Agenda item

Purpose of report:

To provide an update on the Libraries Transformation programme and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on progress.

Mark Nuti, Cabinet Member for Communities

Marie Snelling, Executive Director – Communities and Transformation

Susan Wills, Assistant Director – Culture, Libraries & Registration

Key points raised during the discussion:

1. The Executive Director introduced the report and explained that the Libraries Transformation Programme (‘the Programme’) aligned with the council’s wider commitment to transform services for the benefit of residents, whilst supporting the council’s ‘empowering communities’ agenda which sought to stimulate local engagement and put residents at the heart of designing and delivery local services. The ambition of the programme was to develop modern, inclusive libraries that had strong community relationships and supported the local economy and skills agenda. The Programme sought to achieve a number of key outcomes: improved user experience of a positive, welcoming, accessible service; increased and improved service offer and initiatives; a more inclusive and relevant service; increased partnership-working; a greener library model; improved service efficiency and innovation; and a stronger and more diverse workforce. Due to COVID-19, some of the transformation work had slowed down, such as the co-design work with residents. Nevertheless, a great number of achievements were still made during the pandemic and the Service delivered £2.3m of efficiencies across the programme whilst improving frontline services. The Programme was complex and would take a number of years to deliver, but the Executive Director was confident that transformation would provide residents with excellent spaces to work and learn.

2. A Member requested further information regarding the funding of the Transformation Programme. The Director explained that the Service delivered £2.3m of efficiencies and there was an additional £600k built in for 2021/22, with £4m being delivered over the lifetime of the programme through to 2025.

3. The Programme was intended to provide users with better value for money and efficiencies were being delivered through a number of means, for example reduction in staffing costs due to a new workforce model. To date, the Service spent £800k on the Programme and investment for 2021/22 was projected to be £650k. The Executive Director was confident that financial savings and returns on investment would be made and would increase moving into the next phase of the programme, which focussed on codesigning services within the local community. The Executive Director stressed that this was not a savings programme, rather savings were a consequence of transformation.

4. A Member noted that the three categories of library proposed in the 2020-2025 Strategy were not mentioned in the report and asked whether the introduction of those categories would proceed. The Assistant Director responded that the Service was committed to the delivery of 52 libraries and the three categories as stated in the report. Larger libraries were to be co-located with partners where possible and flagship libraries would accommodate additional services and functions. The approach still needed refining, but the Assistant Director stated the importance of taking a tailored approach for each place and community. 

5. The types of services, facilities and built environments that residents could expect of libraries following the transformation were not all predetermined and depended on the location of the library and feedback received from the engagement and codesign stages. The Assistant Director agreed to provide detail where possible after the meeting and stated that libraries would be modernised and transformed into cultural centres with social spaces.

6. To increase accessibility for residents who did not live near to a library, the Service was exploring the idea of pop up libraries and investing and promoting a broader range of online events. The Service was also engaging with community centres regarding hosting cultural events livestreamed by the Living Knowledge Network and the British Library. The Assistant Director was working to enhance an existing but underutilised agreement with neighbouring authorities to provide reciprocal library access to increase service user choice.

7. A Member asked how the transformation would be used as an opportunity to increase library use by disadvantaged residents and enable libraries to better meet their needs. The Assistant Director responded that creating modern, fit for purpose libraries that were co-located with other services would lead to an increase in their use. The Service was working to provide broader access to a range of free-to-use services to improve learning and wellbeing and support independence and ensure inclusivity. There was a particular focus on digital exclusion and digital support for more people get online and, during the pandemic, the home library service visited 400 housebound residents. The Service was establishing a team of ‘digital buddies’ and ‘digital angels’ to provide over-the-phone advice and was working to develop key internal and external partnerships to broaden its reach to all demographics to provide more targeted services. The Assistant Director wanted to bring jobs clubs and organisations such as Citizens Advice and the Money Advice Service into libraries, and was organising volunteering opportunities to help residents gain new skills and grow their CVs. The Service was working collaboratively with library services across the country to work out what was working well and how to ensure that libraries were accessible to all.

8. The Executive Director stated that co-design of services was a priority of the Strategy as it was important to understand an area’s needs and opportunities. Engaging with local stakeholders, learning about people in the local area, inviting communities to participate to find out what mattered was an important element of the co-design approach and would help explore a range of ideas and options and collectively create proposals. Codesign was about ongoing dialogue with communities about how things could be refreshed and continually evolved to improve the local offer.

9. A Member asked what opportunities there would be for increased collaboration between libraries, schools, and the Council’s Education Service, and how the transformation would be used to achieve joined-up working. The Assistant Director informed the Committee that she was working closely with officers from the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning and Culture Directorate on how to improve library services for children and young people. Development of exciting, accessible and inclusive environments in libraries and adoption of the Arts Council’s ‘Children’s Promise’ to Surrey libraries would extend and refresh the library experience for children. The Executive Director added that the Service had looked at how Surrey History Centre could join with Surrey Youth Focus to better understand the experiences of students who had been out of education during the previous year.

10. Members discussed the Select Committee receiving an update on the transformation in six months’ time.

Action:

i.              Assistant Director to share the intended services, facilities, built environments of new libraries with the Select Committee

ii.             Assistant Director to share the Art Council’s Children’s Promise with the Select Committee.

Recommendations:

1. The Select Committee notes the progress of the Libraries Transformation programme and future direction.