Tuesday, 05 March 2013

Hampshire County Council's libraries have more to offer than ever this World Book Day, (Thursday 7 March 2013).

The Library Service is continuing to embrace new technologies and is offering even more services to residents and library customers.

The County Council runs 49 libraries throughout the county and three Discovery Centres in Winchester, Gosport and Basingstoke. It also supports a community library at the Carroll Centre in Stanmore, Winchester. All of them provide a wide range of services from book loans, DVD and CD hire, to internet access, audiobooks and children's Rhymetime events. There are 6.4million visits every year and 7.3milion books, CDs, DVDs, magazines and games are issued annually.

In the year from 1 February 2012 to 31 January 2013 Hampshire's libraries issued almost 2.5 million children's books (2,496,261). This was an increase of 5% over the previous year (1 Feb 2011 to 31 Jan 2012).

A new magazine and newspaper service has been launched for people who are blind, partially sighted or have difficulty reading print. For the first time, anyone who is in this situation can now visit any Hampshire library or Discovery Centre and pick up over 150 audio versions of newspapers or magazines of their choice for free.

In recent years, to keep up with modern demands, Hampshire's Library Service has been investing in technology to offer further facilities. A number of libraries now include self-service terminals and Wi-Fi, and a wide range of online resources are now on offer in all branches.

Another popular addition has been magazines which are now available to borrow from 25 libraries, and will soon be on offer in the majority of Hampshire libraries. Since their introduction in April 2012, there have been over 13,000 items checked out, including titles such as Vogue, Empire, BBC Good Food, Lonely Planet, What Car? and Practical Photographer.

Loans of orchestra sets and vocal scores, used by local orchestral and choral groups, have also increased. The introduction of the new automated booking system ensures that customers in Hampshire and in other Library authorities can access the stock quickly and easily. Hampshire is now one of the largest public library suppliers of orchestra sets and vocal scores in the South East region, providing just over a thousand sets a year. The most popular titles include -

Faure: Requiem, (choral set)
Handel: Messiah, (both choral and orchestral sets)
Vivaldi: Gloria, (choral set)
Mozart: Requiem, (choral set)
Haydn: Mass in C, (orchestral set)
Coates: Dambusters march, (orchestral set)

Then Hayden: Mass in D, Britten: St Nicholas, Mozart: Coronation Mass, Parry: I Was Glad, Mendelssohn: Elijah

The popularity reflects the anniversary of the Accession and Britten's centenary.

Learner drivers can even use their local library to practice for their theory test with an online version of the Highway Code and realistic hazard perception video simulations. This is just one of many e-resources and tools available in libraries for children and adults, some of which can also be accessed remotely from library customers' home computers.

With sales of eBook readers on the increase, libraries now offer free loans of up to three eBooks at a time, which can all be downloaded and accessed online from the Hampshire Libraries website.

Hampshire County Council's Executive Member for Culture and Recreation, Councillor Keith Chapman, said: "Hampshire has one of the largest library services in the whole of the UK and offers so much more than many people realise. Libraries and Discovery Centres are a great resource for local residents, not only as a place to read, but also as a platform for encouraging knowledge, creativity and socialising.

"As people's needs evolve, so will our Library Service, so that we are continuing to bring new and improved services to everyone in Hampshire."

Library members can now download the Hampshire Library iPhone app to manage their accounts from their phone.

• Hampshire Libraries and Information Service

Thursday, 14 February 2013

Hythe Library has officially re-opened after a major refurbishment thanks to a collaboration between Hampshire County Council, Hythe and Dibden Parish Council and the Dibden Allotments Fund.

Representatives from Hythe and Dibden Parish Council and Dibden Allotments Fund joined Councillor Keith Chapman, Hampshire County Council's Executive Member for Culture and Recreation, for the ceremonial ribbon cutting and unveiling of a ceremonial plaque on Tuesday 12 February 2013.

Following the refurbishment, Hythe Library is now open an extra half hour each day, opening at 9.00am, and remains open all day on a Wednesday - increasing its weekly opening time by seven hours.

Hampshire County Council Executive Member for Culture and Recreation, Councillor Keith Chapman, said: "The official re-opening of Hythe Library is testament to the power of partnership working to help communities to help themselves. It is excellent that by working together we have been able to find a solution that meets everyone's needs and means the local people of Hythe can continue to use the library during the week and enjoy the enhanced facilities. Self-service machines are in place in a number of other libraries and Discovery Centres around Hampshire and in addition to being quick and easy-to-use, they help to free up staff to help customers with their enquiries."

Last year, Hythe library had been among 29 of Hampshire's 53 libraries and Discovery Centres earmarked to reduce their opening hours following cuts to County Council funding from Government. However, thanks to positive discussions between the three organisations, funding of over £166,000 has been provided to fund a raft of improvements to make the library more attractive to customers including extending the library's opening hours.

By installing self-service machines, customers can now borrow and return books themselves, in turn freeing up the time of staff to answer enquiries, maintain stock and provide fun and engaging activities for children.

Work at the library also included an interior makeover, to provide a fresh and rejuvenated feel for the building, an accessible public toilet has been installed, and a new community room built for learning and leisure activities within the library.

• For more information visit Hythe Library

Friday, 01 February 2013

Hampshire County Council has launched a new magazine and newspaper service for people who are blind, partially sighted or have difficulty reading print.

For the first time, anyone who is in this situation can now visit any Hampshire library or Discovery Centre and pick up the newspapers or magazines of their choice for free.

The National Talking Newspapers & Magazines now on offer from the Library Service give access to audio versions of over 150 national newspapers and magazines from popular editions, through to specialist interest titles.

Endorsing this new service, Councillor Keith Chapman, Executive Member for Culture and Recreation, said: "This is a wonderful service for people who have difficulty reading print due to sight loss or other conditions. With more than 150 national titles available, there is something for all tastes and interests.

"Accessing these titles is also very easy. People can simply bring a memory stick to any Hampshire library, choose their magazines and newspapers, and staff will download them. The whole process only takes a few minutes."

If the downloading cannot be done straight away, the memory stick can be left with library staff and customers can call back later to collect and listen to at their leisure, on any USB MP3 player.

This new audio newspaper and magazine provision sits alongside other library services for blind and partially sighted residents in Hampshire such as pioneering reading groups using audiobooks, and IT classes that teach people how to navigate computers using accessibility software.

The audio format also complements the successful 'magazines for loan' service that has been successfully piloted and is now available in 25 Hampshire libraries and Discovery Centres.

• Services for visually-impaired people

Friday, 11 January 2013

Hampshire County Council's Executive Member for Culture and Recreation, Councillor Keith Chapman will be asked to consider the budget for delivering arts, museums, libraries and countryside services across Hampshire in the year ahead, at his Decision Day on 21 January 2013.

The budget report for 2013/14 sets aside £22.356million to continue to provide these services, as well as provide the various grants awarded to cultural, community and recreational organisations in Hampshire. The efficiencies that need to be made for 2013/14 are aimed at avoiding impact on services to the public at the Council's libraries, museums, arts centres, and country parks.

Early and decisive action taken by Hampshire County Council to respond to the national deficit reduction programme, achieved savings of £100million over the last two years, putting the Council in a strong position to tackle future funding challenges, which are expected to be even tougher from 2015/16.

The report sets out how Culture and Recreation services will tackle further efficiencies to reduce their budgets by two per cent to help meet the major pressures and demands.

Like other services, the next two years will be used to further develop new ways of working for Culture and Recreation services, transforming the way some of these services are delivered to make them more sustainable so that Hampshire residents can continue to receive the quality services they need, at lowest cost.

Ongoing support from the volunteers who operate in Hampshire's community museums, libraries and the countryside, and help deliver various cultural and recreational services, will continue to be extremely valuable in future. Meanwhile, providing residents with ongoing and improved access to Hampshire's beautiful countryside and its 2,900 miles of footpaths, will remain a key priority for the County Council in the year ahead.

The majority of savings will come from the Library Service as a result of staff vacancies that will not be filled. More modern and innovative services to the public will also be provided, with the introduction of self-service machines in Hampshire's libraries, for example, to free up staff time to help customers. In addition, greater use of web-based services including online book renewals and reservations will be on offer. An increase in library charges, including library fines is not being proposed.

Among the challenges facing Culture and Recreation services in future, is securing ways to continue to increase visitor numbers and income to Hampshire attractions when nationally, visitor numbers are declining in the current economic climate. Work will also take place to develop more all-weather facilities such as the Play Barn at Staunton Country Park, to allow more people to enjoy Hampshire's countryside venues, even in poor weather. In addition, in the early part of 2013, the Council will continue to explore the potential for setting up a Charitable Trust to support its work, and that of partner local authorities, in delivering and safeguarding arts, museum and heritage services across Hampshire in the future.

• Read the agenda and papers for the meeting of the Executive Member for Culture and Recreation on 21 January 2013

Thursday, 06 December 2012

Hampshire County Council is working alongside the community in North Baddesley to help safeguard the future of their local library building.

At his Decision Day (5 December), the County Council's Executive Member for Culture and Recreation, Councillor Keith Chapman approved plans to transfer the running of the building to a local group - the Friends of North Baddesley Library (FONBL) by 31 March 2013.

As one of Hampshire's least used libraries, North Baddesley has an average of just 163 borrowers a month, and a third fewer book issues now, compared to five years ago. As part of efforts to continue to provide a cost-effective library service for local people in the face of ongoing financial challenges, a mobile library option was presented to the community in the Summer. However following further consultation, the Parish Council expressed an interest in retaining use of the current library building in Willis Avenue.

The Hampshire Library Service has therefore been working closely with FONBL who are currently applying for charitable status, and the Parish Council, and the new arrangements would see the County Council continue to provide books and support to the local group and their volunteers, when they take over running the building.

Councillor Chapman said: "By listening to the local community and working alongside them, we have been able to find a solution that could ensure that the library building in North Baddesley remains in use. This is a really positive outcome and I'm very pleased that by working together, we have developed a possible solution that could meet the needs of residents and ensure that there is no reduction in the level of service provided to the people of North Baddesley."

• North Baddesley Library