1. London’s libraries and archives – IT enabled, customer focused. A regional group of the Society of Chief Librarians

2. London’s libraries – not just surviving but thriving More than 400 across London New library buildings delivered or in hand in Brent, City, Camden, Greenwich, Lambeth, Southwark, Tri-borough New and innovative models of delivery – collocation, partnerships, voluntary and community involvement, outsourcing and trusts New services, channel shift Sweat the assets Customer service, health and well- being, lifelong learning

3. What are we doing? Universal offers – 4 priorities (reading, information, digital, health) examples: City Read London – the world’s biggest book group Access to Research – more than 8000 academic journals now available free Digital Skills Sharing – enabling us to support customers across a range of platforms and devices Reading Well – books on prescription Key regional partnerships – eg London archives Consortium working to drive down costs – eg LLC

4. Key challenges Austerity, cost pressures, income Changing and more complex demand Competition for resources, people’s time and attention It can be politically easier to starve resources than make difficult decisions Why do we still need libraries in a world of Google, Kindle and Amazon?

5. What does FutureLib look like? Much more diversity of models: inhouse, outsourced, multi-borough, volunteer Routine transactions entirely self-serve, lots of remote access Wifi enabled – customer and staff BYOD Yes there are still books but it’s all about space, digital resource discovery and learning Assisted self-service (Universal Credit, visa applications, parking permits)

6. Opportunities & how can we work together Libraries can help drive cost savings, support customer transformation ambitions and assist self service Culture supports regeneration and growth Resilience in organisations and communities (do more for yourself, help others) We need: Recognition of role of face to face and digital inclusion Cheap, fast connectivity – a universal broadband/wifi offer? Customer focused approach to kit, software and policies Shared training and development

7. Contact Association of London Chief Librarians Carol Boswarthack, City of London (president) carol.boswarthack@cityoflondon.gov.uk 020 7332 1123 Tim Bryan, Harrow (secretary) tim.bryan@harrow.gov.uk 020 8416 8639 Mike Clarke, Tri-borough (executive committee) mclarke1@westminster.gov.uk 020 7641 2199 http://www.goscl.com/