University of Central England in Birmingham
by Briony Train, Research FellowThe Faculty of Computing, Information and English at the University of Central England in Birmingham is the academic partner in Branching Out. A major aspect of the role of UCE as evaluator is therefore to monitor the personal and professional development of this unique group of librarians, using a variety of methods.
Evaluation activities conducted to date have included: an analysis of Branching Out librarians' skills; an investigation of the impact of the project on the personal and professional development of the librarians involved, using themed learning reviews; an evaluation of the Open Ticket and unclassified projects; and interviews with heads of service, to evaluate the wider impact of Branching Out.
Planned evaluation over the third year of Branching Out will include: a continued review of the impact of Branching Out on the librarians involved; a second series of interviews with heads of service to assess the impact of the project on individual authorities; a second skills audit to assess perceived skills development; and two further learning reviews.
Professor Judith Elkin, Dean of the Faculty, is Project Director, and Briony Train, Research Fellow, is conducting the research. Reader development has been a key aspect of UCE research for some time, and we believe that Branching Out offers a unique opportunity to evaluate an exciting, long-term project dedicated to reader development and libraries.
BfS
by David Lindley, Sales and Marketing DirectorBfS is Branching Out's bookseller partner, and is working with Branching Out librarians to identify, read, review and circulate books from less obvious choices for worthwhile and enjoyable reading within and across genres.
BfS is actively collaborating with Branching Out, both in the debate about what promotional opportunities for publishers can be made available in libraries and in creating, publicising and distributing readymade promotions and point of sale material to library service points nationally.
Our role is to provide a gateway for publishers who recognise th value of a public library presence and to offer a showcase for nw, experimental and challenging new writing and make it accessible to the wide readership that the public library network uniquely offers.
National Library for the Blind
by Margaret Bennett, Chief ExecutiveNational Library for the Blind's (NLB) vision is to ensure that visually impaired people have the same access to library services as sighted people.
Visually impaired people find it much harder to find out about books as book information and promotions are almost exclusively aimed at sighted people - eg book jacket information, posters, book displays, printed reviews and recommendations. And much of the reader development work to date as been aimed at sighted people.
Therefore, one of the five key aims in NLB's Business Plan is "To give support and encouragement to users to develop reading confidence and open up reading choices".
We see being a partner in Branching Out as a key strategy for achieving our aims. It will help our staff develop reader development skills and increase the choice of books available in accessible formats.
Being involved in Branching Out also helps us to work with public library staff to ensure that their work in reader development takes account of the needs of all readers even if they cannot read standard print. And we see these partnerships developing in other ways to ensure that together we can improve service provision to visually impaired readers.
We are really excited to be involved in such a ground breaking project and welocme the opportunity to feed in our specialist skills and knowledge. Already we have been able to influence the development of Branching Out's on line services to ensure that accessible options are provided.
NLB is working to develop a formal partnership with RNIB and as a partner in Share the Vision we can ensure that we disseminate the good practice from Branching Out to the other agencies providing accessible library services.
Visit the NLB website at http://www.nlbuk.org
Regional Arts Boards
by David Drake, Director of Media and Published Arts, South West ArtsThe ten regional arts boards of England are key partners in Branching Out. They are working with the librarians in each region to support regional reading promotion networks.
Partnership with Branching Out has been integral to the setting up of the South West Reader Development Partnership, a network of representatives from all eleven library authorities in the region.
Branching Out provides a direct route to libraries, and has helped demonstrate to librarians across the region how books and reading can be promoted in an imaginative way. Branching Out also supports the delivery of training for librarians, for example, Opening the Book's Promoting Black British Literature workshop. By providing a focus for reader development, nationally and regionally, Branching Out has connected readers with a much wider range of writing than they would otherwise experience through library use.
