Local Studies Libraries: Library Association Guidelines for Local Studies Provision in Public Libraries (2nd edition)

Citation

Duckett, B. (2002), "Local Studies Libraries: Library Association Guidelines for Local Studies Provision in Public Libraries (2nd edition)", Library Review, Vol. 51 No. 8, pp. 427-428. https://doi.org/10.1108/lr.2002.51.8.427.5

With all the rapid and often confusing change experienced in libraries today, one thing remains constant – the continued popularity and growth in demand for local history, and the continued growth in its physicality – the newspapers, the photographs, the maps, the ephemera. No wonder, then, that the first edition of these guidelines “was out of date before it was published in 1990” and that “subsequent attempts at revision were also overtaken by events.” It would be churlish to suggest that this second edition might suffer the same fate, but the “plunge” has to be taken some time, and the millennial post‐“New Library” vision seems a good time. The revolution in approach to public library services – the broad‐based commitment to ICT, open government (including local government), emphasis on lifelong learning and the National Grid for Learning, as well as a commitment to social inclusion – has changed the political, social and technical environment in which we operate. All have a bearing on local studies. To take but one example, local government documentation is, under the policy of e‐government, is decreasingly paper‐based and increasingly electronic. This is good in that access via the Internet can be self‐service from anywhere, but it is a problem to local studies librarians because it has to be printed out on paper to be archived.

The Guidelines fall into two main categories, the service, and the resources. The main elements of the service are the user, liaison, marketing and promotion, with the opening clauses relating to aims, objectives and overall policy. “Resources” are divided into the collection, collection management, staff, and facilities management. With 109 clauses and 56 main recommendations, this review can only indicate some of the major elements and some of the points that caught your reviewer’s eye.

Much stress is placed on aims and objectives, standards and targets, and how local studies must feature in annual library plans. ICT, lifelong learning and funding are other related, general, considerations. Under the section on users there is a useful categorization of customer groups, the first such I think I’ve seen. Among the 15 groups are family historians, ethnic groups, commercial interests, tourists and, most importantly, future users. “The interests of future users should be regarded as of equal importance to those of present patrons; their probable needs should not be jeopardized by considerations of present‐day convenience.” This is a statement that should be emblazoned on the desk of every local studies librarian! Also usefully identified are those groups with which contacts should be established such as archivists, museum staff, education staff, branch library staff, community groups and other local authority departments. Marketing and promotion issues have risen fast in recent years, and there are many recommendations on these topics. Talks, exhibitions, local history events, publications, press releases, media interviews and other outreach activities are commonplace; the promotion and marketing via the Internet less so.

The collection, and collection management, are major sections. Among the usual candidates for material to acquire it was nice to see aired the problems of obtaining large scale Ordnance Survey maps and the coming value of digital access. Colour slides are preferable to colour prints: although less convenient the technical quality is superior. The desirability for duplicate copies of material is stressed. Videotape is not a reliable storage medium, best to transfer to CD‐ROM or DVD. And don’t forget virtual resources; local Web sites should be scanned regularly and printouts periodically made – but get permission first! (There’s a job for life!) Collection management is the largest section, with issues of conservation, security, storage, conditions of use, substitution of formats, disaster plans, duplicate material, classification and cataloguing, digitizing and networking featured. Income generation, publishing and intellectual property (copyright and right of access) are related issues covered. The section on staff includes volunteers and friends groups. Lastly comes the section on facilities management – accommodation and equipment. There is a detailed bibliography arranged using the main sections of the Guidelines, and an index.

Quoted in the section “Quality of service” is the 1970s LAMSAC report (missed in the bibliography) that showed that the average local studies enquiry took 10.52 minutes to complete, more than in any other area of reference service (is there no later study?). Surprisingly, the Guidelines have no guidelines about enquiry work, one of the major problems faced today, with all manner of service policies and charging scenarios in place. Overall, though, the Guidelines give a pretty comprehensive coverage and are pleasingly up to date. In my experience, historians and family tree‐ers are among the most sophisticated users of ICT – probably something to do with large databases – and they expect us to be equally so. On digitization, we need to be ahead of them.

Now that standards, benchmarking and best value are high on our horizon, I am glad that Library Association Publishing has not stinted on this publication. This report is characterised by a bold presentation – generous typeface, clear presentation, plenty of white space, and a large, spined, A4 format, which will not easily get buried in pending piles. This is a document to have close to hand, even in one’s line of vision, a vision to aspire to. It is a document to wave at those who can help achieve the vision. The longer I work in libraries, the more I value local studies departments as epitomizing everything that is good about the public library. These Guidelines are a welcome and timely document. The Local Studies Group of the Library Association is to be congratulated on a magnificent achievement.