Bath and North East Somerset Library and Information Service provides a network of access points to Council information, literature, IT, life long learning and cultural services.  Libraries are integral to community life, being owned by the communities they serve. Customer involvement and consultation are important elements to achieve this.

• What we do and our resources
• What we've done this year 
• Statistics and performance
• Service Standards
• Library Services Charter
• Customer Satisfaction
• Our Vision
• Future Plans
• Comments & further questions?

 

1.      What we do

Books, Reading & Learning

• Providing a full range of loan materials:  books, Music CD’s, DVD’s  Spoken word cassettes and CD’s. and access to the stock of libraries in the region as part of the LibrariesWest consortium. 
• Reference materials including local history, family history and on-line resources such as Dictionary of National Biography on-line
• Providing support for early years children and families, including Bookstart, baby rhyme times, story times etc.
• Supporting children’s out of school learning through Summer Reading, study support, class visits,etc.
• Providing activities to engage young people in reading and learning e.g. reading groups or author visits and involving them in service planning
• Providing activities to stimulate and enthuse adult readers such as reading groups.
• Offering information and advice to adult learners, and providing informal learning opportunities, e.g. in basic skills and ICT
• Providing a book loan service to housebound individuals and elderly people’s homes by recruiting and supervising volunteers.

Digital Citizenship

• Offering access to the Internet through the People’s Network
• Targeting digital services at those who can most benefit, e.g. older users, job-seekers,
• Providing appropriate activities to engage users with online services, access to e-government, learning services etc.

Community & Civic Values

• Maximizing the use of library buildings as community spaces, including sharing premises with other service providers
• Consulting with local communities and involving them in service planning and delivery
• Shaping and delivering services to meet the needs of specific communities, e.g. disabled people, black & ethnic minorities
• Participating in Neighbourhood Renewal, community cohesion and similar initiatives

 

1.1  Resources – what we do it with

Scope of Service:

• 8 Libraries:  Bath Central Library, Moorland Road, Weston, Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Saltford and Paulton
• 2 mobile libraries which visit the rural and urban areas of Bath and North East Somerset
• Council Connect contact centre provides telephone support for libraries
• Specialist staff deliver BookStart materials to playgroups etc.
• Information on the library service available on www.bathnes.gov.uk
• Library services available on line at www.librarieswest.org.uk.
• 4 hour renewals telephone line:  0845 002 0777

2.      What we’ve done this year

These are some of the highlights of 2007 and 2008, and reflect many of the goals we said we would accomplish.

January 2007

• Charges were introduced for use of the public access computers in all libraries.  Computer usage fell but income for the library service achieved its target for 07/08.

March

• Bath in Time website was launched providing on-line access to images of Bath, improving access to the images collection, providing income and improving the Local Studies service.
• Mini libraries created in St Martins Garden and First Steps Children’s Centres to provide extra access to library books for children under-5’s and their parents and carers.

April

• B&NES Local Area Agreement published including library performance indicators for the Summer Reading Challenge and services to the under-5’s.  This provided additional money in return for libraries playing a greater role in supporting the work of other council services.
• ‘Read Around Bath’ group formed.  This partnership between Libraries and the voluntary sector supports the development of specialist reading activities for hard to reach groups.  Funding has been secured from charitable trusts to support this work.
• Opening hours amended at Bath Central Library with earlier opening on Monday morning to improve accessibility.
• Loyalty card scheme closed after several months which successfully helped to raise the awareness of libraries in our community and boost the number of DVD and CD loans.
• Big Bath Booksale.  This regular event provides income and helps us dispose of surplus stock.

May

• On-line resources advertising promotion in all Libraries in the LibrariesWest Consortium gave away free reservation vouchers.  This meant that on-line services are being used more than ever.
• Reminiscence Packs collection started using local history material and Bath in Time equipment to facilitate production.  Their use with elderly peoples homes will stimulate group discussions and conversation.

June

• David Lawrence, the new Assistant Director for Tourism Leisure Culture with responsibility for library services, was appointed and Libraries became part of the Tourism Leisure and Culture group in the council structure.
• Books on Prescription introduced at Keynsham and Midsomer Norton libraries. This scheme enables health professionals to ‘prescribe’ self help books to people with mild to moderate anxiety or stress which they can then collect from the library.  The statistics show a high rate of borrowing compared to other schemes operating elsewhere in England.
• Courses on using Supernova software started at Keynsham Library.  This software assists people with visual impairment to use computers and contributes to the corporate aim of promoting the independence of older people.

July

• The children’s Summer Reading Scheme (The Big Wild Read) began and lasted until September.  The take up was lower than expected this year, but over a 1,000 children still took part. Perhaps the Green/Ecology theme was not as attractive as the previous year’s Spies and Spying theme?
• For 2008 we will look to visit more schools and be proactive at Bath rugby club with Team Read.

August 

• Libraries were awarded the national Chartermark standard for customer service.  This reflects the service’s standard of customer service and performance management.
• Library information was added to mapping system on the web site.  Library users can now locate libraries and mobile library stops via the web.

September

• The Bath Library Reading Group participated in the Man Booker shadowing project.  They were one of just 5 reading groups in England and a great honour to one of our longest running reading groups.
• A new schedule of fines and charges was introduced with concessions for those on lower incomes making more library services accessible for people on low incomes.
• First Bath Children’s Literature Festival.  Many events in the festival were held in Bath Library  increasing the number of people visiting the library and raising the profile of the library.

October

• A free book pack was distributed to every new school starter in co-operation with School Improvement Service as part of the Booktime project.  This introduced all reception class children to libraries and books, provided some good media coverage, and helped to improve the awareness of books and libraries  in the community.
• The Bookstart Bear Tour highlights the Bookstart scheme which provides book packs for every child up to 3 years old in Bath and North East Somerset.  The tour was recognised as ‘best practice’ by the national Bookstart  scheme and provided good media coverage for Bookstart and Libraries.
• Children’s Centre Services contributed to the costs of Radstock Library refurbishment.  Radstock library now jointly used by Library Service and Children’s Centre Services providing better facilities for all visitors.
• Children’s PLUS survey and our satisfaction score was 87.1% against a target of 87%.

November

• A member of library staff, Janet German-Morris, was awarded a prize in Bath and North East Somerset’s first annual Employee Excellence Awards which was well deserved recognition of hard work and dedication by a valued member of staff.
• Free-Access Local Studies Computers installed at Midsomer Norton, Bath and Keynsham Libraries, providing improved access to local studies websites, supported by training from the Local Studies Librarian.

December

• All staff computers are replaced with new ones as part of the regular IT refreshment programme in the council which are faster and more efficient.
• Bath in Time Calendar on sale exclusively to Bath and North East Somerset Libraries and providing additional income for the service and promotes the library images collection.

January 2008

• A consultation was carried out about exhibition room hire charges resulting in a new scale of charges aimed at increasing the take up of exhibition room and library hire bookings and improving satisfaction from local groups and societies.
• Council Connect starts to prompt change of address callers to start library membership resulting in a high proportion of callers joining the library.
• ‘Hire one, get one free’ voucher publicity produced for B&NES staff  to encourage more B&NES staff to take up library membership.
• ‘Beating the Blues’ computer system introduced, in partnership with PCT, to provide computer based self help programmes for people with mild to moderate stress or anxiety difficulties.

February

• Big Bath Booksale.  This regular event provides income and helps us dispose of surplus stock.

March

• Radstock library reopened following a refurbishment to improve access and create more space.  The new library looks and feels more spacious and roomy, public access computers are in a better position, new office space has been created for Children’s Centre staff and there are better facilities for children’s activities inside.
• Council staff Book Swap on World Book Day coordinated by the library service, raised money for Book Aid International and helped to raise the profile of libraries and books amongst council staff.

3.   Statistics and performance

We have taken some statistics and  Key Performance Indicators from the CIPFA return 2007/08.  CIPFA are a national organisation who publish results on nationwide library activity.

Total book stock at March 2008	198,986
Total Audio Visual stock at March 2008	21,113
No. of staff  (Full time equivalent): Professional staff     All other staff	4.2 54.9
Total book issues for all libraries	736,447
Total Audio Visual issues	67,810
Number of active borrowers	31,330
Number of visits to libraries	637,575
Transactions:    Telephone renewals, requests and   enquiries	19,767

How do we do against our targets and previous years. We have 5 key targets and these are:

• Book issues yearly target of 784,206
• Audio visual issues yearly target of 77,509
• Total issues yearly target of 861,765
• Active borrowers yearly target of 39,888
• Physical visits yearly target of 861,765

How do these targets compare on a yearly comparison basis:

Item	2004 - 2005	2005 - 2006	2006 - 2007	% Change 2004 - 2007
Book Issues	655,399	702,481	727,745	+11.00
Audio visual issues	95,468	97,835	71,561	-26.00
Total Issues	750,867	800,316	799,306	-0.10
Active Borrowers	37,007	41,913	35,455	-15.40
Physical Visits	719,255	853,232	760,954	+5.40

As our visitor numbers are not as high as we would like we continue to look at new ways to increase figures. Between April 2008 to September 2008 we will introduce a scheme where people only have to visit a library and they can win a prize every month in 'Join in and Win'. We are hoping that this will increase our visitor numbers and increase on the 2006-2007 figure.

6% of the budget is spent on bookstock which is a low percentage in comparison with other authorities of a similar nature, 8 or 9% being a more usual figure.  However, by being a member of the LibrariesWest consortium our users have access to a catalogue of over 2 million items which helps to make better use of scarce resources.   

The average per capita spend on books and AV materials for unitary authorities in England is £1.783 (2004/5 – latest date for which figures are available – LISU Annual Library Statistics 2006) 

By comparison we spent £1.08p in that year per capita in total on all library materials, books, AV, newspapers, binding and conservation etc. (Materials fund of £184k)

Materials fund in 2006/7 =£187,544 =£1.10 per capita

Materials fund this year 2008/9 =£205,432 =£1.17 per capita

4.   Service Standards

An updated set of corporate Customer Service Standards for the Council was published in February 07.  The library service has further developed these to reflect the standards of service you will receive at Libraries in Bath & North East Somerset.  Read the full Libraries Customer Service Standards.

The Library Service Charter

The details below explain how we are performing, and what we have committed to do, in terms of reaching our Customer Service Standards.

Offer a welcoming and efficient service:

• 88% of library users satisfied with the service overall (PLUS Adult Library survey 2006)

Answer 80% of calls within 20 seconds:

• March 2008:  83% of calls taken through Council Connect were answered within 15 seconds.

Respond to, complaints within 5 working days, and send a full reply to a letter within 15 working days:

• March 2008:  100% of complaints was responded to within target.

Deliver a quick and efficient service by staff who are easily identified by a Bath and North East Somerset name badge:

• A Mystery Shopping survey carried out 2006 showed that in 80% of the visits to libraries, staff provided an efficient service overall.  That same survey showed  46% of staff were wearing visible name badges – A name badge policy in now in place following staff consultation.

Seek the views of customers by conducting regular surveys annually and others on an ongoing basis, to facilitate continuous service improvement:

• Where possible we will display your comments and our responses at each Library. These will be updated regularly.

We will provide buildings which are compliant with Health and Safety requirements.

• 100% of library buildings are compliant with Health and Safety requirements

 

5.  Customer Satisfaction

• Percentage of library users age 16 or over
  who view their library services as ‘good’ or
  ‘very good’                                                                           88%
• Percentage of library users under 16 who
  view their library services as ‘good’                               87.3%

How many comments and suggestions did we receive between April 2007 - March 2008?

Commented on	Number received
Library Buildings	22
Computers	96
Customer Service	79
Staff	9
Stock	41
Total	247

of these comments 83 were replied to and 2 were not answered within the agreed 15 working day limit. 

How we used your comments and suggestions

• We introduced a queuing system to make it easier for people to understand where to wait for staff
• We reduced our computer charges to help those on low incomes
• We introduced self help guides for users of the computers
• We introduced posters advising people that periodicals should be kept in the library only

Complaints

We received 13 complaints and all were replied within the  councils complaints policy standards.

6.       Our Vision

The next two sections cover our basic vision for the future of library services and some major projects for the future.  Many of these themes are explained fully in our previous consultation documents, published within the last 5 years.  For more information visit Libraries - The Future.

1. Libraries will be community facilities, providing access to public services and information
2. We will provide an agreed menu of traditional library services as well as ICT facilities and learning.
3.  We aim to improve overall satisfaction with the service to reach the top 25% of local authority satisfaction rates.
4. We will deliver a customer focused service through investing in staff and providing them with relevant skills and tools.

Underpinning this vision are the themes of consultation, partnership working, exploiting Information Technology and investing in staff. The Service will help deliver the Council objectives and the work will be fully aligned with other key strategies including the Cultural Strategy, the Local Strategic partnership and the Community Strategy. The service will work closely with library colleagues in all sectors in the region.

7.      Future Plans.

A short introduction to some of the major projects and developments we will be looking at next:

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID ) technology will be introduced starting in 2008. This will enable customers serve themselves when borrowing and returning items in larger libraries without the need to be served by a member of staff.  It will also enable us to develop new library sites with no staff presence e.g. a self service kiosk could be placed in a village health centre or post office along with a collection of  books to borrow. 

Mobile Library Service needs to be reviewed. The current timetable of stops has many stops of very short length over a wide area. This is complex and difficult for many people to accommodate in their normal lifestyle.  Use of the mobile library in many places is falling. A simplified model for the timetable could be one that has fewer stops but offers longer length stops giving people a wider window of opportunity to visit the library. This would also provide more opportunities for us to work in partnership e.g. sharing the use of the vehicles or the stop with people such as health services or community police who also need to deliver their service to remote areas.

A realignment of the library service within the corporate structure later in 2007 will move the libraries into a closer association with tourism, leisure and cultural services. Working more closely with sports, museums and arts staff will present us with different  opportunities for promoting our service to new customers.

Using library buildings as we endeavour to increase the usage of libraries we will look to increase how we use our buildings when we are closed. This will include new and exciting events as well as traditional author visits and book groups.

Comments & further questions?

If you have any comments you would like to make, or questions you would like to ask, please complete the online comments form and we will deal with your enquiry as soon as possible.