Aims:
1 To increase access to the richness and diversity of contemporary writing by using the popular base and extensive networks of the public library service.
2 To create a range of reader-based projects which are responsive to different reader needs and from which guidelines for good practice can be developed.
3 To develop imaginative outreach projects which take the pleasure of reading to audiences outside the library.
4 To work especially with people aged 18-30 (25-34 is the age group currently most under-represented among readers who use libraries.)
5 To develop projects which will appeal to and encourage the involvement of readers from African, Caribbean and Asian communities.
6 To involve readers as participants who can contribute to the library's development of reading activities, eg, through self-administered reading groups.
7 To develop staff confidence and knowledge in working with literature outside the mainstream so that the full diversity of voices writing in English and in translation is accessible through the library service.
8 To develop staff training programmes which concentrate on the new skills of enabling rather than the traditional skills of providing.
9 To create a body of high-quality reading promotion material for use by all libraries.
10 To explore the use of new technology in promoting reading in three main areas:
a enabling on-line reader to reader connection
b designing interactive reader advice to help individual readers make choices
c helping independent publishers get information about new books into mainstream library services
Branching Out will result in the following developments:
· Imaginative access to contemporary writing for new and existing readers
· Increased reader-to-reader contact and participation
· Opportunities to acquire self-sustaining skills in reader development for individuals and groups
· Interactive software to help readers choose a book, available on CD-ROM or via the internet
· A new role for key library staff as enablers in actively supporting reader development, especially with the 18-30 group
· High quality promotional materials available to all library services
· A sustainable cross-authority network, able to make economies of scale in designing promotions and to attract major sponsorship
· Methods of keeping up to date with new forms of writing, especially those of interest to readers under 30
· Teams of confident and experienced librarians who can train other staff in their own place of work
· Proof that reader-centred work can shape the future of the library service
· Dissemination of good practice for future initiatives
· A new partnership between public libraries and literary publishers
· Models of co-operation between bookshops and libraries in promotion and audience development
· Market research to identify perceptions, attitudes and needs of readers
· Strengthened connections between libraries and regional arts board literature infrastructures
· Formal courses of accredited training in reading promotion for library staff, booksellers and literature development workers (no such training exists at the moment)
· Performance indicators of the impact of reading books on individuals and groups
