ABSTRACT
Community-led approaches to library services, developed through Working Together, provide libraries with a framework to work with local communities to expand the roles and approaches to service development. The aim of localism was to shift power away from central government to the people, families and communities of Britain. The Arts Council also launched a wide-reaching consultation exercise envisioning the Library of the Future. Neighbourhoods are a key focus for the Coalition's localism policies to decentralize control and create a 'Big Society'. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has identified a number of ways forward: Organizational culture change can help to nurture creative problem-solving and empower frontline neighbourhood staff. The traditional service development process provides a number of ways in which library staff can internally generate programs and services to meet library staffs' perceptions of community needs. Libraries should provide a wide range of unbiased and non-judgemental resources which enable people to make informed personal choices.
