Guidance

Annex: background to Optimo partnership members

Published 28 March 2017

Explore York Libraries & Archives Mutual Limited (previously York City Council Library & Archive Service)

Explore established in May 2014 as a mutual benefit society with charitable status. The company is made up of the libraries and archives services which were previously part of City of York Council. It is owned by its community members and staff, and is managed by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and representative board. Explore has a contract with City of York Council for five years. Staff who were previously employed by the council have transferred across to the new independent organisation, which is committed to improving the City Archive as well as keeping all York’s 14 libraries, two reading cafes and the mobile library open, with paid staff in every one.

Inspire Culture, Learning and Libraries (previously Nottinghamshire County Council Library & Archive Service)

Inspire is a community benefit society with charitable status created to deliver a range of cultural and learning services across Nottinghamshire. The society has an independent board that includes community elected, staff elected and council nominated members, as well as the CEO and co-opted members. The society’s membership is over 35,000. The contracting arrangements began on 1 April 2016 following 18 months of work to establish the new organisation and agree the contractual relationship with the council and other funders.

Our mission is to inspire people to read, learn and enjoy culture. We have a set of values established by our staff that underpins our commitment to public services, working as a mutual organisation and how we aim to treat staff, customers and stakeholders. The library service has 60 libraries and is the backbone to all Inspire services.

Libraries Unlimited (previously Devon County Council Library Service)

Libraries Unlimited is an independent staff and community owned social enterprise, established in April 2016. We are a company limited by guarantee with charitable status with a 5 year contract with Devon County Council to provide 50 libraries and 4 mobile libraries. We also run Fab Lab Devon, a Business and Intellectual Property Centre and 3 prison libraries. Our mission is to bring ideas, imagination, knowledge and creativity to people’s lives and communities.

Suffolk Libraries IPS (previously Suffolk County Council Library Service)

Suffolk Libraries IPS took over the running of Suffolk’s public library services in August 2012, and is about to extend the contract with the county council for an additional five years. The IPS is community owned with a membership of 44, comprising a community group for each branch library. They elect the board of directors at the society’s AGM. All 44 libraries have stayed open, have either retained or increased opening hours, there have been a number of service wide innovations and enhancements, and every library has had some refurbishment or investment primarily funded by their local group.

 Mutual Ventures

We support public service commissioners, organisational leaders and front-line staff who are seeking to identify, develop and grow the right delivery model for their services. We supported both Explore York and Libraries Unlimited to establish as independent PSMs, providing support during the business planning and transition/implementation stages. We were also one of the preferred providers (by number of contracts secured) to the Cabinet Office Mutual Support Programme and regularly deliver ADM masterclasses to help develop an understanding of the various delivery models and the processes involved in investigating and establishing new models of delivery.