Better Life Chances:

To create better life chances by engaging with more people, improving literacy and digital literacy, supporting reading for pleasure, promoting independence and reducing social isolation.

• Increase the number of activities and events.
• Work with more partners and run more events in the community.
• Ensure our website and social media channels are engaging and interesting and create links to our events and easy access to our online resources.

• MTH Library opens
• Consult with non-users
• Marketing Plan in place
• Information Literacy sessions created and advertised for children and adults, schools and groups
• Sponsorship of Summer Reading Challenge

Community Spaces:

To create memorable and positive experience by offering space to the community that meets their needs, offers flexibility, is welcoming and safe, and able to host different activities.

• Reconfigure our spaces where needed and create fit-for-purpose facilities such as home-working spaces, WiFi, wireless printing, and improved accessibility.
• More partnership work taking place.
• Promote our spaces and services so that more people use us for work-space.
• Open Maesteg Town Hall Library
• Re-Develop Pencoed Library
• Survey our User and non-users to understand current need.

• Open Maesteg Town Hall Library
• Complete Pencoed Library re-development
• Bluetooth printing
• Reconfigure Aberkenfig library, install disabled access toilet
• Survey of Information Technology users and non-users
• Identify programme of hardware replacement
• Betws and Sarn Libraries refurbished to improve layouts and flexibility of space

Wellbeing:

To support social regeneration and improve wellbeing by improving access to health information, reducing social isolation and improving the wellbeing of participants.

• Increase the number of activities offering opportunities for social interaction.
• Increase the number of wellbeing-related activities.
• Work with more Health & Wellbeing  partners.
• Work more closely with health board at a strategic level.
• Provide opportunities for people to learn about information literacy.
• Work with partners and in the community to ensure the Library seen as a useful community place for wellbeing information for customers and partners.
• Be recognised by local agencies as a partner in the Wellbeing agenda.

• Develop Books On Wheels delivery to broader spectrum of ‘housebound’ families
• Become a “Dementia Friendly” service
• Develop consistent wellbeing activity programme through staff and partners
•  Second BOW van purchased to support increased users
• Social programme introduced for BOW users to reduce isolation
• Secure sponsorship for Wellbeing programme

Life Skills:

Increase life skills and opportunities through formal and informal training. Have a positive impact on literacy and information literacy.

• Increase the number of formal training sessions and informal drop-in sessions which support digital and information literacy.
• Promote our online resources (such as Encyclopaedia Britannica, eMagazines) that support literacy and information literacy.
• Promote services such as WiFi , book stock and online resources to showcase our libraries as a useful place to study.
• Work more closely with schools and partners at a strategic level.
• Provide opportunities for work placements and volunteers to gain life skills and experience through work.

• Programme of one-off coding and robotics sessions
• Create Information Literacy programme for school classes
• Create cohesive offer for schools delivered through Outreach and Engagement team
• Launch Friends of panel to engage with children and young people over a longer period and offer training and work experience placements to children and young people
• User and non-user survey around offer for children and young people

Environment:

To reduce energy consumption and reduce our impact on the environment.

• Replace our Books On Wheels and delivery vans with electric vehicles.
• Replace all lights with LEDs.
• Extend recycling provision.
• Install solar panels on suitable library buildings.
• Lower petrol and diesel consumption, and lower running costs.
• Conduct and act on Insulation Reviews on stand-alone libraries.

• Investigate longevity of stock if we were to stop using plastic jackets – which would remove the plastic from the system and aid recycling
• Future batches of membership cards are to be un-plasticised
• Change to LED bulbs when and where possible
• Installation of solar panels where possible
• Identify opportunities to update heating systems to more energy efficient ones when old systems fail or buildings are refurbished
• Purchase batch stocks of stationery, cleaning products and craft supplies, minimising deliveries to reduce carbon footprint
• Begin insulation programme
• Replace Books on Wheels vehicle with electric vehicle
• Replace Delivery van with hybrid vehicle