Service Point 93.pdf - CILIP

New twins in Barnsley
IAN STRINGER
After many years of writing up details of new mobile libraries for Service
Point its great to be able to announce new vehicles for my own authority.
Not just one but two.
The new service
Following a rethink on the provision of service in Barnsley, we decided
to replace our ten-year-old, large mobile and similar age small mobile
with two large vehicles each containing state of the art technology to
enable on-line issue etc and public access internet.
The reasoning behind this was that we were spending much time
visiting very isolated areas with the small mobile and could visit many
more people in the same time in the larger villages nearer Barnsley.
We consulted our customers and found that many of the users in isolated
places also used our main area library at Penistone.
Therefore, our compromise is that we offer a home library service with
our Transit van to genuine geographically disadvantaged people and
serve a few of the larger settlements with the new mobiles.
Naturally, we got different reactions. A large number were happy to
be spoon-fed by the home library service staff. A couple complained
and we have managed to fit them in on a monthly basis. In the end, we
shed about 40 halts with no reaction. I think it is a sign of changing times
that there was so little outcry.
The new design
We then got down to designing new vehicles. The staff was basically
happy with the existing large van and so we put in modifications to allow
two PCs for the public and two for the staff. We went to a Mobilemeet
and everyone wrote down what they wanted. We looked long and hard
at the East Riding vans and liked the long look of them. However, in the
potentially rougher environment of Barnsley we decided to keep the
transverse counter, but being a lazy zed shape it’s not too unfriendly to
the customers.
Windows and doors were selected following staff advice. The separate
entrance for wheelchairs was replaced with a single transformable step
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