| Kingswood Group library committee meeting minutes of 14 January 2008 |
Present: Les Baker, Julie Barker, Robin Boulton, Greta Butler, Brian Deeley, Joe Diorazio, Michael Duffy, Noel Lethaby, Eilidh Mackay, Meryl Morgan, Andy Perkins, Veronica Soar |
Apologies: Tina Dean, Hugo Soar, Anne Wright |
Contributions from the public: There were no contributions from the public. |
Minutes of 22 October 2007
With regards to 6 (Make A Noise Day), Veronica Soar had attended Cadbury Heath library and raised the profile of the committee among users, many of whom were unaware of the committee’s work. Julie Baker highlighted one success story of the open day – raising awareness of the libraries’ spoken work and clearvision resources for children with visual impairments.
With regards to section 8 (AOB), Noel Lethaby will sit on the committee as a representative of Hanham Abbots Council, and Andy Perkins as a representative of Hanham Parish Council. |
Matters arising
There were no matters arising. |
Librarians’ Reports
Julie highlighted the variety of activities that took place at Kingswood library for Make A Noise Day, and noted that although it was a popular event, it did not attract as many new library users as was hoped. This sentiment was echoed by the other libraries. Delivery of the Bookstart treasure chests continues. Three new volunteers for the Home Library Service have been recruited, and the number of people using this service has also increased.
Eilidh talked about the ongoing work at Hanham library to replace the lead that was stolen from the roof, and the installation of CCTV along Hanham High St. and the carpark at the rear of the library. The Over2U teen group has been very busy over the past few months, with an animation project, cookery project, and book buying trip.
Michael Duffy gave an update on the antisocial behaviour that has been an issue at Cadbury Heath library. Library staff, youth services and the police are all working together to develop new guidelines on the sharing of information. This has resulted in two ASBOs being issued. An initiative to recruit volunteers to buddy up with older people to develop their ICT skills was discussed. Veronica drew attention to the work that is done at Grimsby Farm for children with learning difficulties, and Julie will look into the possibility of collaboration with the library.
Michael also discussed proposed capital spending projects which include the possibility of an extension to Hanham library and updating the shelving at Kingswood and other libraries. |
Matters arising
There were no matters arising. |
Librarians’ Reports
Julie said that attendance at their Chatterbooks group ran between 3 and 6. Veronica was pleased that libraries were participating in the Big Draw. The numbers of children taking part in and completing the Big Wild Read in the summer had increased from last year. The drop-in activity sessions were so popular in all libraries in the summer that all holiday activities in future will follow the same pattern and be free-of-charge.
Eilidh Mackay, the new librarian at Hanham, was introduced. They have introduced a weekly Bounce & Rhyme at the request of parents who attended the very popular monthly sessions. Eilidh had spent the afternoon at a course, learning about the Oxford University Press online resources that are available to South Gloucestershire residents at home via the libraries website.
Carol talked about the ongoing problems with anti-social behaviour. The staff deal with difficult situations with great forbearing. There would be a police beat surgery on 27 October and staff are looking at having a session on bicycle security. |
Performance report
Michael talked through the quarterly statistics which are generated by the library management system (LMS) and include data on library visits and book issues. Kingswood library has been performing well, but visits to Hanham library are down compared to the same quarter last year. This could be attributed to St. George library re-opening after it had been closed for refurbishment. Veronica drew attention to the low numbers of Bookstart + packs that some libraries were distributing and advice sessions that were being help. Michael pointed out that such things were often seasonal, and Julie noted that it often depended on the location of the library. For example, in Kingswood, many advice sessions are held in the Civic Centre or Park Centre rather than the library. Joe noted that learning sessions at Patchway library were also down; Michael attributed this to the fact that Filton College runs courses through the library and hence its programme influences how many sessions are run.
Michael noted that the figures for Cadbury Heath were not all accurate, due to a mix-up with the data from the contact centre.
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Report on standards
The performance standards poster was shown to the committee. The standards include such things as waiting times – the library and information service had promised to serve customers within three minutes but the average waiting time was only 16 seconds. Michael wondered if it was worth making the standards more challenging to meet and thus more meaningful. Joe said that he had not seen or heard of any problems with waiting times, and Robin added that in his experience the telephone was always answered quickly. |
Services to children
The Concorde Book Award was discussed. This is a local initiative designed to get children excited about reading, and local schools are involved in reviewing the books and voting for the winner.
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Fees and charges
The increase in charges for DVDs, computer games and overdue items were discussed. It was noted that the latter have not been revised since 2000. Robin asked if many older people were aware that they maybe eligible for concessions. Michael replied that the libraries endeavour to keep users’ details up-to-date, and Julie said that individuals were asked if they were eligible for any concessions when they joined the library. Robin also enquired if it was possible to have a board displaying the fees and charges. The current system of displaying these on the counter, as well as next to the audio visual materials was discussed. Veronica asked if it was possible to include a telephone number for renewing books on the date labels – this is indeed incorporated on the new-style LibrariesWest date labels.
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Any other business
Les Baker enquired as to the possibility of more IT training sessions for older users being run in the libraries. The perceived lack of free or cheap IT training in South Gloucestershire was discussed. Although national funding is available, much of it is targeted at under-50s returning to work. Michael agreed to get in touch with Age Concern again, who co-ordinate volunteer-run IT training sessions.
Noel asked those new to the committee what they had thought of the meeting. All agreed that there was much to listen to and that they had learned a lot. Robin would have liked to have seen younger people on the committee, and a discussion of alternative ways to capture user feedback – including “friends groups” - ensued.
Veronica announced that Hugh’s fourth book is currently being edited and will be published soon; one of his earlier works is being translated into Chinese.
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Dates of future meetings
Mon 14 April at Kingswood Library
Mon 7 July at Cadbury Heath Library
Monday 13 October at Hanham Library, to include the AGM |