The Scottish Government

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Section 6 Cross-cutting

6.1 Our remit

The issue of delivering culture across all aspects of the public sector featured in several areas of our remit:

"All areas of the public sector should be expected to help deliver the cultural agenda. The Commission is therefore asked:

To provide guidance and advice on initiatives which affect the wider objectives of Scottish government

For specific guidance on how cultural bodies should relate to other Scottish Executive policy areas, in particular:

6.2 Our understanding

We understand from the remit and the clear statements in the First Minister's SAD speech that delivering cultural activity is a clear responsibility across the public sector. We understand this obligation to extend beyond local and national government to include their agencies, the Enterprise network, the Health Boards, and the tourism network. We believe that not only is this a practical solution but an essential one. Cultural activity is integral to a greater or lesser extent in all areas of public life and should rightly be integrated.

We focus, therefore, on the two main issues which must be addressed:

• ensure all areas of public life are aware of their responsibility and capability

• co-ordinate provision across these areas.

The former, we believe, is best done in a negotiation between the cultural sector and the public sector departments. The latter, we believe, is a discrete responsibility of government, or their appointed agency, and for the Minister with responsibility for Culture.

"Culture cuts across every aspect of government - it can make a difference to our success in tackling poverty, it can make Scotland a healthier place and it has a significant contribution to make towards our economy."
Jack McConnell, St Andrew's Day, 2003

6.3 Consultation

We received many contributions from practitioners, participants and audience members across the cultural sector that related to their particular disciplines. Two cultural sectors, language and creative industries, were specified in our remit for particular attention and are therefore considered separately in Sections 7 and 8 respectively. In this section, we focus on four cultural sectors, and the eight sub-sections of the arts:

• archives

• arts

• • crafts

  • contemporary music

  • dance

  • drama

  • festivals

  • literature

  • music

  • visual arts

• museums and galleries

• libraries.

6.3.1 Format of the section

Our remit did not invite us to propose or amend national strategies for any part of the sector - that is, rightly, the remit for the relevant NDPBs. We have therefore tried to reflect the issues that were contributed to us for specific areas but would emphasis that these are not intended to be an authoritative account of, or strategy for, these sectors.

We give a précis of our consultation at the beginning of each cultural sector, rather than collated here. We have already devoted Section 5 of this report to education and will not touch on these matters again here.

The Commission has been constrained by time from our original ambition of recommending specific actions towards each area of public life, although in some areas ( i.e. libraries, museums and galleries) the depth of our consultation has made it possible to offer a more detailed range of recommendations.

In other areas, however, we present summaries as an example of the diversity of activity and how it might be applied, or delivered, across the public sector. In those areas we have tended to make observations rather than recommendations, and to report the views of others which we believe have merit. We would urge, however, the various agencies with responsibility across these sectors to take on board the suggestions being promoted.

We have refrained from observations or detailed research on the synergies between culture and sport, tourism and major events knowing this to be an area where significant knowledge and experience is already held within the Tourism, Culture and Sport Department and their agencies, Event Scotland and VisitScotland.

6.3.2 The cultural sectors

The national infrastructure is addressed in Section 10 but we comment here on the economies and infrastructure of each of the cultural sectors and art forms using the commentaries we received during the consultation processes, including both written and verbal contributions. The lines are blurring across the arts and the old hierarchies are being questioned. We had sympathy with Alan Brown of Alan Brown and Associates when he remarked,

"The boundaries around the art forms continue to blur, more and more consumers care less and less about the boundaries. Meanwhile we have constructed cultural institutions - whole industries, in fact - around strict definitions of the art forms that are increasingly irrelevant."

One of the weaknesses of the cultural sectors, and even the arts themselves, is their fragmentation. Simple liaison across each sector, and artform, is still in its infancy. The situation in each is different and we wanted to reflect that and to encourage the thought that it is in our gift to make common cause and change things.

6.4 Archives

Archives are extensively used but have a comparatively low profile within the heritage sector. Archivists are concerned with preservation and access and see themselves as information brokers. From the user perspective, archives hold raw data that needs interpretation; the use of archives is an active experience.

The word 'archive' holds connotations of ancient material but this is a misperception. The role of archivists as record keepers is changing day by day as society makes new demands. For example, the Freedom of Information Act has created a demand for records managers that has outstripped supply. The digitisation of family archives has brought 1.4m visitors to the website of the National Archives of Scotland, an increase of 40% in one year.

6.4.1 The function of archives

The function of archives, including the National Archives of Scotland ( NAS), is to select, preserve and make available in any medium those records important to the community. Their importance has been demonstrated by historic and contemporary military strategies that aim to conquer by eliminating both a people and their records.

At local level in Scotland, archive services vary greatly as do the structures within which they operate. Some are placed within library or museum services and these are often accorded low priority and set in poor buildings where preservation is the main task rather than use and access. All archivists agree that they want the service to be better understood and used more effectively. The potential for development and exploitation is considerable.

At, national level the principal tasks of the NAS are to select public records for permanent preservation and acquire other historical records that merit preservation. The main users are government, courts, academics and research institutes, private companies and increasingly, the general public including foreigners using online services and making personal visits. This use involves advice and brokerage rather than just access.

6.4.2 Family records

It is important to note the status of the family records that are held by the Registrar General and marketed jointly with the NAS. Because of Scotland's history of emigration, these are the archives of an important and wealthy sector of the Anglophone world. Those visiting Scotland for genealogical purposes tend to spend twice as much as other tourists. There is an important market here and one that links with the rest of Scotland's heritage.

Family records extend well beyond the registers and into the social history of the nation. The Scottish Archives for Schools project, led by the NAS, in partnership with Learning and Teaching Scotland, to bring alive Scotland's recent past through the documents, letters and photographs of the time, has been a significant success in schools.

As in other sectors, joint working is proving a successful strategy for the NAS. Work with the General Register Office for Scotland and the Court of the Lord Lyon has advanced family history and a partnership with Historic Scotland has taken an exhibition into Edinburgh Castle. Marketing, however, has suffered because of low funding levels. Digitisation can increase access but understanding, appreciation and sense of ownership by the Scottish citizen is needed.

6.4.3 Issues for archives

Digitisation

The NAS is leading on this massive task, which will include court, church and personal records. It is seen as an important and worthwhile investment, which can be subsidised through charges for downloading and research time. Educational use, however, should be free, as we understand is the case in Australia, Ireland, Denmark and Norway. There are already charges for viewing personal registers online. This should be maintained. It will take some time before archives are visted as readily as the online services. Public understanding is still limited.

Personal archives

In Section 5 of this report we remark on the need to match personal learning plans with personal archives, recording creative schoolwork for every school student. This project, in the longer term, can bring understanding of archive work and its function. Scottish archives at the local and national level should play a part in developing the concept.

Buildings

Archives should be considered in the context of the future cultural estate. The quality of buildings housing records in Scotland and the effect on preservation needs to be addressed, together with issues of public access.

Joint working

Joint working between libraries, museums and archives and certainly on practical projects needs to be further explored. However, there is very real concern from archives at all levels about being absorbed within other structures and their identities diminished. The NAS sits currently within the Justice portfolio in government. We recommend below that they are repositioned within the Culture portfolio and this will signal an acknowledgement of the move that archives must make within the public consciousness.

Conservation

There is considerable expertise in conservation skills within the NAS and in other archives and parallel conservation operations exist in museums and libraries around Scotland. We believe that a national centre for conservation should be investigated. This may achieve back-office savings but could also generate income if it were a centre of excellence of international standing. Liverpool has a conservation centre of some scale and we are also aware of the national centre in Spain. Given EU enlargement and the turmoil in many parts of Europe, Russia and the near East, a centre for conservation might well be a profitable long-term investment.

National co-ordination

We believe that it would be more appropriate for responsibility for the National Archives with the Scottish Executive to lie within the Ministerial portfolio responsible for Culture. Elsewhere we recommend the NAS should sit alongside their archive colleagues of other national collections in a National Board of Collections.

6.5 The arts

6.5.1 Consultation on the arts

We consulted widely in the cultural sectors that make up the arts, inviting written submissions and holding meetings and discussions. The following submissions give an indication of the range of views expressed.

"Diversity makes street arts hard to define: there is no single art form or location common to performances. What does unify street arts is the relationship these arts have with their audiences - the knowledge that if the work is not skilful and entertaining, audiences members can simply walk away."
Streetnet

"After production, our plays go on to have extensive international lives. For example, David Harrower's Knives in Hens has had to date over 30 productions in 19 countries and 10 languages: Scottish voices, Scottish ideas, Scottish identity seen around the world."
Stephen Cotton, Chair, The Traverse

"We envisage a theatre of opportunity over the next two decades in Scotland where theatre in its many aspects becomes integrated into the life of the Scottish community and brings all its experience, skills and passion to the task of creating a confident, successful Scotland."
Eddie Jackson, Federation of Scottish Theatre submission

"The key to involvement is participation and participation on equal terms with the artist as negotiator rather than as genius artisan."
The Art Institute of Aberdeen

"Dance, by its very nature is an art form that involves multi-disciplinary skills, a variety of methodologies from the traditional to the unconventional, and appears in creative fusion with other art forms such as visual art, music and new technologies."
Cindy Sughrue, Scottish Ballet (with others)

"There is scope to increase dance participation by increasing the status of dance within teacher training - whether for primary or PE teachers."
Carolyn Lappin, Ydance

"Literature is the creative use of language, the foundation of thought and the focus of imaginative expression. It gives coherence to the arts and languages of Scotland and influences the whole of society through literacy and education. These, in turn, underpin democracy, enabling constructive argument and informed choice."
Marc Lambert for the Literature Forum

"Books are a uniquely democratic art form, portable, affordable and available wherever the reader wishes them to be."
Lorraine Fannin, Scottish Publishers Association

"Brass bands have a long history in Scotland, formed even before the invention of the piston valve in 1838….they are the most prolific source of music making in their communities."
George Burt Scottish Brass Band association

"This place, [ RSAMD], should be an anthill of activity with talent flourishing all over the place."
John Wallace, trumpeter and Principal RSAMD

"Scottish arts and crafts people should be encouraged to compete in national international fields."
Iain A Gunn, North Lands Creative Glass

6.6 Music

6.6.1 Characteristics of the sector

Music making is a large and active sector. Allocations to music companies and music makers comprises around a third of the SAC budget with £14m funding provided to 19 nationally significant organisations and scores of other regular music activities from festivals to individual grants. No recent political initiative has been more important than the Youth Music Initiative. This advanced £17.5km for instrumental/singing teaching and for enhanced music education within primary schools. Children receive at least one year of free instrumental or singing tuition by P6.

The enquiry that underpinned this funding, What's Going On, ² led to work that showed the need to prepare the tuition infrastructure. The scale of this funding also demonstrated the scale of what will be needed in future years to extend this scheme within primary and secondary education. In turn, that raises the prospect of extending this entitlement eventually into the other performing arts.

The sector commented positively on this very successful start and we support their aspiration of giving all children the opportunity to pursue skills and enjoyment of the creative and performing arts as a natural part of schooling.

6.6.2 Issues for the music sector

Widening access

The national strategy formulated by the SAC seeks to maximise the opportunities for creators and performers in Scotland to develop excellence. The sector would also like to aim for all Scots to have regular access to a broad and diverse range of music making and to improve or participate in any style of music at all levels of aptitude.

Around 60,000 youngsters take part in live musical activities every week. The What's Going On survey indicated that another 100,000 would join them if access were possible. There is universal approval of the ambition for young Scots to experience regular music making, have their own musical preferences respected and supported, have access to top resources and be able to pursue their musical ambitions as far as they wish. Interest among adults is no less apparent. The Lochgoilhead Fiddle workshop reported to us that the demand for adult instrumental tuition is continuing to increase. They are teaching 10% of the adults in the local community, a most impressive figure.

Improving musical education and training

Education is not just the key to establishing skill and pleasure in music making in young Scots, it is also at the heart of social inclusion. Just as the primary school initiative is making a difference, there is similar good news in the further and higher education sectors. Twenty institutions offer courses ranging from SVQ diploma and degree to post-graduate certification. Subject matter includes performance, composition technology and teacher training. FE colleges deliver nationally approved qualifications.

The sector recognises the need to be sure that all courses are meaningful. Some have expressed doubts to us about the real vocational value of certain work. It will be essential to ensure diversity of musical genres on offer across these courses and to have rigorous inspection. The RSAMD has set the pace with its diversification and its championing of traditional musical forms. The Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland also has a continuing role to play in fostering choice. The Fèisean movement has shown what can be achieved in the informal sector. The Commission was deeply impressed with the scope of the achievement and the ambition to take the Fèisean music making to a world audience.

At the heart of education in the performing arts is the RSAMD. As we have noted in Section 5, the Scottish Conservatoire is a central element of our ambition to build a creative, cultured Scotland. The Commission supports the RSAMD's ambitions to expand funded student numbers by 33% in the next five years (to 2010) and understands the consequent need there will be for capital funding to facilitate the planned growth.

Music in all its forms

Music making in Scotland extends beyond classical and traditional music. Indeed, the title 'traditional' might be extended to include the historic enthusiasm for brass bands in Scotland. There are 3,000 musicians involved in brass bands and jazz is in the same position. It has flourished in Scotland for a long time, but on a fairly small scale. Jordanhill and Napier University teach jazz, touring bands and musicians have been backed by the SAC and the festivals in Glasgow and Edinburgh showcase the best on offer. With several jazz orchestras now playing - Tommy Smith's, Richard Michael's and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland - there is enough high grade activity to support development of this genre in Scotland.

Supporting traditional music

Traditional music has arguably undergone the greatest renaissance of all artforms in the last ten years. The fèis movement, based largely in the Highlands, has been in the vanguard of producing a generation of confident, excellent musicians who are continuing the musical tradition and marrying it with new contemporary forms. The traditional music community in Scotland has broken new ground in training provision for teachers and tutors. A group of representatives from a range of organisations across the sector have devised the first Training Qualification for music tutors in the country and it seems likely that it will attract musicians from other styles of music such as classical music tutors in schools.

The new Professional Development Award, the Certificate in Music Tuition was produced by the Traditional Music Tutor Training Network in collaboration with the Scottish Qualifications Agency and is expected to provide training for over 100 musicians in its first year from a wide range of organisations such as Fèisean nan Gàidheal. Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland, the Adult Learning Programme in Edinburgh and the Glasgow Fiddle Workshop. In addition, RSAMD, Sabhal Mor Ostaig and other HE colleges have begun to introduce degree courses for traditional musicians, and there are increasing opportunities to record and perform.

6.6.3 Points from the consultation:

• the RSNO pointed out how the lack of a national ticketing agency hampers audience development; their point is that their very enterprising campaigns on radio, television, internet and direct mail, email and texting could be more effective with a national online box-office

• revised contractual and new funding arrangements for the nationally significant companies must take into account the cost of rural touring; this service is essential but is costly in scouting for appropriate venues and in the logistics of big companies

• the cost of a musical instrument is high and increases debt for students on low incomes. In addition, the cost of maintaining and storing instruments is part of the on-costs of musicianship for teaching establishments and these problems need to be addressed. The BBC scheme 'instrument amnesty' may be worth repeating in Scotland

• showcasing is a vital activity: Showcase Scotland at Celtic Connections is proving effective as are the trips to the South by South West festival in Texas with 14 young bands sent by the SAC to perform for American promoters in 2004

• small musical groups spend a great deal of time in applying for public funds from multiple sources; we were told that "the mechanics of public funding are themselves fifty percent of the problem." The time spent on securing funds is diverted from the prime task of delivery.

6.7 Contemporary music

6.7.1 Characteristics of the sector

Scottish Arts Council together with Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Executive are currently engaged in a study of the contemporary music scene in Scotland. This research is focused on the need for, and viability of, a music industry association that can represent the interests of the entire music industry in Scotland. The first phase of the research process is complete and a response from the music industry in Scotland is awaited.

The commercial sector is vibrant. New artist Karine Polwart received three UK folk awards from Radio 2 in 2004 and three Scottish bands have had Mercury Prize nominations. The Mercury Prize was won by Franz Ferdinand in 2004. International music industry trade fairs such as Womex and Essen now have Scottish delegations. PopKom and Midem remain to be fully exploited and international exposure is part of the industry's growth.

Pop and jazz have asserted themselves within the public sector in recent years with SAC making its definitions of contemporary music far more inclusive. SAC had immediate success with this new policy in supporting bands to visit the South by South West festival in Texas, one of the first beneficiaries being Franz Ferdinand, now a hit band around the world. The SAC's basic covenant with contemporary musicians is to support them to grow and develop their skills and artistic ambitions. The other groups vital to this sector are the organisers to staff the venues in city halls and rural community centres.

6.7.2 Issues for the contemporary music sector

Need for a music industry association

Making, playing and earning from contemporary music is a market-orientated business. The live music scene is strong, tolerant of variety, open to ideas and aware of the need to make common cause with education and to exploit digital technology and intellectual property. Marketing is poor and unco-ordinated and the problems of international touring are unaddressed. Getting visas to work in the USA is particularly difficult and time consuming.

Practitioners presented a view that some training courses are inadequate and that contemporary Scottish music making in the media is underexposed. Live music is strong in the Central Belt but less accessible elsewhere in Scotland.

The SAC has wide approval for its recent policies but there is no champion within the sector itself nor is there any co-ordinating body or industry association. The SAC is convinced of the need for a music industry association and the Commission supports this ambition. A Scottish Music Council was also supported in our consultation, as reported below.

Increased exposure

Musicians want to see a dedicated digital channel for Scottish music and more exposure on television for Scottish music. Websites are another area of enormous potential. The Group convened by Robert Noakes on behalf of the Commission spoke for public funding to support a website to market and promote music. They also asserted that public libraries should buy every record released by a Scottish label; a parallel scheme for Scottish books has been proposed by some librarians.

The Noakes Group made a coherent and well-argued plea for a Scottish Music Council, "to advance musical life in all aspects". This would be a practitioner and industry champion and a portal to take Scottish music to the rest of the world. Significantly, this group asserted that the council had to be populated with new faces. An imaginative approach to sustainable investment was sought. In summary a champion was sought "with accessible manner and good ears for listening."

Touring

It was the considerable support for public funding being attached to the promoter and the venue rather than the artists to ensure a quality threshold is reached and that risk is taken in the context of potential commercial return: That The Commission was advised that the most effective use of the public purse is to subsidise a touring circuit with easier applications made in this case by the promoter, not the artists. The idea is to produce an investment and return mindset. The SAC's Tune Up initiative was referred to as a potential model, a bigger and year-round version of this being a suggestion. The suggestion was also made that one or two Scottish labels could be selected for capacity building into European-scale players, again with return to the public purse.

Proposal for a Scottish Music Industry Association

A body to be called the Scottish Music Industry Association (a body very near to the Noakes' Group vision) has been proposed by the SAC and partners group. The Commission support this initiative. The core purpose of this organisation would be to provide a means by which the music industry in Scotland could organise and represent itself. The remit would be to:

• identify and research those issues that are common across the music industry in Scotland

• discuss inter-industry issues with the music industry and agree shared lobbying positions on such issues

• lobby on behalf of the Scottish music industry on issues of shared concern

• develop an identity under which the music industry in Scotland can present itself

• develop partnerships with key public sector organisations to help develop policies and activities to develop and support the music industry in Scotland

• act as a point of communication between the music industry and a wide range of stakeholders, bodies and organisations

• interact and develop relationships with the current range of organisations and interest groups in the music industry in Scotland and beyond.

Potential activities for the Association

These are seen as including the following:

• consulting with the industry on the identification and agreement of common issues and needs

• holding one annual large scale industry event to bring together the music industry in Scotland to debate areas of shared concern

• holding smaller regional forums (and sectoral forums as/if required)

• representing Scotland's music industry on appropriate UK and international forums

• building an identity for the organisation under which Scotland's music industry can present itself and lobby at national and international levels

• engaging with the education sector on matters relating to music industry education

• championing Scotland's music industry at all levels.

6.8 Dance

Dance in Scotland has long operated on a fairly small scale. In the last five years, however, the SAC has played the leading role in stimulating change. The Dance Department was set up in 2001 and that established the form as part of the funding structure within the SAC with a budget that had grown to £4.5m in 2004/05. Before this, dance shared a Department and a Director with drama. In 2002, Scotland's only degree course in dance was launched at Telford College. Together with the courses at the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance in Dundee this makes it possible for those wishing to study dance to a professional level to do so without having to leave Scotland. The challenge to the professional dance sector is now to find ways to encourage new graduates to stay in Scotland, and to welcome back the many who have left to train and work in England and overseas, by providing funding for continuing training, creation and performance opportunities.

The publicly funded dance sector in Scotland remains small but there is a very long history in Scotland of work by the private sector in promoting traditional dance forms and latterly a wider range of dance such as jazz, tap and ballet. There is also a thriving culture of dance as participatory activity, enjoyed by children and adults across the country.

6.8.1 Characteristics of the sector

Funding

SAC core funds eight companies and organisations and also provides project grants to independent choreographers and touring companies. Our principal company, Scottish Ballet, has recently undergone a renaissance with a new director, new dancers and a new repertoire of contemporary dance. Scottish Dance Theatre has also flourished in recent years. As the only contemporary dance company based in a producing repertory company in the UK (Dundee Rep), it is developing an international reputation and playing to increasing audiences at home and abroad.

Whilst there are limited funds available to enable companies to produce work, particularly for the larger stages, there are few opportunities for audiences to see dance from Scottish based companies. There is clear research evidence, however, that the audience for contemporary dance is growing albeit slowly. Despite it attracting larger audiences, there is no large-scale classical ballet currently being produced within Scotland. Venues and audiences are therefore dependent on work from England and overseas which may tour irregularly and is often expensive.

The sector's view is that the decline in the audience for 'white ballet' is because of the lack of product. Scottish Ballet says that it is not possible to offer a wider repertoire within current funding levels.

Development and education

As perhaps the only art form that stimulates both physical and emotional well-being, dance in its many forms, from ballet to breakdance, is increasingly popular as a social, educational and therapeutic activity. There is a network of dance agencies across the country which provides opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to develop their creativity, keep fit and have fun. At Dance Base in Edinburgh over 2,000 people take part in a dance class each week throughout the year. The wide ranging benefits of dance lend themselves well to the measure of impact on the citizen outlined in Section 9 of this report.

'dance makes it worth getting up in the morning'
20 year old dancer at Dance Base with Downs syndrome

Despite it having no dedicated place in the school curriculum, dance is increasingly recognised in schools as a valuable means of encouraging creative expression and physical exercise. Ydance, the dance development agency for children and young people, is helping to introduce and maintain dance as a presence in schools through the use of digital teaching resources.

Several local authorities also support Traditional Dance Development Workers who, together with many independent dance teachers, Dance Artists in Residence and the dance agencies, offer dance activity in nurseries, schools, to adults with special needs and to the elderly. This work requires continued and additional support by local partnership agencies.

More formal dance training is provided at the Dance School of Scotland in Glasgow. Ballet training also takes place under the auspices of the enterprising Ballet West in Argyll. The Scottish School of Contemporary Dance in Dundee and Telford College in Edinburgh provide training in contemporary dance up to degree level.

6.8.2 Issues for the dance sector

Dance in the curriculum

The status accorded to dance in the curriculum - it is grouped with PE in the 5-14 Expressive Arts guidelines - keeps it on the margins of education. All those involved in dance believe that it should be recognised and taught as a subject in its own right. The Curriculum Review is intent on freeing up time for teachers to engage in more creative activities. This is an opportunity for dance to be established and to flourish.

The Commission has recommended the reform and extension of the cultural co-ordinators scheme and this will open the possibility of a strategic approach to provision of dance. The further example of sportscotland's Active Schools talent strategy is cited as one way to stimulate activity. Funding should follow talent and, as in sport, youngsters should be able to utilise the most appropriate training available. That would also help the private dance sector, which provides nationwide coverage, but within a plethora of different qualifications structures. A simpler and unitary system of dance qualifications needs to be achieved.

Girls on the Move has been designed and funded by the Robertson Trust in partnership with the Scottish Executive's Health Department. With investment of £450,000 over the next three years, the programme is another example of recent initiatives aimed at making young people become more active through participation and leadership ³.

Vocational training and support

The DfES Dance and Drama awards also offer a model that might be adopted in Scotland as a way of encouraging talented young dancers. The English model is for those who wish to make a career in dance and comprises around 525 new awards each year. Even with a reduced scheme in Scotland, they could provide a pathway to vocational training. Strengthening the system in this way will also allow us to retain talent and help create the virtuous circle needed. For individual talents with no resources to pursue dance, the Dewar Awards are available. The Commission was impressed by the notion of a Young Dancer of the Year Award. We believe the scheme should begin in a small way and build.

Training provision is not enough, however, and dancers and choreographers could benefit significantly from the measures which we propose to help support creative artists pursue a career in dance. Concern was also expressed about the lack of appropriate training to degree level for dancers wishing to train as dance teachers in Scotland. Ydance, for example, has had to look outwith Scotland to recruit its tutors. The case for funded training at this level may be made easier if dance is included in the school curriculum. Whilst providing additional in-service support for PE teachers will be beneficial, it is no substitute for the skills offered by a dedicated dance teaching professional.

Facilities

Despite award-winning new premises for Dance Base in Edinburgh and at The Space in Dundee, there is a severe shortage of studio space for dancers across the country. There are also a relatively small number of theatres and venues with the specialist facilities to present dance. This combined lack of provision makes it doubly difficult for those seeking to make and perform their work in Scotland.

Supporting the private sector

Private tuition will remain a large healthy and vigorous sector. But access to facilities is proving to be ever more difficult and expensive. The private sector is keen to negotiate more affordable rates for suitable spaces. Local authorities cannot subsidise this sector but the problem has to be addressed.

Investment in the sector

Despite the welcome introduction of a dedicated fund for dance within SAC, the funds available to ensure a healthy and varied dance sector are still very limited. Without sustained investment at a variety of levels, the professional dance sector will remain fragile and transient. The health, educational, social and recreational benefits of dance make it a natural recipient of cross cutting funds at both local and national level.

6.9 Drama

6.9.1 Characteristics of the sector

Scottish theatre is currently in a period of transformation. The advent of the National Theatre is stimulating change and the sector is experiencing increasing confidence in effecting this transformation. Street theatre is developing in a new form in Falkirk, new writing is being fostered in The Playwrights' Studio and professional skills are being nurtured with the establishment of a Director's Course at Queen Margaret University College with RSAMD. There is also a growing realisation in the local authority sector of the power of theatre. The recent review of theatre in Edinburgh ⁴ that recommended investing a further £1m in theatre within the city is welcome. This reverses the trend of diminishing local authority funding for theatre over the last ten years.

"We believe that theatre is a shared experience conducted in a space unlimited by preconception or precedent that supports and encourages mutual respect, facilitates the exchange of views and explores the human condition."
The Federation of Scottish Theatre

6.9.2 Issues for the drama sector

Investment in the sector

The initiative in creating and selling a model for a new National Theatre has lifted spirits and brought a new sense of purpose to the sector. However, we are also aware of a firm belief that the theatre in Scotland remains in a dangerously weak state, despite cash injections from the Scottish Executive via SAC in 2001/03.

The SAC in 2004/05 spent £12.8m on theatre including £600,000 from the Lottery. There are ten predominately central belt based major producing theatres and more than a dozen 'non-theatre-based' companies that include puppetry and street theatre funded from that sum. The SAC aims to stimulate new work, build audiences, support theatre companies and ensure rigorous standards for monitoring quality. There is also a successful international policy of taking Scottish theatre abroad. The British Council and Visiting Arts have been significant in that success. These examples of strategic planning require work at national level.

The sector expressed fears that the establishment of the National Theatre would, at some point, drain resource from other theatres and companies. That concern was supplemented in the submission from the Traverse, which identified an impression that the work of the Commission will result in structural change and not in addressing the "real requirements of better investment in the sector."

Supporting new writing

The establishment of the Playwrights' Studio adds to the renowned work of the Traverse, Scotland's new writing theatre. A further initiative, The Writers Factory, creates with all three a strong combined emphasis on producing product. Those initiatives need to work in liaison to make sure that benefits are maximised.

Disparity with funding in England

The most serious concern expressed to us by the sector was the differential between Scottish and English theatres since the Boyden Report. ⁵ The disparity in funding patterns is particularly reflected in the case of regional theatres, an issue brought to the Commission's attention in a number of consultation responses. Regional theatres in England and Wales received an additional £25m from Arts Council England. This equates to a substantially higher level of grant with the average grant to large regional theatres in England and Wales of £1.3m, whilst the comparable large theatres such as The Citizens in Scotland received an average of £500,000 less with £800,000 in 2002/03. ⁶ Smaller theatres such as the Byre received around £200,000 - £300,000 less.

The Scottish theatre is losing talent to English regional theatres but worst of all it is unable to pay living wages to staff. Scottish Theatre critics summed up the position for the Commission in a chapter heading: Resources; or, If you Work in the Scottish Theatre Don't Ever Expect to be Able to Raise a Family.

The sector's view on funding was very clear. The welcome infusion from the Scottish Executive preceding the National Theatre has made a difference but the underlying problem remains. The sector needs a further £2m - £3m core revenue annually for its main producing and experimenting theatres alone to be able to provide the foundation for the National Theatre. We believe this should be achieved by reconciling the disparity with funding levels in England revealed by the Boyden report.

The 2004 City of Edinburgh Council review tells the whole story:

"There is a clear need for the City of Edinburgh Council to make an enhanced revenue investment in its professional theatre infrastructure: this need amounts to c.£950k.

The Theatre Review in England has demonstrated how quickly additional funds can achieve a significant transformation in a theatre ecology with outcomes becoming evident within the first twelve months of the new investment being made. If Edinburgh is to reap the benefits of any such initiative by 2008/09 when the English cities mentioned above will have their new programmes well established, it should plan to phase this investment over the four years 2005/06-2008/09."⁷

This review identified part of the decline as being attributable to the local authority itself:

"The City of Edinburgh Council's overall core revenue support to the city's theatres and theatre organisations has declined since 1995/96 (by 36.5% to the building-based producing theatres, by 49% to the non-building based sector and by 24% to the presenting houses) Over the same period, the box-office income of the building-based producing houses has grown significantly.

At the same time, overall core funding to Edinburgh theatres and companies from the Scottish Arts Council has grown (including a real-terms increase of 65.4% in the last two years."⁸

This pattern was replicated elsewhere in Scotland. The sector's position is that local authorities must re-invest in theatre and the Commission believes that the funding gap must be closed and that the SAC, the Scottish Executive and the local authority representative should create a financial strategy to make Scottish theatre viable, able to serve the National Theatre structure and ensure that salaries can compete with the regions of England.

Points from the consultation

We were made aware of a most impressive model of theatre, operating in Sweden. Their system has matured over 70 years. The Riksteatern organisation has a mix of community stakeholders and practitioners, supported by a central administration and offers a choice of productions to the 14 regions.

Audience data and audience building are top priorities for the sector. There is also an acknowledgement of the need to communicate more effectively and a fear of perceptions of high ticket costs in the theatre as compared with cinema. Another point made was the need for the relationship between promoters and producers to be strengthened, with long term planning seen as a high priority.

Other specific points from the consultation were:

• Scottish Community Drama Association is being strengthened by the SAC and that is welcomed by the Commission

• marketing product remains a difficulty

• a national box office is necessary.

6.10 Literature

Writing is a demonstrable and historic Scottish strength, covering not only fiction and poetry but also writings on philosophy and the sciences as well as religion. That tradition is an exciting and tangible heritage in our libraries and archives. In our contemporary literary scene, we have exceptional talents. They include great novelists and poets, playwrights and screenwriters.

Scotland also has an extraordinary flowering of literary festivals: StAnza, Edinburgh Book Festival, Aye Write in Glasgow, the Word in Aberdeen and the Wigtown festival and its ambition as 'booktown'. Canongate won the title of UK Publisher of the Year in 2004, Edinburgh became the first UNESCO City of Literature in that year and the Mann Booker International Prize is to be held here in Scotland in 2005. No one should doubt the reputation Scotland enjoys in its contemporary literary life.

6.10.1 Characteristics of the sector

We have 80 publishers, most very small, a healthy number of small booksellers and two university imprints. The universities themselves are promoting the growth of the literary and book sectors with initiatives such as Poetry House at St Andrew's and The Word Festival at Aberdeen. We also have literary agents and a Publishers Association.

6.10.2 Issues for the literature sector

Despite our rich heritage and strong literary sector, Scottish literature and history is not taught systematically in schools. We give teachers themselves little training in these studies and we do not have Scottish writing bought and circulating in the schools system. Scotland still has an industrial cycle of activity involving writers, visual artists, publishers, printers, distributors, and booksellers. We still have the means of designing, printing, publishing, and selling in Scotland but we need to make sure that we retain those capabilities. Such businesses are vulnerable and it may be appropriate to consider where they fit in the public sector.

This sector must be a strong and well-supported part of the creative industries strategy as promoted by the SAC. The SAC funding for literature comprises 4% of the budget at £1.2m. Finland, a country of comparable population, spends three times that amount on literature.

Points from the consultation

It was put to us that we should secure the place of Scottish literature in both teacher education and the schools' curriculum and build storytelling and book culture from earliest preschool days. The Commission supports the first class work by Communities Scotland in addressing the serious problems of literacy, especially among young parents. That work rightly has high priority.

Literature is also a business. The components of literary agency, design, printing, publishing and bookselling need to be supported within Scotland and abroad. This is a job for Scottish Enterprise, which has already done good work in promoting this sector of the creative industries. Scotland's publishers and their association need funding to sell abroad at the great trade fairs in Frankfurt, Bologna and elsewhere. We need investment in this function right away. The Commission welcomes the SAC funded online initiative for Scottish books.

The need for a national centre for the book was mooted in an SAC report dated 2000. ⁹ The Commission supports that idea. It should house the Edinburgh International Book Festival ( EIBF), The Literature Forum, the Publishers' Association, Edinburgh City of Literature and other partners. There should be space to house and service literary organisations of stature such as PEN. These organisations, in particular the EIBF, need visitor friendly premises as part of our tourist strategy.

Given the prestige of the EIBF and the status of Edinburgh as a World City of Literature, Scotland should exploit this asset and invest in bringing more international literary and book-centred gatherings to Scotland. EventScotland should support this activity and work with City for literature to promote that strategy.

The Commission believes that the encouragement of writing should lie with the SAC and any new agency established to support culture in Scotland. Launching writers into self-sufficiency should be the aim but where this is unachievable, as in the case of, say, poets who cannot make a living from book sales alone, then a system of assessment and support based on peer group patronage should operate to determine merit and reward it. The Commission has recommended a new approach in this respect: based on the Irish model, grants for aspirant writers should be available and based on clear contracts.

The SAC awards have been highly beneficial in the literature sector, as have the Saltire awards. Parliament should consider adopting the American practice of awarding a medal to those whose achievement has brought distinction to Scotland.

6.11 Festivals

6.11.1 Characteristics of the sector

Scotland has two groups of festivals: the Edinburgh Festivals and the other Scottish performing and literary festivals, public and independent. The scale of the first group dwarves the rest but does not diminish their importance. The SAC invests around £3m in festivals across Scotland. About £1.2m goes to the major festivals in Edinburgh - International, Book, Jazz and Fringe. Scores of smaller festivals in both urban and rural settings receive funding, ranging from £1,000 for the Butelive festival on the Isle of Bute to almost £70,000 for the St Magnus Festival on Orkney.

The Edinburgh International Festivals are acknowledged as world leaders. These are not simply cultural events but major contributors to the Scottish economy and to our national identity. The original Festival in 1947 was run in parallel with an exhibition of industrial design to provide a statement of our ambitions for the future at a time of austerity. Arts festivals are showcases for visitors but serve also as our own celebration of great talents. The International Festivals in Edinburgh are supported, first and foremost, by local people, and also by Scots from other regions of the country. The effects, however, reach far beyond these shores.

The Edinburgh Festivals

We had an extensive response from the Edinburgh International Festivals ( EIF) to our consultation and we report their observations below in some detail, adding our own observations. EIF has formed a strategic partnership and this is regarded as a necessary development to strengthen their future. There is seen to be a threat from other British and foreign festival organisers who are said to be investing heavily in festival strategies. Financial stakeholders are unlikely to offer increased support without convincing business plans for each of the festivals based on organisational reform and joint working.

Sustainable and robust business planning

Competitive artistic and programming excellence must be the aim and the international festivals are striving for this position and are seen to be reasonably secure. A problem was, however, identified with the Film Festival. Building capacity to deal with such challenges is seen as critical for the festival sector. Where there are acknowledged problems, the cost of restructuring has to be balanced against the likely public benefit. Scotland is to have a film academy in Edinburgh and robust new training standards set by Skillset. The investment in the Film Festival has to be assessed in the context of the broader creative industries and the catalytic effect of a successful festival of screen.

The Edinburgh Film Festival is also an asset that has to be fostered as part of the creative industries as well as the arts. It is the longest running continuous film festival in the world, the UK's leading film festival and it celebrates its 60th anniversary next year. There is an urgent need to re-structure the funding of the Film Festival and put it on to a firm footing. Every major film festival in the world needs A-list celebrities to ensure attention and to ensure the value of the venue as a launch pad for new productions. Only active support by the younger cohort of Scottish stars will help restore the Film Festival's position. The Commission supports the idea of premises for the Festival but the urgent short-term need is survival and an influx of new and powerful patrons from the cinema world.

Festivals stand or fall by the interest of the Scottish audience and their international reputation for excellence. The sector's view is that it is not audiences transferring to other festivals that represent the threat; it is the likelihood of reputation slipping away. Increased investment alone will not thwart that danger; excellence and customer care within a sustainable business plan is seen as the key.

The Edinburgh International Festival of Music and Drama is shortly to move into another phase. The Festival needs to cultivate the private sector and find sustainable partnerships. Relationships between arts companies and business must be based on mutuality, shared objectives and a return for the sponsor. The Commission agrees with the Festival that it is important that the Edinburgh International Festival makes a strong relationship with the National Theatre of Scotland. We need to ensure that the experience of the Festival in finding work of international calibre to show in Edinburgh is shared with the National Theatre to the benefit of the Scottish audience. There is also a strong case for the establishment of a Commissioner of Drama working to the Director of the International Festival. Again, it is in the national interest to ensure the closest possible working relationship with the National Theatre. Such a post will be an investment in audience development.

The Edinburgh International Book Festival ( EIBF) now operates at maximum efficiency with ticket sales at capacity. This is an important event for Scotland and the Commission agrees it should be recognised and funded concomitantly. We were told that the main vulnerability of EIBF is the low level of salaries paid to senior staff, which has a destablising effect that can be ill afforded. Without diluting the brand or defocusing, the Book Festival has to address the problems of success and identify the next stage in its development. The present success deserves to be rewarded with increased private sector sponsorship.

Broadcasting the Edinburgh Festivals

It was put to us firmly what the EIF believes should happen to secure their future. If the Edinburgh Festivals are to receive greater subsidies, then the Scottish public must be able share in the product. Their virtual absence from television was noted and it is felt that the BBC with its increased number of channels should accord a proper place in broadcasting to Edinburgh.

The role of the Fringe

The Fringe sells over 1.25 million tickets worth more than £9m for 1,700 shows. Almost half of these are sold on-line in real time. The Fringe also employs a year-round full-time staff of 10, increasing to around 120 in August. The Edinburgh Summer Festivals together generate £135m in the City. Of this, the Fringe alone generates £75m and all but £5m of that is estimated to stay in Edinburgh. The public investment in the Fringe is £65,000. This is a well-managed and vitally important festival that does much to create the ambience of Edinburgh in August. It captures the attention and interest of the young and for that achievement alone the Fringe should be counted as a roaring success. The Fringe is a vital component of the Edinburgh Festivals and we agree that it deserves much enhanced support. We received representations about the timing of the Fringe and International Festival and our view is that the new Director of the Edinburgh International Festival should review the alignment of the Fringe Festival and International Festival.

Maintaining markets and addressing duplication

Scotland now has a calendar of very high-grade book festivals around the country. The immediate need is to ensure that this proliferation does not end up in duplication. The Word Festival has established an audience for a literary festival in Aberdeen. Simultaneously the new Glasgow festival of writing, Aye Write, has had a successful launch in 2005, concentrating on 'writing' rather than 'books'. The greater part of the population experiences literature primarily through script writing for television drama serials. There is an opportunity for this festival to mark out new ground in, say, writing for broadcasting or perhaps, journalism and travel writing.

StAnza the book festival in St Andrew's is dedicated to poetry and St Andrew's has become an international rendezvous for poets who cluster in the University and celebrate the medium in the festival. This festival is set in a Scottish town but its reputation is becoming international. Wigtown has developed itself as a 'booktown' and is now concentrating on improving customer amenities.

Clearly Scotland has an asset in its literary and book festivals. Scottish literary festivals are perhaps gelling to form a marketable entity to the world. A strategy for publicising these events needs to be developed by VisitScotland, and the festival directors will need to share experience but should not be distracted from promoting excellence in their individual events. These festivals must also be part of the portfolio of events for educators to offer to Scottish students in school and in higher education. Cultural events help artists maximise their creative potential and offer young people the chance to be inspired and even to develop latent talent.

6.11.2 Celtic Connections

Celtic Connections is one of the most powerful and effective festivals in Scotland. In ten years it has become recognised as one of the world's leading traditional music festivals. It has raised the profile of traditional music and musicians nationally and internationally. Grassroots activities develop both audiences and performers. Danny Kyle's Open Stage and a number of other events are free and so ticket prices are not a barrier.

Celtic Connections nurtures new talent through staging New Voices and the BBC Young Scottish Traditional Musician of the Year. Schools' and public workshops give people the opportunity to learn new musical skills in both modern and traditional instruments. Over 80,000 children have taken part in Celtic Connections Education since 1998, supported by a Scottish Arts Council National Lottery grant ¹⁰.

The Glasgow based festival costs around £0.75m to run with an impressive group of sponsors and funders. Fifty companies have provided financial and in-kind support to Celtic Connections over the decade of its existence. Most significant is the current sponsor, the leading financial services group, Clerical Medical.

6.11.3 Commercial festivals

Festivals such as T in the Park and the Glasgow West End have added significantly to the portfolio of Scottish festivals. These independent entrepreneurial initiatives are equally important in promoting cultural growth. Sector representatives said clearly to us that any new agency established to promote culture in Scotland needs to share research data and any national ticketing system with independent festivals. It will also need to challenge the current 'unchallengeable overheads' that inhibit the success of independent festivals: indemnity insurance and police supervision. It is the sector's view that cultural activity cannot be the province of the public sector alone and obstacles to the growth of self-funded events should be removed.

6.12 Crafts

6.12.1 Characteristics of the sector

Work in crafts ranges from contemporary hand-made wooden furniture to glasswork of superb quality on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Crafts are objects that are substantially hand-made, in any material or design, and produced in small batch for profit. In Scotland, two thirds of the craft disciplines focus on ceramics, textiles, wood and jewellery.

Most of the crafts enterprises in Scotland - the small part-time or full time businesses - were started in the 1990s or late 1980s. These are very small businesses; the majority trade from home or workshop and comprise one or two employees. Just over 50% crafts employees are self-taught and around 50% of crafts businesses have a turnover of less than £10,000. Scotland has around 3,000 crafts businesses in total, with around 30% of these currently exporting.

In the public sector, local authorities and local enterprise agencies support crafts and the SAC also supports craft businesses. North Lands Glass in Caithness is the first crafts centre to achieve core funding from SAC.

The opening of the SAC crafts website has helped to raise the profile of Scottish crafts, encouraging sales and allowing businesses to promote themselves. It also has invaluable networking use and information for business about training. This is particularly useful given that around half of crafts people are untrained. The identity evolved for businesses, craftscotland, helps with promotion in other parts of the UK and abroad. The bulk of sales, however, are still within the UK.

6.12.2 Issues for the craft sector

Because of the small scale of crafts businesses it is particularly important to have national organisations linking with the UK scene and offering networking and communication conduits. Investment in crafts is relatively low and opportunities to see and buy crafts are vital. Points raised in the consultation included:

• Chelsea Art Fair is now a venue for around 25 Scottish firms; many crafts people from England also exhibit in Scotland and they are the majority at the Edinburgh Fair during the Festival month.

• where prices are high and it is important that potential customers know about the national art purchase plan.

• in 2002, the Schmuck jewellery showcase from Germany located in Scotland for the first time and in 2003, 14 Scottish crafts businesses took part in the Smithsonian Folk Art festival in Washington and were seen by over a million people. Silversmithing and boatbuilding were featured among other crafts.

6.13 Visual arts

6.13.1 Characteristics of the sector

Most visual artists in Scotland work in drawing and painting but diversity is increasing with the use of new technologies and mixed media. Many artists are represented by an agent or by a gallery, and 19% of those surveyed by the SAC have overseas representation. The active population of professional visual artists is well educated with 45% graduates and just over a third holding postgraduate art degrees. Artists generate income from sales of work, exhibitions and teaching. The SAC examined art-related earnings and found that only 17% of their survey group earned more than £10,000 per year and only 7% were registered for VAT. Both SAC and local authorities support individual artists. A majority of artists also teach in some form.

Infrastructure

Galleries are key parts of the infrastructure for exhibition of contemporary as well as historical work and for both education and outreach. The great weakness of the publicly funded galleries is the paucity of funds to mount exhibitions. Even the largest, such as the National Portrait Gallery suffers from this. A powerful new agency, the Visual Arts and Galleries Association ( VAGA), has recently emerged and will develop its role to encourage networking, debate on local and national policy and raise the profile for the visual arts across all media.

The SAC invests in studio spaces and production facilities for artists, for example, Edinburgh Printmakers Studio, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, Glasgow Print Studio, Scottish Sculpture Workshop, WASPS studios, DCA. Many artists (around 40%) work at home and an even higher number teach.

6.13.2 Issues for the visual arts sector

Many issues were raised in the consultation and we list these and our commentary below:

Teaching visual literacy in schools

The role of the visual artist is of vital importance to the development of visual literacy not least because there is lack of formal teaching of visual literacy. This is true in both primary and secondary schooling and the sector is clear that this area requires investment. The network of visual arts organisations could go some way to meet this need, although at present education, which is carried out as a core activity of most visual arts organisations, is not funded. For example, in Dundee, the Arts Centre can meet only 45% of the demand to work with schools. The Dundee experience, however, also reveals a profound knowledge gap: Dundee Contemporary Arts is having to teach the teachers. Elsewhere in this report we remark on the need to revise the teacher-training curriculum. There may be synergies in arrangements between individual artists and the schools they serve. Studio space within the school would be invaluable to many teaching artists.

The importance of higher education

There are highly rated research projects within the higher education sector. Glasgow School of Art has its undisputed successes and VARIE at Edinburgh University brings its research findings to the public in the most accessible ways. Two issues were particularly stressed in our consultation. There appears to be a situation in the art schools where postgraduate work is apparently not fully supported. The sector argued that this should be addressed right away and we agree. The second is that the universities play a very important part in curating and exhibiting contemporary art and promoting its locus. The Talbot Rice Centre at the University of Edinburgh is vital to the ecology of contemporary art in Scotland. It was acknowledged that the visual arts sector needs such champions.

Support for visual arts businesses

Individual artists are one-person businesses. They need to have all the start up skills and backing open to other small businesses in the creative arts sector. The Scottish Enterprise Network is potentially a useful source of support. The sector feels that the Network should recognise the investment opportunity here. Given that the selling of art is a commercial transaction, our report recommends that all artists who are creating intellectual property should be taught about its protection and exploitation.Individual artists cannot hope to be skilled in marketing and must rely on exhibitors or word of mouth. In fact, most artists at start up are trying to find a balance between the time needed to make art and the time to earn from other sources. The exhibition and display of contemporary art is VAGA's focus. There are of course excellent online promotions of Scottish work not least by the SAC itself but many argued that people need to experience an object in a particular space and that viewing artwork can't be 'virtualised'. No one should be precious about this: online is a great shop window and the SAC is right to pursue it in the interest of promoting artists' presence in the market.

Artists need help to sell and the Scottish citizen needs help in gaining the confidence to buy contemporary art. The SAC operates two excellent schemes: a guide to understanding and choosing art and a scheme to defray payments of the item chosen. More can be done, especially in partnership with the private sector. One award-winning scheme had a law practice offering wall space to local artists who exhibited and sold there. The benefits to the staff of the firm were also considerable in the sheer interest introduced into the work space. The fundamental challenge is to sell more visual art. It will take the focus and power of a national agency to attack the retail policies of stores that continue to sell mass produced visual images and artefacts when buyers might be persuaded to purchase original material.

Supporting galleries

The galleries of Scotland support Scottish art, exhibiting contemporary art and artists. They themselves, however, need support. Money for exhibitions is tight but the real strain is on revenue. Not only are resources strained but the artistic power of the spaces and the collections is limited because opportunities to market, educate, catalogue, control and lend are constrained. Material is stored and unavailable for viewing because the resource is not available to put them on show. We feel that VAGA and the SAC can make common cause in this and other matters. These two agencies should also pursue a programmed media and policy campaign to secure greater exposure of the contemporary visual arts in Scottish broadcasting.

National acquisitions policy and strategy

The visual arts sector is clear that Scotland needs a nationally agreed acquisitions policy and strategy for its galleries and museums and we support this proposal. We need a national initiative to promote endowment and reward, in an appropriate manner, those who serve the nation in this way. Businesses want partnerships and individuals need incentive, assurance and reward. We must create a climate where philanthropy becomes a habit and an expectation if the nation is to reassert the position that obtained a hundred years ago. Scotland's political administration has to be welcoming to potential donors and be comfortable with the relationship.

6.14 Photography

6.14.1 Characteristics of the sector

Photography is one of the great tools of art and technology that are open to Scots to exploit as part of our heritage. We are co-originators of photography, a medium that is taught in our schools and colleges but has an enormous untapped potential for education and wide public enjoyment.

There are photographs and albums of great importance in the history of photography spread through the libraries, galleries and museums of Scotland. The National Library has the Edinburgh Calotype Album and the public libraries in Edinburgh hold a companion; the Mitchell holds significant American Civil War photos and the National Portrait Gallery yet more materials. In its totality, the Scottish photographic collection is of global significance.

6.14.2 Issues for the photography sector

Photography needs to be part of the education and digitisation projects mentioned in Section 5. Photography will eventually be an important component of the personal archive built by each youngster. At some point in the future we can expect to see photographic blogs and a well-educated and skilled student cohort should be encouraged to take that sort of initiative, describing Scotland online both literally through the images and metaphorically through the enterprise.

A Scottish National Photography Centre

The Commission has been persuaded by the arguments of the group pursuing a National Photography Centre. This project can have economic and public benefits. It is a perfect example of how we can re-take, to our economic benefit, a part of our heritage that has been exported successfully to the rest of the world. Much of modern photography began on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. Supporters of the scheme remarked:

"More than any other medium, photography tells us about who we are, such is the persuasive power of the still image, the most democratic of all art forms. Our extraordinary heritage, our contemporary achievements and the whole world of photography are to be made accessible to all. The Centre will be the place where our history becomes visible and our education and progress in this vital visual art is expressed as never before."

6.15 Museums and galleries

6.15.1 Characteristics of the sector

The Commission is aware of the breadth of the sector and that it includes:

• local authority-run public museums and galleries

• private and independent museums

• the National Museums of Scotland

• the National Galleries of Scotland.

We endorse the vision expressed to the Commission by the Museums and Galleries Working Group: ¹¹

"Scotland's museums and galleries are the custodians of our vibrant, rich and diverse cultural heritage, represented by the material evidence of our human past and present in this country and across the globe, and of the natural world. Our collections are here to inspire us and our children to learn, be creative, contribute as citizens, have confidence in ourselves and our communities - and through each of these experiences to enjoy a better quality of life."

The challenge is how to realise that vision and allow the museums and galleries to enrich the lives of people living in, working in or visiting Scotland.

6.15.2 Issues for the museums and galleries sector

Many issues were raised in the consultation and we list these and our commentary below:

Education

Museums and galleries can provide an inspirational learning environment where students of all ages can learn. The Commission is convinced of the effectiveness of 'object-centred learning' and is determined to promote the widest possible role for Scotland's museums and galleries in education. Scotland's museums and galleries can also play a bigger role in the delivery of effective and enlightened learning to Scots of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. In addition, they could support teachers in the delivery of most, if not all, of the National Curriculum. We believe all school pupils should be able to visit museums and galleries of assured quality and within a reasonable distance, as part of their curriculum based school activities.

Most of the funding available to museums and galleries to support educational activity is short term and project based. Outside the National Galleries of Scotland ( NGS), National Museums of Scotland ( NMS) and Glasgow Museums and Galleries, very few museums have dedicated staff with a remit to provide education services. As a consequence the opportunities for teachers to utilise museums and galleries in their teaching programmes vary considerably across Scotland. The Commission believes that this variability must be addressed.

A long-term investment is required across Scotland's museums and galleries to ensure that their collections are exhibited in the most relevant and accessible manner. Such investment should come partly from education in recognition of the contribution that museums and galleries could make. It is vital that there is a strategic and operational relationship between museums and galleries and the educational community. The advantages cannot be gained unless the educational community make available the necessary resources. For example, the cost of transport is a major barrier to schools visiting museums and galleries that can only be addressed by proper planning and funding.

There must also be a consolidation of the expertise and experience available in museums and galleries into a matrix of resources that can be attractive to schools and to other providers across Scotland.

Access and infrastructure

Providing the widest possible access to Scotland's museums and galleries was seen by the sector to be a key objective for all concerned with maximising the contribution of museums and galleries to Scottish life. Such access was seen as dependent on three factors, discussed in detail below.

Firstly, resources are needed for development in the sector: finance for transport to/from museums and galleries, finance for improving physical access and the layout of exhibits, finance for promotion and marketing and finance for providing a quality of experience that ensure that the visitor will want to return.

Secondly, planned infrastructural development: many of Scotland's museums and galleries are housed in historic buildings, indeed 63% of museum buildings in Scotland are either listed or scheduled. These buildings place a considerable financial burden on museums and galleries in terms of maintenance and works to comply with legislative requirements such as the Disability Discrimination Act. These buildings, their architectural merits notwithstanding, are not always fit for purpose and require significant and ongoing investment if the required standards of display, access and curatorial provision are to be maintained.

The Commission supports the NMS Masterplan ¹² and urges the Scottish Executive, Edinburgh City Council and the cultural funding agencies to be active financial partners in the project. The Masterplan is an exciting and very necessary development of one of Scotland's most important cultural sites. It aims to set a new benchmark in terms of display and visitor amenities without compromising the NMS's curatorial standards.

There can be no 'blank-cheque' for capital funding and it is recognised that the amount of lottery (Lotto) funding available for Scotland is declining. However, Scotland's museums and galleries will not be able to realise their true potential without enlightened and imaginative capital investment. Partnership funding is the way forward, as demonstrated by the excellent Playfair extension to the National Galleries, but national and local government and the cultural funding agencies must be very active players in such partnerships. Substantial refurbishment is also underway at the Kelvingrove and further modernisation projects are in the pipeline (Royal Museum of Scotland and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery). These are expensive projects and whilst the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Scottish Executive have been positive and generous, they cannot be expected to cover the costs alone. The generosity of private and corporate donors is vital.

Thirdly, the other pressing need is for positive and sustained funding on building repair and maintenance.

The sector argued strongly for a long-term and planned development of the infrastructure to meet the standards of delivery and experience that the sector aspires to provide. We agree that this process should be led by the museums and galleries sector, with the support of national and local government and the cultural funding agencies. This plan must cover the whole spectrum of infrastructural development, including repair, renovation, replacement, closure and relocation.

We believe the links between buildings and collections should be critically examined and that it may be necessary for some museums and galleries to move to new and better, or purpose built spaces. We urge greater consideration of the potential for museums and galleries to share spaces with schools, libraries and other public buildings along similar lines to the Glasgow libraries model. What is essential, however, is that decisions on planning and investment are taken in partnership with local communities in the context of improving access and delivery as part of their community planning processes.

Curatorial standards

Museums and galleries of Scotland need to attract and retain staff with right competences and experience. This means appropriate levels of pay, reasonable working conditions and career progression. Outside the National Institutions, Scotland does not have enough people with the right curatorial skills and experience. It is imperative that Scotland organises and funds training and development of staff to the highest international curatorial standards. This must be a priority for the whole sector and should be seen as an investment and not just as a cost. It is also important that more attention is given to building career progression within the sector in Scotland and to attracting new staff who can reflect and support the diversity of the cultures and communities within Scotland.

The Commission sees the opportunity for a more structured partnership between the sector and the universities and colleges of Scotland to train and retrain curatorial staff and provide more interchange of curatorial staff and resources across the sector, through greater use of secondments, pooled expertise and subsidised consultancy. The NMS and NGS already provide advice and assistance to other museums and galleries but there is scope for increasing the level of support available. The sharing of best practice must be seen as a priority.

A significant percentage, perhaps over half, of the people working in museums and galleries are volunteers. The Commission wants to recognise the vital contribution of these volunteers to the museums and galleries sector. Without their commitment and enthusiasm the sector would struggle to function and they do provide a valuable link between the museums and galleries and their local communities.

Marketing, promotion and links to tourism

The recently produced report for the Scottish Museums Council, Realising the True Impact of Museums and Galleries in Scottish Tourism, provides evidence of the contribution of museums and galleries to the Scottish tourist industry and to the wider Scottish economy. The report concludes by identifying:

"the centrality of Museums and Galleries to the cultural sector in Scotland. Museums and Galleries are central to tourism destination marketing and provide a foundation for the iconic representation of the nation and its people. This vital but disparate set of cultural resources are for the first time recognised as a key cultural resource that lies at the heart of visitor experiences in urban, rural and coastal region." ¹³

The Commission believes that with better planning and cross-agency co-operation, this contribution could be increased still further. The Commission also believes that the national framework for museums and galleries will provide the means for closer strategic and operational co-operation between the sector and the Scottish tourist industry, as represented by agencies such as VisitScotland.

Audience development

The gathering and analysis of audience data by museums and galleries is a pre-condition for developing long-term strategies. Such analysis should include those who do and those who do not visit Scotland's museums and galleries. It is recognised that some of the larger museums and galleries, such as NMS, do collect audience data but many smaller museums and galleries do not have the resources or indeed the expertise to undertake such research. Museums and galleries seeking funding should be providing evidence of need and opportunity to the funding agencies and that such evidence must include consideration of actual and potential audience requirements. However, the responsibility to ensure that robust data is collected and shared within and between sectors falls to the funding agencies.

The Commission wishes to the see the provision of audience data to the funding agencies made a condition of all funding arrangements.

Regional development

There is much evidence of partnership working across the sector, but there is more that could be done. Support for museums and galleries across Scotland could become more regionally or city-region focused, with a reduced requirement for central intervention. Advice and support for local museums could be focused on regional or city-region groupings, with partnerships sought with local government and community/voluntary groups. The Commission believes that such regional or city-regional groupings might provide greater opportunities for formal and informal operational co-operation, data exchange and the sharing of expertise and experience. There must be every encouragement for the museums and galleries sector to maximise local and regional co-operation where possible. This process should be championed by the funding agencies and the National Institutions.

The Commission recognises the importance of museums and galleries reflecting the needs, traditions and ambitions of their local communities as well as giving their communities access to objects and experiences from around Scotland and beyond.

National collections

The Commission fully endorses the concept of the national collections: a unitary view of the treasures held across Scotland, unrestricted by location or by ownership. It views the national collection as a concept and attitude that should form the cornerstone of policy development and funding decisions across the museums and galleries sector.

In practical terms, the National Institutions will have a leading role in the development and promotion of the national collections. This is a recognition of the objects under their guardianship but also a challenge for them to think and act outside their own walls and to use their influence and expertise across the sector.

The Commission recommends a process for recognising collections of particular significance. This process should lead to the development of policy and standards (with accompanying funding) for the preservation and enhancement of the most important collections across funding. The Commission recognises that a significant and sustained programme of capital investment in museums and galleries is required if appropriate standards of facilities, display and access are to be maintained.

The Commission fully supports the concept of the 'national collection' and wishes to see this concept become the basis for policy making in relation to museums and galleries. The Commission is keen that the 'national collection' is object based and not ownership based. The Commission wants to see public access to the 'national collection' guaranteed by appropriate standards of access and provision, backed up by appropriate funding.

Sectoral co-operation

The Scottish Museums and Galleries Working Group's proposals for the development of the sector are to be based on a framework of agreed policies and standards. ¹⁴ It is proposed that the framework should be constructed to support greater strategic and operational alignment across the sector and strengthen the ties between museums and galleries and their local communities. All museums and galleries within the framework should be funded to deliver a range of agreed services to agreed standards. Standards will enable national and local government to consider the contribution museums and galleries could make in support of a whole range of governmental initiatives, especially education.

The Commission recommends a strong strategic framework be established to coordinate development across and between the museums and galleries sector and other parts of the public sector, particularly education.

Technology

New technologies, especially digital access, will provide a way of addressing the constraints of geography and the logistics of travel. Existing technologies can provide everyone in Scotland and worldwide with direct access images and information about Scotland's national collection through their computer. Investment and leadership can achieve this. The Commission sees this as a key priority.

Technology should also be used to promote the sector to the public, using digital access to stimulate a desire to see the physical objects, as well as providing information about museums and galleries services.

The Commission accepts that, through initiatives like the LEMUR project, some real progress has been made in harnessing the potential of new technologies in Scotland. The Commission has also been advised that many of the structural, distribution and intellectual property issues that could delay further development have been addressed, including the availability of broadband across Scotland.

The Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network ( SCRAN) is a charity whose aim is to provide educational access to digital materials representing our material culture and history. The learning resource service hosts over 300,000 images, movies and sounds from museums, galleries, archives and the media. It can be used generically, as a substitute for clip art, or for particular learning applications. The service works by subscription. This resource bank is enormously useful but needs enhanced marketing and promotion. The service itself is making strides in new search tools. If the service is to be fully developed it may have to find enhanced support to replace subscription.

The National Institutions with collections

The Commission recognises the significant contribution that the National Museum and National Galleries have made to the cultural life of Scotland. These National Institutions must remain at the heart of all sectoral development given their guardianship of much of the national collection and their leadership in curatorial and other standards. It therefore follows that these institutions should be properly funded to maximise their contribution. Access to the collections is key and the Commission would like to see more use of permanent and temporary loans, of the national collection around Scotland. The Commission believes such a programme is consistent with the national curatorial roles of the National Museums of Scotland, the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland and should be a matter of priority funding.

The National Museum and National Galleries must operate to the highest international standards, as benchmarked against the best museums and galleries from across the world. The Commission believes that by achieving and maintaining excellence, the National Institutions will inspire improvements in provision, delivery and access across the whole sector. The National Museums and National Galleries must lead the sector by example and by sharing their expertise and resources. These pan-sectoral responsibilities should be made explicit in their funding agreements. The remit of the National Institutions should be kept under permanent review and that if progress through partnerships does not prove entirely successful, more structural changes may be justified.

The Commission is clear in its belief that the primary criterion for inclusion in the national collection is quality as determined by an object's artistic and cultural significance, properly judged by experts without political influence.

To ensure the national collections operate as effectively as possible in the interest of the citizen we recommend that they:

• build audiences together

• confer regularly on

  • built estate

  • exhibitions

  • education and outreach

  • resources and backroom functions

• participate in the strategic development of their individual sectors

We recommend that a Board of National Collections is established to achieve this, and that it includes representatives from the following:

• Botanic Gardens

• Historic Scotland

• National Archives of Scotland

• National Galleries of Scotland

• National Libraries of Scotland

• National Museums of Scotland

• Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.

Summary of issues and priorities

Scotland's museums and galleries need to be put on a new financial footing if they are to be able to consistently deliver cultural entitlements. This will take serious and sustained investment, both capital and revenue, but the alternative is a decline in standards and shrinkage in capacity. Financial commitment from national government, local government and the funding agencies is needed

The Commission is clear that the sector needs reform. The national framework to regulate standards and align strategy needs to be established and robustly managed. The national collection needs to move from concept to operational and strategic reality. The National Institutions need to be funded and obliged to lead an overall improvement in standards by both example and by deed.

6.16 Libraries

6.16.1 Characteristics of the sector

The Commission is aware of the breadth of the sector and that it includes the National Library of Scotland, schools' libraries, prisons' libraries, higher education libraries and many others. For the purposes of the Commission's consultation and this report, the term 'libraries' includes:

• the public library service provided by local authorities across Scotland

• school libraries

• university and research libraries

• the National Library of Scotland ( NLS).

Libraries enjoy the affection and trust of the Scottish public to a greater extent than almost any other agency. For 150 years, Scottish libraries have served the public in four key areas - information; reading, language and literacy; learning and access, and community service. ¹⁵

The challenge for libraries is to deliver services in the formats that people want. In recent years, libraries have come full circle with the successful implementation of the People's Network project, enabling libraries to play a pivotal role in providing access and encouraging use of digital technologies, information and learning.

A total of 557 libraries in Scotland offer over 8.5 million hours of free internet access to the communities they serve. According to recent statistics public libraries in Scotland continue to lend over 37 million items per annum, attract over 31 million visits and staff answer over 3 million detailed enquiries. Early indications suggest that since the People's Network roll-out, numbers are increasing in the region of 10-15%.

Nevertheless, library services have seen cuts in their resourcing in the last 10 years resulting in reductions in book funds and, in some instances, reduced opening hours. Book funds have dropped on average by 30% ¹⁶ across Scotland in the last five years. This is compounded by an increase of 36.2% in book prices over the same period. Given the figures it is not surprising that library issues have fallen by 24% over the same period. It has been demonstrated by some authorities that investment in stock combined with reader development activities can increase the public appetite for reading.

6.16.2 Issues for the library sector

Comparative research with Finland's library service

In our research, we identified a useful comparison with library services in Finland. Finland is a country with a population similar to Scotland's at 5.2m but with even greater geographical spread of communities. Finland has aspirations for its libraries that require the service to be active, effective, accessible and customer friendly. These aspirations are articulated in its authorities' definition of the role of libraries, a definition that the Commission fully supports.

In Finland, the public library service has the following inspirational aims:

• open to all and strengthens democracy

• passes on cultural heritage and supports multiculturalism

• builds and promotes community spirit

• adds value to collections of documents by selecting and organizing different materials

• a learning environment, supporting learners of all ages

• promotes comprehensive literacy - including media literacy

• a community of competent professionals

• networks with partners, making their collections and services available locally

• collections and services are accessible through networks (digital library)

• a desirable partner and contributes to the success and welfare of the region.

Accessibility and customer care

Scotland's libraries share these aspirations and are trying to address the regional access issues through services like Falkirk's library on-tour service. This service delivers books and music to readers who, for reasons of age or disability, are unable to visit the library. Books are also taken to hospitals and residential care homes, benefiting approximately 470 people in the area.

Much of the success of local libraries is due to high-grade customer care. Both SLIC¹⁷ and CILIPS¹⁸ believe that staff should show the highest standard of customer care and undertake regular refresher training. The Commission agrees and would add that libraries in all sectors should work to that aim. The Commission acknowledged the importance of customer care and recommends that a national standard for customer care for libraries should be set by the Libraries Sector.

Funding and sustainability

There are a number of legislative frameworks that impact on the delivery of library services in Scotland: Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act, DDA, and Human Rights. Together with the primary obligations these place very considerable demands on diminishing resource budgets.

"Since local government reorganisation library services have seen some £8m wiped from their budgets."¹⁹

Even where there is established merit and customer take-up, lack of sustainable funding can bring development to a halt. Lottery funding has encouraged innovation in library services with ICT and indeed, reading initiatives. The New Opportunities Fund (now Big Lottery Fund) provided almost £13m for infrastructure and staff training over a 3-year period for the People's Network project to connect all libraries to the Internet. In accordance with the original legislation, it was a condition of the NOF grant that access be free. With the end of NOF funding, there have been questions in some authorities over the long-term sustainability of free access to information through ICT in libraries.

SLIC co-ordinated national procurement of electronic resources for public libraries with lottery funding. That provided best value and made funding go further. Savings of up to 70% can be achieved with a full national license. However, the problem is that not all authorities have the resources to participate. The significant barrier to service development is that, despite the best attempts of funding organisations, they have not always delivered long term sustainability in a pressured local authority financial environment.

Lessons from Finland

In Finland, the library sector found that the greatest problem was inadequate library funding at a local level, meaning that libraries had to address growing library use with declining resources. Libraries have been building the necessary technical infrastructure and net connections, putting material on the net, buying hardware for the use of both their clientele and personnel, and training personnel in the use of software and databases. Even with all the rationalisation involved in computerisation, Finnish libraries have had to finance this progress at the cost of traditional materials (books, periodicals) and by downsizing the library network and reducing staff and lowering competence requirements.

Solutions in Finland offer some useful pointers. They included:

• making regional co-operation attractive and promoting the production of services for the joint use of all public libraries

• state subsidies granted on the basis of local compliance with the recommended standards and the existence of a local or regional Library and Information Strategy

• the services of the National Library extended to public libraries

• common standards determined for the computerised systems of libraries and school libraries

• regional measures taken to improve library services for the residents of small and medium-sized municipalities and to support centralised and decentralised production of services for common use

• local authorities agreed on forms of co-operation and financial responsibilities in cases where the local population clearly favoured a better-equipped library in one of the municipalities

• undertaking a study to explore the possibilities of creating information management clusters, especially with a view to financing network production and projects.

Scottish solutions: working across local authority boundaries

The solutions to our problems in the library sector Scotland are likely to be very similar. The Commission assumes that local authorities will continue to come together in clusters to serve their regions along the lines of exiting partnerships e.g. the Ayrshire Libraries Forum, ²⁰ and supports both their continuation and their wider development.

Many assets held by individual local authorities serve the citizens of a number of them. There are savings to be made in working together, for example for procurement. Customers will expect to see services reflecting their patterns of use. The Finnish model of regional partnerships favouring the better-used library seems sensible. Cross-sectoral co-operation is also a significant part of library professional practice. Eventually, funding has to be linked to excellence and innovation. In future, the compliance regime should be able to suggest that high performance be rewarded. This is along the lines of the Finnish state subsidy model.

A new configuration at national level

The Commission's proposals for cultural rights and standards recommend that these will be translated locally to provide entitlements for the citizen. SLIC is already at work developing third generation public library standards. The Commission recommends that SLIC be re-constituted as the Library and Information Council of Scotland and continue this work, shaping standards for the whole sector that are congruent with the proposed cultural rights for Scots and that the National Librarian should have a formal locus. The Commission's view is that partnership between local government and national agencies is crucial if library standards and entitlements delivered to the citizen are to fit Scotland's highly varying socio-economic conditions. Indeed partnerships between library providers across all sectors will need to be strong and active.

We also recommend that a scheme based on the museums model to identify collections of significance in Scotland should be carried forward by the National Library and involve wide consultation. In accordance with the advice of librarians and others, the Commission also recommends an inspection regime, along HMIE lines, to ensure that best practice and best value are fostered and that compliance is achieved. It was felt by the sector that inspection should support sustainable improvement of library services. ²¹

Better use of public funding

Procurement of books is achieved at best cost where there are economies of scale and there is leverage on suppliers. The Commission recommends that the procurement of electronic, printed and other material for libraries should be dealt with on a national and regional basis, with local authorities and other bodies pooling resources to achieve economies of scale. Electronic resources are already being procured on a national scale for public and higher education libraries. This would also support the Scottish Executive's drive for aggregation and efficiency within the public sector. Such a process might also encourage the development of new business in Scotland, where at present there is no Scottish based library supplier.

National/regional procurement would also give the opportunity to re-examine book selection policies within individual services. The sector argued that procurement of books should not reinforce the bias toward issues as the favoured key performance indicator in libraries; customer visits are seen as a better indicator. It was also argued that the customer development plan should be used to define the book buying policy.

The Commission supports the view that, at national level, a policy for digitising resources should be developed in a joint operation between NLS, SLIC, the National Archives and the university libraries.

Serving children and young people

The Commission supports the Bookcrawl scheme that aims to introduce infants and their parents to Scottish library services and the mediation role that librarians have taken since 1975 in helping adults into literacy schemes. It is the comfortable and familiar local feel of libraries in Scotland that has ensured their success with children and vulnerable adults such as those with reading problems. The Commission has examined the more centralised services elsewhere but the distributed model appears to suit this country.

The Commission is also aware of the Bookworms project operated in Orkney, building on the successful Bookstart and Bookstart Orkney Plus schemes, which provides vouchers to potential new library members aged 4-12 in an effort to encourage visits to local libraries. Each of Orkney's almost 4000 primary pupils is offered vouchers redeemable at the library for a reading-related 'goodie bag'. Further details can be found in Section 5 of this report.

Supporting Scottish writing and material

"We have resident here some of the English-speaking world's most successful authors - not just the novelists such as Rankin and McCall Smith but poets and playwrights and historians. We have 80 publishers, two university imprints, a healthy number of small booksellers, and enviable library resources including specialist collections such as the Poetry Library and an increasingly influential university library sector. Yet we do not require public libraries to buy Scottish literature. There is no Scottish based library supplier and without the Publishers' Association, librarians would rely on commercial catalogues produced in England to find out about the range of Scottish literature. That is like relying on English edition newspapers for Scottish news."
individual submission

We still have the means of designing, printing, publishing, and selling in Scotland but we should make sure that we retain those capabilities. The Commission believes strongly that Scotland must introduce its citizens to their national literature, past and present. There is an unanswerable case for promoting high quality books from Scottish writers to the Scottish public and, in the same action, bringing support to Scottish publishers. SLIC has been actively involved in encouraging libraries to procure Scottish material with the development of the Scottish Bibliography. The SAC has made an important intervention by ensuring that there will be an online presence for marketing Scottish books which will be run by the Scottish Publishers Association.

The Commission believes that some of the book procurement funds should be spent on books published in Scotland and on books written by writers living in Scotland. We suggest that the proposed new sector council for libraries establishes guidelines and collaborates with the Scottish Library Network. It may be that a non-recurrent grant from the Scottish Executive could endow each public library with a core collection of contemporary Scottish books. As ever, the primary criterion for selection should be excellence.

Improved marketing

Stakeholders have commented on the poor marketing of many library services. Public library services have limited access to corporate marketing budgets, a problem faced by many cultural services. Yet where quality marketing is in place more people are attracted to use services. Glasgow's REAL brand is proof of that. A national marketing strategy ought to be investigated.

The resources within Scottish libraries - NLS, universities and public libraries - are of global interest. Besides the obvious example of the NLS and the newest acquisition, the Murray Archive (a magnet for international scholars) there are collections of Islamic materials in the collections of NLS and Edinburgh University Scotland. Those two libraries also have very considerable holdings of Shakespeare texts. Properly marketed, these assets can generate money. The NLS and Edinburgh University have the vision to achieve that aim.

Library buildings

Public libraries serve as community hubs, safe and usually welcoming places. This has allowed libraries to play a role in supporting social inclusion, health improvement and cultural participation. As the demands for services and community access increase, it may be that the use of library buildings may face serious challenges. Future library services will need to provide librarianship in many ways and certainly through media delivered quite differently from face to face services.

The future development and efficiency of library services will be jeopardised unless the tension between strategic improvement and attachment to buildings can be resolved. This is a real dilemma for local authorities and librarians. Like the place of Post Offices in the public consciousness, the presence of the local library is beyond the matter of local convenience: it is also about the status of the community in which it sits. If there be a programme to reduce the number of service points, we believe it is imperative that the savings be redirected into the libraries' resource funds, though the strategy may be regional in conception.

In Section 5 the Commission proposes that all schools' estate building projects be referred to a new facility within The Lighthouse, Glasgow, for consultation on visioning and design. We also recommend that libraries and heritage should be part of that consultation process. An exemplar worth highlighting is Aberdeenshire Library Service where school and public libraries are fully integrated. Network librarians are based in schools and are responsible for managing the local public library too. The librarians spend time in both locations.

Glasgow has developed several 'joint-use' libraries in an endeavour to integrate public services. The library or 'Learning Gallery' at the Gallery of Modern Art is an outstanding example, providing state of the art library facilities alongside the gallery attraction. The café in the midst of the library provides a relaxed reading area and attracts visitors to the library. The GOMA Library has become a real community hub for cultural activity. Other innovative joint-use libraries in Glasgow include Gorbals, Pollock and Springburn.

The Commission recommends the development of joint-use libraries, particularly with schools and cultural centres, and the inclusion of library services in the development of public services hubs.

Focusing on the estates issue

A fundamental issue for all public libraries is the quality of the estates. Funding for capital investment has been limited. A proportion of buildings in the library network are in desperate need of investment in repair and upgrade; some libraries are running 21st century services in 19th century buildings. Sharing of buildings with other services may offer one possible solution. Some local authorities have also demonstrated how libraries can be transformed into accessible welcoming community spaces with capital investment.

There is a need for a conference on the libraries estate following an inventory of the buildings. Before the proposed Cultural Estates Council is launched, such a conference should be carried out under the auspices of A&DS with places for RTPI and RIAS and the commercial sector. The purpose of the conference will be to produce a national perspective on the problems and begin to address possible solutions. The current schools PPP programme provides in some cases an option for co-location with formal education. Co-location, where appropriate, will be cost effective as part of capital and revenue programmes. It is vital, however, that public libraries and other cultural services are sited where the public can access them easily. There are good examples of combined service points in a number of authorities, particularly in Glasgow, where leisure centres, museums and libraries are co-located. The public value libraries as social spaces at the heart of their communities.

6.17 The National Library of Scotland

At present the National Library of Scotland ( NLS) is undergoing change. The New National Librarian has implemented a review completed in 2003 and is improving the way the NLS operates within a strategic framework and with public consultation, taking account of user needs and views. The NLS has five functions: it ensures access to the collection and access to world knowledge on behalf of the Scottish citizen; it develops the historic collection, encourages scholarship and aspires to provide leadership for the library sector. The NLS is one of the libraries of legal deposit and can claim a copy of all printed items published in the UK. The NLS can also request the deposit of some categories of non-print material. The Commission approves of the NLS's aim to collect contemporary Scottish published material comprehensively.

6.17.1 Digitisation

The NLS has placed a high priority on extending the collection of electronic resources through digitisation and in expanding online catalogues. The ambition is to develop the NLS website into a Virtual National Library of Scotland. This work should continue to take the highest priority.

6.17.2 Partnership

Partnership working between libraries and cultural and heritage agencies supports broad political and social priorities. A working partnership with The City of Glasgow will provide a model for the NLS relationship with local authorities. National Library services will be mediated by local authority staff on behalf of the citizen, bringing more access and inclusion.

The NLS has major problems of storage. One solution investigated the acquisition of space beneath George IV Bridge. Another possibility is the establishment of the 'dispersed collection' with sections of the NLS placed in other libraries across Scotland. One objection to that would be the difficulties that researchers might find in being unable to access prime sources on one site. It is assumed that the acquisition of the Murray Collection will exacerbate the problem.

6.17.3 The Murray Collection

The Murray Collection changes the nature and status of the NLS. This collection is of the first importance to scholars and will bring researchers from across the world to Edinburgh. The contributions from the Heritage Lottery and the Scottish Executive were substantial, generous and far-sighted. Having secured its future, the Murray Collection must be housed and accessed in accordance with its importance. The NLS will need further help from the public purse but that will constitute investment in the future.

6.17.4 Governance

The NLS has 32 trustees, 11 of them ex officio. Others are appointed by the Faculty of Advocates, the universities and COSLA. Five Trustees can be co-opted by the Board and five more are appointed by the Queen, now under Nolan procedures. The Commission believes that the governance of the NLS should be aligned with contemporary Scotland rather than the historical origins of the library collections. We suggest in this report that an Act of Parliament be used to modernise the governance of the NLS and enhance accountability. We also recommend elsewhere that the NLS funding be organised and managed within a new institutional structure for culture.

6.17.5 The National Librarian

The Commission believes that the National Librarian should have a role in the setting of national standards for libraries and recommends that he or she sit on the proposed new national sector council.

6.18 Our thinking

6.18.1 The Enterprise Network

We commend Scottish Enterprise's recent initiative to locate a Cultural Enterprise Office in some of Scotland's cities. This should integrate with any new development in the broader cultural infrastructure and is complementary to our recommendations in Section 10.

International evidence shows the creative industries are a growth area - the DCMS has also highlighted its commitment to their development by supporting NESTA as well as through other measures. To help realise this potential in Scotland, we believe a coherent tripartite strategy for the creative industries should be developed by the Department of Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise ( HIE), with a commitment to identifying the resources to implement it.

In this section we have emphasised the cross-cutting potential the First Minister rightly advocates for the whole public sector with regard to its support for culture. We were impressed that over four decades the Highlands and Islands have benefited from HIE's enlightened view of economic development that acknowledges strong communities as essential building blocks of a strong economy. HIE's consequent support for cultural and social initiatives has been proved over time to be significantly effective in developing the economy of the region.

We believe that Scottish Enterprise should continue to take a broad, strategic view of supporting the creative industries in Scotland - through major initiatives such as the Pacific Quay development - but that they should issue specific policy guidance to Local Enterprise Companies ( LECs) on proactive support of creative micro-businesses, individuals and the cultural sector.

6.18.2 Tourism

A consistent observation from our submissions from the cultural sector was the potential the sector has to be used positively in the drive to attract visitors to Scotland, a potential that stakeholders argued is not being fully realised. We share the belief in the potential of the sector to assist in tourism, but believe there is a two-sided approach required to maximise it:

• the tourism industry needs to become more aware of the nature and range of the cultural product

• the cultural sector needs to become more willing and proactive participants in the approach.

Clearer means of bringing the two sectors together are required and we ask the Scottish Executive to lead on identifying and implementing these.

6.18.3 Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport

The two key issues for successful cross-cutting policy remain to:

• ensure all areas of public life are aware of their responsibility and capability

• co-ordinate provision across these areas.

We believe the Minister with responsibility for Culture and the department should lead on ensuring both of these key issues are fully addressed. In practice we believe this will require a roving ministerial portfolio, and we are aware that this has already been put in place since the First Minister's St Andrew's Day speech. In addition, it will require implementation at senior civil service level and this may have resource implications.

To ensure the cultural sectors are fully engaged in these discussions is, we believe, most appropriately delegated to an appropriate government agency.

6.19 Summary and recommendations

Cultural activity is integral to a greater or lesser extent in all areas of public life and should rightly be integrated within it.

We recommend:

1) That the Minister with responsibility for Culture and the Department should lead on ensuring that all Scottish Executive Departments and public agencies are aware of their responsibilities to deliver cultural activity and review regularly their opportunities and capability to do so.

2) That Scottish Enterprise issues specific guidance to its LECs on proactive support for creative micro-businesses, individuals and the cultural sector.

3) That a strategy for support of the creative industries be developed by government and its agencies together with a commitment to identify the resources to implement it.

4) That the Scottish Executive identifies and implements means of bringing the cultural and tourism sectors together more effectively.

5) That the Scottish Executive should address the disparity in funding of Scottish theatre created by the implementation of the Boyden Report in England.

6) That a Board of National Collections be established to ensure more effective and strategic operation of the national collections.

7) That the SAC, SLIC and SMC should pursue the ideas promoted to develop the various sectors contained in the submissions to the Commission.

8) That responsibility for the National Archives of Scotland should rest with the Minister with responsibility for Culture to ensure joint working with the other national collections and to develop further its citizen focus.

9) That a national council for libraries be created to shape and propose national standards for libraries, and that the National Librarian should have a formal locus in this.

10) A scheme to identify library collections of particular significance in Scotland should be undertaken by the National Library of Scotland.

11) That procurement funds for public libraries should be extended to allow the purchase of a substantial proportion of those quality books and professional recordings published in Scotland and also by writers living and working in Scotland.

12) That the procurement of material for libraries should be co-ordinated on a regional or, where possible, national basis.

13) The development of joint-use libraries, particularly with schools and cultural centres, and the inclusion of library services in the development of public services hubs.

14) That as part of curriculum based school activities young people of all ages should be able to visit museums and galleries of assured quality.

15) That everyone should have reasonable access to museums and galleries of assured quality and that the provision and development of museum and gallery services should be responsive to community needs and aspirations as articulated through community planning.

16) A long-term strategic plan for the development and sustainable financing of museums and galleries, linked to the development of national standards by the sector, is created and implemented.

17) The introduction of a national approach to the measurement and evaluation of museums and galleries as a means of developing policy and recognising achievement.

18) The introduction of a national approach based on curatorial excellence to collecting, disposal, storage and access.

19) The introduction of a national approach to the development of curatorial talent in Scotland and to the attraction of curatorial expertise to Scotland.

20) The development of a process for recognising collections of particular significance. This process should lead to the development of policy and standards (with accompanying funding) for the preservation and enhancement of the most important collections.

21) Investment in a national on-line portal capable of displaying the collections of particular significance and providing the public with access to information about the museums and galleries housing them.

22) More use of permanent and temporary loans of the significant collections around Scotland.

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