Liverpool's new reader development plans
Liverpool has started 2005 with a brand new structure for community libraries to enable the city to deliver a reader centred service. There is a new Stock and Reader Development team, led by Len Straughan, and the new Reader Development Officer is Peter Wallace.
Liverpool has taken a leading role in a number of exciting projects with young people over the last year. As well as the continuing hugely popular series of Harry Potter events, in the "Hogwarts lookalike" Picton Library (with live owls), we have also seen the first annual Liverpool Reads... event which aims to get as many people as possible in the city reading the same book. In 2004 it was Holes by Louis Sachar This became the best issuing title of the year, with 1127 loans, and was linked in with a wide range of events in local schools and libraries and culminated with Louis travelling from the US to talk about his book in a variety of venues including a session in the Central Library attended by several hundred people. For more details check out www.liverpoolreads.com/Liverpool_reads_holes/home.asp
The city's libraries also worked with Tom Palmer and Everton Football Club to reach out to new readers with some imaginative and different events (including a penalty shootout in Larkhill Library!) The initiative included participation from players from the club as a "hook" to engage young fans in the reading experience. For more details check out: www.literacytrust.org.uk/
In 2005 preparations are in hand to refurbish the busiest community library in the city, at Allerton, working with Opening the Book to deliver a new reader-friendly layout which will make it much easier to find a good read quickly.
Liverpool will be taking part in all the major local and national reading campaigns during the year, starting with Four Fathers, and other events for World Book Day, and with a special Poetry in the City festival in April. This will include a variety of events including workshops for adults and children in Central and community libraries and, at the time of writing, we are hopeful that Roger McGough and Brian Patten will also be taking part.
We will also continue promoting the Richard and Judy titles in the run-up to the British Book Awards, and will be building towards the second Liverpool Reads... later in the year. This year's book will be Millions, by local author Frank Cottrell Boyce (the feature film of the book is also released this year).
P Wallace
January 2005
