The mission stated by the British library towards 2020 is “Advancing the world´s knowledge”. Talking about setting the ambitions high enough in regards to public services.
Looking at the transformation of the Finnish library, a strategy
towards 2016 exists similarly with set objectives and mission. From the
strategy it can be learnt that the strategic goal of the library is to generate
a meeting spot for people and ideas ie to energise, inspire and surprise. Overall,
the strategy outline looks well thought of including the mission which I guess
few people would really doubt: “To enhance equal opportunities for people
towards civilization, literature and art, and develop skills for information,
globalization, civil preparedness and lifelong learning. The objective is also
to enhance interactive and virtual services and their cultural contents”.
Some good examples of implementing the strategy exist.
Libraries have transformed from borrowing books only to open living rooms for
education, entertainment and social sharing. While the library is closed, you
may access the premises with your own key. “Night at the library for toys” was
organized in Helsinki to help children manage the fear of being without parents
for a sleep-over. The new central library to be opened in Helsinki is estimated
to attract 10.000 visitors a day. That means more than one million visits per
year.
All this sounds great and nobody can argue the
digitalization of information as one of the key building blocks. The future age
classes will be utilizing more of the virtual services and are used to
accessing all information virtually.
What is then the impact of the strategy and are Finnish
citizens getting value for their tax money with the transformation? I tried to
find some key statistics to support the strategy. Based on information I found,
it may be too early for the evaluation.
According to Tilastokeskus, Finnish Statistics, the cost of
the whole library system during 2004-2014 has increased by 32%. Also the cost
per capita has increased. During the
same time period, number of physical visits has decreased significantly from 67
million to 50 million. However there seem to be big variations between
locations, since some libraries are experiencing clear growth in both visitor
rates and number of books lent. The number of web visits has varied somewhat
but overall the level has remained the same. Also the number of borrowed books
has decreased.
Where are the positive measures from the development and
what is really the impact of all these changes? Based on an analysis by
Heikkinen, Laitinen, Lappalainen, Parikka, Rasinkangas, Saarti, Söderholm,
Suikkanen and Vainikka, there seem to be good key measures for the library
including impact scores like benefits to the user, influence of the library within
the society and studying efficiency. However I cannot find in the strategy
documents what is the current situation and where are the improvements made so
far. Is some business thinking needed?
It is clear our public service needs to evolve towards the
needs of future generations for whom “digital” and access to data is what paper
has been to us. One key question is what is the success factor that determines
the return of investment and what to focus on. Coming back to British library
and its future plans including their strategic priorities, it looks as if they
have started from the right end – looking into key user needs and trends for
the future. If our library system is anywhere within this path, I trust our tax
money goes to right direction. However, seeing is believing, in the most
positive sense, and appreciating the service I am given.
