Jolanta Słowik Organizational and functional changes in public libraries: the case of the Wroclaw Public Library
	Wrocław Public Library
	This article was translated thanks to the grant received from the Open Society Institute

Changes in the public library image

In the last decade, we have observed many changes in the management and operation of public libraries. Numerous professional conferences and discussions in library literature point to a need for a transformation in public librarianship^[1]. It is being noted that there exists a necessity to reconstruct and build a new model of the public library. It is emphasized that a modern library should take on a character of an "open" cultural institution, i.e. open to influence by the surrounding community and to the needs of its users.

The term "open" library^[2] does not just refer to an institution, which offers open access to its collections by eliminating barriers to it in the form of closed depositories. It also defines a library that is permanently evolving, expanding its key operations (acquisitions, cataloging and providing access to resources and collections) by new informational functions, as well as, alternative forms of educational and cultural activity. An "open" library is also one, whose activities and overall image are created not only by librarians, but also, by the users. It is the patrons, who often inspire changes in libraries by expressing their needs. It is they, our library users, who force us, the librarians, to supplement traditional library collections with new materials and to improve our services with new information media. Therefore, in order to "persist" and exist in the shifting reality, librarians should verify the library's mission and development strategy. They must reform the library's image and, furthermore, they must understand that a modern library is an institution that evolves along with the times. It is an institution that satisfies and develops user interests and needs for information, research, education, culture and entertainment, while maintaining a balance between its main library functions and alternative activities. The library personnel must be aware of new developments, must engage in continuous learning and seek improvement in its work with the users by applying new forms and concepts of service.

This means that the most common public library model and, at the same time, the least complex and historically oldest, i.e. a model of a book-lending facility also providing access to reference materials and current periodicals within its reading rooms (sometimes, in a small "reading corner"), should be changed. Small libraries with lending services and basic reference of this kind could continue operating to support the main library that provides a full range of services, including new technologies and other alternative assistance. Alongside these traditional libraries, suitable for small communities or supporting large libraries, there should be centers that offer cultural, informational and educational activities, as well as, special services for the physically and mentally disabled, the sick, people with hidden illnesses, the elderly and ethnic minorities. Hence, the public library as a resource of required school literature and leisure reading must be expanded and altered according to the existing trends in world librarianship and with respect to arising needs and interests of the readers, who increasingly expect good quality information delivered relatively fast (using new technologies of information delivery).

In Poland, the model of a traditional library is now more commonly enhanced by alternative and interdisciplinary functions, at the same time, focusing on the library's role as a local cultural center.^[3]

A library identified as such may offer its patrons, among others, the following:

• Traditional or fully automated circulation services or in-library access to collections and information resources.
• Access to the Internet.
• Social and cultural information on the local area.
• Organizational support for local cultural initiatives and ventures planned with local authorities and social, and cultural associations.
• Variety of services for children, youth, users with disabilities, the unemployed, groups of hobbyists, the elderly, ethnic minorities, etc.
• Art exhibitions, competitions, meetings with interesting personalities, library training, public lectures.
• Promotion of the region, its achievements, distinctions and the output of its inhabitants.^[4]

Such professionally managed library activities, which combine traditional and modern forms of librarianship, supported by advancements in computer technology and engaging in sociocultural processes, are certain to influence the library's image, improve its impact on the community and increase financial support from outside sources.

The next type of a public library model involves an institution providing special information and education services, such as:

• Access to information about the activities of local and regional authorities (district, city and communal council resolutions, budget information or strategic development plans of local governments etc.).
• Providing information services in science, education, business, law and taxes, as well as, employment.
• Directing patrons to other sources of information, i.e. places (institutions) and resources, that can help solve their problem.
• Ensuring information access to persons pursuing education.
• Providing access to computer equipment and software.
• Enabling access to databases available on local and external servers.^[5]

A library that offers the above listed services actively participates in and supports the development of educational, democratic and economic processes. In addition to that, such activities make it possible for receiving extra funding from users by collecting fees for special services, for example, printing subject bibliographies from databases, using the Internet and computer hardware and software for Word editing or making Excel spreadsheets.

The third model of a public library describes an institution whose services address users with special needs, that is, the physically or mentally disabled, the sick, people with hidden illnesses, the elderly, and ethnic or national minorities. In this case, the library not only fulfills intellectual and recreational needs, but also, provides help with the use of books and information.

This type of library offers the following services:

• Access to collections special needs users.
• Information on institutions that serve people who need support in facing difficult life situations.
• Access to equipment enabling the use of special collections and databases, for instance, a computer with a Braille keyboard for the blind or visually impaired, CD or cassette player for audio books.
• Home delivery of materials or telephone notification service.

These types of public library services rendered to users with special needs require establishing a cooperative relationship with institutions and organizations that support this social group.

Overall, in Polish librarianship, there exists a mixture of the above organizational and functional solutions for public libraries. There is a tendency towards one kind of dominant activities, typical of a specific library model, combined with a simultaneous implementation of basic library functions, such as, acquisitions, cataloging and providing access to collections and information resources.

Organizational and functional changes at the Wroclaw Public Library

The emerging tendencies and trends in the development of international and Polish librarianship dictate the need for a structural reorganization of the Wroclaw Public Library (WPL) and its branches.^[6]

Above all, the new trends and tendencies refer to the following issues:

• The new perception of libraries as cultural institutions, responsible for not merely providing access to its collections through take-home and in-house use, but also, for organizing cultural activity, as determined by the Law on the Organization and Maintenance of Cultural Activity of October 25, 1991, amended on June 27, 1996 and July 24, 1998 (Dziennik Ustaw^[7], 2001, no. 13).
• The new tasks and functions of the library as a cultural institution, fulfilling general public needs for education, culture and information, and participating in the dissemination of knowledge and culture, as dictated by the Library Law of June 27, 1997 (Dziennik Ustaw, 1997, no. 85).
• The modern principles of fiscal management of libraries, similar to current standards practiced by state businesses, thus, making the library a cultural institution that specifically engages in the dissemination of culture, as dictated by the Law on Public Finances of November 26, 1998 (Dziennik Ustaw, 1998, no. 38), amended in 1999 (Dziennik Ustaw, 1999, no. 49) and in 2000 (Dziennik Ustaw, 2000, no. 12).

Furthermore, the need for change, driven by the current government regulations and following a detailed analysis of the existing library network and its functions, also makes it necessary to modernize the structure of the network and the organization of the WPL and its branches. Consequently, the development strategy of the WPL network considers the above ideas and, knowing that changes in Wroclaw libraries have already been initiated, it aims to maintain consistency and continuity in its overall transformation.

The guidelines of the project anticipate that the WPL and its branches will form an integral network of community libraries, interlinked by a direct connection and working within a centralized computer library system. The ability to operate within a standardized system will enable the formation of a central catalog of library collections and a shared patron directory database. Such proposed solutions will mean that the user will no longer be limited to a certain branch, but will be able to use all libraries within the entire network. Moreover, the WPL project considers a uniform system of labeling branches by type, as well as, a color-coded scheme to distinguish various library services within the library walls, which is certain to improve visual identification of libraries within the city, as well as, user orientation inside the libraries.

The organizational project of the Wroclaw city libraries considers the WPL as the main library responsible for the coordination and management of a sufficient number of affiliated branches, that is:

• City libraries - library and information centers.
• Local libraries.

Moreover, the project does not eliminate the possibility of building additional library centers and starting a transportation service in order to reach small communities in the city outskirts, thus demonstrating its openness to the actual needs of local communities.

The Wroclaw Public Library - a coordinating and managing unit - is appointed the function of a cultural institution (according to the Law on the Organization and Maintenance of Cultural Activity) by the Wroclaw City Council. Upon its official registration, the institution of culture secures a legal identity and begins its activity based on the law and a statute issued by the Wroclaw City Council. The City Council, as a founder, may decide on a branch merger, a division, or closing, of the main library or any of its branches. However, to do so, it must issue a public statement about its intended change along with appropriate justification, three months before a merger, or a division, and six months before a closing.

The internal structure of the WPL, as a coordinating and managing entity, is expressed in the organizational regulations issued by the institution's director, guided by the Wroclaw City Council and any connected associations and labor unions. However, the Wroclaw City Management conducts the supervision over the library's activities, while the Provincial and Municipal Public Library in Wroclaw maintains the supervision of essential tasks identified by the Library Law.

The project suggests the following duties of the main city library as a coordinating unit:

• Organization and management of the public libraries network throughout the city.
• Centralized acquisitions and cataloging of collections (which includes creating the central catalog), obviously, within an integrated computer library system.
• Providing patrons (including special users) with access to the circulating collection, information resources and reference materials, and allowing circulating collection access to branches and interested institutions, such as, shelters, ethnic minority associations of Wroclaw, neighborhood councils etc., obviously, with the use of a circulation module of the library computer system.
• Participating in interlibrary loan.
• Coordinating and providing information services to Wroclaw residents using the library's own electronic resources of bibliographic and factual data, the multimedia collection and other library collections via the Internet.
• Creating a bibliographic database on the region, with the cooperation of the Provincial and Municipal Public Library.
• Procedural and methodological support to branch library employees.
• Organizing professional development workshops and training for the key employees of the Wroclaw city libraries.
• Conducting annual statistics and reports for the city libraries.
• Organizing cultural events and citywide educational programs.
• Supporting branch libraries in coordinating local cultural and educational programs.
• Cooperating with other libraries, sociocultural organizations and institutions throughout Wroclaw and the region.
• Promoting the Wroclaw public libraries, their collections, services, library events and activities associated with cultural education.
• Taking any actions to facilitate visual identification of public libraries in Wroclaw.
• Disseminating and promoting of knowledge and information about Wroclaw, the city's administrative authorities, achievements and accomplishments of the city and its inhabitants.
• Coordinating any tasks decided on with the municipal authorities.

The project maintains that the site of the WPL, as a coordinating and managing entity, will be allocated in a facility that is easily accessible to the disabled. However, the placement of branches offering basic and specialized services to the residents of Wroclaw is planned for locales adequate to the types of prescribed functions, considering their full automation.

The strategic plan establishes the WPL, not only, as the main city library, the site of document, services and information exchange using modern computer technologies, but also, as a key cultural institution, which stimulates activity, encourages involvement of creative societies, gives the elderly and the disabled a chance to participate in city life and attracts young people to spacious, esthetic and well-equipped facilities.

City libraries - library and information centers - as branches of the Wroclaw Public Library, are established, merged and closed in accordance with the Law on the Organization and Maintenance of Cultural Activity, mandated by the founding body, the Wroclaw City Council. The WPL performs organizational supervision in accordance with the library regulations. The project argues that city libraries be located in central parts of the city, near public transportation, commercial and service-oriented areas, and in large communities on the outskirts of Wroclaw. The project also maintains that all branches, functioning as library and information centers, should be named and labeled in a uniform way, making them visually identifiable throughout the city. It is also reasoned that the multifaceted scope of services rendered by the city libraries will be presented to the users in an appropriately designed color and graphical code, reflecting the various services.

Therefore, the plan considers the following set of services to be offered by these centers:

• Automated circulation of the general collection (adult fiction, children's literature, including foreign language) and the special collection (audio books, easy-reading materials, books in large-print, videos, maps) held by the visited library and through interlibrary loan.
• In-library access to reference, bibliographic and multimedia databases owned by the library, as well as, access to electronic resources of other libraries using a paid Internet connection.
• Organization of exhibitions, competitions, lectures, book readings, meetings and educational programs, addressed to various age groups.
• Promotion of knowledge and information about the city, its achievements and accomplishments.
• Distribution of documents containing information on local government activities.
• Access to information on issues related to business, culture, education, law and taxes.
• Access to directory information on programs for users with special needs.
• Access to special equipment and computer programming enabling the usage of databases by the blind and visually impaired.
• Home delivery of books as part of the Book-to-home program.

Assuming that the users of libraries with such a wide range of services will be, above all, young people, i.e. high school and university students, but also, adults continuing their formal education and broadening their knowledge, the scope of the collection should encompass scientific, scholarly and informational materials.

The plan proposes that library and information centers be situated in facilities of above 500 sq. meters in available space. The area would be divided into units to form multifunctional agendas, such as: a circulation desk, children's and adult reading rooms, a current periodicals reading room, an individual study room, as well as, an area for exhibits and meetings, lectures, readings, workshops and library training.

According to the plan, city libraries will accommodate all residents of Wroclaw and its operations will be fully automated. Therefore, the range of services would address a multitude of aspects and perform many functions. This would cause libraries to become sources of information about library collections and other information scattered throughout the city of Wroclaw. They would become places offering attractive ways for learning and development by making use of new computer technologies. They would become centers that motivate creative societies and propagate the richness of cultural activities and, finally, they would make a welcoming impression on patrons with special needs.

The network of adequately equipped city libraries will be built by the city from scratch, as part of a long-time investment plan. However, the ongoing activities of these branches will be carried out by the already existing personnel, supported by financial assets and resources that will accumulate during the planned reorganization of the network. The presence of this new kind of branch libraries will popularize the diverse information, cultural and educational services. It will transform these city libraries into cultural institutions, essential in everyday life of the city residents, satisfying their needs for knowledge, education, culture, entertainment, as well as, fulfilling certain social roles.

Local libraries are another type of branch libraries in the WPL system. As in the case of city library and information centers, they are founded, merged and closed in accordance with the Law on the Organization and Maintenance of Cultural Activity, by the proposal of the WPL. The Wroclaw City Council also founds them and the coordinating and managing unit, the WPL, supervises its organizational issues. It is projected that local libraries will be established in smaller communities of Wroclaw. The objective of the WPL project is to create these libraries out of the initiative and with the participation of interested local communities. It is assumed that these communities will take part in, not only, organizing these libraries, but also, in the maintenance of ongoing activities. Local libraries would be established in facilities owned by the Wroclaw Community, for example, in schools, social care facilities, parishes, hospitals, and non-government organizations.

Consequently, the following organizational solutions for local libraries are considered:

• Local neighborhood libraries - created with the participation of neighborhood councils and in their facilities.
• Local libraries - created with the participation of schools and in their facilities.^[8]
• Local libraries - created with the participation of parishes and in their facilities.

The model of libraries, functioning in schools, social care homes, religious study centers, hospitals, organizations, neighborhood associations or councils, based on a mutual understanding and partnership-like cooperation, means that interested parties would share maintenance costs of the library serving a particular local community.

Furthermore, the project proposes to maintain unity among the local libraries, with special attention to their visual identification.

A standard range of services of the local library would include:

• Lending materials from the circulating collection, in-library access to some collections and interlibrary loan.
• Providing access to information about Wroclaw, the activities of local authorities, especially, neighborhood councils.
• Information regarding important cultural events in the city and neighborhood.
• Access to resources of the WPL and other branches via a direct Internet connection.
• Directory information about institutions offering programs for readers with special needs.
• Organizing cultural events, contests, lectures, festivities, with the participation of neighborhood councils.
• Cooperation with educational centers, organizations and sociocultural institutions.
• Promotion of the library, its resources and services.

Depending on local needs and conditions, the above assortment of services of local libraries may be expanded by additional functions. Moreover, the project does not disqualify the implementation of activities similar to those of city information and library centers.

Library posts^[9] are a planned organizational unit of the WPL designed to meet the needs of readers in closed social environments. The appointment of library posts would depend on the initiative and engagement of interested social groups. Their functions would be performed by volunteers from within the given environment. They could be founded in community centers, hospitals, neighborhood council offices, social care homes, associations, organizations and institutions for the disabled.

The activities of library posts address the needs of specific social groups, for example: hospital patients, social care home residents, persons with various dysfunctions, but also, people living in small, secluded, residential areas. Because of this, the range of services rendered by these posts would be limited to providing take-home and in-library use of books and special collections, such as, audio books.

Conclusion

The implementation of functional and organizational reforms in the Wroclaw Public Library and its branches rests on large investments of the city. Therefore, one may expect that the initiation and full realization of the planned development strategy will take some time.

Due to the extended time it might take to implement the reforms, which additionally depends on the dynamics of the socioeconomic transformation, the direction of change presented here is open to any adjustments, should the need arise. The solutions offered in the project may become standard practices required by public libraries in Poland.

In the proposed organizational and functional changes for public libraries, basic and traditional library services (i.e. book-lending and in-library access to the reference collection) remain as significant as ever. Common library functions were expanded by tasks and services that make a library "absorbing" and "open" to new and necessary concepts in library work. The increase in the range of library services, especially, the ones based on modern computer technology and information media, as well as, the ones driven by a new perception of municipal public libraries as local cultural information centers, will enable libraries to accomplish its objectives of providing access to knowledge and education. Consequently, public libraries will become a crucial link in the formation of a modern information society.

Footnotes

[1] Wołosz, J.: Bibliotekarstwo publiczne wobec zmian i wyzwań. [In:] Funkcje ponadlokalne bibliotek publicznych - poziom wojewódzki. Materiały z ogólnopolskiej konferencji nt. "Wojewódzka biblioteka publiczna w zreformowanym systemie administracyjnym - zarządzanie, funkcje, standardy." Rzeszów 15-18 maja 1999. Warszawa, 1999, p. 7-16.

[2] Hudzik, K.: Biblioteka otwarta - czyli jaka? "Bibliotekarz", 1999, no. 7-8, p. 6.

[3] In a meeting with the WMPL management (Wroclaw, March 4, 2002), among others, members of Wroclaw neighborhood councils supported the building and formation of libraries in big areas.

[4] Wołosz, J., p. 9.

[5] Wołosz, J., p.10.

[6] http://ebib.oss.wroc.pl/raporty/raport2001.html

[7] Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland.

[8] In order to create a public library in a school, it is required for it to have its own, additional entrance and its tasks, services and the educational function must fulfill the needs of the entire school.

[9] Czajkowski, F. and Skarżyńska, M.: Specjalistyczne punkty biblioteczne - przeżytek czy niezbędne ogniwo w przyszłoœciowym modelu bibliotekarstwa publicznego. "Poradnik Bibliotekarza", 2002, no. 1, p. 6-9.

Translated by Marta Sobieszek