When it comes to running a community-focused library service, what do libraries do well? And not so well? It’s so much more than collections and programs.

Library benchmarking is supposed to provide objective evidence of comparative performance. Nice theory, but in practice the real world is seldom that simple and you have to get creative to find true meaning.

One of the best ways to find out what makes a library tick, and how it could be even better, is to take a seat, observe, listen and reflect. Yet library managers and staff almost never take the time to do this. I think they should.

New data from a 2022 survey of more than 18,000 Victorian library users shows that now more than ever public libraries are safe and shared places for community connections.

Guest presenter Jacqui Phillips shares her take on a modern library, complete with romance novels, book chatter, heavy school bags and an African drumming class.

On average, 84% of people think that public libraries are a safe place. And this includes feedback from library users and people who don’t use libraries. What is it about libraries that creates this perception?

How do you get non-users into the library? Well, it depends on who they are and why they’re not using the library. You might promote library services, break down barriers to access, change people’s minds, or just leave them be.

When doing community consultation on library use we often get asked about the people who don’t use the library. Who are they? And why don’t they use the library? As it turns out we already know a bit about the non-users, and have done so for years thanks to the Libraries Building Communities research.

Most public library plans and strategies should look pretty similar - after all, good libraries have many similar characteristics. So what is it that makes a good library plan different from the next one.

Are population catchments equitably served by public library services? My deep dive into a new sort of BMI suggests not.

2021 has not been a normal year. But there is more library analysis coming to the blog soon. And there’s bonus content at the end of this short piece!

It’s unfortunate, but one of the strengths of a contemporary library will also be a major weakness as we move to a post-COVID normal.

It’s census time again - which means that libraries are about to be armed with a powerful planning tool. But what is it about the census that makes it so important?

Library users are not the reason why you can’t close a public library. It’s the library believers!

One of the challenges in trying to demonstrate the value of public libraries is the diversity of use and impact - literacy, lifelong learning, digital inclusion, social inclusion, mental wellbeing, etc. If we’re to find answers we just need to make a start.

I am a huge fan of education. When I was younger I went to school - I loved it! But I can’t see how a school running a public library makes good sense for a community. I know it can work in some cases but most of the time I’d just say ‘No’ - for the following reasons.

I suspect that our COVID experience will change the way people use public libraries. And some new measures might help us to understand these changes and respond accordingly.

New year, new idea. How could we measure the value that public libraries provide to library users and the community? Maybe it’s not as hard as I once thought.

I used to think that a library was built around a collection. But my ideas of a 21st century library are continually challenged - and I have to adapt. WARNING - This blog post contains NO statistics.

While people who live in outer Melbourne have to share a library with 60,000 others, in inner city suburbs there are libraries every 4 sq km. Is this equitable?