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Library of the Year Submission – Ross on Wye public library: a model of partnership
This submission comes to you from the Ross Library Development Group (RLDG). The library management has provided statistical information and extensive feedback, but it was our decision to sing the praises of this excellent library which meets the criteria for Library of the Year and provides rural South Herefordshire, an area of outstanding natural beauty but one with more than its fair share of economic and social pressures, with one of its most valuable and valued resources.
.. wonderful library. Best we’ve had the good fortune to use in 60 years...*
Context Ross on Wye has a modern purpose built library which is a major resource for many individuals and groups from this small market town and the surrounding rural area. Like most public libraries it is under severe financial pressure; opening hours have been cut twice in the last twelve months and there has even been the threat of closure. Two key elements in meeting these challenges have been the unfailingly positive, professional and creative approach of the staff and the continuous growth of a range of services and partnerships to maximise the use of the building. The library is the Council Customer Service centre for South Herefordshire, handling bus passes, railcards, council payments and enquiries, Blue Badge applications, benefits advice and a range of other council enquiries that a typical library would not receive. Visiting the library as part of his Radio4 series on the future of libraries Michael Rosen said “What’s going on here is one possible solution to the library crisis; libraries sharing spaces with other council services.” And there is more. The library is now home to the Registrar, and to surgeries offered by local councillors, the MP, housing associations, youth housing support, SSAFA, community police officers and other partner services offering personal counselling. In addition there is the increasingly close partnership with the Ross Library Development Group (RLDG), a Community Interest Group. In describing the impact of those elements over the last twelve months we want to look “front of house” first and then at what has happened behind the scenes.
Front of House: service and action In this difficult period the library staff have focussed on managing the range of extra services noted above while continuing to provide a first class library service. The Ross Gazette said of Michael Rosen’s visit “Michael seemed very impressed that so much was going on in the library, the registrars, the Dennis Potter Room and council information, but it is still primarily a library...” Library services include supported use of the only free public IT facilities in the town centre, and great activities for school and pre-school children. These include regular Bounce and Rhyme sessions, story-times for pre-schoolers during term time, craft and story sessions for older children in the holidays, as well as the Summer Reading Challenge, a regular war-gaming club and homework sessions. In addition they are working to ensure the continuation of book supply for group work with early years, children and teenagers, Readers Groups, Books on Prescription, Green Life and Local Studies.
Ross library is already a magical place for my 12 month daughter. The weekly Bounce and Rhymes are really great. A free event run by enthusiastic and skilled staff. She loves the library so much and she's
only one year old. Libraries are magical places. *
Meanwhile In February 2013 RLDG launched a series of events to run alongside the activities organised by the staff. (see Annex 1) The monthly evening events ranged from a lively talk from the local MP about life as a backbencher to a riveting description of life among the Marsh Arabs. These events bring 20 to 40 people into the library and also help raise funds for improvements. Alongside this programme RLDG runs monthly coffee mornings, and RLDG and the library staff have also worked together for special events like “Live at the Library” which formed part of the town’s Christmas Fair, and with the local High School to present two events at the library – a drop-in music session and an electrifying drama production. (Annex 3)
In its Dennis Potter Community Room, the library has an excellent exhibition space let to local artists, organisations and charities. This draws people into the library and brings a small income. However the space is empty from time to time, so RLDG developed an exhibition about the library itself to be set up when the walls are blank. RLDG also worked with the Carnival Committee to display the entries in a children’s colouring competition organised by the local paper, and we are currently developing a second “stand-by” exhibition of literature themed posters.
Regular press releases and articles are sent to the local papers, to parish magazines which reach 2000 homes in the surrounding area and to the “Ross Voice” which is delivered to every household in the town and is available at public outlets. (Annex 3) In addition the active management of the RLDG Facebook page has raised the profile of RLDG and the library, alerts people to events and keeps news of library issues and concerns in view. Twitter @RossLDG1 has also raised the profile and made links with library organisations and supporters throughout the UK.
Behind the scenes: strategy and management For library staff, the behind the scenes efforts have focussed on maintaining a high quality and cost effective service (annex 2) whilst supporting staff whose jobs felt very fragile. In the circumstances, decisions were made not to fill staff vacancies, so the library team has been constantly understaffed. The fact that the public face of the library has been unfailingly courteous and cheerful throughout two rounds of tough cost cutting by the council is a tribute to the outstanding staff and the exceptional quality of management support. There has also been a constant process of negotiation and strategic involvement in order to make the best of inevitable cuts. For example the reduction in opening hours from February 1st 2014 has been carefully structured to minimise disruption and confusion for the public thanks to hard negotiation from the library management.
In addition the use of the building is being maximised – with official negotiations ongoing for other partnerships. Meanwhile RLDG was concerned with finding yet more ways to maximise and diversify the use of the building. This is becoming more urgent as the inevitable cuts in hours are made. As the building is large, distinctive and fairly high maintenance we felt that there was the risk of it being sold as an asset if there was not evidence of even higher levels of use. The key issue is to make space available without undermining the security of the library stock, data and facilities. The RLDG evening events are currently only possible because a member of the library staff remains on the premises unpaid, and in consequence the facility cannot be offered more widely.
Two key elements are being explored, manpower and access. Negotiations are ongoing to have a custodian available. More challenging is the physical environment in a large complex open plan building. RLDG have now finalised plans and raised the funds for a gate/barrier to separate the stock and staff sections of the library from the foyer, reading room and toilets – allowing a major community space to be made available even when the library itself is closed. At a time of council cutbacks this development can only be achieved through the vision, hard negotiating and active fund raising of a community group like RLDG but in turn, we can only achieve these things thanks to the co-operation and excellence of our outstanding professional library service.
My family really value the library in Ross. My wife has cancer and spends many hours each week reading books borrowed from the library. My 10 year old son regards the Tuesday evening war games as the highlight of his month. We will fight to retain the excellent facilities and service you provide. *
* feedback comments are directly from the library comments book & RLDG Facebook page.
Annex 1
Ross Library Events 1/2/13 – 1/2/14
Ross Library Development Group Events
Events Speaker/partners Title Nos.
Feb 20th Jesse Norman, MP Life as a Backbencher in the House of Commons 30
Mar 12th Andrew Taylor Being a Writer 30
Apr 16th Jo Scrivin Life Behind the Scenes at the Ross Gazette 20
May 10th Jill Pitkeathley, Baroness Life in the House of Lords 44
June 18th Janet and Mark Robinson Mary Came, Mary Went: the life of servants in a 19th Century Rectory.
25
July 16th Philip Gray Fineleaf Publishing 34
Sept 10th Paul Costello Writing engaging nonfiction 21
Sept 24th + John Kyrle High School “drop in” music performance n/a
Sept 26th + John Kyrle High School Drama Performance 48
Oct 8th Daphne Wyatt The Marsh Arabs and Arabian Feasts 29
Nov 19th Caroline Sanderson In the Footsteps of Jane Austen 43
Nov 26th Open meeting Consultation on Council Budget decisions 29
Dec 1st + Library Staff Live At the Library – Ross Traders Xmas Fayre 153
Dec 3rd Rhys Griffiths Herefordshire Archives and the New Archive Centre
29
Jan 21st Howard Owen The Phoenix Theatre in Ross 27
Other RLDG Activities Coffee mornings from 10.00-‐12.00 on the first Thursday of every month Other Library Activities National Libraries Day 2013 Bounce and Rhyme; runs weekly for 0-‐4 year olds, has an average attendance of 15 children Craft & Storytimes; run during school holidays for under 12s, have an average attendance of 11. h-‐Energy week -‐ storytime and Bounce and Rhyme to link with green theme. Summer Reading Scheme 282 participants – a rise of 40% on summer 2012 – with 54% completing the challenge and ages from under 4 to over 12. Seed Swap table for customers to share seeds and exchange gardening tips Warhammer, which runs monthly with an average attendance of 7.
Annex 2
Ross Library Statistics 1/2/13 – 1/2/14
Herefordshire Libraries Herefordshire has the second lowest population and has the fewest number of libraries in the West Midlands, but it also has the highest level of Active borrowers per 1,000 population. Herefordshire’s revenue expenditure is the 3rd lowest in the West Midlands with the lowest level of book stock per 1000 population in the West Midlands, but stock quality is one of the highest in the West Midlands. We also have a particularly high number of housebound customers.
“The number of active borrowers is a key indication of how well the library service engages with the public. Herefordshire is in the top quartile suggesting that the library service engages well with the population when compared to the other authorities. Herefordshire comes out as being at the lowest end of the comparison (for revenue expenditure), which suggests that it is providing a low cost service.” (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy). NOTE: e-‐lending is not yet implemented in Herefordshire. Ross on Wye Library Net annual cost for running Ross Library and Customer Service Centre £158,308
Visitor numbers showed a 6.4% increase between 2011 and 2012 (April to March) We do not have official statistics running February to January but we can compare visits in April to January year on year, showing a further 7.1% increase in visitors this year. 2011/2 – 108275 2012/3 – 115219 April 12 – Jan 13 (95373) April 13 – January 14 (102,110*) *unofficial stats from raw site data Book Issues showed a small drop in 12/13 (1.7%) We hope they have increased in 2013/14 but have no statistics yet to be able to complete this comparison. 2011/2 – 132493 2012/3 – 130241 2013/14 – no stats available
Annex 3 Samples of Press & Media 1/2/13 – 1/2/14
Transcript of BBC R4 “Our Libraries, the Next Chapter” with Michael Rosen http://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/2013/09/transcript-of-michael-rosens-our-libraries-the-next-chapter-on-radio-four.html Ross Gazette 25/7/13
Ross Gazette 2/10/13
Ross Gazette 2/10/13
Ross Voice November edition