In Depth
Opening shots from the Admiral
26.10.07 Katherine Rushton
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is used to talking in optimistic PR terms about "engagement", "leadership"and "innovation"—but its new chief executive Roy Clare will not brook any blather.
When he went for the job—to replace the retiring Chris Batt—he pinned his interviewers down on the terms of the ad. "It called for a transforming programme,"he recalls. "I said: 'Are you serious about this? My background is in taking organisations, cherishing them and making them stronger. I did that in uniform, and I will do that here.'"
Seven weeks into the role, the former rear admiral has called for a review of all MLA projects, including its much-trumpeted strategy for libraries, "A Blueprint for Excellence", which has gone back to the drawing board. He is also awaiting the results of an external audit of its flagship programme for the shake-up of the supply chain, "Better Stock Better Libraries".
Clare has restyled the role as c.e.o. of the "MLA partnership", endowing him with power over the regional MLAs, which were previously more or less autonomous. "They grew like Topsy, like a band of medieval robber barons, flying their flags, spending public money,"he says, bluntly.
There is also talk of weeding out "duplication"and pursuing "efficiencies", which MLA insiders interpret as job cuts. Clare will not be drawn on the detail. "It is inevitable that the scale, size and shape of the London headquarters will, over time, be different, but be equally clear that there is always going to be the need for a policy headquarters. We should recognise that there is no necessity for a good many functions to always be in London, [but] there may be some capacities that will be increasing,"he says—adding that he is "interested in the human lives here".
Dividing opinion
Initial reactions to Clare are mixed. One senior MLA figure announced at this month's Public Library Authorities Conference that he would eventually be "brought round"to understanding libraries ("That [comment] was a mistake,"is Clare's assessment). Library campaigner Tim Coates thinks Clare has already taken too long to act and "has not been decisive". MLA chair Mark Wood reckons he's "dispassionate and very impatient—two good qualities". Desmond Clarke, former Faber director, takes the view that he is "a damn good deliverer", but worries that he does not yet have a vision to act on. Several members of MLA's various project boards say that Clare "isn't listening".
Clare makes a tricky interview subject if you don't want to sound like Jeremy Paxman. But he is also very personable, with a disarming old-fashioned demeanour and a penchant for maritime analogies harking back to his navy days. Apparently, the MLA "has a rudder, but some of the engines are still buggered".
Most likeable of all is his willingness to go against conventional civil service thinking. For starters, he has lunched with Coates, whose name is a dirty word at the MLA. "I recognise in him someone who is dedicated to a cause . . . I don't come from a closed-minded background; I come completely open-minded and I listen to opinion. I will talk to anybody."He also think the efforts of "some ‘brand-y' person"to rechristen libraries as "Ideas Stores and Discovery Centres"are misguided. "It's
confusing,"he says.
Whither the MLA?
Clare's primary challenge is to define what the MLA is actually for. "It is a business-to-business organisation. It needs to connect itself to the funding food chain,"he says, setting out a four-plank strategy of "research and evidence; innovation; sustainability; and skills"to achieve this. He believes the MLA should be an intelligence organisation, linking with higher education institutes to supply evidence for decision-making. "But we need to distinguish information from intelligence,"Clare stresses—dismissing statistics from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the Library & Information Statistics Unit as the former.
"Does it matter on the ground in that community that the library purchasing is low, or does it matter that the library is participating in programmes for disaffected youth—and by the way you can get some books?"he asks. "I'm interested in what the consumers say, and I'm interested in what non-users tell us."
He also wants to tackle the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals on what skills librarians need, to deal with the evolving role of libraries and Britain's changing demographic. "Are we doing enough research about what those new skills need to be, when English is not the first language for 20% of the people living in some boroughs in London?"
The new-look MLA must adopt the language and thinking of business, and deal in real results, he adds. "It's about inputs and outputs. We've got to have products and services that people want—and if we can't offer that, someone should shut us down."
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