Newsletter 3

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European Libraries are addressing the Modernisation Agenda.

The importance of libraries in Europe has been growing despite a 7% contraction in the number of service points over the past decade (1991-1998). This is one of the conclusions arising from a review of the statistical returns made by the 29 participating countries in the LibEcon2000 network.

The findings, reported in a "Millennium Study" published earlier in 2000 describe the scope and scale of European library activities at the turn of the century. The authors reveal a move towards a lower number of, but larger, service points. Whilst some of this contraction has been due to significant rationalisation in Central and Eastern Europe (particularly in public libraries where there has been a decline of 14% in the past decade), it is also evident that the traditional deployment of libraries within convenient physical access of their communities is being challenged by the electronic information revolution. Indeed, the report's authors seek to alert policy makers to consider the minimum viable catchment populations for public libraries in the future.

Despite this apparent contraction, libraries are evidently responding to increasing demand because although the number of library visits has also diminished (-1%) the number of registered members has increased (+11%), as have loan transactions (+5%). To cater for this need, bookstock has expanded (+6%) and the number of qualified staff in libraries has also increased accordingly. It is clear that the significant development in library services has been in response to a growth in Tertiary Education throughout Europe.

The pace at which the modernisation agenda was being pursued in the 1990s is also covered in the report. It shows how workstations for users increased more than fourfold from 74,000 in 1991 to 310,000 in 1998. The stock of CD-Roms went up exponentially during the second half of the period, going from an estimated 456,000 in 1991 to 2,500,000 in 1998. Even so, the automation agenda has much to achieve in the new century: The proportion of catalogue records automated is estimated to have only gone up from 36 to 46% and the selection of stock on open access barely increased from 60 to 61% over the same period.

The Millennium Study can be read on the web-site (www.libecon2000.org). It contains recommendations covering the need for further work and for improved statistical representation of information technology in libraries. Other issues are raised, such as the small average size of university libraries in some countries and of public library administrative units in others. Disparities in provision are quite marked and stand out from the data. The report calls upon governments to use the information provided to benchmark aspects of their services with a view to improving to the standard of the best. For added convenience the report is also available with all of the survey data on CD-Rom.

The LibEcon 2000 survey area comprises:

States in Central and Eastern Europe:

Bulgaria; Czech Republic; Estonia; Hungary; Latvia; Lithuania; Poland; Romania; Slovak Republic; Slovenia.

Member States of the Eurpean Union:

Austria; Belgium; Denmark; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Ireland; Italy; Luxembourg; Netherlands; Portugal; Spain; Sweden; United Kingdom.

Other States within the European Free Trade Agreement:

Iceland; Liechtenstein; Norway; Switzerland.

LibEcon participation is set to expand to include 38 countries:

The Russian Federation has also indicated its desire to participate. With effect from 2001 it is intended to enlarge the participating counties to include other members of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development.

Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development:

Australia; Canada; Korea; New Zealand; USA; Japan; Mexico and Turkey.

The Sectors included in the LibEcon surveys support the UNESCO classification:

Library Sectors (ISO 2789)

1. National Libraries:  typically functioning as a "deposit library" and normally compiling a national bibliography.
2. Libraries of Institutions of Tertiary Education:  primarily serving teaching at the third level.
3. Public Libraries:  serving the population free of charge or for a nominal fee
4. Special Libraries:  catering for: government, health services, professional associations, industrial and commercial concerns and other specialist interest.
5. Other Major Non-Specialised Libraries *:  libraries of a learned character with collections in excess of 150,000 items of stock
6. School Libraries:  attached to all types of schools and colleges below the tertiary level of education.

* The Millennium Study recommends the cessation of the Other Major Non-Specialised Library classification with effect from 2000, and suggests that these institutions are included under the Tertiary (Libraries in Higher Education) or Special Libraries Sectors, as appropriate

Operational Trends

Service Points, Visits and Transactions

Including all sectors, it is estimated that in 1998 there were 224,000 service points throughout the study area. There has been a considerable contraction since 1991, averaging 7.1%, but this has taken place particularly in the Central & Eastern European countries where the proportionate drop was 14% and where the main closures took place in public libraries.

Not surprisingly, there has been a fall-off in the number of visitors to libraries, although this appears to have been off-set by a gradual increase in transactions processed each year.

Staff

374,000 staff are employed in European libraries, an increase of 3.7% since 1991. This increase is weighted towards the professional staff (+ 4.9% over the period, but concentrated mainly in EU States).

Materials

Books and periodicals form the basic stock of libraries. However, the largest volume changes in the stock of materials reflect increases in audio-visual items:

The trends in annual additions to stock vary between sectors. National libraries report growth in annual additions in books and audio-visual materials. Public libraries' book acquisitions fell between 1991 and 1995 but have since stabilised, while their audio-visual materials have increased steadily. With a large increase in the population served by Tertiary Education, so have their book acquisitions grown hugely.

Use and Users

The count of registered members increased in total by 10.5% from 126 million to 139 million. As this count includes people using several libraries, the proportion it represents out of the total population (484 million) - 29% - is disappointingly low. But the trend is moving upwards.

Modernisation

Overall total estimates show that workstations for users increased more than fourfold from 74,000 in 1991 to 310,000 in 1998. Numbers of CD-Roms went up exponentially during the second half of the period, from an estimated 456,000 in 1991 to 2,500,000 in 1998. The proportion of Catalogue Records Automated is estimated to have risen from 36% to 46%.

Financial Trends

Increased investment has been focused on Tertiary Libraries whilst the Public Library sector has experienced constrained expenditure, although National Libraries have enjoyed some modest growth in funding. The different levels of inflation prevailing in each country presents some problems in the interpretation of the consolidated analysis of expenditure. The Millennium Study addresses this issue in more detail. However, it is apparent that the focus of library budgets has been directed towards increased investment in electronic information. Against a background of constraint on these budgets, there has been considerable expansion in other means of financing the service with increases in income raised from fees and charges and donations. The expenditure on electronic materials, was heavily concentrated in the Tertiary and Special Libraries sectors. Even so, the 1998 results show Electronic Information still representing only 15% of total materials expenditure, confirming the traditional dominance of conventional materials.

Tertiary Education Sector

Between 1991 and 1997, Staff plus Student totals in Tertiary education went from 1.5 to almost 2 million. Changes in expenditure are as shown in table 4:

Public Libraries Sector

Over the period reviewed (7 years) public library service points have decreased by 18%, a considerable proportion of this decline arising from closures in Poland where the fall was from 10,300 to 3,565 public libraries. But most countries show decreases between 8 and 15%. Generally:

• There is still a huge difference in the scale of public library operations between countries which have had a well-resourced public library service for many years and those without this historical tradition.

• There are some countries developing their public libraries from a low base, showing significant increases since 1991, and others with no apparent development. Many have a long way to go to approach the activity levels accepted as normal elsewhere.

• There are obvious connections between high levels of Stock, Loans and Additions to Stock - which can be studied in the statistical database. 

• So far, initiatives to develop networking, IT and the Internet in public libraries have apparently not diminished the take up of traditional services, except possibly in the United Kingdom.