Local Authority Annual Library Plans (Appendix One).

1.1

Local Authority Characteristics

Please state if the Plan has been approved by your authority's full Council or if it is a draft Plan. If a draft, state if the Plan has been approved by the Executive Committee (or similar) and when the full Council will meet to consider the Plan.

1.2

Organisational relationship with other Council services and departments

Please give a brief description of the area served by your authority, including a topographical map.

Provide demographic information about the authority's communities covering the previous 3 years , including trend data from local sources, the profile of statistical data (e.g. ethnic make up, age profile, day time population,) and a socio-economic analysis. Note the implications of the demographic trend data for the development of the library service.

1.3

External and Local Influences

Please identify those external influences which are germane to the development of the library service, and summarise the library service's response to the influences. Include regional influences. The DCMS may issue guidance concerning policy areas and other influences to which library services should respond. For 2001/02 the key influences to which authorities should respond include:

• the adoption of social inclusion policies, in particular those described in "Libraries, Museums, Galleries and Archives for All" and the six point plan in "Libraries for All";
• "Empowering the Learning Community", and in particular co-operation with other agencies to provide a seamless access to learning resources;
• Support for lifelong learning, including staff training; Reader development, including cascading best practice within and between authorities, systems to evaluate impact, and the sustainable integration of reader development into the service;
• The development of ICT provision, including the training of staff;
• Training and skills development policies for staff;
• The development of new services supported by new sources of income.

Authorities should also identify local influences which impact on the library service, and summarise the authority's response. The DCMS may issue further guidance concerning policy areas and other influences to which library services should respond. Appropriate policies and planned service developments should be covered in the relevant sections of the Plan.

2.1

Corporate and Library Service Objectives and plans.

Please state the long term objectives, or mission, of the library service. The library service should fit within the authority's corporate objectives and plans. Identify the authority's overall objectives and plans, including plans from other departments which affect the library service. Include information about your authority's

• Community plan,
• Best Value performance plan,
• Lifelong Learning plan,
• Local Cultural Strategy,
• Corporate ICT plan,
• Plans for e-government,
• Plans to modernise local government,
• Asset Management Plan,
• The Strategic Plan or plans of any department within which the library service is provided (e.g. a Cultural Services Department). Please also refer to the Best Value performance plan.

If your authority does not undertake any of these plans, please explain why.

Throughout the sections in this chapter please draw attention to policies designed to develop social inclusion, (including responses to the Disability Discrimination Act), lifelong learning, reader development and partnerships.

In particular please show how you are responding to "Libraries for All" and "Libraries, Museums, Galleries and Archives for All". Also identify links to the plans of other libraries, archives, museums and other cultural institutions, as well as Learning Skills Councils and Community Legal Partnerships.

Draw attention to the full range of library materials, e.g. books, periodicals, recordings, and electronic resources, in your responses. Policies relating to the influences identified in section 1.3 should be stated in this chapter.

3.1

Access

Please state the policies relating to the location of libraries, both static and mobile, as well as opening times and availability. The policy in relation to the provision of access outside the normal range of office hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, i.e. Mondays to Fridays) should be stated. Co-operation with other bodies including other local authorities on access to library services should be included. Authorities which provide differing hours of opening at differing times of the year (e.g. summer or winter) should state their policy. Authorities should also state their policy in relation to closures for public holidays.

Authorities with libraries known to provide one or more service points of first choice for resident populations in excess of 150,000 persons are asked to consider the merits of providing opening hours of 60 hours a week or more for those libraries, and to comment on their policies in relation to access to those libraries. (This is broadly equivalent to 500,000 visitors a year to a specific library.)

3.2

Buildings and Mobile Libraries

Please review the buildings and mobile libraries used by the library service in relation to the access policies in 3.1 and the Asset Management Plan in 2.1. State the overall level of adequacy of the buildings and mobile libraries to meet user expectations, demographic trends and trends in library provision. Identify any issues relating to inadequacy of repair, or furnishings, or tenancy. Also state if any provision has been made in corporate plans, a capital programme or other funding methods (including private finance initiatives) for the provision of new static and/or mobile libraries, as well as any upgrading or renewal of existing buildings or mobile libraries.

3.3

Scope of the Library Service

Please provide a simple chart identifying the range of library services you provide to the different sizes of communities within your authority. This section should not include a detailed description of services.

3.4

Services for Adults

Please state your service philosophy and the key points of your policies in relation to services for adults. You should cover at least:

• stock selection and deployment,
• stock conservation, including digitisation plans,
• reader development,
• loan periods and overdue items,
• reservation services, including any limitations on the availability of the request service (e.g. differing charges for inter library loans, or the exclusion of some types of stock),
• support for research through the provision of special collections,
• study facilities (e.g. the provision of study desks),
• services for business,
• community information,
• services related to local history,
• co-operation and inter-lending.

Include lending, information and reference services.

3.5

Services for Children

Please state your service philosophy and the key points of your policies in relation to services for children. You should cover at least:

• stock selection and deployment,
• loan periods and late returns,
• encouraging children to read,
• outreach work and events programmes,
• study and homework facilities.

State your policies relating to your service to schools and identify links to education services. Identify the specialist staff posts in your establishment for services to children. Include lending, information and reference services.

3.6

Services for Special Groups

Please say which special groups you have identified as requiring specific services. State your service philosophy and key points of your policies. Describe the services you provide. (Special groups include ethnic minorities, those unable to visit libraries, travellers, those whose first language is not English and similar groups). Include lending, information and reference services as appropriate.

3.7

Wider Community Use

Please state your policies relating to the use of library premises by community and similar groups, as well as services where library premises are used to give access to broader council and government services, including services from other authorities.

3.8

Finance

Please set out the overall level of expenditure for the library service for the preceding 3 years and identify expenditure trends to date.

State the main headings and figures for the library service's budget for the year under review and indicate overall financial trends for future the following 2 years as identified by your authority's finance department. This should include an assessment of the adequacy of the level of investment in books and other library materials.

State the resources allocated to training and development for the library service, including departmental and corporate expenditure, as well as external funding (which should be separately identified). State the level of this expenditure as a percentage of the payroll costs for the library service.

State your policies to generate income, and identify areas within which financial assistance is provided by other bodies, such as private companies, trusts and grants.

3.9

Staff

Please state the number of staff (in FTEs) and in salary grade bands, and state the target for the number of staff with appropriate information management and ICT qualifications. (Until the Library Association commissioned research is available, each authority should identify its own appropriate qualifications).

Identify any areas where staff numbers and/or skills are not yet adequate to carry out the policies identified above. Provide an organisational chart for the senior staff. Provide a summary of the training plan, which should refer to an analysis of training needs, the number of staff to be trained and the expected outcomes. The expenditure on training and staff development, as a percentage of payroll costs, should be shown in section 3.8 – see above.

3.10

ICT Systems and Services

Please state your policies relating to the provision of ICT systems and services. This should include library housekeeping systems as well as direct public services, such as the provision of electronic information sources and personal computing services for the public. Include plans for the provision of the People's Network. (Specifically refer to the links with the authority's corporate ICT plan in section 2.1)

Identify the anticipated life of your systems, as well as your policies to sustain the services they provide.

Performance appraisal, assessment against the standards in "Comprehensive, Efficient and Modern Public Libraries", and customer response

4.1

Trend Data

Please present a table showing the key factors relating to your service over the last 3 financial years. Base this on the indicators in the profile which is supplied annually to your authority, as well as the Best Value performance indicators. The table should also include significant variations between your service and the comparator authorities as shown in the profile.

Restate your local targets as identified in the previous Annual Library Plan and show trends in meeting these targets. Highlight areas where your library service does not meet your local targets. Comment on the data in section 4.3.

4.2

Public Library Standards

Please complete the pro-forma in appendix 3 showing the performance of your library service in relation to each of the public library standards where measures have been identified.

State the standards you operate for the loans of material other than books, as requested in "Comprehensive, Efficient and Modern Public Libraries".

Comment on the data in section 4.3

4.3

Commentary

Please comment on the trend data and your local targets reported in section 4.1, and the performance of your library service against both the public library standards, reported in Appendix 3, and your local targets.

Highlight any areas of concern to your authority (If your authority has not yet met particular standards, state your strategy for meeting your targets and the standards in section 6.3).

Please provide an estimate of any additional revenue costs in this and each of the subsequent years (2001/02 to 2003/04) in your plan attributable to increasing provision to meet the national standards.

State how you carry out benchmarking for your library service.

4.4

Public Consultation

Please state the outcome of user surveys, public consultation exercises and market research carried out in the last 3 years. Set out your authority’s policy on complaints. Include a review of comments and suggestions received in the previous year.

4.5

Quality Assessment

Please state the processes you follow to assess the quality of your service and state your principal conclusions, including commenting on the quality of library stock. Include references to any areas of research being undertaken or proposed.

5.1

Key achievements from previous Plans

Please summarise important developments and key achievements from the two financial years preceding the last financial year.

5.2

Achievement of the action plan for the last financial year.

Please re-state the Action Plan for the last financial year and review progress against each item. Where an action was not achieved, state why and indicate whether or not this will be carried forward. When actions are carried forward, show the link between this section and sections 7.1 and 7.3. State actions which were achieved but not included in the last Action Plan, and identify why they were not so included.

6.1

Analysis of strengths, areas for development, opportunities and threats

Using the information in chapters 1 to 5, present a statement of the strengths, areas for development, opportunities and threats for your library service. It would be helpful for this information to be presented in a table. Factors to consider include customer response, trend data, response to standards, and the results of benchmarking. Ensure that this covers at least:

• accessibility,
• service levels,
• social inclusion,
• lifelong learners,
• stock provision and deployment,
• reader development,
• resource issues,
• effectiveness and efficiency.

6.2

Best Value reviews

Please summarise the findings of those Best Value reviews of the whole or part of the library service which have taken place in the preceding 3 years. Summarise the outcome of any Best Value inspections over that period. Comment on your authority's approach to the Best Value principles.

State your Best Value review programme for forthcoming reviews affecting library services, including the dates of those reviews.

6.3

Service and ICT improvements and variations

Please state your rolling 3 year medium term strategy for improving or varying your library services, including the use of ICT, based on the analysis of strengths, development areas, opportunities and threats, and the outcome of Best Value reviews. Show how this strategy links to the authority's corporate ICT strategies.

7.1

Action plan for the current and the immediately following year

In response to the rolling 3 year medium term strategy (section 6.3) please give details of your immediate action plans. These should cover the current year (already half way through) and the next in depth. The action plan should concentrate on firm actions, firm timescales, specific targets and identified responsibilities. The cost of the action plans for year 1 should be included in the budget in section 3.8. The 'broad outline costs' from the year 3 action plan in the previous year (section 7.2) should be firmed up to show reliable cost estimates for areas of development for year 2 of the Plan. The potential to accommodate these costs should be described in section 3.8.

7.2

Action plan - third year

In response to the rolling 3 year medium term strategy (section 6.3) give the outline of your action plan for year 3. This should state the major service initiatives which are planned and should give broad outlines of costs. Any significant budget variations which will be required should be identified. (These will need to be firmed up to be reliable cost estimates in the following year's Annual Library Plan).

7.3

Performance Targets

Please state your targets for the 3 years of the Action Plan. Targets relating to "Comprehensive, Efficient and Modern Public Libraries" should be stated in appendix 3, while local targets should be stated here. Targets should be challenging and achievable.