Somerset Libraries are being cited as examples of excellence nationally in an independent review of English Public Libraries carried out by Baroness Sanderson.
This review features six examples and case studies from Somerset, covering community libraries, health initiatives, digital innovation, thermal camera loans and comment from customers and frontline staff alike.
Somerset also had 11 named contributors listed – the highest for any individual Library Service.
Lady Sanderson visited libraries across England to see how the service is delivered and spoke to people working in libraries, as well as campaigners, volunteers, and users. Her eight recommendations are contained in An independent review of English public libraries – GOV.UK.
Community Managed Libraries are cited as examples of “well-used and much-loved cornerstones of the community” with the Castle Cary branch where links with carers’ groups have been established.
Lady Sanderson said many libraries now have health professionals on site, quoting a Yeovil nurse who said:
A lot of people get white coat syndrome in a surgery, so they find it easier here. I also get a lot of people coming in after a bereavement. They’ve maybe buried their head in the sand a bit about their own health and so they’ll pop along here.
If I was operating in a pharmacy or a surgery, say, I just don’t think people would come along in the same way. And the great thing about being here is if there’s an issue around weight, say, or just not knowing what to cook I’ll often suggest they have a browse in the cookery book section, or I’ll gently direct them to some of the books on general health.
The Glass Box at Taunton Library is cited as an example of how libraries are using digital technology creatively: “It has everything from Raspberry Pi, a device that enables people to learn computer engineering and programming to a 3D printer which was used by a man over lockdown to make a prosthetic foot for his child which he had made to his own design.”
Somerset Libraries also loan thermal imaging cameras and one customer explained that the service had allowed him to pinpoint cold spots in his property and as a result the housing association is taking action.
Cllr Federica Smith Roberts, Executive Lead Member for Community, said:
Our libraries in Somerset provide a service to be proud of – amazing work is carried out and they are so much more than a place to borrow a book.
As the report says, public libraries sit unassumingly at the heart of our communities, a world of possibilities behind their doors.
I would like to thank everyone involved in our libraries – the staff, the willing volunteers, our customers, and Baroness Sanderson for coming to Somerset and seeing our wonderful service at first hand. She includes a quote from Albert Einstein which sums it up so well: “The only thing you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”
