-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Owen [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 19 March 2003 12:54
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: MEDIA RELEASE: CLEAR WATER BETWEEN CILIP AND MINISTER ON PUBLIC
LIBRARY RESOURCING
MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday 19 March 2003
For immediate release (Please copy to online discussion lists)
CLEAR WATER BETWEEN CILIP AND MINISTER ON PUBLIC LIBRARY RESOURCING
CILIP London Book Fair briefing reveals significant differences of approach
to public library service development
There is clear water between CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and
Information Professionals and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport
(DCMS) over the future of public libraries. The extent of the gap was
revealed at a special CILIP Executive Briefing at the London Book Fair on
Tuesday March 18. Core funding, development planning and performance
measurement are key areas of difference.
Libraries Minister Baroness Blackstone provoked disagreement with senior
public librarians at the briefing by declaring that implementing the vision
of the DCMS strategy document Framework for the Future was "not necessarily
about new money". Instead, the Minister challenged library authorities to
"make the best use of the enormous amount of current money" in developing
new services tailored to their users' needs.
Pointing out that local authorities had received a 6% overall funding
increase, and that it was for local authorities - "not central diktat" - to
decide how it should be spent, Baroness Blackstone urged public libraries to
work more closely with other local services such as education, and to expand
consortium purchasing. She also said that she wanted to hear from the
public library community about how to get the message of the value of the
service across to local authorities.
Acknowledging that "the unprecedented government attention given to public
libraries is a good thing," CILIP's Chief Executive Bob McKee called
Framework for the Future "a promising start". But he was disappointed at the
report's failure to mention the need for sustainable funding for initiatives
such as the People's Network, or to tackle the "dysfunctional division"
between DCMS as the Department responsible for public library services in
England, and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as the source of
funding. Reinforcing the message that public libraries had faced years of
under-investment, he added: "There is no substitute for adequate core
funding."
Dr McKee also expressed concern at the "enfeebling" of public library
services that would result from their reduced weighting as an indicator in
the new local authority Comprehensive Performance Assessments. Warning of
the risk that local authorities were more likely to allocate resources away
from lower weighted services, he expressed concern at the government's
proposal to phase out Annual Library Plans and review Public Library
Standards. They had "helped to raise the profile of the service within
local authorities and to remind councillors that this was a statutory
service," he said, " and in a number of cases this has resulted in better
funding for the local library service." Dr McKee also called on government
to provide a new funding stream for public libraries - a Standards Fund or a
Lottery fund - to help counter the legacy of under-investment in the
service.
"Development planning, performance management, investment strategy - these
three tests will clarify, before the next General Election, whether the
Government is serious or just paying lip service," Dr McKee concluded.
Interviews with Bob McKee and others, recorded in advance for the BBC Radio
4 Today programme in anticipation of the CILIP briefing, were subsequently
crowded out by the dramatic international and Parliamentary events of the
previous day. Nevertheless, the media remain very interested in the public
library service, and we've "flagged up CILIP's involvement with this issue,"
Dr McKee concluded. "CILIP will continue to do what it can to press the
government on the three tests of their seriousness about public library
service."
Contact: Tim Owen, Head of External Relations.
Tel: 020 7255 0652. Email: [log in to unmask]
Notes to Editors
CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is
the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and
knowledge managers, with around 23,500 members working in all sectors,
including business and industry, science and technology, further and higher
education, schools, local and central government, the health service, the
voluntary sector, national and public libraries.
CILIP's goals are to: position the profession at the heart of the
information revolution; develop and enhance the role and skills of all its
Members; present and champion those skills, together with new ones which
will be acquired through continuing professional development; and ensure
that individuals, enterprises and not for profit organisations have ready
and timely access to the information they need.
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Tim Owen, Head of External Relations
CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
7 Ridgmount St, London WC1E 7AE.
Direct line: +44 (0)20 7255 0652
Email: [log in to unmask]
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