Wakefield Library Readers Group is based at Drury Lane Library, Wakefield, West Yorkshire.  This voluntary, independent group has links with the library service which provides the books, the venue for meetings and staff support. 

Pam Yates, Librarian, Drury Lane Library, is secretary of the group and has been instrumental in getting funding to support a reader in residence post.  The reader in residence, Julie Walker, works with the group and plans and implements reader development projects.  A key feature of the group is its website www.wakefieldreaders.co.uk where more information on the group's activities can be found.

How long has the group been running? 
Since Feb 99

How many members are in the group?
There are 24 members currently, ranging in age from 25 - 68.

How often does it meet?
There are two sections, an evening group and a daytime group which both meet monthly, but we are one reader group with a single committee.  We also have joint events.

How do you decide what to read?
Suggestions are invited from members and our reader-in-residence, Julie Walker, also puts forward a few then a consensus is reached. 

What are some of the things you've read?
The evening group is currently reading Roddy Doyle's A Star Called Henry and the daytime group is reading Laurence Durrell's Reflections on a Marine Venus.  We now also have an arrangement with publishers so that the group are able to read novels in manuscript. 

Julie has established a good relationship with Penguin.  We did a readers' group diary on Pat Barker's Regeneration for their website - Julie has also done one with the members of Outwood Library's reading group, as the group gets a full set of the book chosen.  Penguin also offered us the manuscript of Penelope Lively's new book, which at that point was not even available in proof.  We did a readers' diary for them, which presumably will appear on their website and in their slot in Woman and Home magazine.  If our reviews are good enough they might even use them on the cover of the proof copies.  The group felt very honoured.  Luckily it was a good book so they didn't have to be too diplomatic in their comments!  Penguin have also offered authors for interview and prize copies of books to give away in the second edition of our magazine, Reading Lights.

How are the books supplied?
Wakefield Library Service spends 2% of the Lifelong Learning team's very limited budget on reader groups. We buy in multiples of 12.  This year Julie, our reader-in-residence, and Fiona Edwards, Wakefield's other reader-in-residence who is based at Pontefract Library, were asked to consult their groups and select three titles each.  This means that six titles in multiples of 12 were bought for reader groups by the library service this year.  We do have quite a large collection of sets as the library service has been buying a number of sets every year.  Julie also selects books for joint reads from the existing collection.
 
What is your reader-in-residence's role as regards the group and how is the post funded?
Julie's role includes running the group, collecting writing and editing material for the magazine, Reading Lights, and running the Reading Lights housebound project which extends the activities of the group to people who are unable to come to the library. 

Her post has been funded by a number of small grants, but we have a large grant at present thanks to Regional Arts Lottery Programme.  Julie works for as many hours as are covered by funding, for example the current RALP funding supports 2 days a week at present.    We are halfway through the project term so will soon be looking for more funding. We have now got both evening and daytime group sessions funded by the Workers' Educational Association.

As part of the RALP project, Julie is also running training sessions on running reading groups which are open to anyone.  The first session, which was a great success, covered how to deal with difficult situations/personalities in groups.

What is the time commitment for you and other Drury Lane staff?
The group took up a lot of my time when it first started, but Julie is now very well established and needs less support from me.  The biggest chunk of time is taken up with grant applications.  The RALP one seemed to take ages. I arrange reading group committee meetings and distribute minutes.  Fortunately, we have a very efficient treasurer as there is quite a lot of financial record keeping required by RALP.

The group does not take up a lot of staff time. The most important thing is to make sure the staff knows what is happening.  We have a noticeboard with posters announcing the next meeting for both sections, and a shelf where the reading group books are kept for members to collect.  Staff are very good about referring reader group enquiries to me, or taking phone numbers if I am not around.  Julie will always phone back anyone enquiring about the group so new members feel welcome. Two members of staff attend meetings regularly.  Staff have been very good about helping out with reader group events but they tend to have more contact with the daytime group which meets when the library is open.

What's the group's involvement in the website?  Who services it?
When the libraries' website was in its infancy, Wakefield staff were asked to provide content.  I thought it would be a good opportunity to promote reading group activities.   We had a very enthusiastic committee member who helped us get the web address. 

Julie provides the content of the website, some of which she edits from members contributions.  The technical stuff is done by the web team who are part of the library service, but actually produce the website for the whole council.  The website is due to improve radically as far is its technical qualities are concerned, so we will be able to monitor hits, which we are currently not able to do.

What other promotional activities does the group get involved in?  How do you fund these?
All the promotions we have done - the Book Doctor, Silhouette, Heart and Soul of Wakefield have been worked out mostly by Julie and me over a cup of coffee. Group members have provided the content for the publications and helped with events. We have had funding from the National Lottery, Yorkshire Arts, DIVA, Wakefield District Arts and the ward Community Chest.  Wakefield Libraries' funding is all in-kind, in the form of staff time and books.  £4000 of books have been chosen by Julie and bought by the library service for the housebound part of Reading Lights project.  We also have a monthly column in the local paper and we now do the book reviews in the Yorkshire Out'n'About magazine.

What would you say that the reading group adds to the library service?
The reader group has brought a lot of benefits to the library.  Reader group events bring publicity to the library.  The library gets offered events funded by the authority because they know we can bring in an audience.  Only two libraries in the authority got the Orange Prize display this year - we were one of them. Staff are aware of reader group demand in the same way as they are aware of demand from fans of family sagas.

How does the reading group activity fit into your authority's RD strategy?  
Reader group activity comes within Wakefield's Lifelong Learning policy:

Involvement of the reader is paramount.  Discussion groups, staging of events, publication of lists, reviews and newsletters and initiation and development of other practical means to invite the reader to participate should be a priority.

Thanks to Pam Yates and Julie Walker for their generous help with this feature.