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Lean! Libraries As Customer

Value Catalyst

Innovation in North Yorkshire’s Community

Libraries

21 November 2013

Julie Blaisdale

Assistant Director – Library, Customer and

Community Services

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Proposals Transformational savings of over £2m

between 2010 and 2015

10 mobiles finished at end of September 2011, replaced by one “Supermobile”

4 different categories of libraries

Community involvement in all libraries

10 libraries in “category 3” to be community run or face closure by March 2012

Reduced staffing in every library, with challenge to retain/improve these

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Context

Libraries consultation: over 6,297 written

responses

2,000 people attended 20+ public meetings

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Challenges Campaigning communities

Highly charged political media campaign

Working with differing expectations/exploring alternatives to closure

Exploring the art of the possible with several fledgling groups at the same time

Negotiating with other parts of NYCC on behalf of groups

Short timescales

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How Did We Do It? Clear about “vision”

Entered into negotiations quickly

Supported by Parish Councils, Town Councils and local community partnerships, including voluntary sector

Continuous change programme, including inviting bids for the use of the space making it more flexible/accessible for wider use

Challenging/demanding in negotiations within wider Council including:

- invest to save initiatives/upgrades, including “Supermobile”, WiFi, Self Service, etc

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Internal Partnerships

“Dragons Den” – legal, landlords, ICT, insurance, risk finance, contracting, cleaning and voluntary sector expertise

Learning (apprenticeships)

Youth (Rewind)

Adults (Extra Care)

Passenger Transport (bus passes, etc)

External Partnerships

Delivering with/on behalf of:

District Councils

National Parks

Tourist Information

Community offices/outlets

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How Did Communities Do It?

Local consultation

Parish Council support,

including Parish precept

Recruiting volunteers

Becoming limited

companies or charities

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What Have We Achieved?

Recognition via external LGA peer review process as successful community leaders

Using library as a catalyst/building on traditional “library services”

Circa 50,000 voluntary hours into the service per annum

Libraries Change Lives award for “Rewind”

Leverage of further £100k from Arts Council

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What Have Communities Achieved?

Increased opening hours

Steady rise in business levels each

month

Children’s book issues increasing

Increase in active borrowers and

new members

Increase in visits

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Move from building based to asset based

Understanding that furthering community interests furthers interest of service

Challenge to current policies and thinking

New ways of working and solution-finding across organisation

Showing service in the lead both internally and externally

Change in role for staff, ie what is their role/ professional expertise required?

Maintaining excitement/passion for service

Going forward into 2015 - 2020

Lessons Learned

Future Challenges 2015 & beyond

North Yorkshire 2020 looking for innovative ways

to provide service with a further £80m less from

2015 onwards

Libraries seen as innovators/leading the way:

Council now adopting community-based

approaches

“Sweating the asset”, capitalising on existing/

new partnerships to deliver community capacity

Role of professional/paid staff to develop role of

the service in delivering the above

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