Library strategy - Our delivery

In order to deliver high-quality responsive and inclusive services we will be doing the following.

Providing safe and welcoming library buildings for residents

• Investing in library buildings to ensure they are sustainable and fit for purpose in the 2020s
• Making every effort to place and anchor library buildings in the heart of their communities as safe spaces
• Investing in staff and recruitment to ensure they are the right people with the right skills to adapt and respond to changing local need
• Working to maintain our position as a high performing and responsive lending service
• Listening to local people and learning how we can adapt buildings and services to meet their post-pandemic needs
• Offering library buildings and services, including sharing facilities, that residents can be proud of, places where they feel they belong and which they can rely on to be cool/warm havens during difficult times

Offering ‘libraries without walls’ via digital services

• Investing in our digital offer to ensure residents can find more materials they need online for reading and learning
• Continuing to campaign via our national bodies for reforms in eLending, leading to more choice for residents
• Regularly reviewing our digital services to ensure the right services are available to both meet and anticipate need
• Ensuring accessibility for all when using library services – ‘you read and learn in your own way’
• Removing physical boundaries to participation and engagement with libraries
• Reaching out to residents through channels such as eNewsletters and social media to inform them of service offers

Taking services out into the community to reach those most in need

• Targeting local people in need with tailored service offers to engage and inspire them
• Promoting national campaigns (e.g. Bookstart, Summer Reading Challenge) to improve literacy and life chances
• Reaching out to people struggling with health and mental health to help them improve their wellbeing
• Involving local people in how services are delivered via consultation and volunteering programmes
• Removing invisible boundaries to participation and making services inclusive and friendly with representative staffing
• Taking advantage of consortia and partnerships to improve quality and range of services available

Next: Appendices