Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal February 2006 Volume 4(1)

Quality: public libraries

Improving outcomes

The Scottish Executive has announced funding for two years for public library quality improvement in Scotland, writes Rhona Arthur.

Announcing the Scottish Executive’s response to the Cultural Commission report, Patricia Ferguson, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport also earmarked new funding of £500,000 per annum for the next two years to develop quality standards for public libraries.

These quality standards, in the form of the Public Library Quality Improvement Matrix, have been in development by SLIC since early 2004 by request of the Minister, but progress was held up during the Cultural Commission’s review. The Matrix is a guide to self-evaluation for public library services in Scotland, which takes a different approach to the COSLA Public Library Standards, published in 1986 and 1995. These standards were heavily focused on inputs, whilst the self-evaluation approach encourages local services to demonstrate outcomes and impact.

Current library legislation places a duty on local authorities to deliver “adequate” and free public library services. However, the legislation does not clearly define the term “adequate”. Although COSLA developed two sets of public library standards, there is still variation in equitable provision across Scotland. SLIC and heads of public library services agreed it was time to review the approach and to use self-evaluation to provide evidence of best practice and create benchmarks which will help to define the term “adequate” in practice.

The Public Library Quality Improvement Matrix is linked to the frameworks of How Good is Our School (revised edition 2002) and How Good is Our Community Learning and Development. Almost all of Scotland’s public library services sit within Education or Community Services directorates. Libraries have become involved, to some degree, in self-evaluation processes. This means that libraries are being evaluated in the context of their role within education, community learning or ICT in support of learning. All public libraries are involved in Best Value reviews, with which this new process will link.

The intention of the Matrix is to enable libraries to evidence their value in a way that can be aligned with other local government approaches, and that relevant evidence can be linked across strands, minimising duplication of effort.

The development of the Matrix was also influenced by the work of the Cultural Commission, during which SLIC worked with a range of groups to define the role of the public library, which is to:
>> Provide universal access to resources, which is free, consistent and customer focussed
>> Help to build vibrant communities by encouraging community involvement and community/based activity and assisting in the creation of social capital
>> Promote social justice, civic engagement and democracy
>> Help minimise exclusion be it social, digital or due to functional illiteracy
>> Support learning in the information society
>> Promote access to Scotland’s cultural heritage
>> Support cultural activities through the provision of information and venues.
>> Encourage the public to pursue individual cultural interests through access to resources
>> Work in partnership with others to offer value added services.

Other influences on the development of the Matrix are Best Value, Efficient Government and the quality agenda. On its own, self-evaluation is a useful management tool but its impact is limited without external review and a strategy to encourage improvement. This is still being worked through but the Local Government (Scotland) Act 2003 which charges local authorities with responsibility for “community well being” might provide a way in which public library legislation can be reinforced.

A self-evaluation approach starts by asking three simple questions: How are we doing?; How do we know?; What are we going to do now? Using the How Good is Our School (revised edition 2002) model, seven quality indicators were agreed - four service areas and three management. They are:
>> Access to information
>> Personal and Community Participation
>> Meeting readers’ needs
>> Learners’ experiences
>> Ethos and Values
>> Organisation and use of resources and space
>> Leadership.

Library services are invited to identify a range of evidence, which can vary from the library service plan, statistical information to feedback from users and photographs of events. Using the HMI’s six-point performance scale, services can assess whether their provision is: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Adequate; Weak; or Unsatisfactory.

Nine authorities are currently involved in piloting the draft framework: West Dunbartonshire, Scottish Borders, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Highland, Perth and Kinross, Stirling, Dundee and Fife. SLIC is currently working with these authorities to introduce the process and to identify evidence of outcomes and impact. A report of the outcomes will be prepared for the Scottish Executive by the end of April.

Rhona Arthur is Assistant Director, Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC).

Information Scotland Vol. 4(1) February 2006

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