The Single Digital Presence project will develop a digital platform to improve public access to the collections, exhibitions and online events of libraries across the country.

This project is part of Arts Council England’s vision for public libraries and the British Library’s Everyone Engaged Portfolio, which aims to make our intellectual heritage available to everyone. 

The platform is being developed by the British Library and will allow libraries to share content and resources, promote two-way traffic with local library websites, and give national visibility to local events and collections. We want to make it easier for anyone to access great content via their public library, wherever they happen to be.  User testing from our earlier phases of work suggests that highlighting more of what is on offer in public libraries can help to increase physical as well as online visits. 

Background

The first phase of the Single Digital Presence project took place from 2018-2020. This involved extensive research into similar models around the world, and consultation with libraries and members of the public to explore how a digital platform might work and the resources needed.

Our report “Five Approaches to a Single Digital Presence” highlighted the importance of developing shared systems and infrastructure, and opportunities to improve the experience of e-lending, and the value and importance of building on existing consortia-led activity, rather than taking a ‘top-down’ approach for these.  The collaborative work led by The Libraries Consortium is an excellent example of this. 

A prototype from the 2020-21 Alpha Phase

In 2021 we announced £3.4m funding from Arts Council England (ACE) for the next phase of the “Single Digital Presence” project (June 2021- March 2024).  This funding will enable us to develop and test a public-facing version of the platform:

• Connecting users to their local library and its services
• Celebrating what libraries are doing around the country
• Sharing events and information from the British Library (including the Living Knowledge Network and Business & IP Centres)
• Searchable national, local and online event listings
• A national newsletter
• Reading recommendations and ideas from the library community
• National activities relevant to public libraries

£1.1 million of the funding is ring-fenced to help libraries in England with their digital offers. Further information about the grant programme will be available later this year.

Since the funding announcement, we have been laying the groundwork for the development of the digital platform. This has included developing a roadmap, establishing governance and team structures, refining earlier research and continuing to consult with a range of stakeholders. Brand development, a content strategy and the technical build are three core building blocks and we plan to develop these with a core multidisciplinary project team to keep testing and developing in partnership with the sector and external advisors.   After a competitive process, we have appointed FCB Inferno who will be leading the development of a national brand to encapsulate the value and values of libraries.

We’re kicking off the recruitment for a multidisciplinary and agile team to lead on overall delivery, the content strategy and product development and please keep an eye on the British Library’s recruitment pages if you think any of these posts would be for you.  We want to develop a team that reflects the diversity of public library users, in line with the British Library’s mission to be an institution for everyone.

This project has public library values of openness, inclusivity and accessibility at its heart and if you would to get in touch please email us at [email protected].  

Maxime Pons Webster, Live Screening Producer of the British Library Living Knowledge Network tells us about an exciting cross-UK exhibition opening at over 30 public libraries this month.

This month we open Breaking the News a collaborative exhibition programme across 30 Living Knowledge Network libraries. It is also an upcoming British Library exhibition (launching in April at our St Pancras site), which explores the role news plays in society.

Drawing on a selection of news stories, spanning 500 years of news production in Britain, this exhibition celebrates news and encourages library users to consider how their own community stories are told. Through exhibition displays visitors will be asked the questions ‘what makes an event news?’, ‘what does a free press mean?’, and ‘can we trust the news’?.

Each of the 30 libraries will augment the exhibition in many ways to make it truly their own, surfacing unique collections and fascinating stories. We are happy to be amplifying these exciting regional narratives to a national audience through specially commissioned short films which will be available to watch on www.living-knowledge-network.co.uk.

Discover the World War Two newspapers of Nazi-occupied Jersey, alongside the diary of a real resident who tells a very different story. Learn about Wakefield’s first female newspaper owner, Ann Hurst, who used her role to campaign against slavery.

In this online space you will also find online events programmed by the British Library and public libraries themselves, so you can experience local stories and national conversations, regardless of where you live.

For Breaking the News libraries are forging connections with regional press outlets and their own communities. Many are eager to use the themes of the British Library exhibition to invite people to develop their understanding of news, how we consume it, and where our sources of information come from.

In preparation for a rich programme of events and workshops around the exhibition, we convened a session with News Literacy experts, to empower library staff to be educators and facilitators of this ever more important debate.

We are delighted to be launching this exhibition at Leeds Central Library on 24 February with a headline event The Launch Debate. Streamed both online and into public library buildings, this event will be a celebration of regional news and its significance at the heart of communities.

We will be joined by editor of The Yorkshire Post, James Mitchinson, artist and activist for local stories told by local people, Rachel Horne and three-time winner at the Regional Press Awards, Roger Lytollis. This lively conversation will be chaired by Channel 4 News anchor, Fatima Manji.

Since 2017 the British Library has collaborated with public libraries on major UK-wide exhibitions, one of the important cultural offers that exists through the Living Knowledge Network, a partnership of national and public libraries, which was created to explore new ways for libraries across the UK to work together to share ideas, spark connections and create memorable experiences for library users.

Our Philanthropy Impact Report celebrates the achievements made possible by the generosity of our wonderful supporters. Whether you donate via our website, pop spare notes into our donation box, top up your exhibition ticket with a gift, adopt a book for a loved one, support us through a membership or buy from our shop – each action you take, makes a world of difference to our work. Find out how in the stories below.

A helping hand for home schooling

The pandemic turned homes into classrooms during the height of lockdown. But without internet access or digital devices, this left some young people with no access to learning resources. With support from our donors, we developed a series of free, creative activity books which, through one project alone, helped over 50,000 children take a learning adventure from their living room.

Our first booklet, Once Upon an Adventure, was produced in collaboration with children’s author Viviane Schwarz and featured activities designed to take its audience on a storytelling adventure. From a map to chart your voyage of discovery to directions for creating a toy theatre, the activities created opportunities to explore illustration, writing, imaginative play, character creation and design.

Distributing packs to pupils in our neighbourhood borough of Camden as well as the areas of the UK that needed them most, we reached children in 215 schools. We also worked with community partners and food banks to support families facing difficulty during lockdown, creating two booklets full of learning activities for kids to do at home, inspired by our collection and our exhibition Paddington: The Story of a Bear.

With thanks to the generosity of Old Possum’s Practical Trust, The Truemark Trust, The Tuixen Foundation, the Kusuma Trust and The Corcoran Foundation.

Exploring the world from home

2021 saw the completion of a seven-year project to catalogue, conserve and digitise the topographical collection of King George III, which was presented to the nation by King George IV in 1823. The collection includes 40,000 printed and hand-drawn items, beautifully illustrated historic maps, topographical views, charts, architectural plans and atlases, from across the globe and spanning the centuries.

Thanks to the generosity of charitable trusts, businesses and individual supporters, the entire collection is now available on the free image sharing site Flickr. And we’ve opened upnew, fully searchable catalogue records on Explore the British Library. For the first time, anyone can remotely view, search and enjoy one of the world’s richest public collections on the history of place.

Digitising our collection is a key part of our mission to make our collection open and accessible to everyone, everywhere. With a collection of over 170 million items, which grows by 8km every year, a vast resource is needed to realise these ambitions. We’re so thankful to all of our supporters who made this digital transformation possible.

A supporter’s story

Michael Katakis is a writer and photographer. His life’s work, and that of his late wife, anthropologist Kris L. Hardin, is part of our collection. Michael and Kris have also supported us philanthropically, and Michael took the time to tell us why.

Michael and Kris decided to house their work at the Library after realising how important it was to keep a record of events. The pair spent a lot of time in Sierra Leone, documenting the civil war and residents of the village of Kainkordu, who they came to know and love. ‘Kris and I were deeply honoured to have our work there (at the Library) and relieved that in one of the world’s greatest institutions there is a record of a people in a time and place before war.’

So, why does he think libraries are so important?

It is no exaggeration when I say that a library and a librarian saved me. I lost my mother at a young age and I was very withdrawn from the world. In desperation, my father took me to a branch of the Chicago Public Library and walked me up to a big oak desk. I raised my eyes slightly and saw a name plate. ‘Mrs Helen Cabbage.’ Is that not a perfect name for a librarian? She came around her desk, put her arm around my shoulder and walked me through the narrow paths between the high shelves of books. And then she said,

“Every word in all of these books is a thread that will weave a magic carpet that will take you everywhere, and after you have travelled through their pages you will find that there are more kind and open hearts than there are monsters and knowing that will make you less afraid.”

The impact that the library and Mrs Cabbage had on me opened the world up to me, and set me on the path my life would take. Do I think libraries are important? Just for a moment, imagine a world without them.

Michael has very kindly chosen to remember us in his will. The impact, he hopes, will be great.

Kris and I have left nearly everything we own to the British Library and our own small-town library, because it is profoundly important to support the best institutions that human beings have created for everyone, no matter their status, wealth or background. Libraries are one of the greatest achievements and contributions by humankind to understanding and knowledge. The work that librarians, curators and library staff do is some of the most honourable and important in the world.

Each donation helps us to open up a world of ideas and inspiration for everyone. Read more about how your donations have helped us in our Philanthropy Impact Report

To support our work, you can donate online. Or perhaps you’d like to play a bigger part in our story by becoming a Patron or leaving us a gift in your will. To find out how please contact our Development team at [email protected]

Thank you for your support.

Imogen Hobson

Major Gifts and Philanthropy Manager