Issue 26 Spring 1999 Read On - Write Away: Developing Community Literacy Projects in Libraries Carol Taylor	Collections under which this       article appears:       Projects       Libraries       Reading Related Articles or Resources

In February 1997 Martin Molloy, Director of Libraries and Heritage in Derbyshire, made a short speech to launch an exciting new initiative in the county. He talked about literacy as 'the road to freedom' and outlined how he hoped that the unique partnership which was being unveiled would lead to new and exciting joint projects with libraries.

"Read On - Write Away!" is the Literacy Initiative of Derbyshire and Derby: an independent partnership of local Training and Enterprise Councils, the Library Service, two Local Education Authorities and two national agencies - the National Literacy Trust and the Basic Skills Agency. Funding has been pledged by each organisation for five years, to develop a culture that celebrates literacy through raising standards. As an independent agency, but firmly linked to each partner organisation, "Read On - Write Away!" is in the unique position of being able to take an overview of developments, and forge new relationships. In this article 1 want to give a flavour of the involvement of libraries in "Read On - Write Away!" and to highlight their importance in this literacy initiative.

'Book Buzzers'
This has become our generic name for a project developed to encourage library use by families with young children who might not otherwise come to the library. So far we have had Book Buzzers, Book Munchers, the Cygnets Club and Bizzy Bees! Each project bid arrives at "Read On - Write Away!" with a more interesting title than the last! Funding supports a school in targeting a number of children who they feel would benefit from becoming library users. These are usually children with poor literacy skills but may include those who are not confident or are loners. At an initial meeting parents are invited in to school and the project is explained. The main aim for the parents is that they will be helping their children's confidence and skills in reading, they are asked to accompany their child on a library visit, perhaps once a fortnight, with a group of other parents and children. At the start of the project each child gets a special duffel bag and a free book, and perhaps a toy. Children, parents and teacher go to the local library where the librarian welcomes them with a storytime and an introduction to the library. Every time the child goes to the library a special stamp on their 'library club' card records this; ten special stamps mean another gift book and a trip to the library out of school time means two stamps!

Each project is well evaluated (a requirement of "Read On - Write Away!" funding) and the results are encouraging. Reports show that children are scoring much higher at Key Stage 1 than expected by teachers; in addition a high percentage of the children and their families are using the library regularly. The main costs of the project are the gift bags and books and sometimes staff cover at the school. Local sponsorship is sought to sustain the project once it is set up.

Making links
My second example is a project where the library was not originally involved. The T Zone is a homework club, set up in a youth centre, where young people can attend, have a drink and a snack, and do their homework with support. Most of these young people have nowhere at home to do their homework, and the relaxed atmosphere at the club has made it a highly successful project. Using the National Year of Reading as a focus the project workers began to introduce a book swap scheme, encouraging young people to borrow books. The "Read On - Write Away!" partnership enabled the link with the local library to be easily made and very soon the young people were booked in for an hour on the Internet in the library. The children's librarian was quick to see the potential and soon there was a regular trip to the library followed by burgers in town! The relationship with the library is now firmly established for a group of young people who would never previously have considered themselves to be library users.

Strategic developments

• The reading intervention scheme, the Better Reading Partnership, which "Read On Write Away!" has developed, training volunteers and classroom assistants to work with children, has been greatly enhanced by the involvement of the library service. Each training session (there are about 25 a year) includes a short input from the librarian, and the library service has facilitated the borrowing of books for this scheme - and of course ensures that once children have finished the programme they can continue to get plenty to read from the library.
• The Buddy Reading Scheme, developed in conjunction with Social Services to work with care leavers, will benefit from Treasure Chests of books, regularly changed, provided by the library service.
• The links between the adult education service and the library service have been strengthened by the partnership, most particularly in the Books For Babies scheme, where we are hoping to create a bridge into their own learning for parents and carers, by raising awareness of what they can do to support their children's learning, and by highlighting life-long learning opportunities for adults.
• As part of the "Read On - Write Away" training programme, provision has been set up for librarians, looking at their role in literacy and basic skills development. The first phase of this is a two-day training course on story telling; we hope to follow this with training on supporting specific literacy needs of both adults and children.

And lastly all the small - and not so small - ways in which the Partnership has enabled a better service to the people of Derbyshire:

• working with schools in changing mobile library times so that parents can use the facility with young children
• supporting childminders in Derby with boxes of books
• bringing a librarian's slant to potential projects and making sure relevant library services are considered rather than projects automatically looking at buying books
• and a high profile for libraries at all literacy events.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Carol Taylor is Director of "Read On - Write Away!" For more information on "Read On - Write Away!" or any of the activities outlined here, please contact us at:
Read On - Write Away!
clo County Hall, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 3AG
Tel: 01629 585603
email: Carol@rowa.demon.co.uk