Alan Gibbons’ Blog

The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) is to support an independent review of Northumberland’s library service, to assist the county council’s long-term strategy objectives.

The review will be conducted by consultants Shared Intelligence led by Sue Charteris, who recently completed the independent inquiry into Wirral Library Service on behalf of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

The two-part study, funded by the MLA, will feed into the decision making process of the council and its budgetary options for 2010/11 and beyond.

Due to budget constraints Northumberland County Council has proposed the possible closure of six libraries and a cut of £70,000 from the book fund.

The MLA is committed to leading best practice and encouraging innovation. This strategic review will provide Northumberland with information it needs to make key decisions about the future of its library service.

An overview of the service will be completed by mid-February, then in the second stage of the study, due to be completed in spring 2010, consultants will engage widely with stakeholders, such as library user groups, to build up a detailed picture of the library service.

Keith Bartlett MLA Area Director of Engagement said: “This independent review will give the council every opportunity to develop a modern, integrated future library service. We are pleased that the MLA is working in partnership with Northumberland County Council and can offer its assistance at this difficult time.”

Councillor Isabel Hunter, executive member for culture at Northumberland County Council said:  “We are very pleased that the MLA is able to help us with this work.  They will bring an autonomous and objective viewpoint as well as ideas for best practice, through their wealth of experience in the sector.”

Alan Gibbons comments: “In the aftermath of the Wirral inquiry, the situation in Northumberland should give us an indication of strategic thinking about the direction the library service is going. It is to be hoped that Sue Charteris’ involvement will prove as positive as in the Wirral.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 at 3:20 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.