Issue - meetings

That the Committee is satisfied with the Council’s progress on delivery within the changing context for the Welsh Public Library Standards.

As portfolio holder, Councillor Chris Bithell introduced a report explaining the changing context of the Welsh Public Library Standards, current performance and anticipated future performance.  He gave an overview of the background, explaining that the Standards did not reflect the budgetary challenges faced by councils and emphasised the importance of community-based libraries run by volunteers to complement the formal library network.  Overall, performance levels had been sustained despite the reduced funding and the network was developing through the new Deeside library where usage figures had increased and the planned Holywell library which had received Welsh Government (WG) funding.  Councillor Bithell took the opportunity to pay tribute to Pennie Corbett, the Principal Librarian, who was shortly due to retire from the Council, and to thank her for her dedication and professionalism.  These comments were endorsed by the Chairman and other Members of the Committee.

The Principal Librarian spoke about the robustness of the library network and the exciting developments for the future.  She provided information on the Core Entitlements and Quality Indicators which had been met by the Council in 2014/15 and gave explanation on the reasons for partial compliance, some of which were outside the Council’s control.  The outcome for the percentage of materials budget spent on children’s resources had been deemed as partial compliance, despite exceeding the target, due to the criteria set by WG and representations had been made to address this.  Information was also shared on planned changes which would reflect positively on future performance, including the provision of Wi-fi at all libraries.  Outcomes were expected to improve for 2016/17 as a result of the business plan and changes currently being implemented.

Councillor Clive Carver commented on the provision of Wi-fi where Broadband was already available.  The Principal Librarian agreed to look into a reported problem with stopping points of the mobile library.

Concerning the Deeside library, Councillor Dave Mackie remarked on the capacity in comparison with the former library to which the Principal Librarian reported on current stock levels, including those in circulation, and advised that additional storage space was available for top-up.  In response to concerns about the use of the self-service machine used by customers, she explained that it could only be operated with tagged stock and that employees in Deeside Leisure Centre had been offering support in helping customers outside the manned hours.  Following a question on the impact survey within the Annual Assessment Report, attention was drawn to Flintshire’s standing in the lowest, median and highest figures as the ranking reflected only those councils which had submitted reports for the year.

Councillor Nigel Steele-Mortimer referred to the moving of the library service topic to the remit of the Committee and asked that a full report on the current and future library network, including plans for Holywell library, be brought to a future meeting.  The Chief Officer, Organisational Change agreed to share the medium-term plan with an update on the progress of each library.  The Chief Executive spoke about the resilience of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61