Ever heard of virtual services?
-----Original Message-----
From: Chartered Library and Information Professionals
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David McMenemy
Sent: 29 April 2004 11:08
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Press Release from the Laser Foundation - 'Who's in
Charge?'
Hi Andrew,
I'm a little confused with regards the issue you raise regarding staff
expenditure. Public libraries will always have to spend a significant
portion of their budget on staffing, simply because of the network of
venues they need to resource. When I worked for Glasgow Council we had
over 30 service points to staff, many of them large libraries.
Unlike the BBC, who can hide staffing costs by farming out contracts for
programme making to private companies, public libraries manage and
operate their own service points. Rather than cutting staff numbers,
there needs to be an increase in order to open libraries longer. Indeed
isn't that one of the points made by Mr Coates - libraries need to be
open longer.
Just my opinion.
Cheers
David
---------------------------------------
David McMenemy
Lecturer,
Graduate School of Informatics,
Department of Computer and Information Sciences, University of
Strathclyde, Livingstone Tower,
26 Richmond Street,
Glasgow.
G1 1XH
U.K.
Tel: 0141-548-3045
email: [log in to unmask]
www.cis.strath.ac.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: Chartered Library and Information Professionals
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Andrew Sandeman
Sent: 29 April 2004 10:26
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Press Release from the Laser Foundation - 'Who's in
Charge?'
John:
you are right about Hampshire but this sort of response (in general, I
really don't want to personalise this) - makes me despair, because it
discourages debate on the real issue.
Even at 55% (LISU), staffing costs are damagingly high and the effects
(yes, there are other factors as well) include LISU 2003 p.4 "Only 9.6%
of total libraries expenditure was on books in 2001-02."
We SHOULD be concerned that
a) most of our (Paying) customers still want a good range of books
etc.as their top priority
b) we are NOT spending 90% of our budget on what they want.
There are some good things happening out there, but they need to deepen
and spread very
rapidly if libraries are to recover their relevance to most of the
general public.
Regards,
Andrew
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Briggs" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 28 April 2004 16:52
Subject: Re: Press Release from the Laser Foundation - 'Who's in
Charge?'
> Andrew Sandeman wrote:
> > A pity that a report which makes some important points -
> > controversial maybe, but the basic thrust is well supported by
> > evidence - should be
met
> > with this sort of 'debate'.
> >
> > Hopefully, perhaps elsewhere, we can have a more considered
> > discussion about how to achieve the STEP CHANGE in effectiveness
> > which is so clearly needed.
> >
> > For example, it looks as if many authorities spend (roughly) two
> > thirds
of
> > their budget on staffing,
> > whereas I understand that the BBC spend approx.20%.
> >
>
> The figures quoted by the report are that Hampshire spends
> approximately half of its 'funds' on "staff", which is in line with
> the UK as a whole
(see
> Appendix 2).
>
> John Briggs
>
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