James Powell, Marketing and Communications Manager and Hannah Foulstone, Marketing Assistant Suffolk Libraries explore ways to diversify their audiences. Part of their joint fellowship at the Audience Diversity Academy.

Learn how ten library authorities in the East got 11 – 18 year olds reading for pleasure and responding creatively to books.

Discover how Brighton and Hove Libraries Services worked with arts organisations to engage 13 – 34 year olds and adult learners in their local community.

Transported is a Creative People and Places funded programme that aims to get more people in Boston Borough and South Holland enjoying and participating in arts activities. This project set out to explore libraries as community hubs that offer opportunities beyond ordinary library use.

Transported is a strategic, community-focused programme which aims to get more people in Boston Borough and South Holland enjoying and participating in arts activities. In 2013, as part of its Open Book project working with the Lincolnshire County Council Library Service, Transported commissioned Pestiferous to create a site specific piece of theatre that would tour ... Read more

This report evaluates the impact of Bookstart Corner a project funded by the Booktrust. This programme was targeted at socially and economically disadvantaged families with children aged 12-30 months. Located in Children’s Centres, Bookstart Corner offered intensive support for parents and carers to encourage reading for pleasure with their children to help develop a love ... Read more

This report evaluates the impact of Bookbuzz a project funded by the Booktrust. Launched in 2012, this programme provides a book for Year 7 students soon after their transition from primary to secondary school at a crucial time when formative attitudes towards reading develop.

The Reading Agency’s Six Book Challenge takes place every year in libraries, colleges, workplaces and prisons and invites participants to choose six reads, review them, and enter prize draws. This article describes how jobseeker Paul Bennett, 55, who went back to college in Warrington to improve his English skills, completed the Six Book Challenge with ... Read more

The Reading Agency’s innovative Reading Activist programme is funded by Big Lottery in 18 authorities across 4 regions. This article describes the success of Gateshead Central Library’s Reading Activists – a group of 12 young people aged 13-19 who meet regularly to plan and organise events at the Library for young people. This has enabled ... Read more

The Reading Agency’s innovative Reading Activist programme is funded by Big Lottery in 18 authorities across 4 regions. This case study describes how the St Helen’s Reading Activists programme has helped to engage with disadvantaged young people from deprived areas of the town with positive outcomes for the young people involved.

This article by The Reading Agency describes how the Chatterbooks programme uses multi-sensory stories to engage with children with disabilities. Libraries involved in this programme have developed valuable links with local special educational needs schools whilst enabling disabled children and young people to have greater access to services and activities in their local and wider community.

Every year The Reading Agency partners with libraries to create the Summer Reading Challenge, the UK’s biggest children’s reading promotion. Children are encouraged to read six library books of their choice over the summer holidays. They join the Challenge at their local library, where library staff and volunteers give out themed materials and incentives, and medals and certificates ... Read more

The Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme was launched in June 2013 and provides self-help reading for adults based on cognitive behavioural therapy for a range of common mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, phobias and some eating disorders. This case study by The Reading Agency, describes how iCope – Islington Psychological Therapies and Wellbeing Service ... Read more

In 2012 the Summer Reading Challenge, run by The Reading Agency in partnership with libraries, was called Story Lab and was part of the Olympics’ 2012 Festival. The Summer Reading Challenge is the UK’s biggest children’s reading promotion. Children are encouraged to read six library books of their choice over the summer holidays. They join the Challenge at ... Read more

Time To Read – a partnership of people working in 22 library authorities in North West England – shares its experience of commissioning a video to promote reading and libraries.

Librarycamp is a free unconference with the agenda set by attendees on the morning of the event – a Do-It-Yourself conference. In this case study, Sue Lawson of Librarycamp UK talks about how to organise unconferences for people interested in improving libraries, and shares useful tools and resources for anyone in any field interested in bringing ... Read more

At DOK, Holland’s ‘Library Concept Center’ in Delft, exploring new innovation is at the core of what they do. In this article Doklab founder and director Erik Boekesteijn introduces the DOK library and the innovative work at Doklab. DOK can best be described as a media center that combines three unique collections: music and film, literature, and art; and is ... Read more

It’s not every day that libraries make the front page, but the opening of the new Library of Birmingham was one of the big culture stories of 2013. In this case study, Kate Feld interviews Sara Rowell, Partnerships and Marketing Senior Manager at the Library of Birmingham, about the launch of this spectacular new building ... Read more

Literature organisations and libraries share a commitment to the power of reading and writing to achieve positive social change. It is in this spirit that this toolkit has been devised to help literature organisations and libraries build good partnerships. It has been published as part of a piece of research commissioned by Arts Council South East from New Writing South ... Read more

Cityread London is an annual celebration of literature that aims to bring reading to life for the whole capital. Each April, Cityread asks Londoners and visitors to pick up the same book and read it together. A month-long programme of book groups, film screenings and other events takes place across London. It is the only programme that ... Read more