Public libraries are at the heart of the debate about the future shape of local government services and how councils should respond to significantly reduced public expenditure.
Libraries raise strong emotions. To some people they are irrelevant bygones of a lost age; to others they offer a lifeline of support. We are helping councils to clarify their ambitions for libraries and other cultural services and to take sound decisions, often in a heated atmosphere.
We devise effective methods of consulting existing and new users. We develop frameworks for assessing local need, cost and efficiency and developing sustainable solutions for community libraries. We work with groups of councils to explore and develop shared services and professional support across an area, developing new forms of governance in the process.
In doing this work we draw on our skills and expertise in evaluation, facilitation, place based budgeting and neighbourhood management, as well as knowledge and experience of managing public services.