1. Wednesday, 01 May 2013
Catalysing Communities: the Library Asset
Thu 25 April 2013
Write up – morning activity (flipcharts)
1. Catalyst community – things we have already
Creation of 3 community rooms free of charge –
tea dances for inclusion of the elderly
adult learning classes to help people back into employment
health advice – third sector advice sessions, health MOT, Bodisan Prescription
Local Governance pilots
Community engagement team
Innovative projects with community groups (insites)
Ability/freedom to set projects & own agenda
Partnership with Family Learning Outreach People
Library often the only community building
Inclusive – non judgemental

2. Wednesday, 01 May 2013
Julie Trains – manager of Acomb Explore Centre
Engage with those who don’t use us & why? How can we help?
Meeting space for communities
Research facilities
Meeting /rooms space
Community interaction
Knowledge bank
In Devon:
We have friendly, helpful staff who care about their customers
We have lots of people of all different ages & background coming through the door on a daily basis
We have a wide range of services and resources which can be used for creativity, learning etc
Citizenship – access to online course
Partners – varied range
Great staff, often embedded in their local community anyway –particularly applies to the smaller
libraries
What we do:
Community events: crafts, social
Job careers: CV/interview skills
Health related events
Local History events
ESOL
Emergency fuel payment – during bad winter
Community volunteers who bring fresh perspective & help build (“knit”) networks
Passionate people about their community
Variety of service users (no stigma attached)
Partnership working with Sure Start Centres eg. run courses in libraries such as baby massage
Access to computers & online learning
The physical environment
Strong resilient communities

3. Wednesday, 01 May 2013
The “neutral” identity as opposed to institution
We have:
Libraries at the physical heart of the community
We have trusted neutral environments
We have strong local relationship & knowledge
Space: physical & virtual
Ever increasing range of volunteers & volunteer opportunities. These help provide a valuable an
insight & valuable links into local community resources & needs
Empowering staff
We are starting to “flex” the model – social enterprise, community run libraries
People
Innovative people
Supporting people through hard times – benefits advice, job advice, business start up
Places books services in the heart of the community – children’s centres, cafes etc
Partners
Many links with communities, partners - relationships
Assets (buildings) in those communities
Skilled & trained staff who connect with people
The enterprising local staff
Has more “community ownership” of space
Curiosity & commitment to each other (well at least in past!!!)
Libraries in community buildings – sharing services, resources etc
Conservation/ ESOL Clubs – helps integrate people into the community
Spaces for interaction
Joint Children’s Centre/Libraries
Free internet access supports Jobseekers

4. Wednesday, 01 May 2013
Library Service – has activity driven by public
Staff – skilled & responsive
Support people to set up business
Friend’s Groups /community management boards
Has community space to be developed
Can do attitude
Diversity of view & range of services
Opportunities to volunteer
People
Reputation, neutrality – not as institutional as the “local authority”
Holistic change zones
Local library managers creating partnerships with organisations/companies which impact on their
community, rather than partnerships being made centrally and not necessarily fitting with the
individual local profiles.
Valued as the solution not the problem
Free public access
We have a committed professional workforce
Resources to enable people to help themselves
Libraries are a space anyone can use
Implementation of self service facilities across county (helping people to help themselves)
Provide several services within the libraries – more accessible for the people
Community Hubs/Libraries relevant to local area & community & not one size fits all
Restructure has created community librarian posts to work with community groups, partner
organisations and local communities in general. To create more community events and make
libraries hubs of the community

5. Wednesday, 01 May 2013
The library is the place to go for information and education, eg on local information, to learn about
IT (silver surfers etc)
Staff /People
We listen but could do better – outreach
2. WHAT WE WOULD LIKE/NEED TO DO
o Better PR
o Marketing
o Library Service - remove stereotyping of Libraries and Librarians
o Needs step change public perception
o Need to look ahead - see where we are trying to get to
o Stop setting stuff up without knowing why and for whom
o Emphasis on staff talking to customers in and out libraries
o Library Service needs community commitment to change and develop

6. Wednesday, 01 May 2013
o Innovation
o Working on the future paradigm
o Coordination between services so it is everyone’s problem not somebody’s problem
o Enabling things to move forward when it is needed
o Working in SILO
o Committed staff, outgoing able and build relationships with relationships with the
community
o Need to overcome suspicion on the part of the communities that community
involvement is not enabling the council to make deeper cuts
o Libraries need…. People to want /need them and we them
o Courage to relinquish (some) control
o Need to stop playing at ‘local approach’ versus centralised approach and ‘just do it’
o Maximise the assets of your community (people, talent, history)
o Allowing people to be creative in delivering services – less money/but have to deliver
same or move
o Need:
o more flexible workforce released from desk timetable
o clear management vision
o answers to core services vs ‘extras’ debate
o time to experiment, pilot, plan and establish relationships (everything has to
happen yesterday/should have happened)
o Attitude and behaviour
o Outreach
o Time and skill and formats to enable us to follow new operating models to exploit
being catalysts
o We need a better means of sharing costs with all the users of the library (internal
users)
o Increased external promotion of library services (stop preaching to the converted)
o To be better catalysts – we need to be able to fail and recover sometimes
o Work with library staff to enable them to understand the need for change
o People in roles to support this
o Participation
o We need clarity of vision owned by each community
o Improved connections with others in public sector involved in communities
o Stop thinking that one size fits all
o No idea is a bad idea
o Staff not open or responsive
o More outreach work to engage different communities with the service
o Liberating staff – no idea is a bad idea
o We need freedom to explore possibilities
o Think out of the box
o Listen –outreach – change attitudes
o A more joined up approach by using the resources we have and community
collectively
o Needs; hub feel joined up – community services – health, children’s services, job
advice
o Needs community/library champions

7. Wednesday, 01 May 2013
o We need: to market ourselves, business and entrepreneurial approach, change
perception of our role, be accessible – getting there i.e. Sunday opening
o More time/space to gestate new ideas and to take risk/be open
o Inspiration from the heroism of others
o Needs: sharing/swapping of skills to support community
o To be better, we need: a flexible, organic model
o In Devon:
o we would love to have more time with our staff to spend deepening
connections with their local community
o a nicer and more meaningful relationship with local developed through
genuinely listening and connecting elected members, parish councils,
volunteers, the third sector and library staff
o More stakeholder support, especially senior officer/member, reorganisation of the
library’s role
o Greater community ownership of the resource and a real partnership with the
Library Service to deliver services specific to need of that community
o Take risks
o Right people in the job
o Still need to educate colleagues on; role of libraries – not just about books
o Libraries need community ownership and leadership
o To improve: more outreach and better understanding of the needs of the
community
o In certain times how can we clearly vision the future and believe in those first steps
o Use libraries more as a place to go for services and not just council services
o Bureaucracy
o Freedom to fail
o People
o Change attitudes
o Time
o To be able articulate to others about how we are already catalysts
o Change our image
o SILOS