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BBC RaW - read more and write better with the BBC - launched
in October 2005. The BBC's biggest ever literacy campaign,
RaW is targeted at up to 12 million intermediate readers aged
between 25 and 54 who tend to be bored by reading and writing
because they can be a struggle. The objective is not simply
to improve their basic skills but to create an interactive
and engaging space in which to learn based around the everyday
practical experiences of adult learners. Through an entertainment-led
environment, RaW is offering tailored steps to learning that
will engage the passions and interests of its audience and,
by doing so, inspire and motivate them to read and write more.
All library authorities throughout the UK are working closely
on this campaign as part of a three-year strategic partnership
agreed between the main library bodies and BBC Learning in
spring 2005. Library involvement is coordinated by The Reading
Agency.
Visit the ideas bank to see
what libraries are doing to turn RaW into reality on the ground.
Please send us your own reports and pictures so that we can
share good practice in support of Raw. Email genevieve.clarke@readingagency.org.uk.
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At the start of 2007, RaW launched the family phase of its campaign with promotional trails going out on BBC1, BBC2 , national and local radio. This coincided with the launch of the National Literacy Trust's Family Reading Campaign.
The trails invited the audience to call 08000 150 950 if they needed help with storytelling to their children. Those seeking support are offered a family pack full of enjoyable reading activities for parents and children. Max and Lara's Amazing Travelling Space Circus has been specially designed to integrate fun literacy exercises into an entertaining story for all ages.
The RaW campaign website at www.bbc.co.uk/raw has also been relaunched to highlight family reading activity with additional games, quizzes and a Family Reader which enables users to listen to the opening pages of a range of different children's books.
Building on the popularity of the family pack, RaW has produced four new storybooks about Max and Lara and the circus which are now available from libraries and RaW Centres – The circus finds a new star, Who ate all the pies?, Shooting Stars and The circus makes a difference.
Max and Lara’s Amazing Travelling Space Circus is also the focus of a family story festival, complete with big top, which will visit eight cities in September and October – Plymouth (8 & 9 Sep), Cardiff (15 & 16 Sep), Birmingham (22 & 23 Sep), Portsmouth (29 & 30 Sep), Norwich (6 & 7 Oct), Liverpool (13 & 14 Oct), London (20 & 21 Oct) and Sunderland (27 & 28 Oct).
At the same time RaW is launching a story writing competition which will run until 31 January 2008. Adults are invited to submit a short story for children using one or more characters from the Travelling Space Circus. Competition entry booklets will be available in libraries and RaW Centres.
This focus on families follows two earlier phases which raised awareness of literacy issues (October 05 - February 06) and promoted the benefits of reading for pleasure (March 06 onwards).
The Reading Agency has coordinated the sign up to RaW from library authorities at a level which suits their capacity, ie minimum, medium or enhanced. All library authorities engaged in the campaign with 3815 libraries supporting RaW, 720 of these at medium level and 71 at enhanced level.
In July 2007, library authorities were asked to restate their commitment to RaW. Further details about this sign-up review can be found at
http://www.readingagency.org.uk/adults/bbc-raw/
Evaluation data collected from library authorities for Phase 1 of RaW indicated that library involvement exceeded targets set by the BBC. The aim was for libraries to engage 120,000 people over this period. Returns from 78% of library authorities by the end of February gave a figure of 3657 events or activities across 1211 different library locations which reached 174,838 people (this included publicity and outreach initiatives as well as quizzes, reading events, online taster sessions, library tours and class visits). Over 2300 RaW displays had been mounted which are likely to have been seen by over 4 million people.
This was a great start on the part of libraries and shows the scale of their investment in RaW. Here are some comments from libraries about the partnership in support of RaW:
- 'The partnership with the BBC gets us into new places and helps us reach new people.' Hull
- 'Huge public interest in materials, a lot of interest in First Choice. Increased interest in working with us.' Islington
- 'RaW has helped many readers identify and start to borrow from our collections for emergent readers.' Portsmouth
- 'Having a BBC-backed literacy campaign has made it much easier to talk to other agencies about the collections of books we have in libraries. It is immediately seen as a credible and quality campaign.' Fife
- 'Without the RaW campaign we certainly wouldn't have had this level of interest.' Buckinghamshire
A second quantitative survey was carried out in early 2007 which provided further valuable feedback from 63% of library authorities. Overall, the response for RaW was very positive. 94% of libraries are participating in the campaign, with 17% of those questioned doing so at more than the minimum level. The most popular RaW activities are proving to be parent and child sessions. These have been run in 62% of library authorities and have attracted 17,500 participants. 30% of library authorities saw an increase in visitor numbers as a result of RaW between September 2006 and February 2007.
Further headline findings are available in a powerpoint summary available for download at
http://www.readingagency.org.uk/adults/bbc-raw/bbc-raw/
Another quantitative survey will be carried out by BBC Learning in early 2008. Library authorities are advised to record the following data about their work with RaW in preparation for this:
- Use of materials – number of libraries and which most successful
- No of RaW displays
- No of libraries using downloadable resources and which most successful
- No of libraries directing people to RaW website
- No of staff involved in RaW training
- No of RaW events held
- No of people reached through these events
- No of enquiries about RaW and how they knew about RaW
- Impact on visitor numbers
The Reading Agency has established a main RaW contact in
each library authority in order to make communications as
streamlined as possible. A monthly BBC campaigns eletter,
covering the BBC Breathing Places campaign as well as RaW,
is now being sent to these contacts and other library staff
who have expressed interest. You can sign up for a monthly
RaW email newsletter giving general news about RaW at www.bbc.co.uk/raw/campaign/
In addition, the Vital Link eletter provides updates
on the broader context for partnership working between libraries
and adult learning - please sign up from this site.
We are also encouraging all libraries to refer to the Vital
Link online toolkit and First
Choice Books database as key support tools for their work
on RaW. Please contact genevieve.clarke@readingagency.org.uk
with your feedback on these tools and your further requirements.
As libraries' work with RaW aligns so closely to the Vital
Link programme, much online information to support libraries
during the three-year campaign is being held on this website.
Although The Vital Link is part of the Government's Framework
for the Future strategy for public libraries in England only,
we welcome practitioners in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
to the Vital Link website and hope that they will find all
the materials and support they require.
An increasing amount of supporting resources can also be found
at www.bbc.co.uk/raw/
- the section of the RaW website targeted at RaW Centres and
Libraries. This includes downloadable library posters, welcome
packs and RaW magazines as well as ideas and guidance on running
RaW Reads, RaW Stories and RaW Football Stories sessions.
Free BBC RaW promotional materials are distributed to the
main RaW contact in each authority when available for onward
distribution to all participating libraries.
The BBC has also provided some PowerPoint slides about RaW.
Please tailor these for your own situation for presentations
about RaW. They also make excellent content for plasma screens
in libraries where these are available, so please use them
to make your involvement in RaW as visible as possible.
Download of RaW powerpoint slides.
 RaW
PowerPoint slides [4MB]
Keeping staff informed about RaW is crucial to the success
of libraries' role in the campaign. BBC Learning has provided
some excellent awareness raising tools - the DVD and Welcome
Packs - but these only come alive when introduced by a manager
with thorough knowledge of the campaign and its developments.
Here are some top tips:
Keep it simple. Several managers have distilled essential
information for staff into a briefing note. It's important
that everyone knows which member of staff is taking a lead
on RaW in their library. Here are some key points for staff
to follow if people ask about RaW:
1. Check with a member of staff leading on RaW if you are
not sure what information to provide.
2. Offer them some of the resources you have as a starting-point,
for example:
- the RaW website at www.bbc.co.uk/raw where they can try one
of the online activities
- your RaW, Quick Reads or First Choice book collection
of popular mainstream titles chosen for the RaW target audience
or www.firstchoicebooks.org.uk
for a searchable database of titles
3. Ask them what kind of information they require. You should
have details about local courses to hand or you could direct
them to the RaW phone line at 08000 150 950. This is a free
service which will offer them advice, information about other
RaW Centres or a telephone coaching session.
4. Tell them about any RaW activities you are planning
We've also provided guidance on the different branding around
RaW, Quick Reads and First Choice. Please adapt this for your
own circumstances and distribute to frontline staff.
A Quick Guide for Frontline Staff
It's important for staff to feel engaged with the campaign
as it develops so that they contribute their own ideas and
initiatives. Some authorities have run quizzes or competitions
between libraries; others have encouraged staff to read and
review the Quick Reads titles so that they feel more confident
about recommending them to emergent readers.
Another very public way to reward staff is to nominate them
for the RaW Star of the Month award. A joint BBC/TRA team
selects a RaW star and runner-up from a RaW library or centre
each month. The winner receives a special award and certificate,
a visit from the RaW team and a selection of BBC goodies.
So don't miss the opportunity to give your staff a boost.
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