Libraries Vision
We will:
- promote the joy of reading, and enable lifelong learning, through free access for everyone to books and information, and with wide ranging recreational, historical and cultural materials in a variety of media
- enrich people's lives by providing a focus for community interaction, communication and engagement through physical and online services, working in partnership with others
Aims
In acheiving our vision we will be guided by a set of strategic aims which provide a framework for all that we do:
- to promote reading and informal learning for people of all ages through the provision of wide ranging books and other library materials, and high quality services in partnership with others.
- to provide a focus for community activity that is accessible and welcoming to everyone, and delivers flexible services to targeted groups, working in partnership with other agencies.
- to provide access to information, learning and leisure through IT, to reduce the digital divide and enable all citizens to engage in the opportunities provided by information and communications technology (ICT)
- to build the capacity of Libraries to deliver high quality services that people want through effective planning, marketing, and staff development, ensuring financial sustainability, and exploiting new partnership opportunities and sources of income
The Libraries Forward Strategy [MSWord 75kb] was approved by the Culture and Tourism Sub-Committee in February 2006. The Libraries Service has consulted with key stakeholder and partners in the community to gather their views on the Libraries Strategy. The results of this can be found in the Libraries Strategy Stakeholder Consultation report [MSWord 300kb]
Our Stock Policy [PDF 230kb]
contains information about what we buy and hold in the libraries, and how we manage
the collections.
A full report of our recent BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) focus group is now available, along with a summary and draft action plan. You can download these documents using the following links:
The 2006 CIPFA e-PLUS survey of computer use in libraries is available for download:
CIPFA e-PLUS survey March 2006 [MS Office 663kb]
Our Public Library Position Statement and Standards Report 2004 [PDF 344kb]
is available online.
Details of our current performance against the new Public Library Service Standards is available in this report PPLS 2004 report [MS Word 36.5kb].
