Susan Carragher – Head of Library Services June 2008 Observations on seaxes, white stilettos and libraries in Essex “You can observe a lot just by watching”

Susan Carragher – Head of Library ServicesJune 2008

Observations on seaxes, white stilettos and libraries in Essex

“You can observe a lot just by watching” – Yogi Berra

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• Governance and Politics

• My Performance Contract

• Performance Related Pay

• Individual and Team Rewards

• Union Membership

Essex County Council Corporate Context

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passionate - about achieving

results

• leader •

can do, will do

• positive • ambitious

responsive - to customers’ needs

• get the job done • provide quality

• committed • customer focus

inspirational - and bold in thinking and

solutions • enthusiastic

• welcoming

• seize opportunities • be bold supportive - of others’ input and perspective, working as one • be proud • working as one• value everyone • integrity

motivating - others and tru

sting

them to deliver

• trust

• nurture talent

• communicate • celebrate

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Library Coverage within Essex

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• 73 Community Libraries• 12 Mobile Libraries• 423 Reading Groups• 500 Staff• 2,751.9 hours open per week • £24.8m Expenditure

– 44.3% Staffing– 12.1% Premises– 11.4% Resources book fund etc– 22.5% ICT and computing costs– 9.7% Transport, Support etc

• £2.5m Income

29 October 2003 Essex County Coun ci l

Enter your title here

“I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes.I had one thousand and sixty” – Imelda Marcos

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“Let your dreams outgrow the shoes of your expectations” – Ryunosuke Satoro

• Structure and Roles

• Building Dreams - Statement of Vision for the Built Resources of the Service

• Making it Happen – Retail Practice

• RFID – Business Case

• Libraries as Front Door to Council and other Services

Stock Library

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• Library Assistant → Customer Services Assistant• Pro-active: floor-walking and book talking, not book-

stamping• Custodians → entrepreneurs• Training and development to support change• Ability to personalise targets and reward

staff• FISH!

“Walk a mile in my shoes is good advice” –Neil Kurshan

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Building Dreams – Statement of Vision for the Built Resources of the Service

• Flagship Libraries

• Large Town Libraries

• Town Libraries

• Suburban Libraries

• Small Town and Village Libraries

Chelmsford Library

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Building Dreams – the Built Resource of our Service

• Location• Regeneration agenda• Pilot delivery methods

Colchester Library

Basildon Library

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Buildings and Branding

• Starts from the outside and works in

• Core branding adapted for each building

Harwich Library

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Saffron Walden - our newest refurbishment

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Making it Happen – based on best practice from retail sector

Witham Library

Braintree Library

1. Our Image

2. Our Customers

3. Our Product

4. Our Performance

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Making it Happen – Floor Walkers

• Host role…

• Engage with customers… • Offer help, answer enquiries…

• Maintain Express Zones…

• Make library visit enjoyable and positive…

Witham Library

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• Invest to save model

• Strategic Drivers

RFID -Business Case

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• Implementation began September 2005 – 18 months

• 36 Libraries• Target 50% of transactions

self-service• Staffing issues / Change

Management• ICT Issues

RFID -Implementation

Witham Library

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• Moving from self-service to stock management and book supply chain process.

• 65% of loans and 85% of returns by self-service

• Resident satisfaction with service increased from 73% in 2003 to 80% in 2007

• Loans increased

• Self-Service drives Library design

RFID -Evaluation

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• The introduction of RFID in isolation, without the accompanying staff development and library build presentation, produces less successful outcomes.

• The project has demonstrated how partnership working – suppliers, contractors, other councils – can produce excellent results which are not obtainable alone.

RFID -Learning Outcomes

Chelmsford Library

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Libraries as Front Door to Services

• Rationale• Working models• Future

Loughton Library

Witham Library

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Chelmsford Library - 20th October 2007

3,456 people came to meet a Dalek

What do the public think?

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Thank YouQuestions?

Susan Carragher - Head of Library Services

Essex County Council

Tel: 01245 436 761

Email: [email protected]

“Is it time to go home yet? I keep clicking these damn shoes, but nothing happens” – Robin Hecht

Documents

Susan Carragher – Head of Library Services June 2008 Observations on seaxes, white stilettos and libraries in Essex “You can observe a lot just by watching”