2014-02-25 Infrastructure & Services Committee Meeting Agenda

INFRASTRUCTURE & SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                          25 FEBRUARY 2014


6.   SEPARATION OF LIBRARY SERVICES

Author           Coordinator Libraries, Kerri Contini
                 Community and Development

Index            ECM/Subject/33.10 Library Management

Attachments      Nil



PURPOSE

This report will provide Council with an update on the separation of the Noosa Library Service
from Sunshine Coast Council, including an overview of the impact on customers and the support
services library staff will provide to minimise the impact.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Library Services were one of the fully integrated services of the Sunshine Coast Regional Council
providing seamless access to collections with one library membership card from any service
point.

Following some debate as to whether or not to continue with an ongoing shared library service,
the Sunshine Coast Council resolved in October 2013 to separate library services by 30 June
2014.

The first stage of the separation has already occurred with Noosa Council responsible for the
operation and management of Noosa Library Service in regards to the library buildings at
Noosaville and Cooroy, the Mobile Library, in-branch and community library services, human
resources, website, marketing, equipment and all library programs.

The remaining elements to be separated are the physical and digital library collections and the
software system, Spydus, that manages the borrower records and collection.

A key milestone will be the separation of the collections on 17 March 2014 and Noosa Library
Service will migrate to its own Spydus system on 25 March 2014. After this date the Noosa
Library Service will be operating independently of Sunshine Coast Council and the only
remaining items will be residual collection transfer to the correct library services.

Following the separation of library services, members of Noosa Council Library Service will be
transferred to a Noosa Library Service membership card for use at Noosaville, Cooroy and the
Mobile Library, as well as the online eLibrary.

Library staff have developed a range of strategies to minimise the impact of the libraries
separation and support customers through the changes.

The financial costs of library separation will be referred for consideration at the first budget
review.




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