Archived decisions
Research, Consultation and Communication Plan for Hampshire County Council's
Library & Information Service
Report to Culture and Communities Select Committee
9 October 2008
Contents
Page No.
1. Background 3
1.1 The Current Situation 3
2. Corporate Priorities and Communication Strategy 4
3. Goals 5
4. Research and Consultation 6
4.1 Target Audiences 6
4.2 Research Plan Outline 10
4.3 Benchmarking and KPIs 13
5. Communications Plan Outline 15
5.1 Lapsed Library Customer Campaign 15
5.2 Promotion of the National Year of Reading 2008 16
5.3 Library Perception Change Campaign 16
5.4 Library Signage 17
5.5 Marketing of Libraries Audio/Visual Product Offering 17
5.6 Email Marketing 18
5.7 New Joiners 18
5.8 Membership Drive 19
5.9 Ongoing Promotional Support for Operational Issues 19
5.10 Press Relations 19
6. Community Engagement 20
6.1 Community Fora 20
6.2 Engaging with Customers Online 20
6.3 Library Staff 20
6.4 Other Consultation Mechanisms 21
7. Monitoring and Evaluation 21
1. Background
In January 2008 the Culture and Communities Select Committee asked that the following be provided to the Select Committee: -
`a Communication and Engagement Plan to underpin the involvement of local communities in the planning and provision of services and to plan for how the LIS intends to strengthen its marketing research'
1.1 The Current Situation
Within the Recreation and Heritage Department of Hampshire County Council, the Library and Information Service (LIS) portfolio consists of 51 libraries of varying sizes1 and two Discovery Centres; Gosport and Winchester. It has nine mobile library vehicles making 1,200 regular timetabled stops in Hampshire. In addition it provides a community library service, providing free service for people in sheltered accommodation, residential & nursing homes and day centres, as well as providing a one-to-one service to housebound library users.
Libraries are a much loved and well used service but, in recent years, the national trend has been a slow and steady fall in use (the Taking Part Survey has shown a 4% drop in library use nationally during 2006/07). Many local authorities have made attempts to address this by implementing a programme of refurbishments and communications focused on promoting their current offering.
The reasons behind this fall are varied but the impact of new technology, changes in lifestyles and the availability of new information sources should not be understated.
If this fall is to be stemmed a better understanding is needed of the changing needs of existing customers and also the barriers preventing those currently not using libraries from engaging with them. This new understanding may necessitate the library offer being developed further to more closely match existing and potential customers' changing needs.
This can be seen in action already in Gosport and Winchester, where Hampshire County Council is implementing its Discovery Centre programme. The first two Discovery Centres are now open and have generated a significant rise in visitor numbers. Winchester Discovery Centre has enjoyed a 57% increase in visitor numbers in the period between opening in late November 2007 and July 2008 when compared with the same period in 2005/06, when the Jewry Street building was last open to the public. Gosport Discovery Centre has experienced a 64% increase in visitor numbers since it re-opened as a Discovery Centre in March 2005.
Winchester Discovery Centre is even experiencing an increase in book borrowing numbers, adult book borrowing in July 2008 was 28% higher than in July 2005 and children's book issues have increased by 67% compared with July 2005.
Although there will not be a Discovery Centre in every town in Hampshire the principles that they embody, i.e. opening up the Library Service's offering to a wider audience, will be applied in libraries across the county.
The success of the Discovery Centre programme is indeed impressive, but there is still some negativity from a small number of vocal customers. They see Discovery Centres as taking the focus off books and argue that the awareness of what a Discovery Centre is remains low with the general public.
These issues are important ones and should be addressed through thorough consultation and communication with the Library Service's key stakeholders.
2. Corporate Priorities and Communication Strategy
The contents of this plan aim to support the Hampshire County Council Corporate Priorities.
I. Hampshire safer and more secure for all
II. Maximising wellbeing
III. Enhancing our quality of place
And to adhere to the Corporate Communications Strategy : -
`This strategy aims to strengthen our communications fighting force, help facilitate innovation and new ways of working, ensuring the overall communications resource is directed at the key priorities, with clear consistent messages, spread best practice, ensure fitness for purpose and identify efficiency opportunities'.
The plan also will support the Recreation and Heritage Department's Key Priorities;
i. Increase Participation
· Increase number of users of R&H sites
· Increasing number of repeat visits to R&H sites
· Increasing crossover of visitors between R&H services
· Addressing Users' Needs
ii. Maximise Access
· Socio-economic profile
· Disability profile
· Ethnic profile
· Age profile
iii. Promote Lifelong learning
· Take up of adult skills
3. Goals
The ultimate goal is to increase participation in the Library Service by those who live and work in Hampshire. To do this we will aim to : -
· Better understand the wants and needs of our customers
· Gain market intelligence to help us tailor our services to meet the needs of our customers
· Understand what the barriers are to those people who are not currently using the service
· Maintain a constant and regular dialogue with our key stakeholder groups
· Re-engage with customers who have recently lapsed
· Ensure the changing ways that our customers access our services are understood and met
· Refocus the product in order to tailor it more closely to the local needs of the individual library or Discovery Centre's community
4. Research and Consultation
Libraries and Discovery Centres are valuable resources that benefit the entire community, therefore the target market is, in essence, everyone in Hampshire. However, it is essential that specific groups are targeted with relevant key messages in order to maximise the impact of marketing communications with the individuals and groups who are most likely to visit.
The service has a wealth of data, which is collected through use of library cards and the People's Network, but to date this data has not been used to its full effectiveness in order to help the service identify who is using and who is not. Initiatives such as Community Profiling (see section 4.2a) will help us unlock the market intelligence hidden within this data.
It is vital that communications for the Library and Information Service are effective in attracting both a new, younger customer group, and maintaining the appeal to the, largely older, customers who are satisfied with the offering of a more traditional library. For new customers the service needs to be certain of the experience they will get when visiting a library for the first time - the `welcome' needs to meet the expectations that have been created by the marketing communications.
`Harder to reach' groups should also be considered and it is essential that the product offering and communications mix make an attractive offer aimed specifically to appeal to specific `hard to reach groups'. These offerings can only be developed through consultation with representatives from these `hard to reach' groups (e.g. BMEs, people with disabilities, young people, low income families etc). Increasing universal use needs to run alongside other strands of work aimed at income generation and therefore reducing universal subsidy to create and release resources for those who really need it.
4.1 Target Audiences
A number of target audiences have been identified for the initial phase of the communication and consultation plan. It is possible to break audiences down into three broad user types:
· current users
· lapsed users
· non users
In some instances it will be necessary to adjust the messages given to target audiences depending on the type of user they are.
The following classifications can be used to segment the service's market however the community profiling work that is currently being undertaken by the service will give much more detail on the geographic and demographic make up of the customer base for each library.
An even greater understanding will come from harvesting the data from the new Spydus computer and library management system, and combining it with other data held on customers, such as book borrowing habits and use of the Peoples Network. Over the next 12-18 months the Service will have a robust data collection and interpretation system in place which will allow it to use this information to help it deliver a service that more closely matches the needs of its customers.
a. `Traditional' library users
This group have traditionally been the core users of the Library Service. They will continue to make up a significant proportion of the audience in the future and it is important that any changes to the service are communicated to them in such as way as to avoid alienating them. There is also scope for increasing the number of `traditional' library users.
Audience Profile:
· Mosaic Profile: - A,B & C 2
· Visits once every 2-3 weeks
· Activity relates to book borrowing/returning
· High proportion female
· Significant proportion aged 55+
· Uses other cultural facilities in the county and is active member of community
Communication Methods
· Direct Mail (mainly email, where addresses are held) using data of library users
· Advertising / Editorial in local press, parish magazines, clubs/society newsletters e.g. Women's Institute, University of the 3rd Age
· Presentations / previews / direct mail to community groups
· Loyalty Schemes
Key Messages
· Get more out of libraries
· Books are still what we're about
· It's your library
· We're committed to encouraging more people to discover the joy of reading
· Events and activities programme
b. Families - to include young parents and school children
Children's books make up a high proportion of borrowings from the Library Service, so children are very important customers. A key issue is to engage parents with the range of new facilities on offer in the library, so a visit offers something for the whole family.
Audience Profile:
· Already heavy users of the library service for children's books
· Includes young parents and primary school children
Communication Methods
· Posters and leaflets - doctors' surgeries, health visitors, social services, baby clinics, play groups, nurseries, primary schools, leisure venues, children's centres
· Presentations / previews - playgroups, nurseries, children's centres, primary schools, uniformed groups etc
· Cross selling at children's events (promotion of relevant activities for parents (reading groups to reflexology, return to work skills etc))
Key Messages
· Events for children and families Baby Rhyme Time, Storytime, holiday activities etc
· Services for other members of the family e.g. parents borrowing DVDs or books
· Family friendly facilities e.g. children's library, baby changing facilities (where possible)
· Frequently changing programme, so something to come back for regularly
· A place for parents to meet and socialise
· Opportunities for learning e.g. homework but also continuing education for parents
· It's a free service
c. Young Adults (13-19) - school and college students
By presenting the facilities within the Libraries and Discovery Centres in such a way as to attract young people they will relate to the product offering and take ownership of it.
Audience Profile:
· Age 13 - 19
· Infrequent users of the traditional library service
Communication Method
· Secondary schools and 6th Form - posters / presentations / emails / events programme
· Youth clubs - posters, leaflets and taster sessions
· Youth projects - such as The Edge Project
· Cinema, arts venues, sports clubs
· Local radio
· Youth magazines
· Youth centres
· Text messaging, website, social networking
Key Messages
· You're welcome here
· The library is somewhere to be outside of school and home with your friends
· There is always something new going on so it's worth coming regularly
· It is affordable / free
· You can study here
· It's your service and we will work with you to provide the things that you want
d. Secondary Audiences
· Business Community
· Foreign Students / Migrant workers
· Students
· Retired residents
· Specialist interest e.g. art lovers, local historians etc.
· Media, Government and specialist library press
e. Niche markets such as:-
· Key Partners - such as Adult Services identifying clients for the Library and Information Service, Books on Prescription
· Reading Groups/Clubs
· Local Dramatic Societies
· Art Appreciation Societies
· Craft Groups
· Local History Groups
· Visually Impaired individuals
· Housebound individuals
f. Staff
· All our Library staff members will be consulted on strategy development and kept updated on what we are want to achieve and how we are trying to achieve it.
A constant dialogue needs to be maintained with all of the groups listed above. These groups will be not only be heavy users of Libraries and Discovery Centres but will also be very vocal about their likes and dislikes. Their word of mouth influence will also have a significant impact on the future success of the Service.
4.2 Research Plan Outline
The statutory requirement for reporting library performance information has now changed with the ending of the Public Library Service Standards (PLSS), Best Value Performance Indicators(BVPI) and the CPA3 Culture block element of the corporate assessment. The new National Performance Framework for Local Government includes only one headline indicator of participation of the adult population in the public library service.
The Public Library User Survey (PLUS), previously provided the score for two of the standards (PLSS7/BV118c and PLSS8). For some time there have been doubts over the value of PLUS, both in the information gained from the survey of only library users and in terms of the IPF4 costs and local cost of administering the survey. The Library and Information Service has decided to discontinue the national PLUS from 2008 onwards, opting instead to commission a local research programme that will better inform the future strategic development of the service.
The MLA5 has developed in consultation with the library profession a Library Benchmark of 23 indicators based largely on data already submitted in the annual Cipfa6 Public Library Actuals return to IPF and a number of satisfaction elements from the PLUS (explained further in Section 4.3).
The Library and Information Service has considered the value of the Library Benchmark indicators and, as there is no statutory requirement to report all the data, agreed those that it considers most useful will be used to benchmark at a national level against a peer group of library authorities.
What will be achieved by making these changes? There are four main objectives for the research that will be carried out in 2008-11.
I. Measure how satisfied customers are with our services
II. Discover the wants/needs of our customers
III. Find out the barriers to use for non-users
IV. Build a Community Profile for each library
Therefore the Service has decided to combine its annual research budget to commission the design and implementation of a three year rolling research programme which has the capacity to be developed according to the Service's continuous requirements.
The research plan will be implemented on a three year cycle. Below are four key areas which highlight how and why these methods will be used : -
a. Community profiling
Understanding the communities that make up each library's customer base is of great importance. Within the Library Service there is a great deal of data that will allow a better understanding how the libraries customer base penetrates the local population. This market intelligence is gained by running the data held in the Library Service customer database through MOSAIC.
The aim of this is to identify which types of people, within an individual community, are currently using the service and which are not. This will allow for more effective targeting of those groups who are not currently engaged and communications can then be tailored to appeal to these groups. Engagement with them will also help shape the product offering and make it more appealing to specific, often harder to reach groups, such as young people and BMEs.
Community profiling work has been started and the Service is beginning to build a picture up of how some of the libraries are penetrating into their local communities. The first phase of this work is due to be completed by the end of 2008. The profiles will form the bedrock of future communications projects and also help the service to identify which groups are being reached and which are not. This, of course, will influence the consulting process.
b. Customer survey (in libraries)
The questionnaire will include questions that will not only measure satisfaction but also help identify the wants and needs of current customers. The survey will be conducted using a sample of visitors to libraries. The results of the survey will help shape the product offering and the communications mix.
c. Self completion customer survey (on-line)
A self completion survey will be conducted with on-line library service users7. It will mainly aim to collect information about how customers use the on-line resources and what they like and dislike about the current service. This information will help the Library Service shape the delivery of its online resources in the future.
d. Focus groups with key stakeholder groups (both current library users and non users)
The Library and Information Service will continue to gather in depth subjective information from key stakeholder groups, including current customers and non-users. This will give a strong steer on the elements of the service that stakeholders would like changed and the nature of the changes they would like to see take place and aid the Service's decision making. This information can be cross checked against the quantitative information gleaned from the questionnaires, the market intelligence work and Galaxy data to give a clearer picture of whether the opinions expressed in the focus groups related to the actual actions of our customers.
e. Use of Secondary Research
A great deal of research has already been carried out on this subject, not only locally but nationally and even internationally. Secondary data should therefore be used to compare results with and add weight to any conclusions formed. Secondary research includes MORI surveys, the Define Report8 and other studies conducted by Hampshire County Council and neighbouring authorities on the subject.
The Service will be prepared to change/adapt any communications tactics based on the results of the research.
4.3 Benchmarking and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
The final CPA 2008 scores will be announced in February 2009, these will be based largely on 2008/08 BVPI and PLSS data. This will be the final year for both BVPI and PLSS before the National Indicator Set and Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) comes in 2009. The National Indicator Set9 has only four indicators which cover Culture; only one relates to libraries i.e. percentage of population that use the public library service provided by the authority in which they live. This data will be collected on behalf of local authorities through the extended Sport England, Active People Survey. These indicators only cover adults; DCMS and MLA are working with the government to find opportunities to collect information about children and young people's participation and engagement with libraries and other cultural services.
The MLA has now introduced the Library Benchmark, a voluntary improvement tool to enable managers to benchmark their performance against other authorities over time and the national position. In response to this voluntary benchmark, the Service is looking at what performance data is needed and how best to collect and present this information to managers (this is the current Library performance framework project work). A small number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) suggest themselves; KPIs for which data can be collected and some of which can be used to benchmark externally against peer library authorities.
The draft KPIs below are drawn from and support the three year business plan and HCC's corporate aims (and thereby government agenda/ initiatives).
KPI 1
PARTICIPATION
_ Physical visits
_ Website e-resource hits
_ Issues - by age category / by branches
_ Active borrowers
_ People's Network use
_ Percentage of residents who have used a public library in the last year
KPI 2
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
_ Satisfaction
- resident survey
- customer survey (adult /children)
KPI 3
READER DEVELOPMENT
_ Summer reading game
_ Reading groups
- reading set issues
- number of groups meeting in libraries
- number of groups supported by LIS staff
_ Schools Library Service
- number of schools subscribing
- issues
- shop turnover (via visits)
KPI 4
LEARNING IN LIBRARIES
_ Family learning
- number of parents
- number of courses
- resulting in new members
_ Adult learning
- informal learning
- basic skills
- progression
KPI 5
VULNERABLE PEOPLE (targeted inclusion)
· Home library service
- number of housebound visits per year via mobiles
- number of housebound visits per year via static libraries
_ Looked after children
KPI 6
VALUE FOR MONEY
· Cost per visit
· Interactions per FTE
· Net expenditure per 1000 population
It must be noted that the KPIs for the Library and Information Service are currently in development and are subject to change.
5. Communications Plan Outline
The County Council's vision for the Library Service will be clearly communicated with stakeholder groups to ensure that they are fully engaged with. They will be made aware of the Service's aims and why it is trying to achieve them. Equally they must feel that they are part of the decision making process.
In 2008/09 the awareness and interest in the Library Service is being raised by carrying out a number of targeted activities. These activities will aim to increase the appeal of the Service and provide a mechanism to communicate the merits of the Library Service and develop a dialogue with customers and potential customers.
5.1 Lapsed Library Customer Campaign
In 2008/09 the Recreation and Heritage Marketing Team has continued to target lapsed library service customers and encourage them back to visiting the library on a regular basis using personalised marketing collateral, which draws on MOSAIC profiling conducted on data captured from the current library customer database (Galaxy).
The aim is to attract back library customers who have not visited in the past 12 months, but have used their library card in the previous 24 months.
The Hart and Rushmoor districts were chosen for the pilot, as many libraries in this area have been refurbished, so the promise of a modern, high quality library service, which has illustrated in the mailing, is reflected in the customers' experience when they revisit.
Phase one of the pilot has seen a significant number of the lapsed customers (in MOSAIC groups A and C), approximately 15% of those who were contacted, return to the library to use their membership cards. This is a significant figure as the industry standard is a 2% direct response to a direct mailing10.
This campaign has recently been extended across the county and it has seen 11.4% of the recipients of the mailing return to the their library. This is an impressive return as the results are for customers returning within three weeks of receiving the mailing, it is expected that the long term effect will be much higher.
5.2 Promotion of the National Year of Reading 2008
The National Year of Reading is an initiative which aims to get more people reading and reading more often. The Recreation and Heritage Department is fully supporting this by running initiatives such as Book Sharing, Celebrity Reading Endorsements, County Poet Competition, Book Trails etc. The promotion of these activities in local print, online and broadcast media are playing an essential part in raising the awareness of the initiative.
The main aim of the National Year of Reading is to promote reading amongst the wider community, and to increase library membership. Hampshire is playing an active role in the campaign which will be evaluated in early 2009.
5.3 Library Perception Change Campaign
In 2008/09 work will continue to transform the perception of the libraries in Hampshire. The new Hampshire County Council libraries' branding has gone a long way towards the creation of a more enticing image. The research projects that are being conducted in 2008/09 will help to identify barriers to use, but it is already known from secondary research that many people, especially young people, believe that libraries are just `not for them' and they are still seen as `dusty places where people tell you to shush'. This is a misconception and communications, actions and behaviour need to reflect this. Research has also shown that people often feel that they do not `need to go' to the library.
In 2008/09 the libraries' suite of literature and photography is being renewed and it will also be supported by positive public relations activities. The aim is to increase the perception that visiting libraries is aspirational and pleasurable and that the library is modern and welcoming. Essentially reinforcing the image of libraries being somewhere you would `want to go' and not necessarily only visit if you `need to go'.
5.4 Library Signage
The library signage has been dramatically improved in the years since the new branding was implemented, but there is still room for improvement. Many libraries are still hard to find and once they are found it is not made obvious on the building itself that it is a library.
In 2008/09 the Recreation and Heritage Marketing Team is supporting libraries to address this, and a budget has been allocated to improve both road and street signage. An example of this is in Alton Library where window vinyls that display the library's product/service offering were installed. A similar process was put in place at Tadley Library and visitor numbers rose sharply immediately after installation.
5.5 Marketing Audio/Visual Material in Libraries
In 2008/09 the Recreation and Heritage Marketing Team will be leading a review of the Libraries' Audio Visual material. Due to the rise in media downloads libraries face tough times ahead for this key income generating activity. A drop in the number of rentals of CDs and DVDs has been recorded because of this. The marketing review of the audio visual material will help identify a competitive advantage over major competitors in this field, e.g. Blockbuster, as well as examine the actions of other local authority library services.
5.6 Email Marketing
In Hampshire it is estimated that 70% of all households have a computer with a broadband connection. Although this is a high number it also means that 30% do not have a broadband connection. Therefore we must still aim to support email campaigns with off line activities.
A key issue with email is that names and addresses and the recipients' consent are needed before anything is sent. This relies on staff engagement to proactively collect the information by asking customers at the point of contact to fill in a form or to give their email details when joining the library. At present this is not happening to the level required but a plan to help staff engage with this activity is being developed.
Regular competitions will also continue to be featured in Hampshire Now with an incentive for entrants to join the mailing list.
The library users' Galaxy data is a highly valuable resource for unused email addresses of customers who have not been asked whether they wish to be included on the mailing list. Therefore in 2008/09 all the library card holders who have provided email addresses but not indicated that they would like to join the mailing list will be contacted and asked if they would like to receive information by email. It is hoped that this will boost the numbers on the emailing list significantly.
The Recreation and Heritage Marketing Team have been working with HantsDirect to embed a data collection mechanism into the processing of customer calls. This should prove the most fruitful of all data collection methods, as the contact centre has already taken over 180,000 calls from library customers alone (as at 15.09.08) since it opened in July 2007.
5.7 New Joiners
Winchester Discovery Centre and initiatives such as the National Year of Reading have generated a large number of new library members in Hampshire. The data on these individuals will be extracted from Galaxy and their postcodes run through Mosaic to see if there are any patterns emerging - who the new joiners are and where (both geographically and demographically) they come from and if there is any significant difference between them and existing users. This will be particularly significant for Winchester Discovery Centre as it will shed light on whether or not it is attracting different users than a more traditional library offering.
5.8 Membership Drive
During 2008/09 the Service will be continuing its drive to entice more new customers to use their local library or Discovery Centre. This will be done through a targeted awareness building campaign, which will highlight the benefits of library membership and will be underpinned by the provision of an incentive for new joiners.
The incentive will be given to the new member at the point that they join but there will be other incentives to encourage them to keep coming back. In order for new customers to receive the incentive they will have to join the e-mailing list and this will allow a regular dialogue to be created with them and ensure that the Service is kept `front of mind'.
The Library and Information Service is also in the process of building greater links with Hampshire's major sporting clubs (including Southampton Football Club, Hampshire County Cricket Club and Portsmouth Football Club), to work with them to use their well known players as advocates for the Service, in order to raise the interest and awareness of reading and library use with their supporters.
5.9 Ongoing Promotional Support for Operational Issues
During 2008/09 any planned temporary closures, re-openings and changes to service have been, and will continue to be, supported by positive marketing communications activity. This will include the implementation of the new Spydus software and new Sunday opening hours.
Each of these items has been allocated a specific budget and the communication of these activities will be co-ordinated at a local level.
5.10 Press Relations
Between 1st August 2007 and 1st August 2008 the Hampshire County Council Library and Information Service appeared in 267 articles in the press. The vast majority, 208, of these articles were positive, 34 were neutral and only 25 were negative. These figures are even more impressive when set against the recent background of the restructure of the service.
During 2008/09 a media communications strategy will be further developed to help improve on this already impressive record. The media communications strategy for libraries will make the service more proactive in the way that it deals with the media. All major changes to the service are detailed and a plan for how to manage the press on each of these will be drawn up.
6. Community Engagement
Engaging with local communities is vital for the Library and Information Service. Customers need to be given a genuine role in shaping the Service in the future. It is essential that the `community champions' who are representing their communities truly reflect the make up of the individual library's catchment community. Great care must be taken to ensure proportional representation of all groups who make up a library's community.
6.1 Community Fora
The focus of the Library Service's community engagement will be through Community Fora. The fora will constitute representatives from key stakeholder groups.
A number of Community Fora have already been set up in the libraries involved in the Community Library Lottery Bid (Aldershot, Havant, Waterlooville, Leigh Park and Hayling Island) but these will be extended this to set up Community Fora across Hampshire during the next three years.
6.2 Engaging with Customers Online
Web 2.0 technology provides the ideal platform for engaging with a large number of library customers on a regular basis. Web logs or `blogs' and social networking sites are routes to do this. Initially this will be explored using external websites for this purpose; such as wordpress.com and facebook.com (An example of this which is currently in use is East Renfrewshire Council - Community Services Facebook group) but ideally, in the long term, the interaction with customers online will be done directly through HantsWeb.
The online content will aim to stimulate debate and generate comments from Hampshire residents on the subject of libraries and what they like or dislike and what changes they would like to see implemented.
6.3 Library Staff
The role of library staff in engaging with our customers, by all levels of staff, is extremely important. Either engaging with non-users at external events like the summer shows or with existing users - introducing them to aspects of the Service that they don't use.
The online events database11 illustrates the huge amount of work that is going on all year round.
6.4 Other Consultation Mechanisms
The research conducted by the Service will include questions asking customers how they would prefer to be consulted, options such as public voting and annual conferences will be given as options for customers to express their interest in. The Service will also investigate what other local authorities are doing and what has been the most effective method of consulting with customers.
7. Monitoring and Evaluation
Communication and consultation tactics will be monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis year-on-year and the items in this plan are subject to change dependant on performance and external variables.
The research programme described earlier in this document will contain questions to find out the effectiveness of the current communication and consultation plan. As research will take place year on year it will monitor the effectiveness of the 2008/09 activity in the 2009/10 research.
Press and public opinion will also continue to be monitored by the Hampshire County Council Press Office, evaluating the positive, neutral and negative stories that appear in the print, broadcast and on-line media.
However the `litmus test' for all our marketing activities will be measured by the number of people who are engaging with library services (both on and off-line). The aim is to influence visitor numbers in core markets as well as in the proportion of people using R&H sites and services from `hard to reach' groups.