The National Year of Reading Library Membership Campaign

Guidance notes for library staff

April 2008 will see the first ever national library membership campaign promoted by the National Year of Reading.

Our target during the campaign is 350,000 new members – but joining them is not enough. The success of the campaign will also be judged on the number of new joiners who become active members – who become regular and frequent users of all the service libraries have to offer.

So how we manage the initial welcome to new members and explain to them the wide variety of reading and other opportunities that libraries offer is crucial – as is developing an ongoing relationship with them so they keep coming back.

All library staff will play a key role in this campaign and will ensure that all our new members have a positive and enjoyable experience.

This is an ideal opportunity to showcase just how great libraries are and to demonstrate nationally the value of libraries today.

The campaign:

25 April is the national launch of the membership campaign and 26 April will be promoted as the national Join a library day. There will be two high-profile national launch events on the 25th and local services may also hold their own launch events during that weekend– make sure you know what your service is doing.

The Mirror newspaper will run a special four-page full colour supplement on libraries on 25 April. The children’s newspaper First News will also feature a full page advertisement on the membership campaign in that week’s edition.

Both publications will include a simple cut-out membership form to take into a local library. This has space for name and address and parental signature (if required) for under-16s.

For the purpose of the campaign it has been agreed nationally that for those authorities who require proof of identity and address, one proof of name and current address is sufficient. If your authority does not require proof of identity, you will of course follow your normal procedures.

The simplified membership form may also appear in other national magazines and local and regional newspapers. Please make sure that all staff know what it looks like – don’t forget Saturday or Weekend Assistants particularly as the campaign is being launched at the weekend.

Additionally there will be a two week national and regional radio campaign featuring reading and libraries.

We want to make this campaign a major success so are asking all services to2008 to follow four basic steps

  • Welcome new members to your library
  • Offer them free rewards and incentives
  • Sell your library’s reading service
  • Personalise their service by keeping in contact

This will ensure that whatever library in the country a potential new member goes into, he or she will receive a consistent, quality welcome

Welcome to your library

Many of the potential new members the campaign is targeting – children and young people and their parents/carers – may never have used a library before or have bad memories based on experiences at school for instance.

We want to make sure they get a warm welcome whichever library they go into and – most importantly – that they want to come back.

So – when a new member arrives in your library during the campaign period, with or without the special form – please:

  • Welcome them to the library and thank them for joining in this special National Year of Reading.
  • Use the simplified form as the basis for registering them as new members – if they don’t have the special form then just follow your normal processes.
  • Remember that if your service requires proof of ID, the national agreed standard is one proof of name and current address.
  • If a new member comes in without any proof of ID, make sure you know what your service’s own arrangements are for temporary or restricted membership.
  • Make sure that all potential new members are made to feel welcome and valued.

Your service may wish to collect additional information about new members as they join such as email addresses, phone numbers and monitoring information – please make this process as simple and as unbureaucratic as possible.

Your service will decide whether they wish to retain the special membership form and what processes to follow.

We need to collect data to assess the effectiveness of the media used in the campaign so you will be asked to collect information on where the new member found out about the campaign. This can be done as simply as possible – counting in five bar gates under categories such as national newspaper, local newspaper, word of mouth, poster, radio etc

Rewards and incentives - the Welcome Pack

Each new member will receive (whilst stocks last)

  • A free welcome pack appropriate to their age
  • adults and young people
  • children aged 0-12
  • A free book – The Ultimate Book Guide of recommended reads for children and young people (prepared specifically by A & C Black for the National Year of Reading)

Your service will have been sent:

Copies of the free Ultimate Guide

Folders and inserts for adults and young people

Folders and inserts for children

Services may customize these folders by adding their own information and material as they wish.

When new members join:

  • , give them the appropriate welcome pack – one per applicant and offer the Ultimate Guide.
  • If a family joins, give each member the appropriate pack and offer one copy of the Ultimate Guide.
  • If new members join and your service’s copies of the pack and free book have all gone, explain that the campaign was so successful that unfortunately you have run out. Offer your normal new members information pack/material.

Offer all new members who join during the campaign period the rewards and incentives – they do not have to have used the special form.

Selling the library reading service:

The welcome packs feature the special services to readers that libraries offer.

So when your new members join, make sure you let them know the range of reading offers your library can supply.

Not all libraries will offer every reading opportunity so customize the following list to suit your needs.

Tell your new customers about:

Adults:

  • How to find things in your library
  • How to reserve items
  • Local reading groups and other social reading activities
  • Reading activities – promotions, websites, book chains, book crossing etc
  • Any reader to reader recommendations
  • Reading festivals/author events
  • Offers for new/emerging readers
  • Quick Reads
  • Six Book Challenge
  • Internet access at your library
  • Support for family reading
  • Volunteering opportunities
  • Books on Prescription/bibliotherapy

Children

  • How to find things in your library
  • Picture books
  • New readers
  • Confident readers
  • Information books
  • Bedtime stories
  • Bookstart
  • Baby rhyme times/baby bounce sessions
  • Creative activities – storytimes, readers days etc
  • Summer Reading Challenge
  • Homework help
  • Reading groups
  • Author visits
  • Internet access

Young people

  • Different kinds of reading - manga/graphic novels/websites
  • Chance to get involved with shaping the service
  • Volunteering opportunities
  • Creative and positive activities eg Reading groups, workshops, meeting authors etc
  • Internet access
  • Homework help
  • Careers section/ other information for life choices
  • CDs/DVDs

Turning joiners into active members

The welcome new members receive is crucial but so too is keeping them coming back.

Give them a personal point of contact – introduce yourself and say that you will be able to help them when they visit. Explain that you may not be on duty all of the time the library is open – in that case, they should ask any member of staff for help.

If your service has regular newsletters or emailings, ask for contact information so that they can be kept informed.

Ask what help you can give them on this their first visit and offer to either show them round the library yourself or ask a colleague to do so for you.

Make your new members feel welcome and their custom valued – make them reading offers that they can’t refuse and make them want to come back.

Membership campaign guidance note 112/12/2018