❓ Question regarding cuts to the Inter Library Loan Service, including business case, trial details, and consultation with WALGA. The answer details the review, trial restrictions, outcomes, and consultation process.
AnsweredQoN 4066Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
In relation to cuts to the Inter Library Loan Service, I ask: (a) what
business case was conducted to determine the value of the cuts to the service; (b) was
a six-month trial of restrictive services conducted: (i) if
yes, who supervised the trial; (ii) please
list the period during which the trial was conducted; (iii) which
libraries participated in the trial; (iv) what
were the restrictions applied to the service during the trial; (v) what
were the savings realised during the trial; (vi) were
the savings used elsewhere in the library system and, if yes, where were they
applied; (vii) what
was the outcome of the trial; and (viii) who
provided feedback on the trial; and (c) was
the WA Local Government Association (WALGA) consulted as part of the trial: (i) if
yes, when; and (ii) what
was the WALGA feedback concerning the trial?
business case was conducted to determine the value of the cuts to the service; (b) was
a six-month trial of restrictive services conducted: (i) if
yes, who supervised the trial; (ii) please
list the period during which the trial was conducted; (iii) which
libraries participated in the trial; (iv) what
were the restrictions applied to the service during the trial; (v) what
were the savings realised during the trial; (vi) were
the savings used elsewhere in the library system and, if yes, where were they
applied; (vii) what
was the outcome of the trial; and (viii) who
provided feedback on the trial; and (c) was
the WA Local Government Association (WALGA) consulted as part of the trial: (i) if
yes, when; and (ii) what
was the WALGA feedback concerning the trial?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
18 October 2018
Responded by
Minister for Culture and the Arts
Response time
8 days
(a) Public Libraries WA and the State Library of Western Australia conducted a review of the State-wide inter library loans service in 2016.
(b) Yes, the evaluation report for the trial identified a 40 per cent decline in inter library loans with minimal impact on the community.
(i) An Operational Management Group, comprised of Public Libraries WA members and State Library staff supervised the trial.
(ii) 1 July to 31 December 2017.
(iii) All 232 public libraries in Western Australia and the State Library.
(iv) The following restrictions were applied during the trial:
- All new fiction items less than 12 months from the date they were supplied to the library were not available.
- Metropolitan library members were limited to 12 inter library loans per annum.
- Non-metropolitan library members were limited to 24 inter library loans per annum.
- Multiple copies of books for book clubs were not available.
- Public library members were charged on a cost recovery basis for any inter library loan that had to be obtained from outside the Western Australian public library network.
(v) Cost savings were not realised during the trial period as freight and staffing costs were already fixed for the six-month trial timeframe, however the reported 40 per cent reduction in inter library loans indicates that in future fixed costs could be reduced to realise savings to local governments and the State Library.
(vi) Not applicable
(vii) Recommendations from the trial evaluation report were endorsed by the Operational Management Group, the President of Public Libraries WA and the State Library CEO and State Librarian. Public Libraries WA developed and released a code of practice stating that the following items are not available for inter library loan:
- new items less than 12 months from the date they were supplied to any library;
- junior and young adult titles;
- DVD and audio materials; and
- items for book clubs.
Exceptions are made for library members with special needs; including people with disabilities requiring particular formats, people who are housebound, for access to materials in languages other than English for members from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and for small non-metropolitan libraries serving communities of less than 1,000 population where alternative access to library materials is limited. The service will be reviewed again in September 2019.
(viii) Public library members and staff and State Library members and staff.
(c) WALGA is a member of the State Library of WA (SLWA) strategic group which led the extensive consultation over 3 months of the WA Public Libraries Strategy. As part of this consultation WALGA hosted a forum attend by library managers, elected members and executive local government officers on the 6 March 2018
(b) Yes, the evaluation report for the trial identified a 40 per cent decline in inter library loans with minimal impact on the community.
(i) An Operational Management Group, comprised of Public Libraries WA members and State Library staff supervised the trial.
(ii) 1 July to 31 December 2017.
(iii) All 232 public libraries in Western Australia and the State Library.
(iv) The following restrictions were applied during the trial:
- All new fiction items less than 12 months from the date they were supplied to the library were not available.
- Metropolitan library members were limited to 12 inter library loans per annum.
- Non-metropolitan library members were limited to 24 inter library loans per annum.
- Multiple copies of books for book clubs were not available.
- Public library members were charged on a cost recovery basis for any inter library loan that had to be obtained from outside the Western Australian public library network.
(v) Cost savings were not realised during the trial period as freight and staffing costs were already fixed for the six-month trial timeframe, however the reported 40 per cent reduction in inter library loans indicates that in future fixed costs could be reduced to realise savings to local governments and the State Library.
(vi) Not applicable
(vii) Recommendations from the trial evaluation report were endorsed by the Operational Management Group, the President of Public Libraries WA and the State Library CEO and State Librarian. Public Libraries WA developed and released a code of practice stating that the following items are not available for inter library loan:
- new items less than 12 months from the date they were supplied to any library;
- junior and young adult titles;
- DVD and audio materials; and
- items for book clubs.
Exceptions are made for library members with special needs; including people with disabilities requiring particular formats, people who are housebound, for access to materials in languages other than English for members from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and for small non-metropolitan libraries serving communities of less than 1,000 population where alternative access to library materials is limited. The service will be reviewed again in September 2019.
(viii) Public library members and staff and State Library members and staff.
(c) WALGA is a member of the State Library of WA (SLWA) strategic group which led the extensive consultation over 3 months of the WA Public Libraries Strategy. As part of this consultation WALGA hosted a forum attend by library managers, elected members and executive local government officers on the 6 March 2018
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.