Branching Out

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THE REPORT

Background

In 1997 the Minister for the Environment and Local Government established a project team to produce a report on the Irish public library service.

The project team was comprised of officials of the Department of the Environment and Local Government, a representative of the Library Council, librarians, local authority members and local authority managers.

Following a process of consultation and research, the project team reported to the Minister in 1998. The final report, Branching Out: a new public library service , was launched by the Minister in December 1998.

Overview of Report Findings

The report takes a positive view of the potential of the public library service to deliver benefits to the public in terms of:

• enhanced access to information using information and communications technology (ICT);
  
• enhanced access to lifelong education through library collections and services;
  new avenues for social inclusion based upon the provision of information-based skills-training;
  
• enhanced access to library collections of high cultural value;
  enhanced delivery of government services using ICT infrastructure in the library.

The report addresses many issues that the project team sees as being the key to a better library service. Of these the most important are:

• The need for a better service - this addresses questions such as opening hours, staffing levels, staff training and new or enhanced services

• The need for better infrastructure - this addresses questions such as providing library buildings, providing mobile libraries and developing new ways to deliver library services.
  
• The need for better ICT (Information and Communications Technology) infrastructure - this addresses the question of providing each library with the hardware, software and training to enable the library to be a gateway to the Information Society. In this regard, the library project team endorses the recommendation of the Information Society Commission that an ISDN Internet connection should be provided for every library in the country and that all citizens should have access to e-mail via the public library system by the year 2000.
  
• The need for better stock - this addresses the question of libraries seriously upgrading the range and quality of stock available to the public.

Overview of Report Recommendations

The general thrust of the recommendations in the report is that a wide-ranging programme of improvements should be agreed between library authorities and the Department, with An Chomhairle Leabharlanna providing advice and research expertise to library authorities and fulfilling some project management roles on behalf of the Department.

The programme of improvements to be undertaken would have the following features:

Better Service:

Library authorities would undertake to develop the services they offer by opening longer and better hours, by investing in staff development and in new approaches to services. The Department would supply some funding for particular pilot projects or research initiatives as well as supporting the provision of optical scanners in respect of users with impaired vision.

The report estimates that a phased increase totalling 19.5% in the cost of operating the service is required in the 4 year period 1999-2002. This would equate to an increase of about £5.5 million in 2002 over the 1998 estimated cost. The bulk of these resources would come from library authorities.

Better Infrastructure:

A multi-annual programme of capital investment would be agreed with library authorities. Under this programme, the Department would supply up to 75% of the capital cost, although rates may vary from project to project. The involvement of third parties would be encouraged. To encourage this, tax relief should be available on donations for library development, in line with that provided for gifts for education in the arts.

The report estimates that a total of £75 million of capital would need to be invested over an 8-year period. Of this, approximately 60% would come from the Exchequer. This would equate to £45 million over 8 years, around double the level of annual investment up to now.

Better ICT infrastructure:

The report recommends that a major programme of investment in library ICT infrastructure should be undertaken, involving capital expenditure of £18.5 million over an eight-year period. 75% of the funding would come through the Department (as part of a wider Information Society initiative) and the balance would come from library authorities. The recommended programme would include implementing the Information Society Commission's recommendation on universal access to the Internet through public libraries.

Better Stock:

As part of the overall programme, the report recommends that library authorities would work towards a target per capita spend on stock (books, periodicals, software licenses, CDs etc.) of £2.50 each year. This would be a substantial increase on the current mean of £1.27 per capita. In order to encourage library authorities, the report recommends that the Department should make available a grant totalling £3.6m over four years which equates to about 10% of the overall target. The remaining 90% would be drawn from the library authorities resources.

Other Recommendations:

The report also makes recommendations to improve library co-operation and library participation in the community; to improve the marketing of library services; to develop the cultural role of libraries; to improve schools libraries, particularly in post-primary schools and to improve the use of research in the development of the library service.

Implementation

Up-to-date information on progress being made under Branching Out can be seen in the Implementation section of this site.

Publication details:

Branching Out - A New Public Library Service. ISBN 0-7076-6174-9. The report is published by the Department of the Environment and Local Government. It can be consulted at each public library and electronic copies are available from An Chomhairle by contacting info@librarycouncil.ie.