Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

Good Practices and InnovATIONS in Public Governance
tinuous exchanges of experience and knowledge between local government officers
and politicians.
It is in that spirit that in 1999 the libraries were assigned a forward-looking task of
conducting a pilot study, which would include the following:
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• Describe and make a survey of the prerequisites for development
through cooperation;
• Make use of technological developments;
• Cope with volume increases;
• Reduce costs and/or improve quality;
• Offer greater freedom of choice;
• Increase accessibility; and
• Strengthen the accessibility, quality and diversity of all the libraries
The heads of the public libraries in the Umeå region formed a steering group. A winning
strategy was that all the municipalities were each given the same vote in the
working sessions, regardless of size. Different working groups were set up with a
representative from each of the six municipalities.
The innovative technological solutions are the result of leading-edge research at
the Institute of Design at Umeå University. One example is AudioIndex where intended
users have been involved throughout the entire development process, from
the definition of their needs to the design of the product and services that address
those needs.
The aim of Library 2007, a EU-funded project, has been to adapt the services provided
to the needs of the citizens. Library 2007 has allowed for a greater wealth of
books than before and has integrated the services provided by various libraries in
the region. Today, the inhabitants of the Umeå region can borrow from a total
stock of one million books with a single library card. Accessibility, including for
the disabled, has been increased thanks to the newly designed website. Because
there is a lot of movement in the Umeå region (people move across municipalities
when, for example, they work at one place but live in another), the libraries have
worked for a closer cooperation. They have developed only one server for all the
libraries in the region. In addition, they have a common library register, and users
only need one library card to have access to all the libraries, and can borrow and
return books in any one of them. Their web page, www.minabibliotek.se includes
a discussion forum or “Living Room” where users can discuss books, music and
films. The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions has called it
“Sweden’s first municipal community”. An audio library allows visually-impaired
users to enjoy the library independently. Umeå library has already been praised