Where now for the UK public library service?

2001 ◽  
Vol 22 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 266-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey Muir ◽  
Alex Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Public Library ◽  
Library Service ◽  
The Uk

scholarly journals "The love in the room": Evaluating the National Year of Reading in an Australian public library

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (117) ◽  
pp. 37-53
Author(s):  
Sue Reynolds ◽  
Bernadette Welch
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Library Service ◽  
Outcome Framework ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Service Data ◽  
Reading Activities ◽  
The Impact

This study was influenced by research into the impact of the UK National Year of Reading in 2008 using the Generic Social Outcome Framework from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. In 2012 a National Year of Reading was held in Australia which offered another opportunity to investigate the nature of impact. While formal evaluation processes were put into place at the national level, our study was a small-scale qualitative research project which considered the evaluation of impact related to National Year of Reading activities at one urban public library service. Data collected included focus group interviews with library staff, as well as desk data from the library service. The findings suggest that it is necessary to give due consideration to impact measures and collection of appropriate data at the planning stages in order to evaluate impact effectively. Measuring impact is much more difficult but ultimately more worthwhile than that of measuring output. The evaluation of impact is an important tool in strategic planning and advocacy and new ways of measurement need to be incorporated into planning and management.

scholarly journals Ask Live! UK public libraries and virtual collaboration

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (86) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Berube
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Virtual Collaboration ◽  
Virtual Reference ◽  
Digital Reference ◽  
Reference Service ◽  
The Uk

Ask A Librarian, the UK public library digital reference service, has been piloting LSSI's Virtual Reference Toolkit. The pilot, managed by Ask administrator Co-East, went live to public users in May 2003 and will continue through September 2003. The pilot objectives include not only an evaluation of the software and support offered by LSSI, but also the eventual integration of the chat component with the main web-form service, and the implications for uptake and sustainability. This article combines a report of the largely positive initial findings of the pilot with an overview of digital reference service and UK public libraries.

The public library service

1936 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-164
Author(s):  
M.J. Powell
Keyword(s):  
Public Library ◽  
Library Service ◽  
The Public

The Public Library in an Aging Society

2014 ◽  
pp. 266-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saori Donkai ◽  
Chieko Mizoue
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Library Service ◽  
The Public ◽  
Aging Society ◽  
Service Category ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Recent Government ◽  
Individual Service

This chapter describes the present conditions of our aging society, with a particular focus on Japan as a typical example of such a society. In Japan, one in every four individuals is over 65 years of age, and one in eight is over 75 years of age. Further, based on this demographic change to an older population, this chapter discusses a new library service designed to enhance the lives of elderly citizens. The authors explore this new service from the viewpoint of lifelong learning, utilizing the results of recent government surveys and some case studies, such as those done at the Izumo City Hikawa Library and the Akita Prefectural Library in Japan. Although the elderly have been placed within the category of “disabled library patrons,” in recent years, it has become more common to consider the elderly, as a whole, as an individual service category. We should, in the near future, pay more attention to supporting elderly citizens at public libraries to engage them in the development and maintenance of their own communities.

A new page? The public library in austerity

2020 ◽  
pp. 227-248
Author(s):  
Emma Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Marked Decrease ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communal Space ◽  
Clear Shift ◽  
The Uk

This chapter demonstrates how, in the UK, austerity has not been limited to the provision of social security. Most government departmental budgets were cut and there was a clear shift in responsibility from central to local government, which also had its budgets slashed. The cuts to local government have also resulted in a marked decrease in the provision of key services. The chapter finds that libraries can be important spaces for support workers to meet clients, as well as for those with fewer resources to access computers, books, or simply a safe communal space outside of their home. Future lack of investment in universal public services may perpetuate and further widen the inequalities in access to these resources.

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