Draft business plan completed

After a couple of months of fortnightly meetings and much midnight oil burned, the FOIL committee has completed a draft business plan setting out how the library would be run in future.

The plan has been submitted to Bucks CC for their initial comments but will remain a fluid draft for some time, with room for comment and refinement.

In short, the plan says:

• The library will be renamed the Beacon Villages Community Library to reflect the wide useage beyond Ivinghoe
• As of April 2012, the BVCL will be run by the BVCL management committee, a sub-committee to be established under the Ivinghoe Town Hall management committee (and existing charity)
• This will help the library to work closely with the Town Hall, shop and post office to act as a valable ‘hub’ for the community and a way of promoting and supporting our local area
• BVCL will continue to benefit from the services of our library manager, supported by volunteers.
• The aim is to match the service currently provided by the county, with a view to improving and refining it in future, and extending opening hours with volunteer help
• In addition to providing books, BVCL will continue to provider wider information services, from advice on leisure facilities or local B&Bs, to help with bus pass applications
• It is not believed that charitable grasnts are a sustainable source of funding because few trusts will cover running costs and this year sees an exponential growth in community libraries, making competition very tough just as most grant-givers has less to spend because of the recession
• Therfore, the BVCL seeks instead to build a sold base of commercially raise funds
• In the short term, the service will be funded by: a grant and support from Bucks CC, income from thre shop/post office rent, exisitng income (room hire, DVD fees), a new Friends Scheme. In addition we will seek brudge funding from the five local Parish Councils where most library users live.

Unlike the 13 other would-be community libraries, Ivinghoe has a specific challenge. Our users are spread across the Beacon Villages, with a quarter from Ivinghoe, half from Pitstone, and most of the remainder from Marsworth, Cheddington and Edlesborough.

This means that community engagement will be tricky because we will need to speak to not one but fives schools, parishes etc. For that reason our first one-three years will be spent building solid engagement with the whole community to put us in a better position to recruit volunteers and raise funds in future.

We will shortly be kicking off our engagement programme by speaking to local schools and running a survey to find out the Beacon Villages Top Reads and seek views.

We will soon be looking for volunteers to help in the library and/or sit on the management committee, help with fundraising, and general support (such as helping us put up posters on village notice boards in your area). If you would like more details, please email ivinghoelibrary@gmail.com.

You can download the BVCL Business Plan here. If you have thoughts or comments, please email: ivinghoelibrary@gmail.com.