TIME TO READ

Time For A Change Toolkit

ADDED VALUE

Marketing

Book Communications is an independent partnership which undertakes project management, training, research, marketing and fundraising for the arts and libraries sector, focusing on creative writing and reading.

During the second year of activity this organisation hosted four consultation sessions with outreach workers as part of the process of developing the new marketing mix for Everybody's Reading. Outreach workers wanted to move forward from the poster and leaflet approach taken with Reading Lifelines. Each outreach worker attended one session which helped them to focus on their individual project aims, to establish targets specific to their own authority and then to consider the most appropriate marketing tools. The outcomes of the four sessions were passed to a designer.

Three elements of publicity were identified as being needed to market the project. These were:

Defining a space for Everybody's Reading within the library.
Elements to forge the link between ICT and reading.
Communication tools to promote the project outside the library.

In order to meet these elements the following items were produced:

Hanging banners, shelf edge strips, dumpbin headers and book stickers.
Mousemats and computer message boards.
Postcards, drink coasters and template posters and flyers to promote local events.

Each authority received a basic package from the marketing allowance in the budget. If able to identify extra funding the opportunity was there to increase basic quantities.

Website

The concept and the design of a new look website to tie into the marketing mix was agreed with the designers, Emote, after our website planning day (see above). Emote, Book Communications, the web co-ordinator and the project co-ordinator worked together to agree the final look. It was the web co-ordinator's brief then to work with the outreach workers to assemble the relevant material. The site went live at the end of June 2002. [13] Project participants were especially delighted with the toolkits, ideas that worked well from last year. Anne Caldwell, a freelance reader development trainer and project outreach worker for Lancashire, edited them and added extremely useful and simple training templates for staff to accompany the ideas. This will be of great benefit to the profession. Through new funding from the consortium and Arts Council England North West, the steering group has enabled the maintenance of the site for a further two years.

Stock

Approximately 4,000 books, 140 magazine subscriptions and a limited number of music CD's went into creating collections in 38 libraries. In addition numerous deposit collections were used outside library buildings as tasters to encourage young people into libraries. This stock was chosen with the help of the target age group.

All authorities reported fast turnover with these collections, which enabled outreach workers and library staff to replenish the empty shelves/dumpbins with similar stock bought from library funds or from existing library holdings.

Training

Twelve regional training sessions were held over the two years. Early ones had a focus on raising awareness regarding young people. Over the last year partners Book Communications delivered 8 of these sessions. These sessions covered marketing, general reader development training with a training the trainers brief, website management and reader development advocacy. These sessions were aimed at both outreach workers and operational staff from the authorities. An advocacy day was aimed at Heads of Service / Senior Managers to give them the arguments to support attempts to gain extra funding to extend the work.

In addition general reader development training sessions were led by the co-ordinator where requested by individual authorities. In a reciprocal arrangement with Manchester Metropolitan University, outreach workers benefited from a Reader Development and ICT workshop in return for three workers and the co-ordinator updating students on the progress of the project. Seventy-seven sessions were held across authorities as the centralised sessions were cascaded back. Training templates for all activities are included on the website. More of these sessions occurred after the end of the project and included elements of youth and cultural awareness from appropriate partners. Several authorities planned to combine the training with supplementary European Computer Driving Licence modules. [14]

Conference

The 'Everybody's Reading Conference' or 'Getting young adults into libraries' was held on Thursday 16th May 2002, at the brand new conference facilities at Bolton Arena. This conference showcased the work carried out by Reading Lifelines & Everybody's Reading, and other similarly innovative nation-wide projects.

The aims of the conference were:

To highlight innovative approaches in promoting reading to young adults.
To demonstrate practical ways of getting young adults to make better use of libraries.
To share good practice in delivering cutting edge library services to young adults.

This conference attracted 110 delegates from all over the country, even Yorkshire!

It was an uplifting day for our profession and the feedback received has reflected that. Responses to 'What have you enjoyed about the day?' included ' Listening to the way in which using a different approach to presenting libraries and reading has brought about positive results', 'The positive attitude of the whole day, and seeing all that people have achieved', ' The enthusiasm'. Similarly in response to 'What have you learned that will be useful in your work?' feedback included ' That talking to young people and asking them what they want is important', 'To be imaginative', 'To relax when 16-25 year olds come into the library', 'Networking with other community workers', 'Getting together with other library authorities', 'Ideas for contacting and working with this age group'.

Everyone welcomed the opportunity to come together and share ideas about making libraries more accessible and relevant to young people. It provided a fitting finale for those outreach workers whose contracts were coming to an end, and an inspiration to other practitioners.

Partnerships

Book Communications and Emote, the web designers, were important external partners in producing the high quality publicity campaign, (see above). The regional arts board helped with extra funding from Regional Arts Lottery Programme in order to develop the arts- based approach to the work. Holt Jackson was the main book supplier for the project. Others used included Books for Students, Waterstones, Rolex Books, Forbidden Planet and Sweetens.

Linking locally in each consortium authority with other agencies working with the same target group and following similar agendas has been useful in getting the projects up and running. For example Sure Start, Books for Babies, SRB, Education Action Zones, Health Service initiatives, Youth Services, housing projects, Social Services, Lifelong Learning, Big Issue, Community Education departments. The list is extensive.

Regionally, the project strengthened the Time To Read partnership by giving librarians working across the region a common purpose and clearer objectives. This is discussed in more detail below.