Video Conferencing The Derbyshire experience Robert Gent Assistant Director of Libraries & Heritage Derbyshire County Council

The programme About Derbyshire About Derbyshire libraries DELTA Our experience with video conferencing Some lessons Our plans for the future

Introducing Derbyshire Population 739,000 City of Derby a separate unitary authority Varied mix of urban, coalfield, market towns and isolated rural communities A large county roughly in the centre of the country

About Derbyshire libraries 45 libraries 170,000 active library users 1.5 million bookstock 5 million issues 20% of issues through 13 mobile libraries Many part-time libraries in rural areas

The way we were Libraries part of Education Dept Budget reductions in late 1980s Impact on bookstock, buildings, staff and opening hours Local Government Reorganisation 1995 Libraries & Heritage Department 1997

What is DELTA? Derbyshire Learning and Technology Access Broadband network linking 46 static libraries 3 mobile libraries: 21 communities 315 public access computers

DELTAs objectives Improve access Broaden appeal and relevance of library Offer opportunities for lifelong learning Improve facilities for visually-impaired Improve information about public services Improve access to specialist services

DELTAs target users Children and young people Learners of all ages Job seekers Small businesses People without easy access to ICT

DELTA: timescale 1997Nil libraries; 30 PCs libraries; 74 PCs 2000Mobile libraries added libraries; 315 PCs; broadband links via BT Learning Stream

Where the money came from DCMS/Wolfson Challenge Fund Derbyshire County Council British Telecom TECs; University for Industry Single Regeneration Budget NOF Public Service Agreement

What does DELTA offer? A managed gateway to the Internet Personal computing facilities Personal storage space on the server Services for visually-impaired users Link to Learndirect Video conferencing in 20 libraries

Video Conferencing How it all started… Funding from Rural Community Council Five libraries included Used an early version of the software Marketed to small businesses Low take-up

Then came DELTA… ISDN2 in 20 libraries and County Hall Intel Proshare the most recent Committee Room installation (ISDN6) Programmable camera with pre-sets Wide angle and zoom Omni-directional microphone

Working in partnership Trading Standards Service Inland Revenue Welfare Rights Service Derby Society for the Deaf

The evidence so far Little use by individuals Little use by small businesses Increasing use by hearing-impaired people Significant use for advice services, but only when actively promoted

Drawbacks - technical Bandwidth Synchronisation Pixellation The beauty of Blu-tak! Penetration

Drawbacks - marketing Penetration Coverage of libraries Public acceptance and understanding Familiarity Visibility Limited resources for promotion

Drawbacks - operational Staff familiarity Cumbersome set-up Reliability Privacy

Lets stay positive! High quality interpersonal communication Improved access to specialist resources Improved choice, especially to hearing- impaired people Potential to enhance learning experiences

What we have learned Visibility Continuing promotion Staff familiarity Effective partnerships Push, not pull

Looking to the future Peoples Network Excellence Fund Addressing technical and operational issues: All libraries are included Existing broadband connections will be used Equipment will be simple to use

Addressing operational issues Recognisably a different service Privacy enhanced by sound-proofing Regular use of video conferencing as a staff communications tool Renewed emphasis on marketing and promotion

Modernising government Libraries leading the way for Derbyshire A major programme of change management Flexible ways of working New ways of reaching out to service users Engaging more local people