Sunday, 24 March 2013

The future provision of library services in North Baddesley is in good hands thanks to a new partnership now underway between Hampshire County Council and the Friends of North Baddesley Library.

The running of the library building has been transferred to the local group (FONBL), following a handover ceremony held on Thursday 21 March.

Hampshire's Library Service has been working closely with FONBL and the Parish Council. The new arrangements see the County Council continuing to provide books and support to the local group and their volunteers, as they take over running the building.

Councillor Keith Chapman, Hampshire County Council's Executive Member for Culture and Recreation, said: "Hampshire County Council Library staff have worked closely with the volunteers who have set up the FONBL charity to give North Baddesley Library a new lease of life and to continue to provide the local people with access to the 4.5 million books in the County Council's collection. This is an excellent example of working together with the local community to safeguard local library services in spite of unprecedented ongoing financial pressures across the public sector."

Tracy Hickson, the Chair of the Friends of North Baddesley Library said: "I am delighted that North Baddesley Library will remain open thanks to the ongoing work and commitment of the Friends of North Baddesley Library, the Parish Council and Hampshire';s Library Service. There has been such a strong show of support from the community, with over 50 volunteers pledging their time, that I feel confident North Baddesley Community Library will be in a position to offer a better service to our residents. In due course we hope to increase opening hours and run community events such as book groups and children's story time sessions. This partnership is an exciting new chapter for our village library."

• Hampshire Libraries and Information Service

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

Tuesday, 05 March 2013

Pupils from across Hampshire will be at two junior schools in the county to welcome a special visitor this World Book Day (Thursday 7 March 2013).

Children's author and illustrator David Mackintosh will pick up his Illustrated Book Award at Hiltingbury Junior School, in Chandler's Ford, followed by a visit to Harrison Primary School, in Fareham. Children representing 14 other primary schools will also be at both events.

His winning book was Marshall Armstrong is new to our school. The book is about Marshall Armstrong, a new pupil who stands out from the crowd but it doesn't take long for him to prove that you don't have to follow the crowd to be the most popular kid in the playground.

David Mackintosh, whose other titles include, The Frank Show and Standing in for Lincoln Green was born in Belfast and grew up in Australia. He is a graphic designer, art director and illustrator. His innovative book designs have won him numerous awards in Britain and internationally, and he has collaborated with some of the most celebrated names in children's publishing.

Organised by Hampshire County Council School Library Service, the Award is given to an outstanding picture book for older readers, and is judged by nine and ten-year-olds from primary schools around Hampshire.

Councillor Keith Chapman, Hampshire County Council's Executive Member for Culture and Recreation, said: "The Hampshire Illustrated Book Award aims to promote the enjoyment of reading and encourage youngsters to develop an interest in the genre of picture books. The award really helps to develop children's visual literacy skills and critical ability, and youngsters have had great fun talking about their favourites and producing some wonderful artwork in response to the books they have enjoyed."

David Mackintosh, said: "Winning the Hampshire Book Award is good news. The idea of Hampshire schools choosing Marshall Armstrong from all the good books around, especially on World Book Day, is astounding. I might add, that Hampshire school kids make excellent judges, and I'm looking forward to meeting them on Thursday when I'll tell them just that."

Six short-listed titles are chosen for their potential both to stimulate discussion and to support the curriculum by introducing children to new and exciting ways of working in Art, Drama and Music lessons.

The Illustrated Book Award 2012 was judged by over 5,300 Year 5 pupils in the Autumn Term.

• Futher information about the Hampshire Illustrated Book Award

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

Thursday, 14 February 2013

Improvement work has begun at Gosport Discovery Centre which will see refurbishment of the building and the installation of self-service machines to free up staff to help customers with their enquiries.

The main building is now closed to the public until Tuesday 2 April 2013 but during the work, the Local & Naval Studies Centre, in the High Street, Gosport, will remain open for an extra six hours a week from 9am to 7pm from Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30 pm on Saturdays. During that time, staff will continue to be available to help customers return their books, deal with general enquiries and book events and courses.

In addition, Elson Library in Chantry Road, Gosport will open on Saturday afternoons and all day on Wednesday, offering an alternative service for Gosport Discovery Centre users during the closure period.

The Hampshire County Council Registration Service, which is usually based in the Discovery Centre, will also temporarily relocate to the Gosport Voluntary Action Office in nearby Pavilion Way, while work continues.

Although a post office will not be part of Gosport Discovery Centre when it re-opens, plans that could see a post office operating from Gosport Discovery Centre in the future continue to be progressed. The County Council would like to offer a positive solution to local residents, and it is continuing its discussions with the Post Office to help provide local people with an offer that meets their needs. Before any move could take place, the Post Office would first wish to consult with residents to ensure the proposals meet their expectations.

Councillor Keith Chapman, Hampshire County Council's Executive Member for Culture and Recreation, said: "Gosport Discovery Centre is central to the Gosport community and is having a deserved facelift. More people are borrowing fiction than non-fiction so to reflect that, the fiction section will be expanded. The children's library will also be extended and moved from the ground floor to the first floor, and flooring that has also become worn will be replaced.

"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 serve customers, and help organise the raft of other events and activities on offer in the Discovery Centre."

• Gosport Discovery Centre

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

Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Residents in Stanmore (Winchester) are now enjoying a brand new community library following Hampshire County Council's transfer of the former library to the nearby Carroll Centre.

The new community library service was officially opened at The Carroll Centre on 21 January 2013, by County Council Leader, Councillor Ken Thornber

In a unique move, the first of its kind in Hampshire, a library service is now run from The Carroll Centre on a day-to-day basis. Hampshire's Library Service continues to provide the Centre with books, regular visits and support from a member of staff from the Library Service, and resources including a self-service kiosk so people can issue and return books themselves.

The Carroll Centre is a well-used community building in the middle of Stanmore, in Somers Close. It is open five and a half days a week, and already offers many activities including after school and holiday clubs, youth sessions, parent and toddler groups, a children's centre and activities for children, young people and their families.

The move is the result of partnership work with the local community to safeguard a library service for the area following the closure of Stanmore Library in December as one of Hampshire's smallest, and least-used sites.

Hampshire County Council Executive Member for Culture and Recreation, Councillor Keith Chapman, said: "This is a fantastic result for people in Stanmore as it means they keep a local library on their doorstep. By working alongside The Carroll Centre, local community, and Winchester City Council we have been able to find a solution that meets everyone's needs. Not only will the library stay open more hours each week - an increase from nine at the former library, to now 25 hours at The Carroll Centre, but by moving it into an already thriving hub for community activity, more and more people can now use the services on offer, which go far beyond simply lending books."

Carroll Centre Manager, Jool Heller-Dixon, said: "We are very excited about being able to accommodate a library provision in our centre and to offer the Stanmore community a new style of library. The book stock will be located at the heart of our building and local residents and service users will be able to walk in and browse for books and magazines, sit and have light refreshments, chat with friends and join in new activities."

Winchester City Councillor Jamie Scott, said: "I have had close personal involvement in this project, and am delighted with this outcome. I hope that local people will be inspired come forward as library volunteers, and I appreciated seeing a great many Stanmore faces at the official opening enjoying a range of free activities for families."

• More information about The Carroll Centre

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

Wednesday, 31 October 2012

2013 will see the introduction of a new community library service for residents in Stanmore (Winchester) when Hampshire County Council's Library Service moves the library to the nearby Carroll Centre.

Stanmore library will close its doors on 20 December 2012, but from Monday 21 January 2013, a new library service will be officially opened from the nearby Carroll Centre, which is a well-used community building in the middle of Stanmore, in Somers Close. It is open five and a half days a week, and already offers many activities including after school and holiday clubs, a children's centre and a wide variety of courses for adults and children including IT.

The changes are the result of partnership work with the local community to safeguard a local library service for the area as Stanmore Library is one of Hampshire's smallest, and least-used libraries. In a unique move, the first of its kind in Hampshire, the Carroll Centre will be responsible for running a library service from the Centre on a day-to-day basis, supported by regular visits from a member of staff from Hampshire's Library Service.

Hampshire County Council Executive Member for Culture and Recreation, Councillor Keith Chapman, said: "Stanmore library had some of Hampshire's lowest customer numbers so by moving library services to The Carroll Centre in January, it means the community won't lose out, and we can continue to provide residents with a local library service on their doorstep. The Carroll Centre is already a thriving hub for community activity so it made sense to work together with them, and Winchester City Council, to find a solution that benefits everyone. As a result, the library will now move to a much busier location where it will be open many more hours per week.

"We can also use this excellent opportunity to bring library services to the attention of more people, many of whom are not current customers, and may not be aware of the range of additional services our libraries have on offer, beyond simply lending books."

The new library services will be officially opened at The Carroll Centre on 21 January 2013, by County Council Leader, Councillor Ken Thornber. Subject to work being completed on the site, it is hoped that the Centre may however be able to welcome library users in advance of the official opening date.

Hampshire Library Service will continue to provide the books and resources, including a self-service kiosk at The Carroll Centre so people can issue and return books themselves, but the library itself will be run by the Centre.

• Carroll Centre

Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Hampshire County Council, in partnership with the Big Lottery funded Learning at the Centre Project at Basingstoke Discovery Centre, have been working with people who have communication difficulties to create a training film to help staff and others to communicate more confidently with people who find speech challenging.

This small group, supported by staff from the Learning at the Centre Project, Hampshire Learning Centre and Adult Services, wrote and made a short film whose key message is to "have patience and listen".

The film is sometimes challenging to watch as there are no sub-titles, but people do not speak in subtitles - patience and listening carefully with respect will provide the answers.

The film will be used as a training aid by Hampshire County Council, but with the agreement of the group who made the film it is freely available to all organisations and individuals, particularly those who come into everyday contact with people who sometimes struggle to be heard and get their point across.

The film was supported by the Learning at the Centre Project as a development opportunity for Project participants.

• Play 'How to talk with me' film