National Strategy for Public Libraries in Scotland Minutes of the Strategic Group Meeting 4 th November 2014 Royal Scots Club, Edinburgh Present: Martyn Evans (Chair), Jeanette Castle, Anne Dagg, Gillian Daly, Caroline Johnston, Cleo Jones, Martina McChrystal, Helen Milner, Sophie Moxon, Jenny Peachey, Peter Peacock, Robert Ruthven, Marion Sinclair, Lorna Watt, Douglas White, Mairi Macleod (Communications Consumer Panel) Guest Speakers: Chris Yiu, Colin Cook, Claire Mack Apologies: Trish Botten, Duncan Campbell, Gillian Daly, Jenny Niven, Louise Macdonald, Ian McKay, Amina Shah, Claire Stevens, Rosemary Ward, Alan Martin (Scottish Government) 1. Guest speakers The Chair opened the meeting with presentations from guest speakers, Chris Yiu, Colin Cook and Claire Mack. Notes of these presentations are contained in the appendix. Chris Yiu is Director of Digital Participation at SCVO. He leads their work to help everyone in Scotland to benefit from the internet, and to boost digital capability in Scotland's third sector. Before joining SCVO he was director of digital government at a UK think tank, and has held senior roles in government and in the private sector. Colin Cook has been Head of Digital Strategy and Programmes with the Scottish Government since 2012, where he is involved in delivering the Scottish Government's commitment to a world class digital infrastructure. Previously he was head of marketing for the British Army and at the Royal Mail. Colin was also a Senior Civil Servant with the Scottish Government for 6 years. Claire Mack is a Regulatory Affairs Manager with Ofcom Scotland. She leads on telecoms, spectrum and postal issues in relation to Scotland and ensures that stakeholders in Scotland know and understand the implications of Ofcom s policies in these areas. Communications with Scottish politicians, civil servants and Ofcom stakeholders are key and it is important part of Claire s role. She also manages the agenda and provides support to the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Digital Participation. Before Ofcom, Claire worked for the Independent Television Commission heavily involved with content issues and complaints with regard to regional broadcasting in Scotland, the North East of England and the Border area. 1
2. Minute of last meeting The minute of the last meeting held on 30 th September 2014 was approved. 3. Matters arising EKOS Survey Jeannette Castle announced that the EKOS survey on the position of leisure and culture within local authorities will soon be launched. 4. Update on deliberative research Jenny Peachey, provided an update on behalf of Gillian Daly (SLIC) on items 4 and 5. As Amina Shah (SLIC) mentioned at the last meeting, the tender went to Blake Stevenson. They delivered a presentation at the SLIC offices on 10th October to both Amina and Jennifer Wallace (Carnegie UK Trust). Focus group sessions have now been agreed and will take place in: Dundee, Duns, Bathgate, Dingwall & mobile, Elgin, Glasgow, Greenock, Helensburgh, Perth & mobile. This spread gives a breadth of geographic (urban/rural mix) and socio-economic backgrounds. It also covers the areas with highest and lowest library usage (2012/2013 figures show these to be Highland and Argyll and Bute respectively). The Venture Trust and Open Book have agreed to facilitate session s outwith libraries, and targeting vulnerable/un represented groups to ensure their needs are taken into consideration. Other partners have been identified to support recruitment of participants to avoid a 'library bias'. The focus groups will be conducted as half-day sessions with 12 participants in each group. The sessions are scheduled to take place by 21st November with a draft report on the 28th November. 5.. Update on Your Views The consultation element of the process will be open until Tuesday 2nd December. So far there has been a fairly modest response rate of 31 to date with a high concentration of library staff responding. Support was requested in regard to enhancing the breadth of input. 6. AOB None. 7. Date of next meeting The meeting will take place on Tuesday 2nd December 2014 from 1.30 3.30pm at the Royal Society of Edinburgh. http://www.royalsoced.org.uk 2
Actions Hard copy of EKOS survey to be sent to Carnegie UK Trust Check whether Your Views was sent to elected members Highlight the success of digital projects funded by PLIF Approach library trusts about governance documents they have which would include the role they set out for libraries Resend the link to Your Views to all strategy group members Presentation on the publishing industry at the next meeting Jeanette Castle Amina Shah Amina Shah / Gillian Daly Amina Shah / Gillian Daly Jenny Peachey Marion Sinclair Appendix: Guest Speakers Chris Yiu Digital Participation in Scotland The SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) are working closely with the Scottish Government to support their wider ambitions for a Digital Scotland. Key points: i) 30% of adults in Scotland do not have basic online skills, which equates to 1.3 million of the population. This compares to 20% of the UK as a whole ii) Digital participation is essential for both society and the economy iii) Fast broadband is not enough on its own, people also require both the motivation and the skills to get the most out of being online iv) Libraries are important providers of these skills but can t cover all bases v) Some people may feel uncomfortable about using the library vi) Importance of getting the technology right vii) The digital challenge has to be solved by communities Questions for the strategy group are: i) What other places can people learn digital skills? ii) What is the role of library staff and volunteers? What is the interface between them? iii) How can library staff skills be kept up to date? 3
Colin Cook Update from Scottish Government Digital Directorate There are 4 pillars to the Scottish Government s Digital Strategy; delivering public services, growing a digital economy, digital participation and building digital connectivity for the future. Key points: i) The Scottish Government has a long-term vision eventually you should be able to go anywhere in Scotland and be able to use a mobile device ii) The development of digital public services has huge benefits for users as well as efficiency savings for Government iii) There is a desire to increase the digital economy in Scotland and help businesses grow and develop iv) There are questions around the role of SME s and the level of digital training amongst staff v) Currently there is a shortage of skilled professionals in both Scotland and across Europe. Women are under-represented vi) Need for reflection on the challenges that exist. Unlikely to be solved by the public sector alone Claire Mack, Current & Future IT Trends Our preferred methods of communication have changed rapidly over the past 10 years, Teenagers are shaping how we communicate and our peak in digital understanding is between 14-15 years. i) There are notable differences between teenagers and adults in their communication methods; 8% use email compared to 77% of adults; 3% use a landline phone (adults 64%) and 40% use instant messaging (28% adults) ii) There has been growth in take-up and use by older people, across a range of devices iii) There has been growth in a range of online activities, particularly across communication and entertainment activities iv) User-generated content is an information source for users, although online users are more likely to receive than to contribute content v) Privacy and security attitudes and behaviour continue to vary considerably by age group vi) Among those with app-enabled devices, apps are more popular than browsers for some online activities vii) viii) ix) Eight in ten households in Scotland have internet access The percentage of Glaswegians living in households with broadband (excluding mobile devices) is 63%; and 66% if mobile devices are included. This compares to 50% and 54% respectively in the 2013 CMR report A number of important trends that could have a significant impact on spectrum use are emerging, including mobile broadband growth, the emergence of new uses such as machine-to-machine (M2M) communications and increasingly sophisticated techniques for sharing spectrum 4
x) Many challenges remain including; confusion over data-pricing; concerns over privacy, difficulties of parental control and a decline in trust of the major broadcasters The group discussed both the strengths of libraries and the challenges which they faced with regard to digital services. Strengths Track record of getting people online; seen as champions of access to digital services; community based; libraries are trusted & safe environments; range of opening hours. Challenges Lack of resources - equipment may not be up-to-date, not all libraries have Wi-Fi; restrictions placed by IT departments; inconsistent services; keeping staff skill set up-to-date; need for libraries to identify the best partners to work with; a variety of organisations (both non-profit and commercial) also offer online access; library may not be the best place for everyone to learn; privacy issues, sense of urgency about getting people online. 5