Kate Feld spoke with Suzanne Stein, Head of Community Engagement at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) in California about Open Space – the museum’s innovative and wildly successful blog. The blog provides a place where the local community and the SFMOMA community can be visible and in dialogue with each other. This case study … Read more
In May 2013, the Seattle Public Library launched its Books on Bikes pilot project as part of the Library’s Innovation Campaign, an internal project to develop innovative ideas. Books on Bikes is an outreach project that aims to bring the library to the people with teams of two Library staff biking to events and introducing people … Read more
Museums, libraries and archives have a role to play in achieving important community and local authority agendas. This report gives numerous examples of how the sector makes a unique and effective contribution to the following areas: building stronger and safer communities, helping children and young people, improving adult health and well-being and building a strong … Read more
Discover what lies ahead for libraries, and what we can do to help them develop. This major research project commissioned by Arts Council England intends to help set out the value, role and purpose of public libraries with clarity. It points out ways that libraries can respond to change in order to remain at the … Read more
Part of the third phase of the Envisioning the library of the future research project, this report examines what people value most about libraries, and how this can be used to continue to place libraries at the heart of their communities. The report identifies the importance of the library space, including its look, feel and … Read more
Ten top tips for social marketing – an outline of key things to consider when developing and delivering an audience development campaign.
‘Community Engagement’ in the public sector is often driven by a reforming government agenda and is meant to be a two-way process, with organisations benefiting from the imagination and energy of local citizens. Anne Torreggiani finds out that the extra dimension we have in the cultural sector is that what we have to offer is personally fulfilling and, frankly, more fun. It is about people’s creativity and learning, not just … Read more
This non-arts case study demonstrates how to make effective use of an annual report. We learn how a charitable organisation, The Scotland Yard Adventure Centre (known as ‘The Yard’), with the help of Tayburn (brand and reputation agency), overhauled their annual report with incredible results. The Yard is a purpose built indoor and outdoor adventure … Read more
A detailed report describing how the MLA Challenge Fund successfully enabled museums, libraries and archives round the UK to open up their spaces free of charge to self-organised groups of learners. Case studies include a poetry group and various heritage, craft and creative arts groups.
A case study about how a company manufacturing sewing machines started by sponsoring an exhibition and has since immersed itself in the creative environment. Staff involvement in the community has made them more confident in their own skills, seen to be more effective than traditional forms of corporate training.