Key unclassified research findings
There are obviously a large amount of data as yet uncollected, as there are currently a number of libraries which have bought unclassified, but have not had it completely installed. Quantitative data collected so far certainly suggests that unclassified is an extremely successful promotion in terms of issues generated, but rather than making inaccurate generalisations I will leave the statistics out until I have a wider range to use in future Branching Out dissemination. For now, I think it would be useful to paint a more general picture, to have a brief look at more qualitative data, the responses of group members, the project partner and senior managers.
An interesting point to make about unclassified is that it has generated a great deal of valuable discussion in areas which are key to the future of reader development in libraries, for example in:
collection management: in terms of stock purchase, the recommendation for unclassified is that each library purchases at least 1,000 titles, some of which are bought in multiples of 10 or 15. Of these 1,000 titles, up to half are expected to be on display at any time. One problem which group members have experienced is that certain of their colleagues have wanted to display all new stock as soon as it arrives in the library building, but as a major element of unclassified is its bookshop-style display which clearly exploits the book cover design, this has resulted in some cases in a loss of impact: as one member of the group said, 'it has certainly lost its minimalist approach!'
As a solution, the group have devised a refresher training course to remind all staff members of the concept and more practical aspects associated with unclassified.
Another extremely useful outcome of unclassified is the toolkit which each member of the group is contributing to which will be distributed to those authorities buying the promotion in order to make the most use of it. To summarise, the areas covered by this pack are training, evaluation, outreach, collections management, display and maintenance.
For heads of service, introducing the unclassified promotion into a library authority has been an excellent way to create an impact. One authority had introduced the promotion on the same day as I spoke to the head of service, and she told me that 'people are crowding round it already.' A second suggested that 'we can't the dumpbin full! - we're very impressed.' Again, more data will hopefully be available when more authorities have installed unclassified.
And looking to the future the project partner - Opening the Book - summarised the enormous potential for its sustainability:
'unclassified will develop from here - going to other libraries within Branching Out as well as to authorities outside the scheme. As the project expands more Bouters will get an opportunity to co-train and to contribute to learning about how readers choose books in a library, and how unclassified can contribute to the strength of a library's fiction collection. The reservoir of information and help - support materials and so on - that arise from each library taking unclassified will continue to be posted on the website.'
Click here for full details of unclassified
