Minutes:
The following questions were asked by Members and responses provided by Catherine Mann and Samantha Mellenchip:-
Q1 How were the areas chosen, as children in the Clayton area were more likely to have online access to information at home, whereas children in the Silverdale and Knutton areas many did not?
A1 A swot analysis of each library and usage was undertaken. It was found the use of Silverdale and Knutton libraries were low. A methodology is currently being carried out on peoples’ views around the proposals.
Q2 How many mobile libraries were there?
A2 There were six mobile libraries and two travelling libraries. The travelling libraries stay in the community for the whole day. The mobile libraries were small vehicles going from stop to stop. Static libraries had been looked at. Below is a link showing mobile routes and stops.
Q3 In the process have you considered the use of local schools, in terms of identifying the need and service that could be provided using school premises which could save money?
A3 Talke and Knutton primary schools share their libraries but the facilities were not used greatly by parents. A Consultation had been carried out at Talke library, with the headteacher of the local school, to discuss how to work more closely. Staffordshire County Officers will be visiting schools to inform parents that a Consultation was taking place.
Q4 Can you compare usage figures by young people in Clayton Library, Silverdale Library and Knutton Library?
A4 The table below shows membership at December 2013 and show a comparison of Under 16 active borrowers (have borrowed at least one item in the last year) and registered library members.
|
|
Active Borrowers |
|
Total Members |
||||
|
|
Total |
Under 16 |
Under 16s as percentage |
|
Total |
Under 16 |
Under 16s as percentage |
|
Clayton |
2,116 |
791 |
37.4% |
|
5,162 |
1,851 |
35.9% |
|
Silverdale |
591 |
227 |
38.4% |
|
2,142 |
757 |
35.3% |
|
Knutton |
330 |
296 |
89.7% |
|
472 |
381 |
80.7% |
Computer use is higher amongst young people at Silverdale than at Clayton and almost no young people are recorded as using the computer at Knutton. The table below shows the number of computer bookings broken down by adult and under 16s in 2013/14.
|
Computer use amongst Under 16s in 2013/14 |
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|
|
U16s |
Total |
% U16 |
|
Clayton |
237 |
6952 |
3.4% |
|
Silverdale |
325 |
4192 |
7.8% |
|
Knutton |
2 |
124 |
1.6% |
Q5 What would happen if there were no volunteers to take over the libraries?
A5 One of the options was the communities managing and leading the library but realise this may prove difficult. The other option would be to look at moving the library into another building.
Q6 Knutton library is located in St Marys School, why put it in as a ‘Local’?
A6 At the moment Knutton library is one of the used libraries in terms of visits or use and the school does not have any part in the running costs and you get more people involved in the library.
Q7 One part of Silverdale library is sectioned off and one part was opened up for use by different organisations, two of the organisations do not use it. Why has it been classed as a ‘Local’ not a ‘Core’ library?
A7 The usage was taken into account but the library was not being used effectively and not attracting library use.
Q8 Can you guarantee there would not be any closures?
A8 There are no proposals to close the libraries but the County Council could not guarantee there would be no closures. It was a three year programme and it cannot be a one-size-fits-all.
Q9 Libraries had been stagnated for years and fully understand the difficulty Staffordshire County Council was in. There was concern that the correct service would not be provided, for example if there were no electronic system in the libraries people would struggle and hope by the end of the three years matters will be different in terms of a better library service and opportunities during that period to change.
A9 Libraries are important. There would be an improved on line service and challenging resources to meet a wider range of users. Voluntary organisations would be trained as the service needs to be sustainable.
Q10 Libraries are for the young and the old generation. Knutton library had a partnership between education and the community and not many people were using the library. Has your service gone out to promote the reading and are you still encouraging people to use the service?
A10 Absolutely. Staffordshire County Council have Library Development Officers that give talks to schools. There was the reading challenge, encouraging children to read twelve books over the summer holidays.
Q11 Have you trained the Officers?
A11 There are four managed workshops. All library ‘Locals’ will be part of Staffordshire Library Service. There was a need for on-going training for the volunteers.
Q12 What were the age group?
A12 Volunteers are required for different areas, for example I T, children activities.
Q13 It had been said people were not responding to the questionnaires. People who had not been involved, can they be represented?
A13 In terms of the Consultation document, sessions had been running at each library and drop in sessions and had been recorded so every comment received over the last twelve weeks was part of the Consultation. Also each of the districts had visited each of the communities to deliver the message.
Q14 When ordering E-books a lot of the books were not available, why was that?
A14 The E-book service had got a licence to lone one copy out at a time.
Q15 At the moment in time there was a lot of Consultations taking place. Do you think due to there being so many Consultations taking place people lost interest in completing the forms?
A15 Yes, you could be right, but as a statutory service the forms had to be sent out. A record had been kept of how many forms each library had sent out.
Q16 How are you reaching those people who do not use the libraries?
A16 Staffordshire County Council had written to a wide range of organisations.
Q17 The Consultation form was too lengthy
A17 This we fully accept, but it was due to trying to get enough information to make firm proposals.
Q18 When you looked at usage did you take into account the footfall?
A18 Yes. Within every library there were electronic feet counters to count how many people were using the computers and number of visits.
Q19 Can you tell us the number of librarians working in Staffordshire Libraries?
A19 In 2013/14 there were 30 FTE professional librarians working in Staffordshire's public libraries, and a total of 216 FTE library staff.
The following were observations made by Members:-
Ø Knutton was a ‘Library Local’ and Clayton was a ‘Library Core’, people who had seen the review were under the assumption the libraries were closing. Five different activities had been named taking place at Clayton library not one activity was booked. The library does need to move with the times.
Ø Younger people need to get involved. Each library had to be looked at individually and be open minded to the future.
Ø The library in Kidsgrove is more than a library it is the hub of Kidsgrove. There were children reading groups and adult reading groups with 900 people a week visiting Kidsgrove library and thank you for maintaining the service.