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Future Delivery of Library and Information Services in North Yorkshire

Easingwold Public Meeting8 February 2011

Julie Blaisdale – Assistant Director, Library and Community Services.

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Background• Government’s Comprehensive Spending

Review.• £1.1million saved since 2008.• Budget now - £7.5 million.• Savings required - £2.3 million over 4 years.• “Front-loading” - £1.1 million (50%) in first

year.• Requires radical changes to the way services

are delivered, the status quo is not an option.

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Current Service

• 42 branch libraries.

• 10 mobile libraries.

• One “supermobile” library.

• Home Library and Information Service (HLIS)

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Current Service (contd)• Capital investment over past 7 years.• 50% increase in new members.• 20% increase in users – books or

computers.• 100% increase in people using HLIS.• Major increase in use of on-line service.

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Proposals for Future ServiceWhat can we afford with the reduced budget of £5million?

• Focus on continuing to develop a cost effective service that will remain available to communities.

• The Library service is more than just the buildings.• 18 core libraries spread across the county.• Support for a network of community-run libraries.• 2 “supermobiles”.• Library on-line.• Home Library and Information Service.

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How did we come up with the proposals?• Need to ensure future service offers the best

value for money.• 80% of library users use one of the 18 core

libraries.• 70% of library business is delivered through

these sites.• Looked at geography, population levels,

distance from other libraries, transport links, relative costs of delivering some parts of the service.

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Comparator StatisticsEasingwold Thirsk

Active Borrowers 2,391 2,752Active Users 3,093 3,664Annual Visits 49,231 45,439Annual Issues 76,542 73,136Annual Computer use 4,412 6,162 sessionsAnnual Income £10,310 £8,440

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What does this mean for Easingwold?

A community solution would need to be found to provide a service in Easingwold

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Consultation• 90 day public consultation – to 28 February.• Parallel staff consultation. • National context – Public Libraries and

Museums Act 1964 requires Local Authorities to provide a “comprehensive and efficient library service”.

• Wirral judgement.