LIBRARY costs and the amount of council support needed to run services are among the main issues in a Victorian libraries review.
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Consultant KPMG reviewed how the state government supports councils in providing library services, and future changes needed within the sector.
The review identified three main problems, including the increasing cost of library provision; inequity in community access to library resources; and how a lack of co-ordinated response to changing technology and rising customer expectations had disproportionately increased costs.
The review also found increasing costs, and the amount councils had to pay, had put service delivery at risk.
Horsham Rural City Council community services director Kevin O’Brien presented a report about the review to councillors last week.
He said review consultants proposed two options to address problems.
The first includes introducing a statewide library management system and joint e-resource acquisition.
“This option is designed to provide operational savings to libraries, which can be used for re-investment,” he said.
“This option addresses the issue of e-resource acquisition, by obtaining more advantageous terms for individual library services through negotiating in larger groups with providers.”
Mr O’Brien said catalogue sharing between councils was also a possibility with this option.
He said option two involved creating a seamless network of libraries across Victoria through the addition of a single library card for customers.
It also includes improvements for inter-library loan service and systems, and completing radio frequency identification tagging for the statewide library catalogue.
“It is anticipated this option will provide the community with improved library services in addition to generating the shared services efficiencies within option one,” Mr O’Brien said.
He said Wimmera Regional Library Corporation already had a shared service model arrangement though the Swift library consortium.
The Swift system involves one card people can use to borrow and return items from more than 100 libraries.
Mr O’Brien said the corporation board was working through the report’s findings.
