Policy paper

Leadership for Libraries Taskforce communications sub-group: terms of reference

Updated 13 June 2017

This was published under the 2015 to 2016 Cameron Conservative government

The communications sub-group was established by the Libraries Taskforce at its meeting on 10 March 2016.

1. Role and objectives

The role of the group is to co-ordinate communications activity across the sector with a view to shifting the narrative on public libraries from one that is primarily focused on cuts, to one that shows a more balanced view, based on evidence and a deeper knowledge of the activities of modern public libraries. Group members will take collective responsibility for delivering the Taskforce communications strategy and review it annually. Changes will be put to the Taskforce for review and agreement.

The group will raise strategic points which may need clarification or amendment with the Taskforce and seek collective agreement.

The group will work together to enhance and communicate the overall positive narrative around public libraries in England. Group members will develop, agree, implement and monitor a work programme that includes clear deliverables, including:

• work to improve co-ordinated planning across the sector, in particular around key milestones, for example National Libraries week
• monitoring the progress of specific communications activities
• reporting their impact

Where appropriate, others will be invited to take a lead on specific activities.

Group members will report to each full Taskforce meeting, covering achievements since the last meeting and putting forward proposals for the future for agreement.

2. Membership

Core members are communications leads from:

• Libraries Taskforce
• CILIP: the library and information association
• Society of Chief Librarians (SCL)
• The Reading Agency
• Arts Council England
• Local Government Association
• British Library

Communications representatives from other Taskforce members will be welcome to attend if they wish. They will be given access to the shared calendar and space, copied into notes of meetings, and involved in specific activities as appropriate.

Additional co-opted members are invited from across the profession, with a view to getting good national coverage and broad awareness among workers in public libraries. These roles are periodically advertised via the CILIP Public and Mobile Library Group and SCL with people invited to apply via an expression of interest. People should be practitioners with the time available to attend meetings and work on delivery. Members do not need to be Heads of Service. Library services are encouraged to use this as a development opportunity for future leaders.

The core and co-opted members will be supplemented as required with people brought in to work on specific initiatives. They also will be asked to apply following an exercise to seek expressions of interest.

3. Responsibilities of members

Responsibilities of members are to:

• attend every meeting of the sub-group - if they cannot attend, a briefed and empowered deputy should be nominated in their place
• take shared responsibility for the implementation of the cross-organisational elements of the communications plans, including acting as the single point of contact for their organisation’s communications interactions with the Libraries Taskforce
• declare to the chair any concerns and / or actual or potential conflicts of interest in matters that might be considered by the Taskforce
• bring their expertise and particular interests from their representative bodies and then work together to develop, agree, implement and monitor specific programmes of work set out in the agreed work programme, which they then report back to their respective organisations and members
• share good practice and learning from their organisation within the group / Libraries Taskforce
• use the communication channels of their organisations to amplify and promote each others’ announcements, including Taskforce news and publications

4. Ways of working

Ways of working principles of the sub-group echo those of the Taskforce and are to:

• recognise that individual organisations are responsible for their own communications, and that they are knowledgeable about their own audiences
• harness and develop further the sector’s collective responsibility for libraries communication, drawing upon the contributions of relevant partners who may bring expertise and different perspectives
• build upon and add value to existing good practice, partnerships and other activity that is already supporting public libraries
• be transparent, inclusive and timely

5. Accountability

The communications sub-group reports to the Libraries Taskforce. Group members should make their own tactical decisions, but present recommendations on strategic decisions to the Taskforce for agreement.

The Taskforce can commission the communications sub-group to undertake specific pieces of work that fit within the group’s overall objectives.

Updates of the sub-group’s activities are shared with Taskforce members via the regular paper submitted to each meeting by the communications lead.

6. Meetings

The sub-group will meet as needed; primary contact will be maintained through regular calls.

It will be chaired by the communications lead from the Libraries Taskforce Team, with secretariat support.

The secretariat will be responsible for organising communications sub-group group meetings and calls, and will provide support to any other meetings necessary to achieve the work programme. An agenda will be sent out a day before each regular call. Brief notes of each meeting will be circulated to the members within 7 working days.

7. Activities

The group will ensure that all members contribute to keeping an overarching planning calendar of events and activities relevant to libraries up to date. This will probably take the form of a supporting ‘layer’ to the SCL Universal Offer calendar.

As part of the planning work, a series of ‘golden moments’ will be identified from the calendar of events that is already planned, chosen to illustrate the Universal Offers devised by SCL, and the Outcomes listed in Libraries Deliver: Ambition. Communications plans will be developed to ensure these have an effective impact with designated audiences. The aim of these activities will either be to consolidate the general view: “libraries are great at this”, or create awareness of unexpected activities: “I didn’t know libraries did that”.

There will be other events where the communications sub-group can add value by sharing information, highlighting opportunities and relevance that may not otherwise be obvious, and co-ordinating other members to enhance something run by one organisation. These may be more niche, slightly lower key, or have less need for Taskforce involvement. Examples in the past have included:

• Shakespeare anniversary
• BBC Get Reading campaign