

Traverse was selected by DCMS to undertake an independent evaluation of the LOFE fund in November 2017. The evaluation, which was funded by the Taskforce and DCMS, investigated what activities were undertaken by projects and whether these made a difference to participants, libraries and local communities. It also sought to generate learning from both the approaches taken by projects and the support that was provided by DCMS, the Arts Council and Traverse.

The evaluation was published in November 2018 and the report is supplemented by:

  • a Project Information Booklet which provides further information about the aims, activities and impacts of each funded project, as well as contact details
  • infographics which provide an overview of the LOFE fund and illustrate some of the impact of the projects

The evaluation found that the fund had engaged with regular, non-regular and non-users of libraries to combat disadvantage. For example, the projects:

  • developed spaces and schemes that provided access to a range of technologies and training
  • worked alongside community groups to consult, engage, or work with vulnerable and marginalised individuals to co-design and co-produce activities
  • supported participation in new activities that helped individuals to develop skills and confidence

Across all projects, funding was felt to have provided the opportunity to invest in high value equipment and resources, support staff through training, and market their libraries to local communities.

The evaluation also found that participants valued the opportunity the fund provided to get together during the project and share ideas and experiences with peers. As a result, the Taskforce brought together participants to celebrate the success of the fund and discuss the potential legacy. The event on 1 November 2018, which took place at Fulham library, included speeches from Libraries Minister Michael Ellis and ACE’s Deputy Chief Executive Simon Mellor. There were also presentations from Traverse on the highlights of their report and as well as three of the projects: Norfolk on its Reading Pathway, West Sussex on its Digital Library Plus and Merton on its My Library project.

Enchanted Story Garden (LOFE)

In December 2018, Discover Children’s Story Centre delivered a series of events and an installation entitled The Enchanted Story Garden in The Eltham Centre for Greenwich Leisure Limited.

Funded through Libraries: Opportunities for Everyone Innovation fund (LOFE), the events were week-long live activities for children, families and schools. They included Story Builder led 0-3s story-telling events, an audio inspired piece combined with live performance called The Librarian, and author/illustrator workshops.

Designed by Discover, The Enchanted Story Garden was inspired by the books The Railway Children, The Enchanted Castle, Five Children and it, and the Story of The Treasure Seekers, works of author E. Nesbit who lived in Eltham. There are four main interactive story spaces in the Garden for visitors to explore: The Magic Carpet, Village, Enchanted Castle and Secret Forest.

Evaluation workshops

Some of the feedback during the LOFE evaluation indicated a desire to learn more about evaluation and in March we ran a series of evaluation workshops, in collaboration with the Audience Agency. Jointly funded by ACE and DCMS, the workshops covered what evaluation is, why evaluation is important and how to do it effectively. Attendees were given set of resources to take away to support the ongoing development and delivery of effective evaluation in their organisations.

Peer reviews

The Local Government Association, in partnership with ACE, is delivering 10 fully funded library service peer challenges. The LGA’s standard corporate peer challenge has been adapted to meet the specific needs of libraries, helping them to evaluate performance, innovate, and think about the future of their service.

These challenges will provide each successful applicant with free expert, neutral advice from a team comprising a peer challenge manager, a councillor, and a head of service or equivalent. Each library service will meet with councillors and the senior management team, partners, and staff to provide a constructive analysis of the service and the plans for it, identifying any opportunities for still further improvement or innovation. These challenges are tailored to the needs of the individual library service and will be conducted from March to May.

Regional Development Officer

As part of the transition of responsibility of the delivery of the Libraries Taskforce governance role to ACE from DCMS, a new post has been created to improve the regional support available for all libraries. This new Regional Development post will work with regional networks and organisations to enhance the resilience and capability of all libraries in England.

Community Infrastructure Levy

ACE and The National Archives have commissioned Culture Runner to undertake research into current engagement of libraries and archives with planning departments and to create a toolkit to assist archives and libraries to influence local planning decisions, specifically in relation to Section 106 and the Community Infrastructure Levy.

In January 2019, staff members from both ACE’s libraries team and The National Archives’ regional teams met to feed into this discussion and explore how both organisations can better work together to support Archive and Library services regionally. The final report is due to be published in spring 2019.

4.4 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 identified in Libraries Deliver: Ambition and to deliver them successfully, leading and succeeding in a changing environment, is a vital investment.

Public Libraries Skills Strategy

CILIP and Libraries Connected are continuing work on the implementation of the ACE-funded actions in the Public Libraries Skills Strategy (PLSS).

Libraries Connected and the British Library announced their national mentoring programme in January which aims to strengthen the sector by supporting talent within the public library network. The 12-month programme will support leadership development for staff at all levels. The deadline for applications was the end of February and the launch event will take place at the British Library on 20 May 2019.

CILIP announced that it had won approval for a level 3 Apprenticeship standard for the library and information profession. Over the next 2 years, CILIP will be working with employers across the sector to encourage engagement with and adoption of this standard as well as working in partnership with the sector to explore the development of further appropriate training for staff.

Transforming Leadership Fund

At the beginning of the year, ACE announced the Transforming Leadership Fund which aims to support a number of providers to design and deliver a broad range of evidence-based leadership development interventions. The fund was aimed at people working in museums, libraries, arts organisations and Music Education Hubs, as well as those working independently who have potential to take on leadership roles.

Applicants that were successful with their expressions of interest were informed in March and full applications to the fund are due to be submitted on 25 April. Successful applicants will be notified in August.

4.5 Partnership and sector activity

Individual Taskforce members and other organisations in the sector are undertaking work that, while not directly related to the activity of the Taskforce, still contributes to the Libraries Deliver document’s strategic aims (see annex B).

Leadership Essentials

In December and January the LGA ran the 11th and 12th Leadership Essentials: Cultural Services event for portfolio holders. Working in partnership with ACE, the programme was designed to support leading councillors to develop an integrated cultural offer against a backdrop of reducing budgets.

Higher Education and Public Libraries: Partnerships Research

On 9 November 2018, ACE published a report into the potential for partnership working between libraries and higher education institutions. Conducted by Independent Mind, the report explored 3 main themes:

  • the capacity and appetite within local authority services and higher education institutions to generate meaningful partnerships
  • what brokering requirements may be necessary to initiate and maintain partnerships
  • the opportunities for shared digital and physical resources

Summer Reading Challenge Evaluation

The Reading Agency ran its 2018 Summer Reading Challenge on the theme of Mischief Makers, working in partnership with Beano comic and delivered in partnership with Libraries Connected.

In 2018 699,076 children took part across 96% of all authorities in England, Wales and Scotland. Forty-five percent of participants were boys, up 1% from last year, and there was a 2% increase in boys completing the challenge from last year.

In January, The Reading Agency announced that the theme for the 2019 challenge will be ‘Space Chase’ which was chosen to mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landings. The Challenge will launch in libraries in England on 13 July 2019.

Also in January, The Reading Agency, in partnership with ASCEL and Libraries Connected, were awarded a £120,000 grant from ACE to explore the impact of participation in the Summer Reading Challenge on children’s enjoyment of and engagement with reading.

This external evaluation will be in addition to the normal internal evaluation of the Summer Reading Challenge and will allow The Reading Agency to evaluate the extent to which participation in the Summer Reading Challenge helps to prevent summer slide in relation to both reading skills and reading enjoyment.

Reading Friends

In October, The Reading Agency launched its new programme Reading Friends. Funded via The National Lottery Community Fund, the programme aims to empower, engage and connect older people who are vulnerable and isolated, people with dementia and carers. The expansion of the UK wide programme follows a first phase which reached over 700 people (624 Reading Friends and 104 volunteer Reading Partners). Almost all participants (88%) said that the programme had increased opportunities for social contact.

Business & IP Centre National Network

The British Library’s Business and IP Centre (BIPC) National Network continued its expansion with two new centres opening in Cambridge and Peterborough. The Cambridge BIPC opened in a refurbished space in Cambridge Central Library on 1 February 2019. The Cambridge launch was followed by the opening of the Peterborough branch at Peterborough Central library on 13 February. The other 42 libraries and mobile libraries across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will act as touch points for the service so that anyone can walk into their local library and seek help and advice. Nottingham City libraries also joined the Network in 2018 as a pilot Business and IP Centre, with a focus on developing partnerships and upskilling staff to provide support services for local entrepreneurs.

The latest figures from the British Library show that between 2017 and 2018 more than 19,000 people were supported through the network to set up new businesses in the UK. Amongst the impressive total of people helped between 2017 and 2018:

  • over half (59%) were women
  • 35% were from black and Asian minority ethnic backgrounds
  • 36% were planning to start a business and 21% were in the process of setting up a business
  • almost 20% (19%) were working whilst being employed
  • 12% were unemployed or a student
  • 32% were aged 16-34

In December 2018, The British Library was commissioned by ACE to conduct an economic impact evaluation of the Business and IP Centre network. The evaluation will be conducted by an external provider and will look to demonstrate the impact of the Business and IP Centres on local entrepreneurs, and how the network continues to deliver excellent value for money and return on investment. The scope of the evaluation will include:

  • to what extent the services have led to the creation of small businesses and jobs
  • how the services have increased the sustainability of businesses, and to what extent they have supported businesses to scale and grow
  • to what extent the services have contributed to new economic opportunities for people from disadvantaged communities

Leading the Way – a guide to privacy for public library staff

Carnegie UK, in partnership with CILIP and Newcastle Libraries published Leading the Way – a guide to privacy for public library staff in November. The guide is designed to support public library staff across the UK to develop and enhance how libraries approach the topic of privacy and play a leading role in advancing the privacy of library users.

Engaging libraries

On 27 March, Carnegie UK published a report into phase 1 of its Engaging Libraries programme and also announced a second phase. Conducted in partnership with Wellcome, Engaging Libraries phase 1 supported 14 projects across 16 public library services in England, Scotland and Wales to work in collaboration with others to deliver public engagement activities which sparked curiosity and conversation about health and wellbeing in communities. The new report, ‘Engaging Libraries: Learning from Phase 1’, shares reflections from the programme, demonstrates learning through case studies and aims to provide inspiration for projects and partnerships for others to explore.

Engaging Libraries phase 2 will open for applications later this year with the Wolfson Foundation joining Carnegie UK and Wellcome as a partner. The programme will be expanded to support public libraries across the UK to deliver public engagement projects with research in health, culture and society, and to foster partnerships between public libraries and researchers.

Single digital presence

The British Library is actively working on its ACE and Carnegie UK funded scoping project to establish the demand for and possible shape of, a single digital presence for UK libraries. The project is considering options for what a national online platform for public libraries could look like, what it could be used for and how such an offer might fit in to the current ecosystem for libraries. The British Library is expecting to publish recommendations in early 2019.

The Living Knowledge Network

The Living Knowledge Network was a pilot project which put into action the British Library’s vision to make its intellectual heritage available to everyone for research, inspiration and enjoyment. It brought together 23 public libraries across the UK, as well as the National Library of Scotland and the National Library of Wales. It shared resources, skills and ideas, promoted the enduring values (and value) of libraries in the 21st century, and reinforced the idea of the library as a transformative and accessible public asset.

To mark the end of the successful pilot and to promote the Living Knowledge Network on the international stage, a symposium was held in China with attendees from the British Library, ACE and the Living Knowledge Network library partners. The permanent network will officially launch in April.

Blueprint for Libraries project

Between November 2018 and March 2019, CILIP and Libraries Connected collaborated on a study to examine the different options for how libraries service can be delivered in the future.

The study, funded by Carnegie UK, consulted with stakeholders on the best way for Libraries Connected and CILIP to work with national funders to support the public library sector and looked at contrasting models for public library delivery internationally, including those found in Northern Ireland, Australia, USA, Holland and Finland.

Libraries Connected Regional Development

In December 2018 Libraries Connected was commissioned by ACE to explore how regional library services could be best supported. This grant will allow Libraries Connected to identify how existing regional structures can be developed to make best use of the skills, expertise and capacity within the sector.

Activist Group is leading on the first stage of the project, consulting with major stakeholders to build a business case and proposal for a future regional support offer. The project will also have a reference group made up of heads of service and senior managers.

The project will also provide an independent facilitator to work with each regional structure over a period of 6 months to identify its existing skills, expertise and capacity, and to create a clear set of shared objectives focusing on initiatives that cannot be easily achieved by individual services acting alone.

Libraries Connected Universal Offer review

In the Autumn, Libraries Connected launched a strategic review of its 6 Universal Offers. Launched in 2013, the Universal Offers aim to develop a core package of resources at a national level which can then be adapted and delivered locally and cover 6 areas of library services: culture, digital, health, information, reading and learning.

This review, undertaken in partnership with Shared Intelligence, is investigating the impact the Universal Offers have had since their launch in 2013 and aims to reshape the offers to create a dynamic and compelling vision for libraries.

Voyage of the Data Treader

On 11 March, the second Voyage of the Data Treader took place at Manchester Central Library. Sponsored by the Libraries Taskforce and attended by a number of Taskforce organisations, the day was designed as a ‘Library Data Camp’ for people interested in using data to improve library services. It offered a varied programme including how to edit Wikidata. It was run by representatives from Plymouth, Newcastle library services and Libraries Hacked.

4.6 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 Local Government Association’s (LGA) 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 which took place during this reporting period are listed in Annex A.

Progress is reported to Parliament via the DCMS Annual Report to Parliament on Public Libraries. A report covering the 2017 calendar year through to the end of March 2018 was published on 9 October. Future Annual Reports to Parliament will align with the annual reporting periods for other relevant libraries sector bodies, including ACE and the British Library, as well as 6 month reports from the Libraries Taskforce.

5. What we will achieve in the next 6 months

By the time we next report we’ll aim, amongst other things, to have;

  • updated the public library skills strategy so that it is relevant and effective in supporting essential skills within the sector
  • commissioned a supplier to develop a common Library Management System specification for all library services to use
  • implemented a new Taskforce communications strategy which highlights a shared national vision for public libraries which will be delivered by ACE and Libraries Connected
  • commissioned a study to explore the value citizens place on libraries in their communities
  • progressed the development of a peer support offer to enable the sector to reflect on practice and improve
  • delivered impact data research into the regional Business and Intellectual Property Centres (BIPC)

6. Annex A: Information on the Taskforce

Background and structure

Information on the background and structure of the Taskforce is set out on GOV.UK. Our Terms of Reference were last reviewed in February 2019.

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 2018. This set the goals for 2018, 2019 and 2020, and the potential direction of travel after March 2020. After consultation with Taskforce partners at the 22nd Taskforce meeting in December 2018, a new set of actions points were outlined which set the goals for the period up to March 2020. The new action plan was agreed at the 23rd Taskforce meeting in March 2019 and will be published in soon.

Taskforce meetings

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

Taskforce membership

Councillor Mike Bell stepped down from Taskforce membership in October 2018. He has been succeeded by Councillor Matthew Lee, Leader of South Kesteven DC, as the LGA representative from its Culture, Tourism and Sport Board.

Jane Ellison left the Taskforce in December, following her departure from her role as Head of Partnerships at BBC. Peter Rippon will be representing the BBC for the future.

Felix Greaves stepped down in December and has been replaced by Clare Perkins, Director of the Knowledge and Intelligence Team, Public Health England (PHE).

Helen Williams and Kate McGavin, who job-shared the role of Deputy Director for Arts, Libraries and Digital Culture in DCMS, left in March 2019 to take up the role of Director for Devolution in Cabinet Office.

Julia Chandler, who was the Taskforce Communications lead from its inception in 2015, was on loan from Department for International Development until March 2019, and has now returned to her home department.

Simon Richardson, Head of Libraries Superintendence and British Library Sponsorship at DCMS is about to depart on a career break.

The Taskforce would like to put on record its appreciation to all these members for their insight and participation.

Funding for the Taskforce

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 also identifies other funding and resources to deliver its main priorities.

Taskforce staff

In the period up to the transition in December, the dedicated Taskforce team consisted of three full time staff based at DCMS:

  • interim head of Taskforce team/policy lead
  • communication lead
  • programme and project manager

Since the transition to ACE in December 2018, the dedicated Taskforce team in ACE now consists of four staff; DCMS has retained two Taskforce funded posts to support DCMS and Taskforce library policy. The posts at ACE are:

  • senior project manager
  • communications manager (3 days a week)
  • governance and business support officer
  • regional development officer

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. We also consulted widely through an online questionnaire and wide range of events run throughout England.

What the document covers

We published a document on 1 December 2016, which is endorsed and supported by central government and the LGA (on behalf of local government), and 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
  • objectives around the future health, well-being, strength, happiness and prosperity of local people and communities
  • how libraries can innovate and adapt to meet the changing needs of users and communities
  • 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
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