Libraries Building Communities: delivering the message

1. Libraries Building Communities: delivering the message A seminar for public library service managers and other senior staff Executive Summary

2. Public libraries - a crucial community asset • Public libraries are a crucial community asset - represent a substantial investment by government and community overtime • LBC - documents role in community building • Maps out their enormous potential for the future • Critical to the sustainability of community building effort

3. Public libraries - an ideal vehicle for community building • Accessible • Responsive • Well known • Well used • Well resourced • Close synergies with government objectives

4. DVC’s Outcomes focus

5. Contributing in four key areas  Overcoming the digital divide  Creating well informed communities  Enhancing learning and literacy skills  Building social capital

6. Overcoming the digital divide • The ‘digital divide’ is a growing concern • Ability to access and use information is not equally distributed • Exacerbation of inequality • Impact on community capacity to develop economically and socially

7. The role of public libraries • Providing access to technology • Developing technology skills • Exploiting technology to benefit communities • Satellite technology at Upper Murray Regional Library Service • Services for visually impaired people at the National Information Library Service

8. Creating informed communities • Communities need to become smarter and quicker at gaining and using information • Problem of information overload • Communities are bound together by information • Access to services - require better access to information

9. The role of public libraries • Navigating and accessing information • Librarians - trusted professionals • Help individuals develop information skills • A source of community information • Key distribution point for government information

10. Enhancing learning and literacy skills • Knowledge economy • Lifelong learning • Children and literacy • Vulnerable learners

11. The role of public libraries • Convenient and comfortable places of learning • Support formal and informal learning • Encouraging reading - Moreland Reading Project • Facilitating learning - Hume Global Learning Centre • Developing information and computer literacy - Greater Dandenong Libraries • Supporting vulnerable learners - YMRLC

12. Building Social Capital • The glue that holds communities together • Enables residents to act collectively • Solid people climate • Basis for social and economic regeneration • Concern with decline in social capital • Low levels - lower educational performance, higher crime rates

13. The role of public libraries • Community hubs - Glenelg Regional Library Corporation • Social inclusion - Casey Cardinia Library Corp. • Reaching out to the community - Boroondara Library Service • Appreciation of cultural differences - Maribyrnong Library Service • Creating pride of place - Kerang Library • Building bridges to government - Mitchell Library Service

14. Placing a value on public libraries • High levels of satisfaction • Valued by users and non-users • Benefits of a free service • Large library adding value to users in the order of $730 million per annum • Small library in the order of $10 million • Far in excess of the annual expenditure of between $350k and $11 million

15. Challenges for the future • Resourcing • Upgrading technology • Developing partnerships • Workforce development • Library infrastructure • New image