Reading and libraries campaign

The main aim of this campaign is to encourage and enable Skills for Life practitioners to integrate reading for pleasure and links with libraries into their curriculum delivery to learners.

Current work

There have been four phases of work since its launch in October 2005, all of which were funded by the Skills for Life Strategy Unit in the DfES and now DIUS. Activity during the fourth phase (November 2007 onwards) has included:

• continuing to create support materials for reading for pleasure advocates in order to increase good practice

• See resources to support the Quick Reads titles published in March 2008
• See Reading for pleasure: ideas to inspire, a series of downloadable short guides full of suggestions for engaging reluctant and less confident adult readers in a range of settings. Produced in partnership with NIACE to mark the National Year of Reading, these are targeted at tutors and others working with ten different audiences: new readers up to Entry Level 2, new readers at Entry Level 3 and above, ESOL learners, parents and carers, Dads, employees, FE students, HE students and readers with additional needs. Each contains a list of top ten ideas, case studies and a section on useful resources.
  

• ensuring a continuing supply of appealing reading materials at the right level for learners

• See the expanded and revamped database at www.firstchoicebooks.org.uk

• creating replicable partnership models for audience engagement through reading

• We have an ongoing workplace project with unionlearn in the Yorkshire and Humberside region focused on the Six Book Challenge and links to Reading Champions. Workplaces involved include Fletchers Bakery in Sheffield, Foxes Biscuits in Batley, Royal Mail depots in Bradford, a BT call centre in Leeds and Corus steelworks in Scunthorpe.

• assessing the impact of promoting reading for pleasure on learners and practitioners and identifying any barriers to implementation

• We are currently evaluating the impact of the new national Six Book Challenge on participants - findings should be available in August 2008
• We carried out an online research survey and in-depth interviews with practitioners in February 2008 in order to assess the extent to which they were using reading for pleasure in their regular practice. Please see downloads of the key findings and the full report below. This showed that the use of reading for pleasure with learners is on the increase but indicated that more could be done to support practitioners in linking this activity into the core curriculum.

Full report

Key findings

Context for the campaign

The Vital Link is undertaking this work at a time when a number of Government initiatives are coinciding to focus attention on the role of reading for adults who are improving their skills, some of which recognise the importance of reading for enjoyment and interest:

• publication of a practitioner guide on teaching reading and a report on an action research project on oral reading (NRDC and NIACE). This follows earlier research into effective practice by the University of Sheffield which shows the contribution of group and paired work in class and of self-study and practice between classes (ie reading for pleasure) to progress in reading
• the development of a reading course for practitioners by LLU+ as part of the Skills for Life Improvement Programme
• the review of the curriculum being undertaken by LLU+
• acknowledgement of the role of libraries in the Government’s booklet Adult Learning and Skills: Investing the in the first steps published on 16 November 2007 as part of its bigger skills announcement
• the National Year of Reading in 2008 which lists adult learners as one of its priority audiences

There are also several initiatives run by external stakeholders that act as catalysts for this work:
• the BBC RaW campaign (until end 2008, becoming an online RaW Skills offer)
• Quick Reads (at least until 2010)
• The Vital Link’s Six-Book Reading Challenge for emergent readers to run annually from January to May (launching for 2008 as a partnership tool to be used by libraries with adult literacy providers)

There is also a growing body of evidence that the integration of creative reading activity into teaching, supported by libraries, has a beneficial impact on learners. It is important that the continuing Vital Link reading and libraries campaign is seen within this wider context.

During earlier phases the campaign has:

• promoted its key message to the Skills for Life sector at national conferences and through articles in the specialist press
• consulted with practitioners through conference workshops, a stakeholder event and surveys on their current practice and support needs
• identified over 300 champions for reading for pleasure amongst practitioners in the sector
• created and published
• learning resources to support the Quick Reads titles for emergent readers published in March and May 2006 – these continue to be downloaded at a rate of around 6000 a month
• a printed handbook Starting with Quick Reads to support Quick Reads 2007 - 2000 copies have been distributed and over 5000 downloaded by late 2007
• a new website at www.quickreadsideas.org.uk offering web quests of the 2007 Quick Reads titles and an interactive quiz –15,000 page views by late 2007
• a CD of all the Quick Reads learning resources except the web quests for use in settings without internet access
• initiated Vital Link with Parents project activity to support the promotion of reading for pleasure and library links to families using the Got kids? Get reading! and Five Minutes Dads' collections identified by The Vital Link. Libraries in ten authorities worked with local children's centres and family learning providers. A DVD promoting this work will be available from this website
• run a series of events in Birmingham, Taunton, London, York, Leicester and Durham for library staff and Skills for Life practitioners to promote partnership working, use of the Quick Reads learning resources and links to the BBC RaW campaign
• developed an online toolkit and case studies www.literacytrust.org.uk/vitallink/casestudies.html for adult literacy practitioners interested in weaving reading for pleasure and links with libraries into their teaching
• with support from the Learning and Skills Council, run two national events for education and library staff in prisons to encourage partnership working
• run a pilot event for union learning representatives and library staff in partnership with unionlearn in Yorkshire
• worked with library authorities in the East of England and the West Midlands in order to refine the stock selection process for emergent readers and add further titles to the First Choice Books database at www.firstchoicebooks.org.uk

If you would like any further information about the Vital Link reading for pleasure campaign or would like to get involved, please contact Genevieve Clarke (genevieve.clarke@readingagency.org.uk).