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Completed Projects

The Promotion of books and reading

This eight-month (part-time) research project in 2000/01 investigated partnerships between publishers, booksellers and libraries to promote books and reading. The work was funded by the British National Bibliography Research Fund (now part of Resource).

The project aimed to produce guidance to encourage sustainable partnerships between the sectors in order to promote reading and books to adults and children. Within this aim were five specific objectives:

  1. to investigate the extent to which libraries, publishing houses and bookstores currently work together on book promotions and reading projects
  2. to determine the sustainability of existing partnerships
  3. to examine perceptions of partners of the success, both local and national, of partnerships and of the elements which contribute to that success
  4. to determine the nature of any barriers to successful partnerships
  5. to provide booksellers, publishers and librarians with clear guidance on instituting and maintaining partnerships for book promotion activities.

Information about collaborative ventures was sought from all the sectors and a full survey of the literature was undertaken.

Project report

Through a full literature review and examination of each of the sectors in turn, the report shows how collaboration has arisen in the past and the factors which have been barriers to joint working as well as those factors which have contributed to successful projects.

An overview of projects notified to the research team is followed by five case studies as follows:

Name/authority Case Study focus
Bradford Libraries and the Reading Promotion Network Film Festival 2001
Readers Days 1999-2001
Derbyshire Libraries and Heritage Millennium Literature Festival
Book Chat reading groups
Essex Libraries Booktalk reading groups
Book Festivals 2000 and 2001
In Other Words Bookshop, Plymouth Book Weeks
Author promotions
Feedback review magazine
Children's Book Award reviewing
Northern Children's Book Festival The 2000 Festival

These demonstrate a range of partnerships in reading promotion work. Both library suppliers and book promotion agencies are shown to have a key role in reading promotion, along with the three sectors which were in the remit of the project proposal.

A short account is given of the project's workshop with practitioners from all the sectors which examined a draft guidance booklet for the industry. The resulting booklet - Reading together, working together - is included in the appendices of the report and is available in [PDF] or [Word] format. 

The report concludes by acknowledging the role not only of the sectors themselves but also of agencies like the Arts Council in enabling collaborative promotional work to take place. Recommendations are made about ways of forging and sustaining effective partnerships in order to promote books and reading enjoyment. These cover issues such as openness and equality of partnership working, as well as specific recommendations to each of the sectors about methods of approaching the other sectors and means of promoting their own particular strengths.

The project report is entitled Partnership in promotion: publishers, booksellers and libraries working together to promote reading.
ISBN: 0904354288
Library and Information Commission Research Report 110
British National Bibliography Research Fund Report 102
It is available, price £12, from:
CIRT, University of Central England, Perry Barr, Birmingham, B42 2SU.
Tel: 0121-331 5619
Fax: 0121-331 6281

Publications

Thebridge, S. (2002), "Promoting Reading: Using Partnerships"
Youth Library Review 31 (Spring), pp. 11-13.

Thebridge, S and Train, B (2002)
'Promoting reading through partnerships: a ten-year literature overview', New Library World, 103 (4/5) (1175/1176), p 131-140
and erratum in New Library World, 103 (6) (1177), p 240

Smith, A and Thebridge, S (2001) 'Spreading the word: librarians working with publishers and booksellers to promote reading', School Librarian, 49 (4), Winter, p 172-4

Thebridge, S (2001)
Reading together, working together: guidance for booksellers, librarians and publishers on promoting books and reading.
Birmingham: University of Central England in association with Ulverscroft Large Print Books ISBN: 0904354296

Thebridge, S (2001)
'Getting together to promote reading', Open Access, October, 44 (4), p 3

Thebridge, S, Train, B and Dalton, P (2001)
Partnership in promotion: publishers, booksellers and libraries working together to promote reading. Birmingham: University of Central England ISBN: 0904354288
Library and Information Commission Research Report 110
British National Bibliography Research Fund Report 102

Thebridge, S (2001)
'Joined-up reading: encouraging libraries, booksellers and publishers to work together to promote reading', newBOOKS.mag, (4), p 29