Discussions with library leaders have shown us that library services are working hard to meet the needs of their local communities. They want to engage effectively with their communities in a way that can directly influence the design and delivery of their services without raising unrealistic expectations of what the service can offer within a defined budget.

To help library services to develop strategies for consultation and engagement with the public, we ran a one-day event aimed at senior library managers to share good practice and practical ideas for how to develop an effective engagement plan.

The day focused on:

• Why it's important to consult with the public
• Methods for engagement and consultation with the public
• How to recruit people to take part in engagement activities.
• Setting realistic expectations
• Using public feedback to shape strategy.