In November 2010, the Museums, Libraries and Archives (MLA) and Big Lottery (BIG) commissioned Renaisi to undertake an evaluation update of the Communities Library Programme (CLP), which is managed by and funded by the Big Lottery Fund. The £80million programme has funded 58 authorities to refurbish 77 libraries. The funding was mostly capital though there was a requirement for libraries to actively involve communities in the design, delivery and management of the funded libraries. To meet this requirement each library submitted a Community Engagement Plan (CEP) describing community engagement activities, outcomes and targets, progress against which was monitored throughout.
This programme does not sit in isolation in terms of the policy issues it is engaging with. The library sector has, for a number of years, been developing its approach to working with users, involving people more and providing new services and roles. This has been matched by a changing usage of libraries by citizens, and the sector has had to respond to this change in demand and patterns of usage.
The aims of the evaluation were to examine the outcomes and impact in line with the existing evaluation framework for community engagement in public libraries, and to inform policy and practice.
The evaluation was based on an earlier research design, including a focus on six ‘intensive’ libraries (including a ‘control’ library), and sixteen intermediate libraries, and use of a particular theoretical logic chain.
The methodology involved a review of documentation, completion of self-assessment toolkit, and primary research. The primary research for the six intensive libraries included interviews with library managers, front-line staff, partners, and volunteers. It also included a number of focus groups with community groups, and questionnaires for users.
The MLA and BIG Lottery particularly wanted to understand the impacts and outcomes of a community engagement approach to library services, and to understand how the changes to the way a service is run, in partnership with the local community, can create better outcomes.
Renaisi ‘s team of researchers and library practitioners worked with the libraries which received funding to develop an understanding of impacts, and the processes and changes which brought these impacts about, both in the individual libraries and across the programme as a whole. At a time of great change for libraries and ongoing debate about the future role of the service, this evaluation provides the opportunity to understand how redesigning services with communities can deliver more for those communities, and provide services that are more appropriate for the communities they serve.
