These three projects were shortlisted for the 2006 CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award.
The awards were presented by the poet, John Hegley.
Winner
Sighthill Library Youth Work– Edinburgh City Libraries and Information Service
Finalists
Books on the Edge – Blackburn and Darwen Borough Council
Multicultural Development Service – Lincolnshire County Council
Sighthill Library Youth Work -
Edinburgh City Libraries and Information Service
The library service at Sighthill in Edinburgh had suffered from an increasing amount of antisocial behaviour involving young people. The staff team, together with a number of key partners, tackled problems head on by adopting an inclusive and ground-breaking approach to working with excluded children and teenagers.
From being plagued by disruptive behaviour, under-age drinking and vandalism, they adopted a new inclusive approach, where they engaged more positively with young people. Together with many partners, including Lothian and Borders Police and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, they delivered a programme of imaginative reading, IT and arts activities such as a Computer Crazies Club, a football literacy project and graffiti arts events. Since then, the trouble in the area has dropped dramatically – a 60% reduction in recorded antisocial incidents in the community and the library has won an award from the Scottish Executive Standing Up To Antisocial Behaviour Scheme.
The project successfully removed barriers that were contributing to the social exclusion of young people in Sighthill, giving them the opportunity to access services that have helped them to develop reading, literacy, learning and life skills.
Further Accolades for Sighthill
In May 2006 Sighthill Library won two awards at the prestigious CIPFA Public Servants Awards:
Outstanding team in the Local Government Category
Overall Outstanding Team of the Year 2006
Books on the Edge -
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
Blackburn Libraries’ Books on the Edge project engages with vulnerable young people, involves them in reader-centred activities and aims to help arrest the cycle of poor literacy skills by promoting reading as an exciting and rewarding thing to do.
Library staff work in partnerships with ‘Thomas’, a drug rehabilitation organisation, ‘Nightsafe’, a charity that works with homeless young people, and in Blackburn with Darwen Foyer who provide accommodation and training, to encourage and enthuse young people to read by building lasting relationships and involving them in reading activities at a level that is relevant to them.
The activities are supplemented by the creation of book collections chosen by the young people themselves. Regular library visits are built into the project, building confidence and promoting independent library use by young people, creating a sense of ownership that the service is for them.
Multicultural Development Service -
Lincolnshire County Council Library Service
Lincolnshire Library Service has been working to develop a library service that meets the needs of its community through strategy, structure and culture. Lincolnshire has a large population of guest workers from countries such as Ghana, Poland, Portugal and France.
Lincolnshire’s large population of guest workers are recently arrived in a county which has seen little demographic change in the preceding decades.
The Multicultural Development Service staff come from Lincolnshire’s guest worker communities – staff who speak the languages, understand the issues and difficulties, and who have the confidence and trust of these communities.
Services provided include: ESOL and IT training sessions in libraries, Diversity activities in schools, training and advice for the Police, and increased purchase of stock suitable for guest workers and their families. These services are being provided in partnership with both council and external agencies, including Sure Start, schools, local employers and local communities.
