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Council seeks Hants rethink

24.01.08 Benedicte Page

Hampshire's controversial approach to tackling a national decline in library usage has been cast into doubt by a forthcoming County Council review.

The wide-ranging report, seen in draft form by The Bookseller, will ask Hampshire's library and information service to up its spend on books and reconsider its contentious rebranding of libraries as discovery centres. Carried out by the Hampshire County Council (HCC) culture and communities select committee, the report says people do not understand that the term "discovery centre" means that a library is involved.

The draft report notes that the Gosport Discovery Centre has shown a strong upward trend in issues and visitor numbers following refurbishment. But it also says that issue numbers have declined in other new-build and refurbished Hampshire libraries such as Alton, Lymington and Farnborough, with visitor numbers also down in some refurbished libraries in the county.

Yinnon Ezra, director of recreation and heritage at HCC, said: "Overall it's a very constructive report and we don't feel at all defensive. Libraries are a powerful brand and we recognise that. They are essentially community spaces and one size doesn't fit all—discovery centres exist to reach young people who see library services as not on their agenda. I think the select committee recognises that we were trying to engage new users."

Ezra said the Winchester Discovery Centre, which opened last November, has had 60,000 visits in its first six to eight weeks, with book issues up 20%. "We've got to see what the reality is and give Winchester six months to run before we ask if the name has put people off or encouraged them in."

He added that the recommendation on book spend would be considered: "We would like to spend more money on books. We're trying to drive overheads down and the savings must go back into our offer to customers."

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