Community consultation panels

What are they?

Community consultation panels are a new Government-backed concept and there are many different ways these can be adapted:

• Advisory. This method is used as a sounding board for opening hours, additional facilities, prioritising budget reductions, etc.
• Fund raising bodies
• Decision making, deciding on budget priorities, opening hours, expenditure on stock, etc.
• Management of the individual libraries, local elected residents discuss and decide about the use of resources.

Have they been used before?

Yes, the main current community panel of the County Council is its Citizen’s Panel which asks selected members of the public to comment on different aspects of the council’s services. Several libraries already have groups running that are actively involved in the community, for example St John’s Library’s Coffee Pot Club, and several reading groups.

How can they help?

Existing panels, particularly in the United States, have shown the need to ensure that consultative panels are representative of the local community, objective in approach and balanced in terms of interest. It is important that members of the panels are widely representative of the community.

Who would be involved?

Individuals from the local community could be involved from all walks of life. There are various options for the consultative panels:

• People chosen by other library users
• People chosen by the community as a whole
• Community groups within an area given rights to nominate a representative
• The council seeks volunteers from the community and determines appointments
• The council seeks names of individuals from community groups.

What we want to know

1. Are local panels a good idea?
2. How do we ensure representation from a wide range of groups?
3. Who should we involve in the panel?
4. What decisions could they influence?