The Vital Link Final Report

The Vital Link was a groundbreaking reader development and adult basic skills initiative run by a partnership between The Reading Agency, the National Literacy Trust and the National Reading Campaign funded by the DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund for 2001-2002. The scheme brought together a strong partnership of library and literacy organisations at national, regional and local level. The aim was to use energetic reader development work in libraries to inspire, support and motivate emergent adult readers and recruit and retain new "hard to reach" learners.

The Vital Link linked nine library authorities in four different regions with basic skills providers so that together they could test new ways of reaching out to adult learners as well as embedding good practice
Its six overall objectives were:

• To develop a major partnership programme harnessing libraries' reader development work to support adults trying to improve their literacy skills.
• To inspire, support and motivate emergent adult readers and recruit new 'hard to reach' learners.
• To establish effective links between the library service and the adult basic education sector.
• To identify, evaluate and articulate the unique contribution libraries' reader development work can make to the Government's plans to improve basic literacy skills.
• To research, implement and disseminate replicable local models at regional and national level.
• To provide a range of support strategies and materials collections during and following the programme.

The following provides a snapshot of key areas of work, including any changes of course that proved necessary.

• Partnership working: All nine library authorities (Bedfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Doncaster, North Yorkshire, Knowsley, Barking & Dagenham, Sutton and Wandsworth) established contact with their local basic skills providers and found ways of using reader development to work with existing and new learners in settings ranging from colleges and libraries to a prison and a youth offending team. Well-established partnerships, like that in Essex which had been built up over some time with a local community college, were able to plan realistically from the start how to extend their approach. Some others, like Doncaster and the London Borough of Wandsworth, were virtually starting from scratch.

• Training: Training was key to the project, not only to help staff be aware of the national context but to build awareness of their respective roles: library staff received literacy awareness training and basic skills tutors received training in reader development. Several members of library staff undertook the City & Guilds Initial Certificate in Teaching Basic Skills and worked as volunteers in basic skills classes. The two Vital Link project coordinators provided some awareness and partnership training and a Vital Link training programme will now be offered through The Reading Agency.

• Developing a book collection: Project workers used reader development techniques to draw out opinions from learners about a range of mainstream fiction and non-fiction titles. Their views have been used to develop a special collection for less confident readers called First Choice. This is currently being used in all nine participating library authorities and will be available as a national promotion through The Reading Agency in 2003. Local projects also reviewed and rebranded their existing basic skills collections and in some cases produced new leaflets to advertise library facilities to the target audience.

• Working with publishers: The programme has provided an opportunity to encourage publishers to explore the potential of this expanding market and work to improve the range of materials available for adult literacy students. In particular, the management team has liaised with Irish publishers New Island to expand the scope of their excellent Open Door series to include famous contemporary British writers. The company is now approaching a range of writers to ask them to write books with adult basic skills learners in mind.

• Producing a toolkit: Making the Vital Link: A toolkit for building successful partnerships between libraries and basic skills providers has brought together the lessons learnt and good practice from The Vital Link. Published in November 2002, this is available nationally through The Reading Agency.

• A national conference: Learning from the Vital Link will be held on 28 January 2003 to disseminate the main outcomes of the initiative to a wider audience. Key speakers include Baroness Blackstone, Minister of State for the Arts, Susan Pember, Director of the Adult Basic Skills Strategy Unit, and Patricia Scanlan, best-selling Irisih novelist and creator of the Open Door series mentioned above.

• Evaluating effectiveness: The project has been evaluated by a cross-departmental team at the University of Sheffield led by Professor Greg Brooks from the School of Education and Professor Bob Usherwood and Briony Train from the Department of Information Studies. The executive summary and the full evaluation report are available at www.literacytrust.org.uk/vitallink.html

This provides a brief summary of activities undertaken and issues raised by the local projects.

East of England

Bedfordshire Libraries appointed an outreach worker with a basic skills background in order to establish and promote library-based reader development activities. Working almost full-time, she was able to contact and consult with a range of providers including local colleges, the Employment Services, BRASS (Bedford Refugee and Asylum Seekers Support), Pilgrim Housing Association and local employers. She arranged familiarisation tours, introducing around 150 people to the library, around half of whom have become members. She also arranged 47 entertaining but informative events focusing on subjects as varied as chocolate, theatre and horse racing, interspersed with 'speak easy' sessions to discuss related reading and basic skills issues. Reading groups evaluated First Choice titles and one particular group commented on the proposed First Choice promotional materials. All titles for a basic skills audience have been given silent signage in the form of a trefoil. Many attendees required ESOL support, highlighting a clear need in this area.

Bedfordshire can be used as a positive case of basic skills providers being aware of the benefits of reader development and working with libraries. An exit strategy put the case for continuation of this work.

Essex Libraries built on their links with Essex Adult Education established during their earlier DCMS-funded Ask Chris project that established stock selection criteria for the Quick Reads fiction collection for basic skills learners. They now have links with seven community colleges, supported by the county basic skills manager, and reader development librarians, called Reading Champions, have made regular visits to classes to talk about books. Students were involved in designing a reading diary and publicity material and many contributed reviews to the Ask Chris website (www.essexcc.gov.uk/askchris). There were a number of class visits to libraries and, subsequently, independent use of library facilities. Reader development approaches were mapped to the adult literacy core curriculum which helped to demonstrate their relevance for basic skills provision. Librarians were also able to introduce reader development activities into the informal setting of a basic skills residential weekend. The strengths of this reader development approach now needs to be explored further outside the college environment. Ambitions to carry out outreach work were thwarted due to the reader-in-residence breaking his arm. A successful bid to the local Learning & Skills Council means that the work with students will continue alongside a full evaluation of its impact by the University of Sheffield. There are also plans to develop stock selection criteria for non-fiction and audio books and to cater more effectively for ethnically diverse audiences.

Feedback from basic skills providers has been positive: "Involvement in the project has made a difference to my students and I am sure that this will continue. I know that they are more at ease with reading and going to the library. Some of my students have become regulars at the library and use a variety of the facilities that are available." Tutor Linda Anderson, Team Leader Basic Skills, Mid Essex Adult Community College

Norfolk Libraries embarked upon some ambitious projects in branch libraries and HMP Norwich. Of these only the basic skills reading group at Great Yarmouth and reading activities in the prison library and basic skills classes proved viable, the latter including an innovative exercise to select more appropriate magazine stock for the prison audience. The relationship with Norfolk Adult Education, which previously had been characterised by "an ebb and flow of relative inactivity to fevered joint working" seems to have been taken for granted rather than being explored. Project activity did not materialise in some cases mainly because insufficient time was allowed for communication, management and marketing. However, it was felt that the Vital Link has "helped to challenge perennially safe, bland and prescriptive basic skills stock selection methods" and work with non-fiction, based on earlier initiatives, has been worthwhile. The potential of the work achieved now needs to be pulled together into a coherent framework that can be rolled out across the region.

London Libraries Development Agency

The three London projects - Barking & Dagenham, Sutton and Wandsworth - made a slightly later start than the other library authorities and this was felt to impact on the effectiveness of what they delivered. They all linked with their local basic skills providers to gain access to basic skills students but these relationships are largely in their infancy with further advocacy work needed on the part of libraries. There was also a danger that the Vital Link projects were subsumed into ongoing general library work rather than being a distinctive activity. Barking & Dagenham worked with three groups of students of different levels and set up 'taster' collections in a student cafe run by Barking & Dagenham Training Services and at Barking College. Sutton Libraries linked with Sutton College and initially worked with a youth offending team. Latterly, it devoted more time to integrating reading activities into course modules for adults over the age of 40 with learning difficulties. Wandsworth visited classes run by South Thames College and ran a mapping exercise of basic skills provision in the area in preparation for the LLDA's successful Skills for Life bid to the London Development Agency. The role of the LLDA coordinator was key in bringing the three projects together and arranging joint training. She also made wide-ranging contacts throughout the region and it will now be up to library managers to continue that work.

North West

Knowsley Libraries appointed a part-time outreach worker who was able to contact and consult widely with local training providers, agencies and community groups in an attempt to break down barriers to engagement with libraries and learning. A range of events and activities were held at Stockbridge and Page Moss Libraries, including a 'pamper morning' for young mothers and reading group sessions. A very successful new writers group has continued over the summer and into the autumn. The outreach worker worked closely with Knowsley Community College in order to run events and arrange for deposit collections at college sites. The project exceeded its target by engaging 37 learners in activities around basic skills and reading and demonstrated a clear model for taking this work forward. There were ambitions to use ICT more widely than proved possible.

Funding has been found to support an initial two-month extension to Vital Link activity indicating a willingness to build on the work already achieved. In addition, 11 library staff have undertaken the City &Guilds Initial Certificate in Basic Skills, which in itself should ensure some sustainability and significant involvement across the library service.

Yorkshire & Humberside

Doncaster Libraries worked with Doncaster College from the outset to target a wide range of groups including the homeless and young unemployed people. With the benefit of hindsight, it was felt that it might have been better to concentrate on fewer groups rather than spreading the net too wide - especially as there was no dedicated staff time for developing partnerships. A library-based reading group was established, however, and extra resources were found to update and promote basic skills stock.

The group is set to continue and will be using the First Choice promotion. It has also found ways of using ICT such as searching for author sites. A successful reciprocal training programme between the library and college is being further developed to ensure library staff gain basic skills teaching qualifications. The library service is represented on the local learning partnership and has also been asked to share experiences with Bradford Libraries.

North Yorkshire Libraries linked with North Yorkshire Community Education and numerous other partners to set up courses in two locations. Colburn Library, near Catterick Garrison, targeted new learners for a 15-week course through social services, the Army welfare service and other agencies. Students were involved in choosing and buying stock using an online catalogue and writing their own booklet of reviews. Pickering Library was used for part of the second course held in Ryedale called Get Smart - Saturday Mornings Are Really Terrific. Some of the students recruited for the latter did not in fact have basic skills needs (a case of publicity material being too subtle!) but it was felt that those needing to improve their skills actually benefited from being part of a lively mixed group. Activities included sessions with a storyteller, vet and football manager and visits to a radio station, fire station and museum.

A wide partnership base has led to reciprocal training and thorough consultation with basic skills providers. Existing basic skills collections have been rebranded across the county using the national Get On logo and new stock purchased. Special dumpbins have been commissioned and 20,000 copies of a "simple but stylish" Not Just Books leaflet produced. Basic skills has been integrated into the Annual Library Plan and proposals to continue the work include a 'family day' at Colburn Library involving Sure Start and local community workers as well as community education. North Yorkshire have purchased 16 sets of the First Choice promotion to be used in libraries and on loan to other agencies such as Jobcentre Plus and basic skills tutors indicating a clear commitment to the aims of the Vital Link.

The DCMS Reader Development programme was seeking strategic activity to

• integrate reader development into libraries' day-to-day work
• develop systems to monitor its impact, and
• build partnerships to sustain and develop it

1. Reader development: Reader development has been key to the Vital Link. It is central to what libraries have to offer basic skills providers and their learners in order to encourage them to use their newly-acquired skills and develop a love of reading. The Vital Link toolkit pulls together reader development approaches that have been used successfully by library staff with Vital Link participants.

The evaluation report summary states: "The data revealed many examples of ways in which reader development could be used to enhance basic skills education, for example in encouraging self-direction and self-confidence. It was also felt that reader development could become part of the infrastructure of basic skills education."

2. Monitoring impact: The evaluation of the initiative, conducted by the University of Sheffield, explored ways in which the impact of libraries' reader development work with basic skills learners could be assessed.

The evaluation team was asked to focus on the effectiveness of the following four elements:

• increasing adult learners' confidence and enjoyment of reading
• motivating people to improve their basic skills
• supporting progression to other learning opportunities
• building the capacity of libraries to support basic skills development (for example through staff training, more appropriate stock collections and ICT provision)

Notwithstanding the short timescale, the evaluation summary states that: "Although it would be inaccurate to suggest that as a direct result of The Vital Link all participants were reading more, or that all changes could be solely attributed to one course, there was nonetheless some qualitative and quantitative evidence that real benefits had been experienced."

3: Partnerships: Building partnerships to develop and sustain the initiative has undoubtedly been a strength of the Vital Link. In addition to the local partnerships mentioned above, the Vital Link worked with key national agencies from the outset. Matched funding for the initiative was received from the Basic Skills Agency and Books for Students. Representatives from these organisations, along with those from the DfES Adult Basic Skills Strategy Unit, CILIP, Resource and learndirect were on the steering group and attended and contributed to three national meetings and the evaluation workshop.

The value of bringing together the library and basic skills sectors at national, regional and local levels is underlined by comments in the evaluation report which reveal the gap which had to be bridged.

". prior to this project we hadn't really had that much contact with the college, and we'd always felt that we were sort of in competition with them." Librarian

"Although we work across the road from one another we've never actually got together before." Basic skills tutor

Meeting target group/community needs

There are up to seven million adults in England who have problems with reading and writing. The communities served by the nine library authorities involved in the Vital Link have varying literacy levels, but several such as Knowsley and Doncaster are in areas of particular need. In order for public libraries to target these individuals it was essential for them to work with their local basic skills providers.

The different projects chose a variety of ways to reach the target audience. Some relied on contacts with local colleges in order to work with existing students. Others sought the harder route of contacting local agencies in liaison with local basic skills providers in order to reach adults not yet engaged in adult learning provision and invite them to library-based events or courses.

In every case, this required extensive consultation - a task that was made easier in those two cases where there was an outreach worker with the capacity to devote to this time-consuming work. Successful recruitment proved to be dependent upon catering for potential learners' interests in a non-threatening environment. There was a recognition that participants needed to be involved in order to develop attractive marketing materials and relevant book collections. Their views were sought on joining forms and signage in libraries and a group of learners provided feedback on early designs for the First Choice promotional materials.

The project had three managers - Ruth Harrison, a consultant from The Reading Agency; Julia Strong, Deputy Director of the National Literacy Trust; and Genevieve Clarke, Manager of the National Reading Campaign - all of whom fitted this work into very full schedules. Organising and running the monthly management meetings was shared between Julia and Genevieve, as was the shaping and editing of the toolkit and the final report. Genevieve also focused on external PR, liaison with the wider partners, New Island publishers and the evaluation team at the University of Sheffield. Julia set up the email newsgroup as well as designing, writing and updating the website and planning the national conference. Ruth oversaw the management of the two project coordinators and focused on the development of the First Choice promotion and the training programme.

The local projects were overseen by the part-time project coordinators - David Kendall (libraries) and David Smales (basic skills) - who shared responsibility for all the local projects since it was felt that their joint expertise was needed. David Smales liaised with the University of Sheffield over the evaluation while David Kendall oversaw the finances of the initiative and provided a regular email update. They both delivered training, provided regular updates on the local projects and contributed to the toolkit and this report.

At local level, the management model differed widely, though in all cases library staff linked with local basic skills providers. In both Knowsley and Bedfordshire, an outreach worker reported into the local management team and had a broad base of support. In Essex, the reader development coordinator led a team of Reading Champions who liaised with the community colleges. In North Yorkshire, the special services librarian led two very different projects, both of which brought together library and basic skills staff. In Doncaster, library staff worked closely with the local college. A rather loose management structure in Norfolk meant that it was hard to steer and monitor progress of four different projects. The three London library authorities benefited from input by a regional coordinator employed by the London Libraries Development Agency.

There were three well-attended national meetings - in September, February and July - to which all nine library authorities and their main basic skills partners were invited. These covered partnership issues, targeting audiences and reader development as well as work around stock selection and trialling for the First Choice promotion. There was also input from organisations such as The Basic Skills Agency and DfES Adult Basic Skills Strategy Unit to strengthen awareness of the national context.and adult basic skills.

Problems encountered

1. Timescale: Although all participants were aware of the short timescale from the outset, this nevertheless proved to be the key challenge for the initiative. It was exacerbated by the fact that basic skills provision through colleges stops for a three-month summer break in early July, just at the point when many of the partnerships had begun to get into their stride.

2. Context: The majority of the nine local projects were making partnerships from scratch with basic skills providers, at a time when the latter were dealing with major infrastructural change. Recruitment of new learners was inevitably slow and, in some cases, disappointingly low, which in turn affected the quantitative evaluation procedure in particular. It also meant that it was difficult to get more extensive feedback on titles being considered for the First Choice promotion or to allow for the collection to be trialled in a library environment.

3. Targeting the audience: Targeting the audience also proved to more challenging than anticipated. Whereas it was possible to identify those existing students who would benefit most through basic skills tutors, it was not so straightforward to predict the literacy level of individuals recruited through library-based activities. In Bedfordshire, several well-educated asylum seekers with ESOL needs came forward, and in North Yorkshire one of the projects attracted several people who did not have a basic skills need.

4. Communication: Internal communication was also a continuing issue. Although there were regular

efforts to exchange ideas and good practice through the email newsgroup and newsletter, the local projects tended to be preoccupied with trying to get their own activities off the ground so that they made less use of these opportunities than had originally been hoped. It also proved quite difficult to elicit feedback on the proposed First Choice titles, again because energy was focused on establishing the reading groups themselves. Communication at local level was not helped by the part-time nature of so much library and basic skills employment.

5. Reader development: Library staff awareness and confidence with reader development techniques was very varied. For the Vital Link approach to succeed, training in this area to develop library staff skills as well as to introduce the concept to basic skills staff is essential.

Lessons learnt

Experience drawn from the initiative has been distilled in the toolkit to guide others undertaking this work. However, the following points should be taken into account when tackling a short-term project of this nature.

• One-year projects require significant buy-in from all key partners from the very beginning if participants are to make real progress towards the initiative's aims.
• Senior management involvement is essential to ensure that all staff understand their responsibilities and can see how the project fits into long-term strategy.
• Libraries need to be clear about what they are offering to the basic skills audience.
• Library staff need to be aware that this audience is not homogeneous and has very mixed needs, ie from absolute beginners to those wanting help with English as an additional language.
• There needs to be a clear assessment of training needs at the outset (especially in partnership working and reader development) so that appropriate training can be put in place at an early stage.
• This is a demanding environment for reader development work requiring determination, enthusiasm and a positive attitude if it is to succeed.
• Development work with new audiences is likely to require dedicated time from an outreach worker who has the capacity and knowledge to contact and consult with a wide range of agencies. The model developed by Bedfordshire Libraries proved most effective in ensuring that all staff were kept informed of activities and that these were integrated into ongoing library commitments.
• Library authorities need to be wary of initiative overload and of being too ambitious if there are insufficient staff to carry out the work required.
• Evaluation methods must be appropriate for the target audience and timescale of the project in order to gain maximum benefit from the findings.
• Regular communication at all levels is essential to ensure commitment and a positive attitude to challenging initiatives.

The Vital Link was a very ambitious initiative which managed to achieve all of its planned outcomes to some degree (see chart below).
 

Planned outcomes	Were they achieved?
Replicable models of how reader development approaches can motivate and support people with low literacy levels and help them to improve their skills	Yes - see examples in Vital Link toolkit
Practical case studies in how to recruit and retain a range of "hard-to-reach" adults who have engaged or further engaged with basic skills learning as a result of the local initiatives	Yes to some extent - see examples in Vital Link toolkit
Identification and articulation of the special role libraries can play in tackling poor basic reading skills	Yes - articulated in Vital Link toolkit and in presentations and published feature articles
Stronger links at national, regional and local level between the basic skills and library networks	Yes to varying extent at local and regional level where projects operated; growing awareness at national level
Development of successful training programme for both library and basic skills staff which has been implemented throughout the regions within the programme and is adaptable to all regions in England	Yes - training has been developed and, to various extents, offered on a regional basis. This is now being adapted as a nationally available programme
Establishment of a website resource devoted to this area to be updated weekly that is the first port of call for library and adult basic skills staff interested in this area	Yes - a website has been developed within the National Literacy Trust website which is gathering a reputation as an authoritative source of information about work in this area
Establishment of an email group for all those wishing to participate in work in this area	Yes - at present this service is limited to those who have shown interest in the Vital Link but could be expanded
Development, trialling and launch of a national reading promotion for new and less confident readers	Yes - the Vital Link's First Choice promotion is being used in all nine Vital Link authorities and will be available nationally through The Reading Agency in 2003
A reputable evaluation of the programme which can guide and inform all future library support for the basic skills sector	Yes - the evaluation report by the University of Sheffield is downloadable from the website
A nationally available toolkit to include templates for stock selection criteria, training guidance and evaluation measures	Yes - 2000 copies of the toolkit are available from November 2002
Ongoing national funding for development of programme	A bid has been put in on behalf of the Vital Link by Resource's Need to Read initiative. We are yet to hear the outcome
Planning in place for a self-financing national conference to disseminate findings of programme	Yes - a national dissemination conference is being organised for 28 January 2003
Foundations laid with national publishers to improve range of materials available for adult literacy students	Yes - the Vital Link is working with Irish publisher New Island to extend its Open Door series to include well-known contemporary English writers

Sustainability

It is to be hoped that the work of the Vital Link will be sustained in various ways:

At local level, all the participating library authorities have expressed a determination to carry forward the partnerships they have established with local basic skills providers. The First Choice promotion is being used by all nine authorities, some more extensively than others. For example, North Yorkshire, who have purchased 16 sets, are launching the promotion at a regional basic skills resources day at York Racecourse. Others are using the promotion in their local colleges. Some existing basic skills collections have been also been rebranded and marketed to the target audience. Work with basic skills reading groups and library visits is continuing and further library staff are involved in training. Both sectors are also involved in dissemination at regional level.

However, new funding will be necessary if library authorities are to support outreach workers who can develop new contacts and reach new learners. Some have outlined an exit strategy in order to identify funding needs. Essex Libraries have successfully bid for funding from the Learning & Skills Council to extend and evaluate their work with Quick Reads. The London Libraries Development Agency has secured a three-year funding package through the London Development Agency to create new Skills for Life learning centres in Wandsworth and Kensington & Chelsea Libraries which will include actual delivery of basic skills provision.

At national level, there has been significant interest in the Vital Link and its potential for endorsing the role of libraries in supporting the Skills for Life adult basic skills strategy. The First Choice promotion, which will be available nationally through The Reading Agency from 2003, will ensure that there is an appropriate collection of fiction and non-fiction titles for use with the target audience by libraries and basic skills providers. The Reading Agency's training programme offers support for libraries wanting to get involved and the toolkit provides practical guidance, checklists and handouts for librarians and basic skills practitioners. The national conference in January 2003 will also provide another opportunity to disseminate good practice drawn from the initiative.

Over the last year, Julia Strong has represented the Vital Link at meetings held by Resource to consider how libraries, museums and archives can help the Government meet its targets for raising the skills of adults with basic skills needs. The Vital Link model has been adopted by the Resource initiative as the way forward for the library sector and it is hoped that national funding will be secured to roll out the project throughout England starting in 2004.

Meanwhile, as a result of these meetings, Resource has agreed to fund a research post to map the existing links between libraries, museums and archives. This work is to be carried out by the National Literacy Trust from late 2002.

Conclusion

The project managers strongly believe that the approaches developed by the Vital Link can be further developed to support and motivate emergent and adult readers and recruit new 'hard to reach' learners to adult learning. As the executive summary of the Sheffield evaluation of the Vital Link proposes: "...A recommendation is made to the Basic Skills sector that the Basic Skills Core Curriculum be amended to include a focus on reading for pleasure and reader development." Reader development has a unique role to play in the Government's plans to improve adult basic skills standards.