IN DEPTH
Community hubs keep libraries in the heart of local users
Reading Council has invested more than £2m in a series of community hubs – and that has meant new homes and new ways of working for some of the town’s branch libraries. Head of Service Simon Smith talks to Rob Green about how the changes are helping libraries stay connected to local communities.
It is no secret that public libraries have been hit hard by austerity. Local Authorities across the country are having to deal with huge reductions in their spending power as central government puts the brakes on public spending. Library Authorities have had to fi nd their own way through, making diffi cult decisions that aff ect staff and customers. Reading Council is no exception to this – its library service has lost staff and been forced to reduce opening hours. However, Library Manager Simon Smith says eff orts to keep all of Reading’s seven libraries open is helping ensure com- munities stay connected.
Simon Smith began his career at Reading
Libraries, working as a children’s librarian, before moving into management roles in other areas – Harrow, followed by Slough. He returned to Reading in 2016 to take up the role of Library Manager and is forging new partnerships to help keep libraries at the heart of local communities.
Despite working away from Reading, Simon had continued to live in the town and had kept an eye on the service. The summer be- fore he joined Reading held a consultation on savings of £600,000, from a budget of around £1.6m – that consultation ran throughout its recruitment process and reported back after he was in post. Local opposition to the reduc- tion and a recognition that such drastic cuts would severely hamper the service, meant that the planned budget reduction was cut in
October-November 2019
Rob Green (@CILIP_Reporter,
rob.green@
cilip.org.uk) is Editor-in-Chief, Information Professional.
half to around £300,000. Simon had already identifi ed some areas where effi ciencies could be made – such as introducing RFID, but says he also made the case “to preserve the library service and do more, to expand services so that it is not all about contracting. I wanted to make a service structure that was more fi t for the future.”
Part of that future was about looking at the council’s overall estate and seeing where there was overlap and where savings could be made. It was apparent that the library service could be more sustainable if it looked for opportunities to share resources. To that end, the council has invested £2 million in creating community hubs. Two libraries moved from their existing homes into new hubs – sharing space with nurs- eries, a community café, children’s centre and other facilities. The two new hubs – Whitley and Southcote – have a diff erent approach to how they share space. With Whitley, each service has its own entrance, while at Southcote there
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