Having been a supporter of Branching Out from the beginning, I am delighted to have taken over as Chair of the Board of Branching Out. The project has given libraries and librarians an opportunity to explore new ways of relating to readers, especially younger adults, and it has generated a new energy in this fundamental work. The results are just beginning to be visible and these will spread across the whole country during the next year.
A key aspect of Branching Out is the partnerships which public libraries are making with publishers, booksellers, Applied Psychology Research and the National Library for the Blind. These relationships are bringing new concepts and challenges to the library sector and helping us to develop a bigger and stronger vision for our work.
The support from the Arts Council and all the Regional Arts Boards has enabled a strong network to be developed which will sustain the work beyond the life of the Lottery project itself and the University of Central England is working with us on evaluation in order to develop training opportunities for the future.
Branching Out is a wonderful example of how public libraries are changing what they do for themselves and developing partnerships with others. It is also demonstrating, through this web site, that placing the reader at the centre of our work is not at odds with developing our role in the new information age. Books and technology are being brought together rather than being kept apart.
My predecessor, Tom Forrest, had done the hard work of setting up the project. My job is to maintain the high standards and to ensure that the benefits of Branching Out will be sustained and developed beyond October 2001.
Grace Kempster, Head of Libraries, Information, Heritage & Cultural Services,
Essex County Libraries
