Background
Pilot project in London 2003-4
The Welcome To Your Library pilot project, also funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation and co-ordinated through London Libraries Development Agency, took place in the London boroughs of Brent, Camden, Enfield, Merton and Newham in 2003-4.
Final report on pilot project by Project Co-ordinator (PDF document)
Independent evaluation of pilot project(MSWord document)
Enriching Communities: How archives, libraries and museums can work with asylum seekers and refugees. Edited transcript of the highlights of this conference, held at the Museum of London on 14 July 2004. Includes detailed analysis of the pilot phase of Welcome To Your Library.
Project activities
These included:
- Mapping of refugee communities and support organisations
- Identifying barriers to library use and ways to overcome these
- Awareness training for library staff on issues facing asylum seekers and refugees
- Developing local partnerships with refugee community organisations and others
- Structured taster visits and ICT sessions
- Simplifying joining procedures
- Providing ESOL, community language and reading support
- Acquiring new stock with input from refugee communities
- Storytelling and other events and workshops bringing together communities and cultures.
Continuing work in the pilot boroughs has involved:
- Securing further funding
- New service developments such as library work placements for refugees
- Participation in service planning, design and delivery by new communities.
National Project 2005-7
In 2005, a further £250,000 from Paul Hamlyn Foundation enabled Welcome To Your Library to extend the project nationally, adopting a similar approach and activities as the pilot. However, rather than short-term project staff, core library staff carry out work at local level to help integrate and sustain long-term learning. The national project has also involved:
- spreading good practice more widely, including through this website
- more resources to train and mentor library staff to support change in planning, delivering and sustaining services for refugee communities
- sharing lessons learnt from the project, so these can be applied to both policy and practice in other areas of service planning and development.
A key aim of the project was for libraries to be applying learning from the project to public library service planning and delivery for everyone, with activities involving refugees and asylum seekers an integral part of this.
Successful proposal to Paul Hamlyn Foundation 2005 (PDF document)
Leaflet on Welcome To Your Library
External evaluation of Welcome To Your Library (PDF document, November 2007)
Good practice guide (PDF document, November 2007)