North Yorkshire Council
Overview & Scrutiny (Housing & Leisure)
10 March 2025
Mobile Library
Report of the Corporate Director Community Development
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 The purpose of the report is to seek feedback from Members on the proposed criteria for the selection and review of mobile library stops, prior to the introduction of the new vehicle in the summer of 2025.
2.0 SUMMARY
2.1 North Yorkshire Library Service is dedicated to enhancing access to library and wider council services through the Mobile Library project. The project will increase the number of communities visited and provide more opportunities for residents to benefit from services. By establishing clear criteria for the selection and review of mobile stops, we aim to make the selection and any review of services to communities fair and transparent. This report outlines the work done to establish a set of selection criteria for new mobile library stops. The route review is required to meet Council objectives and satisfy the requirements of our grant funding.
2.2 To arrive at a set of criteria for determining new stops we have considered a number of factors:
· Community Need: We have looked at where there is limited access to library services due to proximity to static and mobile services (see map Appendix A). We have reviewed the demographic profile of current well attended stops and applied that to our criteria.
· Accessibility and Convenience: We have considered factors of accessibility, including transportation options and parking availability.
· Population Density and Reach: We have considered places of higher population density, underserved by the library service, to maximise the reach and impact of the mobile library.
· Infrastructure and Safety: We have considered the infrastructure and safety of potential stop locations to ensure that the mobile library can be safely and effectively deployed. This includes evaluating road conditions and space availability to park the vehicle.
2.3 Application of these factors to the route review will enable the Library Service to deliver the key project outcome of increasing the number of communities visited. This will create opportunities for extended library provision and for partnership working with other Council services.
3.0 BACKGROUND
3.1 North Yorkshire Library Service successfully applied for funding from the DCMS/ACE
Libraries Improvement Fund (round 3) to replace the existing mobile library with a smaller (7.5t), more versatile vehicle that will increase opportunities to provide books, digital resources and educational support to predominantly rural communities and to further increase access to wider Council services.(see draft visuals Appendix B)
3.2 In gaining funding from DCMS/ACE we identified a number of key project outcomes, including:
· Supporting children and families to access a library service, to both support the Council’s ‘Grow and Learn’ initiative, and provide wider access to books and digital resources to develop skills and knowledge.
· Helping to address the digital divide that disproportionately affects older people, a considerable proportion of mobile library users.
· Working in partnership with other services to use our mobile library as a ‘community hub’, offering outreach and specialised services such as health roadshows and information on local services.
3.3 The existing mobile provision serves the needs of 21 larger communities. To meet the aims, set out in our grant bid, we need to increase the number of communities visited, delivering additional benefits to more residents.
4.0 DETAILED PRESENTATION OF THE SUBSTANTIVE ISSUE
4.1 The existing mobile stops were selected against four main criteria:
· Suitable access for the vehicle (the size of the current vehicle-imposed limitations);
· Distance from a Static library (not less than 6 miles);
· Distance from a Mobile library Stop (not less than six miles);
· A suitable place to park and staff toilet facilities.
The duration of each stop is two hours.
4.2 These existing criteria are no longer suitable as they will not enable us to build capacity to extend the service to more communities. There are also considerable differences in take up of the service in different communities which means the blanket two-hour visit is not making best use of the service time available; usage up varies between an average of 8 customers at our quietest stops to 48 at our busiest ones.
4.3 We propose to introduce a one-hour minimum stop time, with a maximum of two hours for current stops that have a high volume of visitors. We will use the average number of visitors between April 2022 and July 2024 to determine the stop duration at existing locations. Stop times will be reviewed annually.
4.4 Essential Qualifying Criteria: In selecting new locations to visit, it is proposed to have four main qualifying criteria.
· Population size: not less than 300
· Distance from a static library: not less than four miles
· Distance from another mobile stop: not less than 1.5 miles
· Suitable, safe parking
4.5 Additional criteria:
Community Needs and Demographics: We will take into account the specific needs of different communities, including the presence of children, older people and other groups who might benefit from mobile library services. Emphasis needs to be given to those people, highlighted in our successful bid for funding, who may find it most difficult to travel to access services. This includes older people, those with young children at home and those without vehicles or where public transport is poor. As the mobile will be visiting during the day, our focus is on the daytime population
4.6 Scoring: There are many communities in North Yorkshire that may want and could benefit from a regular mobile library visit, and which may meet the essential qualifying criteria. However, with only one vehicle to cover the whole county, our ability to meet likely demand is limited. We are proposing to weight our criteria to enable us to score and rank communities, with priority given to higher weighted criteria.
|
Proposed Mobile Stop Criteria |
Weighting |
Exclusions |
|
Existing Mobile Stops will continue. |
|
|
|
Criteria for new locations: |
|
|
|
Suitable safe parking |
0 |
No safe parking |
|
Distance from static library |
3 |
Less than 4 miles |
|
Population size |
2 |
Under 300 |
|
Distance from an existing mobile stop / outlet |
1 |
Less than 1.5 miles |
|
Time by public transport from static library |
3 |
|
|
Proportion of population over 65 |
2 |
|
|
Proportion of population under 5 |
2 |
|
|
Population deprived in at least one Dimension* |
1 |
|
|
Proportion of population with bad/very bad health |
1 |
|
* Dimensions: housing / education / health / disability
For more detailed information, see Appendix C
5.0 CONSULTATION
5.1 When suitable communities have been identified, on application of our criteria, we will engage with Parish Councils to understand their needs and preferences and to elicit their support in promoting the service. We will also conduct a customer survey to understand how likely people are to use the service. (See Appendix D). This feedback will inform the final selection process.
6.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES
6.1 Extending the reach of the mobile library to serve more communities will allow Libraries to contribute to the following priorities:
· Place and Environment: Communities are supported and work together to improve their local area
· Economy: Culture, heritage, arts and sustainable tourism all play their part in the economic growth of the county
· Health and wellbeing: People are supported to have a good quality of life and enjoy active and healthy lifestyles
· People: People can achieve their full potential through lifelong education and learning
7.0 IMPACT ON OTHER SERVICES/ORGANISATIONS
7.1 The success of the Mobile Library project relies on strong partnerships. Engaging with a range of partners is crucial to ensure that the mobile library services are effectively integrated into the community and meet the needs of residents. We are already engaging with Public Health colleagues, Early Years teams and Community First Yorkshire as well as speaking with colleagues from other services. Establishing criteria enabling us to identify stop locations will enable us to move forward and firm up these new collaborations.
8.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
9.1 Whilst introducing new stops may have an impact on fuel costs, this resource is already identified in the library service budget.
9.2 There is likely to be additional financial implications for our partners in providing the staffing resource to accompany the mobile. However, our partner engagement to date indicates an acknowledgment of the benefits of utilising the vehicle to extend service delivery and a willingness to commit that time.
10.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
10.1 There are no legal implications arising from this report.
11.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
11.1 An equalities impact assessment has been completed. The aim is to provide better access to library services for vulnerable groups, including older people, people with disabilities, women, families with young children, carers, and individuals on low incomes.
12.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
12.1 A climate change screening has been completed for this project. This proposal does not warrant a full CCIA to be undertaken.
13.0 PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
13.1 The Mobile Library will directly inform the North Yorkshire Library Service Plan. The performance of the mobile service will be monitored and be added to our service Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and will be reported regularly as part of the Council’s performance monitoring arrangements.
13.2 Evaluation of the effectiveness of the routes will be subject to annual review with a view to removing those stops that are underused, freeing up capacity to introduce new locations.
14.0 HUMAN RESOURCES IMPLICATIONS
14.1 No direct HR implications. Mobile Library staffing resource is in place.
15.0 CONCLUSIONS
15.1 The library service needs to review current routes and establish a new set of ongoing criteria to free-up capacity to deliver the outcomes identified in the mobile library project and satisfy the requirements of its grant funding.
15.2 The proposal identified above will enable the service to expand mobile library provision from 21 communities to a minimum of 40 communities and will enhance accessibility and engagement with both library services and wider Council services, in underserved areas in North Yorkshire, and in particular to more vulnerable residents.
Nic Harne
Corporate Director – Community Development
County Hall
Northallerton
25.2.25
Report Author – Lee Taylor - Library Manager- Service Development
Presenter of Report – Hazel Smith, Head of Libraries
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Map – Libraries and Mobile stops
Appendix B: Mobile vehicle visuals
Appendix C: Proposed criteria (detail)
Appendix D: Consultation – Mobile library