What We Do

The society is owned and controlled by its members. Members are drawn from the community, and all staff become members of the society when appointed. 

Inspire delivers the following services:

• Archives and Heritage (includes Nottingham City)
  
• Arts in the community
  
• Learning and Skills Service
  
• Education Library Service (includes Nottingham City)
  
• Instrumental Music Teaching in Schools
  
• Nottinghamshire Music Hub
• Public Libraries
  
• Records Management for the County Council
  
• Youth Arts
  

Inspire is also the host organisation for the Cultural Education Partnership (CEP) for Ashfield and Mansfield. 

We deliver services from 67 buildings across Nottinghamshire and 4 vehicles, have over 750 people working for us and have an annual turnover of £17.2M. Inspire became a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) resulting in a £1.2M investment between 2018 – 2023 from Arts Council England to deliver a cultural programme through the library service.

Our Forward Plan 2022 outlines the challenges and development we need to focus on over the coming years. The plan identifies the priorities, outcomes and enabling work we need to achieve to ensure Inspire continues to be successful and sustainable. The highlights of the plan and our most recent annual review can be found under the about-us tab.

Our staff are core to the success of the society; to work for Inspire is to work for a charity, membership body and social enterprise. We aim to be professional and friendly. We have at our heart a passion for culture, heritage and learning.

Welcome to Libraries - your guide to working in public libraries. This magazine-style pack celebrates public libraries as an indispensable part of local communities and was funded by Arts Council England.

Welcome to Libraries was created to impart valuable insights and links for frontline public library staff and to welcome those new to the role by providing the information they need as they begin their career journey.