[10
JAN 01]
WARWICKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL NEWS
County Library
Vision Praised By Smith
Warwickshire’s
libraries have been praised by the government for the way in which
they have set out their vision of the future.
Culture
Secretary Chris Smith has given the county top marks for its Library
Plan.
The
plan has to be submitted to the government every year and Warwickshire
is one of only seven county councils to have made an improvement
compared to last year's plan.
Noel
Hunter, Director of Libraries, Heritage and Trading Standards, said:
"This
is a real accolade, by hitting the top national bracket we are
giving a clear message to the people of Warwickshire - your
libraries are some of the best in the country.
“They
are there for everyone who lives or works in the county and next
year Warwickshire libraries will continue their strong delivery of
services for all."
Warwickshire,
along with all other councils that provide libraries, has to prepare a
plan of how it is best going to meet the changing needs of everyone
who uses library services.
The
county’s libraries provide services to an enormous cross-section of
the community - whether it is a business looking for information to
help with a marketing campaign, a young mother borrowing books for her
small children or a young person using our computers for homework.
The
Library Plan is one of the mechanisms used to take a close look at
ways of developing services to ensure that the service is up to date
with technology, gives the best access it can by staying open longer
and offers best value for money.
Comments
made by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport include:
"This is a very strong plan and makes a marked improvement on last year's.
"Much effort has clearly gone in to this process and management are to be congratulated on the result.
"The plan shows clear evidence of a developmental approach to planning and takes very full account of national and local issues."
"Investment in the book fund, increased opening hours and two new libraries (a )
7 per cent increase on issue figures this year."
"The way ahead is clearly set out."
The
praise comes at a time when Coventry Library Service's faults are
being brought home by an in-depth review of funding.
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