Hampshire County Council

Recreation and Heritage Policy Review Committee Item 6

17 January 2002

Annual Library Plan - September 2001

Report of the Acting Head of Libraries

Contact: John Dunne Ext: 6109

1. Summary

1.1 The preparation of an Annual Library Plan is a statutory requirement and must be submitted to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) by the 30^th September each year.

1.2 The Annual Library Plan was submitted to the Recreation and Heritage Policy Review Committee on the 20^th September 2001, and it was resolved:

That the draft Annual Library Plan be resubmitted to the Committee for approval prior to consideration by the full Council in February 2002 having been revised, as necessary, to reflect the Best Value Review of the Library Service.

1.3 As it was too late to include the comments made in this year's report, they will be carried forward into the 2002 Plan.

1.4. Although the Annual Library Plan has yet to be submitted to Council for approval, it has now been assessed and scored by the DCMS.

1.5 Copies of the Annual Library Plan were circulated for the September 2001 meeting of this Committee and a copy is also available for inspection in the Members' Room.

2. DCMS Assessment

2.1 The DCMS assess Annual Library Plans in seven key areas relating to services, plus a further seven areas relating to policy. The rating system used is as follows:

1 = The approach was poor

2 = The approach was satisfactory

3 = The approach was good

2.2 In three of the key areas, including the introduction, service delivery and review of previous year, the rating was 3. In three other key areas, including statement of objectives, performance appraisal and medium term strategy, the rating was 2. In only one area, rolling action plans and targets, the rating was 1. The commentary for this key area indicated that there was a concern about resourcing some of the actions identified. This is now being addressed as part of the budget process for 2002/3.

2.3 Of the seven policy areas identified, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Lifelong Learning, were rated as 3. All the other policy areas, including Social Inclusion, Reader Development, Partnerships, Performance Indicators and Standards, were rated as 2.

2.4 The overall assessment of the Annual Library Plan was as follows:

Rating for the overall quality of the Annual Library Plan as a planning tool - 2

Rating for the authority's approach to meeting the public library standards - 2

2.5 The DCMS is running a Feedback Seminar on Annual Library Plans in March 2002, with two free places offered for officers and it is the intention of the authority to take up this allocation. The Seminar will not only provide feedback on the current Annual Library Plan, but will also include a presentation of the new draft guidelines for the 2002 Plan.

Recommendation

That the Annual Library Plan - September 2001 be submitted as it stands to the

Executive Member for approval, prior to submission to the County Council.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1 Published works.

2 Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE FILE

Annual Library Plan - September 2001