The 1st thing is to define need, there are many commercial products which take you down to postcode level (Mosaic, Acorn, etc) but these are mainly based on life style.
The most obvious to use is IOD also called IMD this is an Index of Multi-Deprivation. If the definition of need is a general one then use the combined measure or if the definition is more particular use one of the 9 component domains (examples are income, employment, education). I would look carefully at the source data if using housing, crime or environment (e.g. the crime domain only uses a couple of crimes usually street crimes & can therefore produce strange results). The IOD works at the super output level but can be tied to postcodes with a bit of work. The latest version is the 2010 IOD.
The likely result is to increase the funds of some of your least used libraries where the extra funds are unlikely to substantially increase usage.
On the other hand you could argue that need is expressed through use & therefore simply using borrowing.
Whatever criteria you use to allocate funds the important thing is that you know why you are using that method and what imbalances that causes. There is no permanent method of being fair to all in distributing the funds. Any method will eventually unbalance the stocks.
Lionel
Lionel Aldridge
Performance Manager, Libraries Arts & Heritage
0113 395 2350
I have moved on to Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll, a well written tale of the supernatural set in the big apple. It even (very briefly) has a protest against public library cuts woven into it.
-----Original Message-----
From: lis-pub-libs: UK Public Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Laura Swaffield
Sent: 25 July 2012 20:24
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: demographics/deprivation
Residents want my local authority to allocate funding to library
branches according to 'need'.
Any advice on
(1) just which indicators are best to pick in a library context?
(2) any source of demographic/deprivation info that is smaller than
wards - which do NOT reflect the real catchment area of any library?
Thank you
Laura Swaffield
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