A specific aim of Branching Out is to influence the book selection and purchase practices of public libraries. It is recognised that public libraries cater well for the mainstream fiction borrower but often lack confidence in and knowledge in encouraging diversity. For this reason, Branching Out targeted categories of stock identified as being underbought by public libraries, and of particular appeal to the 18-30 age group. These are:
- Literary fiction
- Poetry
- Black British Writing
- Community Publishing
- Translations
- Experimental fiction and poetry
- Gay and lesbian writing
- World literature in English
- Science fiction
Increasing the range of stock bought is not the end of the process. Library staff have to be convinced that there is an audience for this material and have to be shown ways of getting the new books to that audience, as well as persuading their existing, traditional audience that these books are also for them. Branching Out is working closely with our bookseller partner, BfS, to pilot promotions of fiction from the identified categories which prove that library audiences will enthusiastically receive books from beyond the mainstream.
Loud and Proud, for example, took a collection of recent work by gay and lesbian writers and presented it with bright, dynamic artwork. Staff fears around the contentious nature of this stock were addressed by the development of training sessions - a full day for those wishing to explore the territory fully and a 45 minute session for front-line staff in branches hosting the promotion, particularly aimed at staff who felt nervous of dealing with questions or complaints. One of the most successful elements of this session was the 'Meet the Books' exercise which asked staff to analyse the target market of a specific title. Although participants were asked to read only one chapter in advance of the session, two thirds of staff at the sessions had either gone on to read the whole book or asked to keep it as they intended to finish it. Staff were surprised by what 'good' reads many of the books were, expecting them to be somehow worthy, dense or campaigning.
The Branching Out website was a major source of support for this project. Details of the training sessions are posted on the site, including a briefing on Clause 28.
In the evaluation carried out at the end of Year One of Branching Out, all participants stated that one of the major changes to have taken place during their involvement in the project was that they had increased the range and diversity of books purchased by their authority.
