Community managed libraries: South Chingford library, Waltham Forest, London
Case study to support the research report: Exploring the service effectiveness and sustainability of community managed libraries in England
South Chingford community library. Photo credit: South Chingford community library
This case study is one of nine created by SERIO as part of their research into the service effectiveness and sustainability of community managed libraries in England. SERIO is an applied research unit at Plymouth University.
Background
South Chingford is a district based in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. South Chingford serves the ‘Valley’ Ward which has a population of just over 11,500. However, the borough of Waltham Forest has a population of around 262,600. In 2011, Waltham Forest Council (WFC) announced a requirement to save around £65 million over the following 4 years. To do this, they needed to close 2 public libraries, one of which was South Chingford library. After the library closed in 2011, WFC held a meeting to establish whether there was any interest amongst the community in setting up the library as a community library. Subsequently, the community came together and agreed to take over the running of the library.
Finance
The library is currently based in a building which WFC leases from a local business and provides to the library for free. The current lease runs out in 2022 and at present the library does not pay any business rates. The library generates the majority of its income from grant funds sourced from the Waltham Forest Community Ward Forum. Over the past 3 years, income from this source has fluctuated, from £7,000 in 2013/14, to £9,100 in 2014/15, and down to £5,795 in 2015/16.
Other support
Although WFC closed the original library, it identified new premises for South Chingford library early in 2012. WFC supplied 8,000 books, shelving, and computers which were originally located in the previous library. Once the library had been established, it was officially opened in April 2012 by the Mayor of Waltham Forest, and local MP, Iain Duncan Smith alongside Boris Johnson, then Mayor of London.
Relationships with stakeholders
Although the library does not have any formal relationship with WFC, it does maintain contact on an ad-hoc basis regarding the premises which it considers “a friendly relationship but not a close one”. South Chingford library does, however, regularly attend the Waltham Forest Community Ward Forum meetings, where funding for local causes is made available.
The library intends to continue bidding for funding at the Ward Forum meetings, and on the whole does not see the relationship with WFC changing dramatically. However, it does recognise that the council may want to create a formal agreement about charging business rates for the library. If this becomes the case, it would have difficulty in generating sufficient income to cover the charges and would need to consider alternative options with regards to the premises.
User profile
South Chingford community library operates a membership scheme with library subscriptions. It currently has 290 members who can borrow books, and have access to 15 minutes of free internet usage. Adult members pay £1 a year and children pay 50p a year. A 7 year membership costs £5 and the library charge £10 for lifetime membership. The majority of users are members of the public who come in to borrow books and use the internet which is charged at 50p per hour.
The library reports that, each year the number of users increases slightly, probably due to awareness of its services being built up through word of mouth recommendations. However, it also notes that some people still think of the library as being run by the local authority.
There are still people who come in and think we’re a council run library and that closed in 2011. There are quite a number of people who come in and ask us a question thinking we’re from Waltham Forest direct council advice service and we’re helpful, we answer as best we can, but then they walk out not even being aware we’re a community library.
(South Chingford community library representative)
The library believes the vast majority of users are residents from the local community, however it is particularly difficult to define this area as the library serves 2 local wards. It also believes that around only 10% of the local population use its services, and this low number is due to a lack of awareness of the library’s existence.
Although it does not collect user demographic data, the library reports that the users within their area are very mixed. Most of the people who visit the library are from the UK, however they also have a number of international users who come into the library to take advantage of the language classes. The library maintains that it encourages a range of people from all backgrounds to visit the library.
We try to encourage everyone to come. We encourage disabled people to come, autistic volunteers, and people coming in in wheelchairs. A lot of the ladies who come in to do knitting come in with walking frames. Some of them are probably not that well off. There are quite a few homeless people in our area, it’s not that affluent but quite mixed. The majority of users are not [homeless] but a few who come in are definitely disadvantaged.
(South Chingford community library representative)
The library believes that slightly more females than males use the library, potentially due to the number of mothers who attend the library with their children. The age range of users is also very varied; however most are young or older age groups, with fewer users being middle-aged.
The library believes that offering a friendly and helpful service is the best way to maintain user satisfaction.
We try to be as helpful as we can, assist them with anything they need. We provide elderly people help with filling in forms. People come in and say to us you’re the only place around here that can give us help with things like this. Judging by informal feedback, the way to maintain user satisfaction is to be as friendly and helpful as possible.
(South Chingford community library representative)
Library volunteers
Over the past 3 years, the number of volunteers at the library has slowly increased. When the library first opened there were 15 volunteers and now there are 70. It believes this is due to the library becoming increasingly prominent in the community, having the effect of increasing the number of volunteers who are offering their time. It envisages the number of volunteers will continue increasing for the same reasons. Although the majority of its volunteers are older, the library also gets a steady influx of younger, unemployed volunteers who are enthusiastic about developing the library. However, these volunteers tend not stay with the library for long periods as they eventually find employment and cease volunteering.
The library notes that the greatest challenge in managing volunteers is the ability to communicate effectively with all its volunteers due to varying shift patterns.
We have a massive communication problem – it’s because the library operates on 5 separate days, and by and large volunteers only work on one day. So from the point of view of managing the organisation it’s like running 5 individual companies. So people who do something on one day, will trip over what someone’s doing on another day because they don’t even know what’s happening on the other days.
(South Chingford community library representative)
To combat this, it uses a message book for volunteers on different shifts to communicate with each other. However, it is also developing a system whereby volunteers will provide time across a number of shifts to increase communication and stop the reliance on a message book. It believes that keeping volunteers informed and communicating with them as much as possible is the greatest factor in maintaining volunteer satisfaction.
The library’s volunteer coordinator provides a training package for volunteers which incorporates health and safety, basic IT, data protection, copyright training, and training on the Library Management System. The library feels that using organisations such as Community Waltham Forest, who support community businesses, provides all the other additional training volunteers need.
Service delivery
The following core services are provided at South Chingford community library:
- book loans
- newspapers/magazines available in library
- library service for schools including providing book collections or hosting class visits
- national programmes for example the Summer Reading Challenge, Quick Reads and Books on Prescription
- health groups such as Macmillan cancer support or dementia / carers
- photocopying / printing
- wifi
- computer access
In addition, the library also offers the following enhanced services:
- digital skills classes or training
- creative groups
- parent and baby groups for example rhyme time
- community events
- job clubs
- language / conversation classes
- craft sales
- document laminating
- meeting room / work spare hire
- exhibition areas
- knitting class
- local organisation group meetings
- database research (such as genealogy databases)
It believes the most successful aspect of the service it offers is the provision of volunteering opportunities for the unemployed, where they can gain work experience and enhance their CV for future employment. It also sees itself as a place which brings the community together, offering isolated people a place to socialise.
It’s the only place in South Chingford which is non-commercial and nondenominational where people can meet. We don’t try and sell them anything, they don’t have to buy a cup of coffee, they don’t have to be of any specific religion. In that sense we provide a unique place. It’s a place that any library would offer but we’re the only library now in our area. I think that’s an important thing that we offer.
(South Chingford community library representative)
Sustainability
As mentioned, the current lease on the building where the library is situated runs out in 2022. Furthermore, the library generates the majority of its income from grant funds sourced from the Waltham Forest Community Ward Forum. Over the past three years income from this source has fluctuated. This variation in income is due to the library submitting fewer bids in 2015/16, as it felt there were better local causes the Ward Forum could fund.
We specifically chose not to put in further funding bids because there are other local funding bids which we thought were very good and we didn’t want to jeopardise their chance of getting the money.
(South Chingford Community Library representative)
The library also receives an income from direct trading and retail. People often donate books to the library and due to insufficient storage space, it holds book sales which raise approximately £1,200 a year. The library anticipates this figure increasing as it constantly receives donated books.
In addition, the library runs a knitting group which creates items for sale. In the 2015/16 financial year, this generated £1,240 which was an increase over the previous year (which generated £850).
The library also generates income from hiring out meeting space. Use of the space includes the Community Ward Forum meetings, which take place 4 times a year, and local councillor monthly surgeries. Over the previous 3 years, income through hiring meeting space has increased slightly. The library anticipates it will remain static at around £1.000 a year for the foreseeable future, unless users of the space decide to hold meetings and surgeries elsewhere.
The library believes that the service which provides the most benefit for its future sustainability is the sale of books.
I think the book sales - if we wanted to generate more, if we could cope with more books, and if we advertised the fact that we were looking for books for the library, we’d probably be swamped with them and then we could work even harder at selling them. That would be the most straightforward for us to generate income by.
(South Chingford community library representative)
As may be expected, it reports that it is very comfortable with income generating activity and that it is confident in securing future funding due to the experience it has built up. It also sees alternative sources of income as increasingly important to its future sustainability, as it recognises it will need to generate additional income by bidding for more funding in the future. However, it does highlight that it needs more expertise in terms of volunteers who are capable of writing funding bids. Subsequently, it has approached the registered charity The Mill in Waltham Forest, to provide advice on doing this. However, it understands that applying for funding requires tight deadlines to be met, which can be problematic when volunteer availability is limited. Recruitment of volunteers with this sort of expertise is high on its agenda.
Future direction and support
The library envisages that the grant funding from Waltham Forest Community Ward Forum will increase in the future. Historically, this has been the most successful income stream. However, as its lead volunteer on developing income generating activities has left, the library will need to rely more heavily on the Ward funding in the short term until new sources of income can be found.
The library perceives its main barrier to growth to be its inability to redevelop the building in which it is situated, as it has no control over what is done with the premises. Furthermore, there is uncertainty as to what will happen to the library once the lease on the premises ceases in July 2022.
If we had our upstairs space, our building would be just about perfect. We’d be able to split the books between upstairs and downstairs, but now we’re limited on space. When we have a major event going on we have to make the whole of the downstairs library space available because there can be 60 or 70 people coming in. The other longer term one is that we are going to lose the building as things stand in July 2022. That’s a total unknown 5 years in the future.
(South Chingford community library representative)
Plans to tackle this barrier are limited as the library is aware it is unlikely that anyone will want to invest a large amount of money into a building which only has 5 years left on the lease.
Looking to the future, it would like further financial support in the form of grants to cover the day-to-day costs of the running the library. However, it recognises that this type of funding is limited and there are other causes which may be considered more important.
The very small volunteer library in Leytonstone has its day-to-day running costs covered by the Peabody trust. If we could get a relationship with some sort of organisation who’d cover our running costs…but I don’t think that sort of money is available. I don’t think there’s anything realistic that can be done, as people are trying to save money and there are other more pressing needs like the NHS. Social care would come in front of a community library.
(South Chingford community library representative)
Overall, the library is confident its service will be sustained until at least July 2022. However, with the uncertainty regarding the lease on the premises, what will happen beyond this time is unknown. It also highlights that the goodwill from the community and the desire to have a local library would likely ensure its future sustainability.
The views and opinions expressed in these case studies are those of the community libraries and do not represent those of SERIO, the Libraries Taskforce or DCMS.