Decision details

Cabinet to approve the Library and Cultural Services strategy and future model for the library service.

Cabinet to agree to delegating authority to the Executive Director Children, Life Long Learning and Culture to work with Cabinet member for All-Age Learning to proceed to consultation where necessary over the next 12 – 18 months, as and when the specific proposals for each area become clearer following a process of codesign with local people and key stakeholders.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Library and Cultural Services strategy and future model for the library service was approved.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Executive Director for Children, Life Long Learning and Culture to work with the Cabinet Member for All-Age Learning to proceed to consultation where necessary over the next 12 – 18 months, as and when the specific proposals for each area become clearer following a process of co-design with local people and key stakeholders.

Reason for decision:

Surrey County Council established its strategic principles for the delivery of Library and Cultural services in January 2019, following a comprehensive consultation exercise. Concurrently, the Council had additionally developed a new organisational strategy, ‘Vision 2030’, setting out the priorities for Surrey County Council and the outcomes it is sought to achieve. Using both of these, a detailed community profile had been prepared through 2019.  It was clear that the way in which people were using libraries was changing. There was a pattern of falling usage amongst the adult population, with fewer regular users borrowing more books, while usage amongst children was growing. We must also look beyond how libraries respond to demand reactively, and consider whether they can make a greater contribution, proactively, to Surrey’s corporate priorities.  Within this context we have developed a new strategy which seeks to set a direction for the modernisation of our Libraries and Cultural Services which maximises their contribution to the priorities of the Vision 2030 and ensures that we continue to deliver our statutory responsibility to provide “a comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons desirous to make use there of”, as set out in Section 7 of the Public Libraries and Museum Act 1964.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & Culture Select Committee]