London Library Change Programme

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London Library Change Programme
David Ruse LLCP Board member and Director of
Libraries and Culture for Westminster City
Council North West libraries conference 28 June
2010
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On the edge of change
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London Library Change Programme overview

• Began in 2007 with recognition of value for money
  issues, followed by a feasibility study
• Is part of the London Cultural Improvement
  Programme (www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/networks/lcip
  /programme)
• Funded by Capital Ambition (the London RIEP)
• Aims to bring all 33 services up to the levels of
  the best
• Aims to reduce overheads and improve services
  through shared services and improved processes
• Aims for a systematic approach to having the
  right staff and skills in place to engage better
  with communities
• Aims to make a substantial change in the
  structure of London Libraries

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Londons library services need for change

• Londons libraries cost over 40 higher per head
  than UK average
• Best practice not in place across London
• Plans in place to re-design, work
  collaboratively, share back office arrangements
  but not yet systematic
• Some authorities have invested in technology that
  makes joint working harder
• Large variations in deployment and costs of staff
  
• Library service unusual as more open to global
  and web-based competition and other forms of
  governance

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Where are we now?

• Public libraries in London cost 203 million pa
• Huge variation in cost/outputs
• No correlation between cost/quality
• Over half the cost is staffing
• But staff productivity varies hugely (London
  average transactions per fte is 11,400, but range
  from 7,000 to 17,000 in inner London alone)

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Where are we now?

• Management layers range between 2 and 9, with an
  average of 5
• Half the boroughs have not got full EDI
• One third dont adhere to NAG minimum standards
• One third dont do any supplier selection
• And as for opening hours, stock quality

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London Library Change Programme emerging vision

• The public library service will continue to meet
  the book, information
• and learning needs of the people and communities
  of London.
• Improved processes and technology and a
  revitalised workforce will be
• harnessed to provide resources which are tailored
  to the needs of
• Londoners and delivered in ways that best meet
  their needs, whether at
• the library, in partnership with other local
  services, delivered to the
• home or workplace, or made available digitally.
• While remaining locally accountable, Londons
  library services should
• be able to work more closely together, taking
  advantage of more
• efficient and effective governance and delivery
  models to deliver
• consistent high value services that contribute
  to wider local outcomes
• - at significantly lower cost.

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Overview of LLCP

• Phase 1 - 2007/9
• Marketing, staffing and stock to be focus
• Phase 2 - 2008/9
• Efficiency, common procurement and ILL
• Phase 3 - 2010/11
• Best practice and new models of delivery

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Good practice in individual services and pilots
Online resources
LLC
Resource discovery
Stock use analysis
Improved logistics
London Requests
Whats radical and effective?
Third party selection
Buy, borrow or ILL? Reciprocal borrowing
Stock management
Stock purchasing
Shared catalogues
Shared reserves
Whats justbusiness as usual?
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What does good practice look like?

• Workforce
• Few tiers of staff
• Few management/policy vs customer-facing staff
• Strong skills in strategic commissioning,
  publicity, partnership working
• Sharing in areas like bibliographic services,
  mobile libraries, home visiting, casual staff
• Shared training and development
• Working in depth across consortia
• Enthused and effective staff following processes
  that maximise outcomes
• Considering shared management, back office, front
  office.

• Stock and requests
• Scientific selection and analysis, good use of
  third parties
• Good breadth and depth of stock
• Full EDI and financial integration
• Consortium contract
• Below NAG minimum standards and BIC
  classification
• Standard cataloguing
• Buy or reciprocal borrow across several
  authorities, not ILL
• Browseable, comment-able catalogue which
  generates collective intelligence
• Shared logistics, management, delivery
• Beginning to share all of these.

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Best Practice

• But is it clear what best practice is?
• Does everyone have the same view of the service?
• Which service are we talking about the current
  one or the modernised one?

• Three thoughts

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Best Practice
There are those that still believe that the world
is flat!
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Best practice -
The benchmarks are incorrect.
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Best Practice
The perspective has been shaped by personal views
of the World
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Whispers and conversations
Were already doing that!
Theyre just playing at it!
Happy to assist for a fee
Tinkering at the edges
That model doesnt work
Why do we need another programme
Its not a priority at the moment
Our finance people are the problem
I need help but Im not sure where
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Overview of the early programme

• Phase 1
• Marketing, staffing and stock to be focus
• Phase 2
• Efficiency, common procurement and ILL
• BUT
• survey measures not robust enough
• best practice not clearly articulated
• Financial benefits not sufficient (20m / 5 years)

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The future

• Savings of nearly 20 million over 5 years!
• We must do these changes
• But overall it is too little, delivered too late
• Recognise that we need to look at regional and
  sub-regional scale change the prize will be
  much larger
• Need to take account of changing marketplace
  trusts, private sector, partnerships, shared
  services, and emergence of commissioning
  structures, not to mention Community ownership.

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Time for Transformation

• Libraries have always shared /collaborated
• It works for our customers
• We need to raise the game to new levels given the
  financial situation
• Many challenges to overcome
• But its a win-win if we pull it off!
• The LLCP Board is recommending a substantial
  change in structure of Londons libraries

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At the moment library services look very similar
throughout most of London
They all vary a bit in size and shape
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As the workforce report shows, there are lots of
different management structures, but they all
have a head, specialist and back office staff and
front line staff
They all vary a bit in size and shape
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As the workforce report shows, there are lots of
different management structures, but they all
have a head, specialist and back office staff and
front line staff
For simplicity, lets represent each service like
this model.
This model is repeated 33 times throughout London
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This model is repeated 33 times throughout London
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A simple and swift approach to serious cost
savings would be to get those boroughs most
interested in working together to share back
office functions in a new pan-London body
Over time more boroughs could join when they felt
ready
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Groups of boroughs could then make further
savings by combining their front line services
Over time more boroughs could join when they felt
ready
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Groups of boroughs could then make further
savings by combining their front line services
Some boroughs might want to send the delivery out
to externalised trusts
Individual borough control continues having a
commissioner rather than a head of service
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Others may wish to consider commercial operators
Some boroughs might want to send the delivery out
to externalised trusts
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London shared back office, optional frontline
The benefits of this model are that no Borough is
forced to change but those most keen to work
together can do so quickly.
Others may wish to consider commercial operators
Others can always start working collectively
later, bring benefits to themselves and added
savings to those already working together.
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Some libraries are already working together
around joint procurement, saving cash and
improving the offer for residents
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Some libraries are already working together
around joint procurement, saving cash and
improving the offer for residents
Another option would be for some Boroughs to
decide to take this further and merge their
services
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Over time others could join them if they think
the efficiencies justify participation
Another option would be for some Boroughs to
decide to take this further and merge their
services
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Over time others could join them if they think
the efficiencies justify participation
The benefits of this model are that no Borough is
forced to change but those most keen to work
together can do so quickly.
Another option would be for some Boroughs to
decide to take this further and merge their
services
London Shared Service
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London Library Change Programme the current plan

• Shared back office staff and processes
• Shared back and shared or contracted out front
  offices, retaining local accountability and
  branding

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How might we decide what to take forward?

• Potential evaluation criteria
• Issues related to projects themselves 
• Savings
• Improved customer services
• Feasibility
• Impact on overall programme
• Take the programme forward strategically
• Needs programme support (cant easily be done by
  an individual authority)
• Meets the requirements of a technical design
  authority (doesnt create obstacles to future
  progress)
• Most has been done already only a few
  technical pilots needed

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Timescale Phases 1 - 3

• Benchmarking and options
• appraisal July Oct 09
• 13th November 2009 Library
• services seminar
• Local Authority action plans
• 1 Dec Members briefing
• Capital Ambition Efficiency Board,
• 12th January 2010
• strategy for change
• and
• bid for set up and development

• January 2010
• Recruit project team
• Test delivery models
• Establish design authority
• Agreement on delivery vehicle
• April 2010
• Project team in place
• Set up and roll out best practice peer support
• Develop technical architecture plan
• Set up early adopter trials
• May Oct 2010
• Opt-in to Wave 1 by Members
• Business modelling for shared technical services

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Who will deliver?

• Various models need to be tested, including
• One Authority becomes accountable body
• London Councils becomes accountable body
• Appropriate currently constituted organisation
  takes on the responsibility
• Current partnership is developed to be
  constituted as the accountable body
• A new company/social enterprise is established,
  owned by the participating authorities
• A new independent not-for-profit company
  (Trust) is established that could apply for
  charitable status

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Who will deliver?

• Various models need to be tested, including
• One Authority becomes accountable body
• London Councils becomes accountable body
• Appropriate currently constituted organisation
  takes on the responsibility
• Current partnership is developed to be
  constituted as the accountable body
• A new company/social enterprise is established,
  owned by the participating authorities
• A new independent not-for-profit company
  (Trust) is established that could apply for
  charitable status

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Who will take part?

• Only those who want to
• Need some idea who will become part of the First
  Wave, but Boroughs wont have to sign up until
  there is complete clarity over costs,
  accountability, etc.
• Need to agree whether pioneering Boroughs will
  be rewarded as others join

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London Library Change Programme implementing
change whats needed

• A burning platform
• Borough commitment to reaching best practice
  standards
• Library leadership for London real political
  will, public support and shared determination
• An appropriate body or structure to manage medium
  to longer-term change
• Willingness to consider all options and make hard
  decisions

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Aligning parallel work streams

• Establish high level customer service operating
  model and design the architecture for the
  delivery including principles for working
  together
• Engage all key stakeholders to ensure strategic
  buy-in, facilitating development of locally owned
  and driven development plans
• Develop a common view of the best practice
  operating model and ensure consistency of
  processes through
• Shared performance, targets and process design
• Shared best practice
• Adoption of the common operating model

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Re-modelling the programme World Class
Services/peer engagement

• Baselining and benchmarking with the
  International best in class
• Create a vision of the modernised service
• Develop a new performance structure within which
  the new service can be evaluated
• Develop a consistent, quantifiable understanding
  of best practice
• Stage the London libraries World series
  lectures, case studies, demonstrations,
  workshops, learning sets mentoring

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Re-modelling the programme Londons
architecture for libraries

• Creation of an architecture for Londons public
  services within which the core library offer can
  be delivered effectively, efficiently and
  economically and where the local offer can thrive
• Recognition of the significance and value of
  local schemes within the bigger picture
• Identification of common systems and solutions
• Creation of a platform for multiple sharing
• Development of governance and management models
  that will lead to an effective and efficient
  mixed economy approach
• Macro or micro buy-in when ready

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Set up tasks for Phase 3

• Strengthen programme Board
• Recruit Programme Director advert shortly
  package c. 80k (consultant, secondment or
  employee)
• Establish best practice peer support programme -
  new survey just gone out
• Form small group of advisers to consider design
  architecture with Board not just IT, but
  people, processes, systems
• Behind original timescale, due to change in
  personnel, local elections, and HR issues over
  who would employ programme Director, all now
  sorted.

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An opportunity for the London Library Change
Programme

• New ways of working and innovation
• Shared services
• Use of technology
• Strategic commissioning

London Library Change Programme is building a
platform for change
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Key Message 1 outcomes

• If 15 boroughs opt in, nearly half of London will
  have centralised back office services around
  requests and a unified approach to stock
  management and procurement
• This will enable customers to get books more
  quickly and drive costs down
• There will be single systems for renewals and
  requests
• Best practice in deployment of staff will improve
  productivity, value for money and front line
  services.
• This will also help councils to meet financial
  challenges during a period when library income is
  set to decline

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Key Message 2 the benefits of working
collaboratively to improve services

• This programme will
• Raise the standard of all public library services
  to the level of the best
• Create more effective, cost efficient processes
  that take full advantage of new technologies
• Release staff from time consuming back office
  processes to allow more time for customer
  focussed activities and community engagement
• Release the capacity for Londons library
  services to meet wider local priorities such as
  reducing worklessness
• Allow Londons Libraries to reach their full
  potential

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Key Message 3 its happening across the globe

• New South Wales has
• Commissioned
• Bookends Scenarios,
• a project exploring the
• possible futures for
• NSW public libraries
• in the year 2030

Auckland is currently amalgamating 7
public library authorities into one and
amalgamating 57 libraries. It is establishing
a single acquisitions process and a single
technical services unit. It consulted LLCP about
Londons transformation programme.
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• A USA based library commentator
• has recently published an article that
• Examines trends
• Predicts that there will be a pressure on public
  libraries to go down the shared service route
• Predicts an increase in e book readers and e
  subscriptions
• Predicts use of text indices and digital
  resources
• Predicts this will lead to
• smaller book stacks
• smaller shop front libraries
• more home deliveries

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Conclusion
The vision is so clear up here
You cant make out the detail from here
You cant hear the chatter of the crowds
Have we been high enough to date?