Agenda item

The Director of Culture and Neighbourhood Services submits a report updating the Commission on the future operation of the Libraries’ Printed Music and Drama Service.  The Commission is recommended to note the actions taken since June 2014, in the light of the findings of the consultation, and the market research exercise that is to be carried out in February 2015 to examine and test a potential model for a regional service.

The Director of Culture and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report that provided an update on work towards developing a new option for the music and drama service in Leicester and Leicestershire.

Councillor Russell, Assistant City Mayor for Neighbourhood Services presented the report and explained that because the council were experiencing funding cuts, economies were needed and the printed music service was one of the areas they were looking at to make efficiencies. The service needed to be sustainable and a consultation had been undertaken with printed music and drama service subscribers. The council had also undertaken to work with Making Music in order to find a solution for a sustainable service. Approximately 25% of the groups that accessed the service were based in the city and whereas some of the groups had indicated that they would be willing to pay more for the service, some groups, particularly in the city, had said that they would find it difficult to pay an increased charge.

The concept of a regional service was being investigated by Nottingham City Council which would include options for accessing the service. There would be a consultation led by Nottingham City Council to see if this would be feasible, sustainable and would meet the needs of local groups. The options for accessing the service are being consulted on as follows:

·         to collect from / return to Nottingham City Centre

·         to collect  from / return to elsewhere in Nottingham

·         for a courier service to another area

The Chair invited Ms Barbara Eifler, Executive Director of Making Music, to address the commission. Ms Eifler made a number of points including the following:

·         the inter library loans were very important to the groups that belonged to Making Music as they sourced approximately 70% of their music through their local library. The remaining 30% were   borrowed through inter library loans. There were therefore concerns relating to accessibility as it would not be possible for their members to travel far.

·         As well as the need to access sufficient copies of music, the other main concern was relating to the ability to book music in advance.

·         It was acknowledged that only approximately 25% of registered users lived in the city, however the commission was asked to note that user groups may be city based.

·         The commission was asked to consider whether a local solution would be preferable as an alternative to a new Nottingham model.

·         The groups would be willing to contribute financially to keeping this service so that it would continue to be delivered by the local authority and available locally.

Assistant City Mayor Russell explained that the council wanted to look at as many different options as possible in order to find a long term solution, but at the same time it was necessary to balance the needs of people in the city with those from outside Leicester, as people from as far away as Cambridge accessed the service. The Head of Libraries and Information Services added that the service placed a particular demand on staff, in particular because of the time it could take to find sufficient copies of music for larger groups such as choirs.

RESOLVED:

that the commission note the report and that Nottingham City Council were due to carry out market research in February 2015