A country boy...... Born and raised in the tin mining town of - PDF document

18/04/13 Regional Libraries – Inspiring People, Engaging Communities, Enriching Lives Presentation to the Charles Sturt University School of Information Studies Thursday 4 April 2013 Robert Knight, Executive Director, Riverina Regional Library A country boy...... • Born and raised in the tin mining town of Ardlethan • Enjoyed a happy if simple childhood • Educated and employed in the Riverina • Too content to leave! 1

18/04/13 Libraries then and now Remember this? ….and this? Libraries of the past provided ! Collections ! Loans ! Information ! …..and quite a lot of “shhhhhsing” 2

18/04/13 Fast forward to this….. Libraries of the present and future provide: ! Multi-format collections ! Physical and virtual loans ! Packaged information services ! Community spaces ! Access to technology ! Community development ! Partnerships – local, regional, state ! Services, programs and events ! Community learning 3

18/04/13 Staffing too has changed In 1955 ‘Two Orange girls were selected to be the nucleus of the staff of the new library. They were sent to Sydney where they completed a course at a school conducted by the NSW Library Board. Afterwards they set about indexing the books purchased for the Orange City Library.’ Central Western Daily 13 December 1955 4

18/04/13 In 2012 Library staff need the skills to contribute to wider social goals, including information and digital literacy, community development and promoting individual wellbeing as well as being able to work in other settings. Libraries nationally ! 1,494 public library service points across Australia (one for every 14,953 people) ! In 2009-10 there were: ◦ 10.1 million library members ◦ 114 million visits to libraries (more than 5 visits per capita) ◦ 41 million collection items ◦ 10,350 public access computers ◦ $936 million expenditure on libraries 5

18/04/13 Libraries in NSW ! 97 library services ! 363 library service points ! 99.96% of the population has access to library services ! 3.3million borrowers (46% of the population) ! 37 million library visits ! 13.7 million collection items ! 50.5 million loans ! Open for an average of 50 hpw (central libraries) ! 100% internet access Libraries make great partners! ! Customer base of 46% of the population ! Repeat business – every customer returns on average 5 times per year ! Part of a large network – there are still more libraries than McDonalds stores! ! Trusted service providers 6

18/04/13 Libraries make great partners! ! Valued by communities ! Long opening hours ! Centrally located in nearly every community ! Equity based multi-service providers ! Meet 22/32 NSW State Plan priorities NSW regional libraries ! 19 regional library services in NSW ! 18 in country NSW; 1 in metropolitan area ! Range from 9 member councils to 2 member councils ! 69 out of 116 (60%) of country councils belong to a regional library service ! No two are the same! 7

18/04/13 Why a regional library service? ! Economies of scale ! Establishes a critical mass ! Equity of access ! Resource sharing and optimisation ◦ Collections ◦ IT and communications ◦ Specialist staffing ! Regional responsibility of regional cities ! Builds on existing models of local government collaboration ! Strengthens regional partnerships ! Innovation and creativity ! Enhances learning communities and community development 8

18/04/13 A Case Study www.rrl.nsw.gov.au RRL provides services to 9 LGAs: Coolamon Cootamundra Greater Hume Gundagai Junee Lockhart Temora Tumut Wagga Wagga 9

18/04/13 Riverina Regional Library Profile • Largest regional library in NSW (in terms of participating member Councils) • 13 stationary Libraries (soon to be 17) • 1 Mobile Library serving 28 communities • 111,000 residents across region • 25,000 sq km area • Active membership of 30,000 • Annual issues of 560,000 Our vision: Inspiring people, engaging communities, enriching lives Our mission: Creatively connecting people, information and knowledge Our values: Respect for people, ideas and knowledge Commitment to fostering learning communities Integrity, equity and quality of service Our strategic priorities: Community Wide Learning Connected Communities Sustainable Organisation 10

18/04/13 Riverina Regional Library in a nutshell...... www. youtube .com/watch? v=dw1CrkiHE7o The Riverina region • Wagga Wagga has largest population of approximately 62,000 – high rate of recent population growth • Vibrant regional city – university, army, air force, variety of industries • Wagga Wagga represents 57% of RRL • A number of smaller towns ranging from 200 – 12,000 population • High dependence on agriculture and associated industries • Drought affected the flood affected • Mostly static or declining populations 11

18/04/13 Our libraries • Generally well supported by member Councils • Are real community focal points – sometimes the only public facility remaining in a town • Are multi-service providers in some cases (CTC, RTC, Post Office/Newsagency, co- located with schools) • Are facing increased community demand for collections, services and programs • Had to find a better balance between � process � tasks and customer service tasks Ariah Park – Post Office /Newsagency / General Tumut – Library / Community Store / Library Technology Centre Gundagai (“Mirrabooka”) - Library / Wagga Wagga Civic Centre– Council Neighbourhood Centre, / HACC/ Administration / Library / Art Gallery / Museum / Community and Agency meeting rooms Civic Precinct 12

18/04/13 Collections to Clients – what’s it all about? • Redirecting the energy of the organisation from the traditional collections focus to a client focus • Developing an “enabled” organisational structure • Aligning the culture of the organisation • Understanding client segments and what they want from our libraries • Optimising technology • Branding, promoting and marketing the organisation Collections to Clients – how did RRL respond? ! Established an enabled organisational structure ! Established a “plan, do and review” philosophy of continuous improvement ! Rebadged the organisation region-wide ! Focussed on technology capacity ◦ Mobile Library Telecentre ◦ Riverina Live Project ◦ New RRL website ◦ RFID implementation ◦ e-Resources ! Assessed “gold nugget” opportunities for improvement ◦ Collection Services identified for review 13

18/04/13 Collections to Clients Strategy - what it means for RRL Recognition that the role of libraries is changing • • Reassessing the business that libraries are in • Taking time to assess client demands and organisational capacity to meet them • Ongoing development of an “enabled organisation” through: • robust planning mechanisms • relevant performance indicators • change management and staff engagement strategies • continuous improvement focus • Maintaining a relevant library service • ALWAYS planning for the future A Tale of Three Services ! Mobile Library ! Book Clubs ! South-West Zone Digital Library 14

18/04/13 Mobile libraries From these….. to these…… 15

18/04/13 or even these (in our dreams)… RRL mobile library ! Visits 28 communities per fortnight (3 of them weekly) ! Travels 1,440 km per fortnight ! 81 hours per fortnight, deployed: " 22.5 hours driving time " 27.25 hours opening time " 11.25 hours cleaning/set-up/close down time ! Many communities visited have no other remaining services ! Community development programs are being established and delivered 16

18/04/13 The new one… Floorplan of new RRL mobile library • Launched 25 February 2013 • Flat floor design • Flexible floor space • Service area and staff amenities co-located at front of trailer • Separate independent disabled access • Total cost of around $840,000 on prime mover and trailer Dr Alex Byrne, NSW State Librarian & Chief Executive, speaking at the launch The “big rig” on launch day Entry configuration showing separate stair entrance and disabled access entrance No occasion is complete without a cake! 17

18/04/13 Walla Walla Mayor, Cr Denise Osborne cuts the ribbon at the Walla Walla launch Students at Walla Walla line up for their first look at the new mobile library Students don’t waste any time getting to the shelves! The young girl using the walking frame was the first person to Mobile Library Operator Rob Chapman on his first use the chair lift to access the mobile library. day out in the new mobile library Book Clubs ! From zero to 55 senior Book Clubs in 4 years ! 150 kits ! Spread right across the region ! Multi-media resources for equitable access ! 8 Parenting Book Clubs since 2010 ! 54 kits ! Funded by Wagga Wagga LMC grant scheme ! Smaller communities targeted ! Reading, building skills, supporting community learning, developing community capacity ! http://youtu.be/Vpy9_QwPY-A 18

18/04/13 South-West Zone Digital Library ! Launched early May 2012 ! 31 local government areas ! 12 library services; 47 branches ! 171,000 sq km ! 297,000 population ! $200,000 grant funding ! $420,000 local government funding 2012-17 ! Initial collection 850 e-audio & 1,050 e-books https://fe.bolindadigital.com/wldcs_bol_fo/b2i/ mainPage.html?b2bSite=1706 Benefits ! Regional project over a large geographic area ! Aggregates capacity ! Equity of access for large and small communities ! Introduces “popular” e-resources ! Educates borrowers 19