Libraries column: impact you can't count

Miranda McKearney and Debbie Hicks
Opinion - Libraries Wednesday, 6th May 2009

While politicians demand statistics, a good deal of the most valuable work in libraries cannot be measured, Miranda McKearney and Debbie Hicks write The debate about the future of public libraries often boils down to hard data. The library service is awash with statistics for visitor figures, annual issues, level of book stock and much more besides. The numbers have much to tell us about where libraries are strong and weak, but they don t reveal how they nourish communities by channelling the joys of reading to improve local people's lives. This hard-to-measure impact is celebrated in the CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award, which since 1992 has rewarded innovative projects that affect people's lives for the better. The Reading Agency is thrilled to have made this year's shortlist with our Six Book Challenge a new nationwide scheme that encourages emergent adult readers to start exploring books by setting them the task of reading six books and rewarding them for the achievement.


Joining us on the Libraries Change Lives shortlist are two terrific initiatives. The Edinburgh Reading Champion Project helps young people in residential care to discover books, often for the first time. And Leeds Library and Information Service's partnership with local specialists has revolutionised the way libraries help children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
Programmes like these really do change lives. For me, the sense of achievement was like having my first child it was as big as that, said one of our Challenge completers, Mary Jarvis. Without the Six Book Challenge I don t think I would have had the confidence to even pick up a book. Now I am reading every day. Stories like Mary's are an inspiring testament to the power of libraries, and there are thousands more.
There's so much library reading-based work that supports people's long-term well-being. What we haven t quite cracked is how to prove it. This matters because local councils are more and more interested in well being , so to attract investment libraries need to be able to make the argument for their contribution.
It's interesting to look at the uncountable impact of libraries burgeoning readers group network. Our recent mapping research shows there are now about 10,000 groups meeting the needs of 100,000 readers. Time after time we hear stories of the impact of these groups on people's self esteem and confidence, on their sense of belonging, on mental agility and memory, and on literacy and learning. Readers tell us belonging to a reading group is better than any doctor's medicine .
But it's incredibly hard to measure this. As Albert Einstein said: Not everything that counts can be counted.
Maybe we have to think differently. Maybe the proof has to be in the uptake? Libraries are having to work hard to keep pace with the demand for readers groups, for instance.
It was so heartening to hear the councillor responsible for Bournemouth Libraries talk at a recent conference about how he didn t want to waste precious resources trying to prove the unprovable. He challenged the audience to fund libraries simply on the basis that we all know they are a good thing, that they make for an informed and civilised society.
The 2009 Libraries Change Lives Award will be presented on Wednesday 15 July at the Umbrella conference. More details are at the CILIP website. More about the Six Book Challenge here.

Miranda McKearney is Director, and Debbie Hicks is Director of Research, at The Reading Agency.