1. Lean! Libraries as Customer Value Catalysts
21 Nov 13, Far Cotton REC Centre, Northampton
#leanlibraries
How libraries can build on their assets to move from process to people – and why
“A lean organization understands customer value and focuses its key processes to
continuously increase it. The ultimate goal is to provide perfect value to the customer through
a perfect value creation process that has zero waste”.
This one-day conference will showcase examples of public library services that are moving from
process to people, by re-designing what they do and by embracing partnerships with growing
ambition and boldness.
Programme
Time
0945
1000
Session / activity
Registration & coffee
Welcome
1005
Catalyst council, lean council
1025
1035
Ice breaker / networking activity
Lean experience in the British
Library
Coffee break
Case study: North Yorkshire
County Council
Case study: a lean tale from
Northamptonshire
Lunch
Re-energiser / activity
Case study: Glasgow Life /
Macmillan partnership
1110
1125
1205
1250
1335
1350
1435
1445
1500
1535
Group activity
Tea break
Panel discussion
Closing remarks
1545
Speaker
Cllr Heather Smith, Deputy Leader, Northamptonshire County
Council
Dr Paul Blantern, Chief Executive, Northamptonshire County
Council
Andy Appleyard, Head of BL Information Services & Customer
Services, British Library
Julie Blaisdale, Assistant Director - Library, Customer and
Community Services, North Yorkshire County Council
Barbara Leigh, Principal Librarian, Northamptonshire County
Council
Craig Menzies, Macmillan Service Delivery Manager;
Janice Malone, Macmillan Programme Manager, Glasgow Life
End
All previous speakers
Grace Kempster, Customer and Library Service Manager,
Northamptonshire County Council
For any enquiries please contact: Jorge Solis, Principal Librarian – Transformation / 01604 366162
jsolis@northamptonshire.gov.uk / www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/libraryasset

2. Lean! Libraries as Customer Value Catalysts
21 Nov 13, Far Cotton REC Centre, Northampton
#leanlibraries
Speakers
Dr Paul Blantern, Chief Executive, Northamptonshire County Council
Paul has been chief executive of Northamptonshire County Council since 1st June 2010. He joined
Northamptonshire County Council in 2008 as Corporate Director for Customer and Community
Services where he was responsible for a wide range of customer–facing services including libraries,
country parks, adult learning, fire & rescue and the customer service centre as well as support
services such as HR and IT. Before joining Northamptonshire, and following a career in the private
sector, Paul was Director for Customer Services at Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.
Paul is passionate about working with partners to ensure excellent services are provided to
customers and communities in the county. He was the instigator behind the council’s innovative
shared services partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council, now known as LGSS. Launched in
October 2010, LGSS is one of the largest shared service ventures in the UK.
Paul has lived in the county for many years, is married with two teenage sons, and lives in a village in
east Northamptonshire. In his spare time, he canoes, plays table tennis for his local town and takes
an active role in his local community.
Andy Appleyard, Head of Customer Service and Information Services, British Library
Andy Appleyard is Head of the Document Supply Service and Customer Services at the British
Library. He also has a corporate role of leading on Continuous Improvement activities which over the
last 6 years have generated over 500 team-based (kaizen) improvement activities.
During his time working for Toyota Nippondenso as Head of Quality then Head of Operations he was
indoctrinated to Lean Management (or the Toyota Production System as it was known).
Andy is currently looking to build public service lean networks such that the tools can be used more
widely to leverage expertise for the benefit of the whole sector.
Julie Blaisdale, Assistant Director - Library, Customer and Community Services, North Yorkshire
County Council
From 1980, Julie worked for the London Borough of Camden, starting as a Peripatetic Children’s
Librarian before taking up a number of management roles. She moved to the London Borough of
Islington in 1987 where she was the Senior Manager with responsibility for both Finsbury and
Islington’s Central Libraries.
In 1990, she migrated north to Cleveland County Council as Group Librarian for Grangetown, serving
some of the most deprived areas in the country and from there went on to take the lead for services
for prisoners, older people and people with disabilities.
In 1996, following local government reorganisation, Julie moved to Hartlepool Borough Council
where she was Borough Librarian until 2001 when she took on the role of Head of Libraries, Archives
and Arts for North Yorkshire County Council. Since this time to date, Julie’s leadership
responsibilities have gone on to include Registration and Coroners Services and since July 2013
Customer Services.
For any enquiries please contact: Jorge Solis, Principal Librarian – Transformation / 01604 366162
jsolis@northamptonshire.gov.uk / www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/libraryasset

3. Lean! Libraries as Customer Value Catalysts
21 Nov 13, Far Cotton REC Centre, Northampton
#leanlibraries
Barbara Leigh, Principal Librarian, Northamptonshire County Council
Barbara has worked in a library environment throughout her career, and has amassed a substantial
wealth of experience in public, academic, and specialist libraries – especially about frontline
leadership: she was a library manager at 19.
As Principal Librarian for the Northampton and Wellingborough Area, Barbara has transformed and
leads the flagship Central Library in Northampton, including the establishment of our local studies
‘Discover’ centre. She introduced ‘lean thinking’ into our libraries, forming and leading a ‘lean
thinking team’ that has saved 25,000 staff-hours to date. Our online resource investment has
doubled under Barbara’s customer-centred approach and use of resources has exponentially
increased.
Barbara also led on the development and delivery of quality customer service standards across the
service, an area she continues to lead across the county. She is in the final stages of attaining the
CIPD Certificate in Training Practice.
Craig Menzies, Macmillan Service Delivery Manager, Glasgow Life
Craig Menzies has been in his post within the Macmillan @ Glasgow Libraries for approximately 18
months. Craig’s current post involves the strategic development and co-ordination of up to 12
Cancer Information & Support Services within the North West of Glasgow. The post takes great
emphasis on creating strong partnerships between Macmillan, Glasgow Libraries, the NHS, and a
number of other organisations, with the joint goal of ensuring that no matter where you live in
Glasgow you will have access to cancer information and support in your local community.
Having originally studied Physiology and Sports Science at Glasgow University, Craig’s keen interest
in public health management took him away from the research dominated field of sports science
and into the NHS Graduate Management Programme. Whilst studying his Post Graduate Diploma in
Public Health Management and Leadership, Craig managed several NHS and Local Authority services
including Children & Adolescents mental health services and various Outpatients services such as
ENT, Cardiology and Screening services. Following his graduation, Craig secured a job as Project
Manager within the NHS before returning home to take up the post of Macmillan Service Delivery
Manager.
Janice Malone, Macmillan Programme Manager, Glasgow Life
Janice Malone has a wide and varied career in Public Health & Health Improvement, starting out in
Health Promotion in Ayrshire, Scotland not far from the rural mining village where she grew up. An
appetite and drive to improve access to health information transported her to Glasgow where she
has lived and worked for the past 13 years. Much of her career has been spent within the NHS,
before moving out into the voluntary sector for a time and becoming interested in the field of cancer
information.
Janice set up the pilot Macmillan Cancer Information & Support service in Glasgow’s East End in
2009, and has led the change in thinking across Glasgow around how, where and when cancer
information and support can and should be offered to its citizens. This service, different to many
services Macmillan had funded in the past was centred around a volunteer-led approach to nonclinical information and support. The service was and continues to be a resounding success.
For any enquiries please contact: Jorge Solis, Principal Librarian – Transformation / 01604 366162
jsolis@northamptonshire.gov.uk / www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/libraryasset

4. Lean! Libraries as Customer Value Catalysts
21 Nov 13, Far Cotton REC Centre, Northampton
#leanlibraries
It was this success that led Macmillan and Glasgow Libraries to develop and strategic partnership to
scale up and a mainstream this pilot service right across the city, so that no matter where you live in
Glasgow you will have access to cancer information and support in your local community. Janice is
currently Macmillan Programme Manager with Glasgow Libraries and is halfway through the 3 year
roll out of this service.
Grace Kempster, Customer and Library Service Manager, Northamptonshire County Council
Grace has worked in libraries in London Boroughs, UK cities and counties and internationally, and is
currently Customer and Libraries Manager for Northamptonshire County Council.
She has led the transformation of Northamptonshire libraries to achieve one of the lowest per-visit
cost in the UK, attain the coveted Customer Service Excellence award and develop a track record for
innovation – from the introduction of self-service with 95% take up across the county, to the
development of ground-breaking partnerships to support employment and enterprise, with a focus
on ‘families and futures’ that has seen Northamptonshire libraries successfully take on direct
management of children’s centres and support for customers accessing emergency ‘social fund’
help.
Grace’s previous work has involved delivering consultancy to the Thai Knowledge Park in Bangkok;
partnership with a leading community-based literacy organisation in Argentina and shaping the
initial People’s Network in libraries across the UK – for this pioneering work she was awarded an OBE
in 1999.
Forthcoming events:
13 Feb 2014: Prosperity catalysts: libraries making an impact on the economic agenda
Repeat of our intensive workshop to equip public library services to focus on supporting
access to employment and business opportunities – building on their social capital as trusted
places at the heart of the community. This workshop was 1st run in June 2013.
6 Mar 2014: Children's Centres plus Libraries: a new fusion
A focus on the right outcomes for customers and communities is bringing different services
together, from Registration to Libraries to Children Centres. How can this translate into farreaching, sustainable synergies that build on the stigma-free social capital public libraries
offer for families and futures?
For any enquiries please contact: Jorge Solis, Principal Librarian – Transformation / 01604 366162
jsolis@northamptonshire.gov.uk / www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/libraryasset