Orange Chatterbooks Talking about the books you want to read

1. Orange ChatterbooksTalking about the books you want to read

2. The Reading Agency The Reading Agency is an independent charity working to inspire more people to read more… with the vision of a society where everyone’s lives and communities are enriched through free, democratic access to reading Goals • To inspire more people to read more • To open up reading opportunities for excluded groups and individuals • To open up perceptions of reading and what it does • To create a fantastic reading experience in libraries for our key audiences • To advocate the importance of libraries’ reading role

3. The Reading Agency • supports and inspires libraries’ work with readers • pilots new initiatives • disseminates and encourages the networking of good practice • brokers partnerships with businesses and organisations outside libraries • enables access to cost-effective and high quality resources and materials

4. Chatterbooks… what people are saying ‘I think that Chatterbooks is my very giant best library fun house roller-coaster ride sweet giving house’ ‘I never really liked reading before but this is fun!’ ‘It’s really given us a boost as a family to read more’ ‘It’s just lovely to watch them all mature into real readers who can talk with confidence about what they are reading’ ‘Reading groups have become a normal part of our service’

5. Chatterbooks & Orange • Orange Prize for Fiction educational initiative • Arts and Business Sustainability Award

6. Chatterbooks: Aims Overall Aims • Developing children’s love and enjoyment of reading • Through the benefits of a nationally coordinated project - Supporting children’s library services in delivering service objectives • Demonstrating the feasibility of partnership between business and libraries Group Aims • Providing new reading ideas for young people to widen and deepen their reading • Developing young people’s confidence about themselves as readers • Developing peer to peer reading support • Offering children the chance to interact positively with adults about reading • Increasing the sense of belonging to a community • Providing an activity where children are having a really good time reading and talking about books Local Aims • Developing service provision to a particular target group or location • Developing staff skills • Meeting local service priorities

7. Chatterbooks • Total UK library authorities taking part: 142 • In 2007-8 there were 400 active groups with 7,500 children: 2/3 of members are girls; 1/3 are boys • Edinburgh has 13 groups with 147 children: 5% boys 5-8; 12% girls 5-8; 39% boys 9-11; 44% girls 9-11 • Cited as good practice case study in English government report on libraries: ‘Framework for the Future’ • Featured as a key programme for ‘Enjoying Reading’ – the DCSF funded initiative about schools and libraries working together to encourage children’s enjoyment of reading www.enjoyingreading.org.uk

8. The difference it makes… ‘I really, really, really enjoyed my experience at Chatterbooks. I liked all the different activities we did, all the books we got and all the friends I made.’

9. The difference it makes for children… • Young people’s reading is widened and deepened • Young people become more confident about themselves as readers • Young people experience reading in new ways • Young people are contributing to the development of the group and the library • Young people enjoying reading • Young people supporting & inspiring each other in their reading • Young people engaging more confidently with adults about their reading • Library staff more confident and skilled in their work with young readers See www.theireadingfutures.org.uk – Best Practice - Chatterbooks

10. Addressing community agendas • Life-long learning • Social inclusion • Personal and social development • Consultation and involvement • Citizenship • Community cohesion • Education standards • Quality of life • Creativity • Access to services • Vision for Scotland’s Children…

11. Vision for Scotland’s Children • Safe • Healthy • Achieving • Nurtured • Active • Respected • Responsible • Included

12. Curriculum for Excellence • Successful learners • Confident learners • Responsible citizens • Effective contributors

13. Vision for Scotland’s Children Active; Achieving; Successful learners: • Young people having a good time with their reading • Reading more widely • Better reading skills • More confident about their reading • More confident in choosing books

14. Vision for Scotland’sChildren Respected; Responsible; Effective contributors • Young people are developing skills and confidence in talking about their reading • Developing communication skills & social confidence • Cross-community, and cross-age & ability sharing and interaction • Contributing to and making decisions about library services

15. Vision for Scotland’s Children Being healthy • Reading for information, stress-busting and support • Discussing books and sharing problems Staying safe • Safe, supervised environments and activities • Activities and discussions about empowerment, choice, health and well-being Economic well-being; achieving; active • Developing skills and confidence • Developing critical thinking, understanding, creativity

16. The difference it makes for libraries Better skills in working with young people • More relevant and vibrant reading services • More involvement of parents and carers • Reaching ‘hard to reach’ groups of children • Closer contact with children helping them to make the service more responsive to their needs • Developing community partnerships especially with schools

17. TRF: Their Reading Futures The workforce development programme for all library staff to support work with young readers TRF can help you to deliver Chatterbooks in terms of: • planning and evaluation • staff training • activity ideas • sharing ideas with others • advocacy… www.theirreadingfutures.org.uk

18. Chatterbooks and Children’s Publishers Children’s Reading Partners: Launched in May 2008 A partnership between UK library services and 13 children’s publishers which aims: • To make a step change in the way children’s publishers and libraries work together, to grow the market for reading • To build a vibrant reading offer for children in public libraries Through Children’s Reading Partnership publishers can connect with Chatterbooks groups – eg: • Providing proof copies, and enabling author visits for local Chatterbooks groups • Promotion of new titles and new authors • Focus group work • Contributing to the Chatterbooks newsletter • Attending Chatterbooks training days • Scottish CRP Rep is margaret.houston@glasgow.gov.uk

19. ChatterpacksFor example… Read The Book, See The Film!

20. Let’s get coffee!

21. Talking about Chatterbooks ‘I have met new people. I can recommend books and give my opinions and other people can give me their opinions. I enjoyed keeping a diary of books that I read to show my mum and sister’ Emma, aged 10 ‘I feel confident she can make her own choices as a result of the discussions and recommendation’ Parent, Derby ‘My daughter’s reading has really improved since she joined Chatterbooks’ Parent, Derby

22. Chatterbooks Introducing the handbook and the publicity and support materials

23. How Chatterbooks works: some real life examples

24. Reader development meeting policy agendas • What are YOUR priorities? • Who do you need to work with and why?

25. You are not alone… • Who else will want to see you succeed? • Who shares your agenda? • Working in partnership

26. You are not alone… Respected; responsible; included; effective contributors: real participation • Talking and listening • Consultation and involvement

27. You are not alone… In your group, think about how you will set up your Chatterbooks groups • who might be your target group/s? Why? • Who might you consult? Why? Where? How? Write down a range of possibilities • How might you recruit? Where? Write down a range of possibilities

28. Let’s have lunch!

29. ‘Books never leave me They haunt me to the end They whisper ‘pick me up’ That whispering will never end!’ Walsall Chatterbooks

30. Planning and evaluation… • What are the intended outcomes for the children?… for staff?… for the library service? What difference will you make? • How will you tell that you’ve achieved your outcomes? • How will you be able to prove success? • What activities will help you to achieve them?

31. Planning and evaluation… In collecting evidence and evaluating the impact of our work we should look for changes in: • Behaviour (doing things differently) • Competence (doing things better) • Creativity • Knowledge • Attitudes (e.g. confidence)

32. Here are just four reading group outcomes for young people you might aspire to… • Young people’s reading is widened and deepened • Young people become more confident about themselves as readers • Young people experience reading in new ways • Young people are contributing to the development of the group and the library

33. Looking at the first of these possible outcomes…Young people’s reading is widened and deepened How will you tell that you’ve achieved this? Two examples… • Young people will move more readily to reading a wider range of material – e.g. different subject matter; different authors… • Young people will move more readily to reading more challenging and stretching material

34. Looking at the first of these possible outcomes…Young people’s reading is widened and deepened What activities will help you to achieve this? We’ll come back to this later…

35. Looking at the first of these possible outcomes…Young people’s reading is widened and deepened What evidence will you have that the outcomes have been achieved? • Observation by library staff focused on the breadth & depth of young people’s reading • Feedback from parents, carers, other involved adults • Systematic monitoring of young people’s progress in the group • Questionnaires / interviews with young people, parents, carers, teachers… • Session records and statistics • Case studies Important… Plan your evidence collection & your activities in tandem

36. Now, let’s return to our original reading group outcomes… In your group, think of at least three waysyou would be able to tell you have achieved the following reading group outcome: Group 1 & 4 Young people become more confident about themselves as readers Group 2 Young people experience reading in new ways Group 3 & 5 Young people are contributing to the development of the group and the library

37. Chatterbooks …as a support network

38. Let’s have tea!

39. The Iron Man in Another Place May 2006 - 75 Chatterbooks members, 75 parents and the 100 Iron Men of Antony Gormley’s installation ‘Another Place’ - bringing to life Ted Hughes’s The Iron Man at the North West Regional Orange Chatterbooks family day on Crosby Beach 104 Chatterbooks children and their parents & carers joined author Caroline Lawrence in a Roman Mysteries Day at Reading Town Hall and the Museum of Reading Author Catherine MacPhail enthralled 41 children from 8 Chatterbooks groups at Edinburgh’s Chatterbooks Jamboree in 2006, supported by Live Literature Scotland Children at Teddington Library presented a special birthday Book of Books to Children’s Laureate Jacqueline Wilson, for her to pass on as an 80th birthday gift to the Queen It includes favourite book recommendations from over 100 Chatterbooks reading groups

40. Session content • The power of peer recommendation and stock selection… • The power of working with creative artists, authors, poets, illustrators, cartoonists, storytellers, musicians… • Getting the right mix… ages, interests, abilities, activities, materials…

41. Session format: vital ingredients (1) Staff who: • treat people well • are trained and enthusiastic about reading • know enough about the books • are able to open up reading choices by talking to young people and their important adults • know how to help young readers develop There’s a role for everyone! See TRF:Their Reading Futures…

42. Session format: vital ingredients (2) A library that is: • welcoming • lively • inspiring • Safe See TRF: Their Reading Futures

43. Session format: vital ingredients (3) • A format that appeals to participants (have you asked?) • Consistent and adequate staffing. If your group involves a wide range of ages then it is likely you will need to run different activities simultaneously • A varied programme

44. Thinking about how your Chatterbooks sessions might look • Location in the library • Session format - when? - how long? refreshments?… • Materials used in sessions. All reading the same material? • Who is involved at sessions

45. Reading group activities In the group you were in before… write down at least three session activities to help achieve the reading group outcome you looked at earlier. Write down your ideas. Group 1 & 4 Young people become more confident about themselves as readers Group 2 Young people experience reading in new ways Group 3 & 5 Young people are contributing to the development of the group and the library

46. Reading group activities Tried and tested: more fun reader development activities

47. Using evidence of success The importance of using evidence of successful outcomes… ADVOCACY: building a network of support for libraries’ powerful work with young readers

48. Working with the media A key part of your advocacy communication plan • Think big! • Use every opportunity • Use local contacts • Use national resources: • TRA PR support

49. Advocacy in action • Successful local bids for funding and project development – e.g. North Tyneside • Government recognition and funding • Arts and Business Sustainability Award

50. ‘Chatterbooks is fandoodletastic!’