Local authorities were invited to apply to become partners in Branching Out and 33 were selected on the basis of their track record of involvement in reader development. 

The number in the original application was 30 - a manageable number for in-depth training and enough to generate a critical mass - but this crept up to 33 during the selection process.  Each local authority nominated a Branching Out Librarian to dedicate one-day-equivalent of their time each week to Branching Out. 

The project is managed by a Board of chief librarians appointed by SCL and the programme has been created and is managed on a day-to-day basis by Opening the Book Ltd.

Branching Out is a complex project with a number of inter-connected strands:

• Training
• Technology
• Books
• Reader projects
• Partners
• Evaluation and dissemination