Chair’s Foreword
Ian Ruthven
Chair, SLIC Board of Trustees
Scotland has a long and powerful history of enriching lives through library provision, and that commitment continues today as libraries play an increasingly vital role in a range of sectors and settings across the country.
SLIC has been supporting libraries for over 30 years, providing a wide range of professional services, from advice and research to funding opportunities and skills development, to support innovation and push boundaries to allow the sector to continue to develop.
As our communities face increasing economic and environmental challenges, there is a collective desire for vibrant and sustainable services – giving people access to resources they might not otherwise have to support responsible consumption and learning, to developing a long-term model for libraries to be a hub of circular economy activities. This focus is evident throughout our work and that of our members over the last year.
Scotland’s libraries are well-loved, trusted, and safe places which contribute to all aspects of life as a nation. And as our services transform and thrive for the long-term benefit of us all, SLIC is at the forefront of reimagining what a library can and should be.
Thank you,
Ian Ruthven,
Chair, SLIC Board of Trustees
We provide leadership, focus and support to our membership, which includes public library services, libraries in schools, colleges and universities, and a range of specialist information services.
Our 2022-2023 activity is shaped by six key priorities: Advocacy, Standards, Innovation, Partnerships, Funding and Research.
Advocacy
National strategies
SLIC has continued to help shape the strategic direction of libraries in Scotland through the development of dynamic and comprehensive strategies.
SLIC joined the Steering Group of Connecting Scotland, responsible for the roll out of digital connectivity across Scotland.
Ministerial engagement
- Summer 2022 – SLIC wrote to the leaders of all 32 local authorities and Chairs of Leisure Trusts to discuss their public and school library offering.
- October 2022 – SLIC wrote to all MSPs outlining library support in relation to the cost-of-living crisis during National Libraries Week.
- 2023 – Meetings with local authorities took place to ensure public and school library interests. remained at the forefront of budget discussions.
- Scottish ministers also supported a series of SLIC’s funds and campaigns throughout the year.
Conference and Exhibitions
SLIC presented its work at a series of conferences and exhibitions, including the EBLIDA Conference in Athens and the UK/Netherlands Library Symposium in Chester.
Member Activities
Our network of members amplified activity during key diary dates and campaigns, including the 4th annual Mobile Libraries Day and the national reading moment, Keep the Heid and Read!. And we celebrated their contributions at the SLIC Annual Showcase.
Keep the Heid!
SLIC joined forces with the Mental Health Foundation, the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) and Scotland’s 32 public library service providers to promote a unique national reading moment – Keep the Heid and Read!
In May, which encouraged people of all ages and abilities to take time out of their day to read for six minutes and aide their mental health and wellbeing. Research has proved that reading for six minutes every day can reduce stress by up to 68%.
The campaign attracted support from all of Scotland’s political leaders, Scotland’s Makar, sporting groups and people across the country, as the target of 300,000 pledges of support for the campaign was smashed and more than 456,000 reading minutes were pledged to a project which promoted widespread awareness of the Keep the Heid and Read messages and the way in which Scotland’s libraries play a vital role supporting public health.
Standards
SLIC worked with Audit Scotland to map public library opening hours and the Local Government in Scotland Overview was published.
SLIC also commissioned the Robert Gordon University to refresh How Good is our Public Library Service?; and partnered with CILIP to commission a Workforce Mapping Survey.
Workforce Mapping 2023 | CILIP
Local government in Scotland: Overview 2023 | Audit Scotland
Innovation
Every Child A Library Member
- Rebranded and relaunched in November 2022.
- Dedicated website introduced – www.everychild.scot
- Online Practitioner Information Session attracted 140 attendees.
- Involved partnership working with the Local Registrars, family health practitioners and the public library community.
Lend and Mend Hubs
- £300,000 grant from the John Lewis Circular Future Fund.
- Helping to deliver against the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring public libraries are sustainable spaces. within the community to engage with, learn about and collaborate about the climate emergency.
Digital Training Platform for Public Library Staff
- Launched summer 2022.
- Over 1000 staff registered.
- Staff trained in all 32 local authorities.
- The Digital Champions Network play an active part in the continued development of the platform.
Community Planning Dashboard
- Launched autumn 2022.
- Used to inform community plans with access to community demographic information.
- Ability to map service data to demonstrate reach and identify gaps.
- The platform has been praised not only within the library community in Scotland but other countries now see it as a model for the way forward.
Leadership Development Training
- Bespoke leadership course developed with the Social Enterprise Academy for emerging public library leaders.
- Two cohorts of training took place in 2022.
- Positive feedback received, with many participants opting to receive formal accreditation for the course.
Partnerships
The Collective Force for Health and Wellbeing partnership with the NHS, Digital Health Scotland, The Alliance and many more health agencies continues to play well to preventative spend while empowering communities to access trusted information in a safe, non-clinical space.
This year, the NHS Near Me pilot introduced the facility to libraries in 12 local authority areas, with plans underway to further extend the service to other regions.
A further seven pathway projects are underway working with a range of partners including Alzheimer Scotland, Diabetes Scotland, Social Work Scotland and Scottish Care.
SLIC continues to collaborate with the Scottish Government on a number of public information campaigns, including the Different Minds: One Scotland, Lung Cancer and Cost of Living support; and worked with Social Security Scotland to distribute information about the increase to the Scottish Child Payment and Additional support for learning: A guide for parents and carers.
Other partnerships during this period included:
- The Digichamps Network: the ground breaking approach to raising the digital offer and skills base within the sector provided practical sessions on innovative digital and film making projects.
- Book Week Scotland: over 14,000 people attended the 500+ events taking place in libraries across Scotland as part of Book Week Scotland.
- Ukrainian Embassy Books: a selection of Ukrainian children’s books, donated by the Ukrainian Embassy, were distributed to libraries across Scotland.
- SLIC also supported libraries to host events, apply for funding and amplify initiatives such as Scottish Book Trust’s The Story Wagon and Visit Scotland’s ‘Year of Scotland’s Stories’.
Funding
Having proved their potential to invent ways to ‘design out’ waste and extend the lifecycle of products, SLIC’s sustainable ‘Lend and Mend Hubs’ proposition was awarded a £300,000 share of the John Lewis Circular Future Fund John Lewis Partnership’s £1m Circular Future Fund.
The pilot project will turn up to 10 Scottish libraries into ‘Lend and Mend’ spaces and develop a long-term model for libraries to be a hub of circular economy activities.
Our members also received grants and bursaries to host and attend various conferences and events:
- 10 librarians attended CILIPS Annual Conference in Dundee.
- 3 bursaries for the EDGE conference.
- £22,500 awarded to 30 local authorities to support Book Week Scotland projects.
SLIC also received a £20,000 grant to pilot the NHS Near Me services in libraries.
The funding newsletter continued to be updated and circulated every two months, providing information on financial support available for the library community.
Research
SLIC is committed to evaluating all Scottish Government funded projects. Key findings from the 2021/22 School Library Improvement Fund and Public Library Improvement Fund reports include:
- Relatively small sums of project funding are extremely impactful to the sector.
- Innovation and creativity is thriving in Scotland’s public libraries.
- Climate and sustainability projects are supporting local communities.
- Projects demonstrated enhanced confidence, improved mental health and wellbeing, and enhanced reading and writing skills.
SLIC carried out its annual membership survey in January 2023 in which staff praised the ease of application processes.
SLIC undertook the annual survey of school libraries in January 2023. This survey now enables comparative data to be mapped across the implementation of the National School Library Strategy.
The Digital Learning Platform was also evaluated by independent consultants. This engagement with the public library community has helped shape future content.
SLIC Board
- Professor Ian Ruthven
- Alison Stevenson
- Craig Vickery
- Gary Cameron
- Richmond Davies
- Anna McInnes
- Lindsay McKrell
- David McMenemy
- Aileen Morton
- Richard Parsons
- Hilary Reid
- Amina Shah
- Maisie Smith
- Robert Sullivan
- Jonathan Tait
Evidence-Led Libraries: Inspiring Innovation and Creating Communities
Scottish Library & Information Council
Annual General Meeting 2025
