Opening the Book Effective Outreach Projects

supports staff to deliver and evaluate a targeted outreach project The project is small scale and undertaken within a limited time period of 12 weeks. Takes the Trainee through a structured process of planning, taking action and building on their results.

Who for? Staff who have some control over their own timetable or who can be allowed flexible time over 12 weeks Staff who are keen to try out a small-scale, local outreach project Library staff who want to test the feasibility of different outreach approaches before investing in a larger project The course builds on what has been learned in Frontline, if the Trainee has not done Frontline, they should work with a colleague who has.

Structure A course in 4 Modules Each Module is structured to support completion with a set time All Modules are visible to the Trainee right from the start

Module 1 : weeks 1 and 2 supports the Trainee to identify a target group for their project.

Module 2 : weeks takes the Trainee through the planning stages.

Module 3: weeks 6 – 9 helps the Trainee to develop their project both offline and online and monitor their progress.

Module 4: weeks 10 – 12 supports the Trainee to evaluate and consolidate their achievements and plan to develop new work based upon them.

A project bank uses examples of real projects to support and inform work on the course. This will build over time to include the experiences of successful Trainees

Trainees create a record of their experiences and complete exercises in a personal Learning Log.

The last section of the course is helps the Trainee to report their results in appropriate ways and to build on what they have learned.

The role of the Supervisor Supervisors hold three meetings with their Trainee at key points of the project and these, alongside the notes in the Trainee’s Learning Log, form the basis of their assessment. The Supervisor takes a strong role. Their job is to support the Trainee by questioning and discussing their plans. The Trainee can expect to have open discussions and their thinking to be challenged. A Supervisor’s job is to ensure that the planned project is achievable and sustainable.

A Supervisor Log offers guidance and support to stretch Trainees, assess their progress and help them build on what they have achieved.

What’s in it for the Trainee? A chance to experiment on a small scale and with a new audience of readers. new challenges and new skills. It leaves the subject of the project very much in the Trainee’s own hands and the key decisions too Undertaking outreach work in the context of training allows an experiment in a safe space.

Benefits for the library service A clear timetable allows staff to earmark time to undertake a project, keep it small scale and get support for it. In pursuing the course each Trainee will be making an measurable contribution to changing their library service and be able to use what they have done as a platform for future development. It is an effective, time-efficient way to test new ground. If the project doesn’t produce the expected results, clear evidence will have been gathered that will help plan a more effective approach in the future.

Effective Outreach Projects is created and managed by Opening the Book For more information: