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 2007 Volume 5(1)

Service provision

Getting the measure of the bridge

The joint use library at the Bridge in Glasgow’s Easterhouse is being studied carefully as a way forward for service provision. SLIC, funding the study, is particularly interested in implications for Lifelong Learning, explain Craig Green and Cathy Kearney.

Joint use libraries and co-location of services are fast becoming a ‘hot topic’ across the sectors as the Scottish Executive’s efficient government initiative shapes and informs the shared services agenda.

Increasingly, SLIC is being called upon to advise on such developments and is currently funding John Wheatley College to carry out a project to study a new service delivery model for further education and public libraries at the Bridge in Easterhouse.

The John Wheatley model is of particular interest because it features both co-location of services through joint use of buildings and a merged college/public library service contained within it.

The ‘Cultural Campus’ development is based on the new college building opened in 2002, designed at the time for the recent extension work which now incorporates: a new public library which includes the college library and flexible learning unit; a new Arts Centre including a 250 seat auditorium; modernised leisure and sports facilities; dance studio; cafe; and recording studio facilities.

At a strategic level, the co-location model is seeking to promote the role of the library as a focus for community learning activities.

At a design level, steps have been taken to make the library a welcoming place by, for example, including a coffee shop, chill-out seating areas and facilities for self-issue.

At the delivery level, the City Council manages the new merged service in partnership with the College within the terms of a service level agreement. When the service opened last autumn immediate advantages included:
>> Greater access to professional library support;
>> Purchasing economies of scale;
>> Increased footfall and activity;
>> Enhanced library related activities;
>> More flexible opening hours;
>> Meeting spaces; and
>> Informal cafe environment

SLIC’s involvement with the initiative dates back to the early planning stages which focused on the importance of a well thought out service level agreement to govern the effective management and delivery of services to communities with differing needs and expectations.

The proposal for a joint use service arose from the College’s role in community planning and its commitment to developing service partnerships in its local communities.The main concern for the college has been to ensure that the educational needs of its students would not be compromised by the new operating arrangements (and from the Council a similar drive in terms of services to the public). There was from the start a focus on continuity of effective curricular and learner support, JISC licensing agreements and restrictions, collection development and stock management.

The defining features of the new service delivery model are:
>> The college and public library facility are merged within a ‘cultural campus’ development;
>> A service level agreement mediates delivery and enables development;
>> College library staff were transferred to the employ of the Council and the College ‘buys back’ library services for its students;
>> The College supplies ICT services for both public and college learner communities including Internet access and support;
>> The resource collections are managed in a combined catalogue using the GCC library management system;
>> GCC supplies library services to both public and college learner communities;
>> The College provides learning support services to both communities as part of the the wider REAL and Learndirect networks; and
>> The development of a clear monitoring and evaluation procedure for the service within the SLIC Innovation and Development Fund project including use of the ‘Resources and Services to Support Learning’ FE service development toolkit.

The service level agreement which supports the new service gives careful attention to ensuring that the needs of college staff and students are met within the new arrangements by regulation of services including:
>> Access arrangements;
>> Collection management;
>> Acquisitions;
>> Catalogue;
>> Circulation;
>> Digital information;
>> Equipment maintenance;
>> Stock selection;
>> User education;
>> Staff development;
>> Support for learning; and
>> Reference services

The scope of the service level agreement will be tested and evaluated during the project which will produce a model for adoption elsewhere.

SLIC believes the study will produce valuable information and guidance for others in the sector who may be contemplating merger or co-location. Potential difficulties which were anticipated included different cultures and operating procedures, but early reports from the project’s operational group indicate that the transition has been relatively smooth so far. The operational group ascribes these early successes to flexible attitudes and professional respect between the various groups of staff involved, in particular library services staff from both public and educational library backgrounds, flexible learning support staff employed by the college, and to the common goal of team members to develop high quality services for all users.

Strategically SLIC is interested in the implications for lifelong learning in public library services where users have ready access to information about learning opportunities and sources of professional learning support. The project’s operational group has also been asked to identify factors which may hinder full service integration such as licensing restrictions on electronic resources and is working with SLIC to resolve these.

Outcomes of the project
The project will produce a set of good practice guidelines based on tested/monitored procedures that will inform the library and information services community considering such joint service/use arrangements.

It will identify key success factors for ensuring quality and relevance to both communities. A quality statement for both public and learner services which meets the requirements of both the council and the college will be produced.
A model service level agreement and set of operating arrangements for joint use services based on the John Wheatley College/ Glasgow City Council experience will be another outcome.

The project is due to report next September in time for the 2007 SLIC Further Education Conference. Already the project has demonstrated that ingredients vital for success are likely to include appropriate community location of the library and learning support services, a written agreement to cover service delivery, staff flexibility and operational teams’ commitment to high quality service delivery and support for users from both public and college communities.

Results of the project will also be disseminated through library and FE networks.

Further information: www.jwheatley.ac.uk/projects/slic

Craig Green is Information and Learning Services Manager, John Wheatley College and Cathy Kearney is Assistant Director of SLIC.

Information Scotland Vol. 5(1) February 2007

Information Scotland is delivered online by the SAPIENS electronic publishing service based at the Centre for Digital Library Research. SLAINTE (Scottish libraries across the Internet) offers further information about librarianship and information management in Scotland.