| Celebration,
Innovation, Evaluation
A REVIEW OF THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION'S 150 YEARS OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES CAMPAIGN
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Beginnings The year 2000 marked the 150th anniversary of the 1850 Public Libraries Act. This was the first of a series of Acts enabling local councils to provide free public libraries funded by a levy of a ˝ d rate. Using this anniversary, we aimed to show the important contribution public libraries have made and continue to make to our society and the vital role they will play in the future. ‘Celebrating 150 years of being first’ was the theme for much of our promotional material, emphasising the fact that libraries have been at the forefront of new developments in our society. The campaign has had two key elements. Firstly a national press strategy built around a number of events for the profession, government and decision makers. Secondly, support and encouragement for local library authorities to organise and promote their own celebrations. In the autumn we sent all library authorities a feedback form on the celebrations to find out how they experienced the campaign. We asked them whether they took part and their thoughts on specific elements of the celebrations. 89 completed forms were received, a response rate of over 40%. We were very pleased to find that 88% of respondents took part in the celebrations. Some library authorities in Scotland chose not to because the Public Libraries Act didn’t affect them until 1853, but several authorities in Scotland did take part and gained useful publicity from it. Other library authorities had already made their plans and set their budgets for promotional activity before they heard about the celebrations and we recognise that information on future campaigns needs to be sent out earlier. Other valuable feedback from the survey appears later in this review and will be vital in helping us improve future campaigns.
The Library Association |
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Welcome Beginnings
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