Grants round one

LibraryOn’s first grants round gave £1.09m to public libraries in England.

Submissions are now closed

Information for round one grantees

Overview

We received 68 applications in total, representing just under 70% of all library services in England. Of the initial 68, 43 were invited to submit a full application. 27 of those applicants received funding.

Our decision-making process had two stages. The first presented our 68 Expressions of Interest to a panel which included an Arts Council England representative and the Digital Lead for Libraries Connected. Applications included upgrading existing websites or creating new ones, digital marketing activities and the purchase of new software. The total value of these applications came to just under £1.09m.

In the second decision-making phase, we assembled a panel of sector experts, including voices from CILIP, the Good Things Foundation and former heads of library services. All full applications were considered and discussed in detail to ensure a good geographical spread and range of activities.

Grants recipients

The panel awarded funding to 27 projects with a total value of £1,080,846:

In the North, eleven projects were funded, including a new website for Sunderland Libraries to revitalise customer experience; a digital advertising campaign in Sefton; an animation and VR project working with young people in North Lincolnshire; a new library app in Kirklees and upgraded events booking for Gateshead.
The Midlands received funding for two applications, including a website refresh, virtual floor plan, photography and library app for Stoke-on-Trent; and a library app for Leicester Libraries.
London had five successful applications. They included a collaboration between the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) and Camden Libraries; an online discoverable catalogue in Lambeth; and an interactive website for Newham.
The South East received funding for five. They included creation of online assets such as photography, film and animation for West Sussex; virtual tours and photography in Surrey; and Suffolk reimagining its website’s user experience.
In the South West, four projects were supported, including online space booking for Libraries Unlimited; a new website in Gloucestershire; and an online history and archive project for Southampton.

Awards were also given to three consortiums, accounting for 20 services around the country. Activities include:

Ask for a Book - a website providing personalised book recommendations from librarians.
A film and photography project - reflecting findings from user research, where people said they would be more likely to visit a library if they could see what the spaces and events looked like.
Website upgrades that will help local libraries link up with LibraryOn.

Awarded projects

Brighton & Hove

Grant awarded: £52,994 · Region: South East

Working with local partners to create a digital marketing campaign and materials to reach and connect with targeted groups within our community whose footfall both digitally and physically is currently low. The digital assets created will be integrated in an interactive digital installation at Jubilee library.

Camden

Grant awarded: £41,200 · Region: London

This project will bridge the digital divide empowering blind and partially sighted people who might struggle to use their own device or lack connectivity at home to get out into their local community, by making digital books accessible via Envoy readers using public computers and offering orientation sessions.

Darlington

Grant awarded: £30,000 · Region: North

Substantial improvements to our website at a time when our service is undergoing a significant and exciting transformation.

The creation of an enjoyable, feature rich, interactive journey to support the discoverability of our library to new and diverse audiences to increase footfall.

Gateshead Libraries

Grant awarded: £29,147 · Region: North

To replace Eventbrite as our events platform with a booking system created and customised by GOSS, our website provider. This will allow greater integration, keeping users on our site and allowing us to market events more easily to Gateshead residents.

GLL Bromley Libraries

Grant awarded: £70,000 · Region: London

The project will enhance an ongoing library website project and organic listings by incorporating captivating photography and videography of life at GLL’s libraries. A content production house will be commissioned to showcase the unique personality of libraries, the range of services and the diversity of staff and local communities.

GLL Greenwich Libraries

Grant awarded: £70,000 · Region: London

GLL will simplify the customer journey by delivering a single destination for customers to discover, engage and access library membership without having to visit different websites/platforms. Current disparate systems will be consolidated using data feeds to provide an enhanced customer experience that is easier to find and use.

Gloucestershire Libraries

Grant awarded: £30,000 · Region: South West

To create a stand-alone website outside of the Council’s corporate website allowing us to offer greater flexibility. This year (2023) we have become an Arts Council NPO. This is an important project to boost customer experience, accessibility online and direct digital communications to existing and potential library customers.

Hertfordshire

Grant awarded: £21,100 · Region: South East

Our project will:

Extend digital access to and participation in events across Hertfordshire Libraries, utilising streaming equipment and hosting content on a high-quality YouTube channel.
Raise awareness of our services, achieving greater engagement, online and in person.
Create a 24-hour library offer, which customers can enjoy outside physical opening hours.

Kirklees

Grant awarded: £10,326 · Region: North

Kirklees Libraries’ digital offer does not include a mobile app; customers currently need to use a web browser. We propose to enhance our service by acquiring “BLUECloud” Mobile, an add-on to our library management system which will provide a whole host of service improvements not currently available.

Lambeth Libraries

Grant awarded: £45,607 · Region: London

Delivering a seamless online route into using a local library: a book available in a nearby library becomes discoverable via a Google search; non-library members are prompted to join online; and further online exploration of the library is made possible through browsing interactive virtual shelves as if in the library.

Leeds Libraries

Grant awarded: £70,000 · Region: North

The project will transform Leeds Libraries’ website into an innovative hub for learning, exploration, and engagement, incorporating state-of-the-art features and technologies to provide our library users with seamless access to services, from registration, searching across service offers, booking events, through to the delivery of high-quality tailored customer contact.

Leeds Libraries - Consortium

Grant awarded: £69,600 · Region: North

Our project seeks to take the new digital service Ask for a Book (ASK) to the next level. The project has developed a successful cross-service website and is in soft launch stage. The LibraryOn grant will enable specific developments to improve user engagement based on staff and customer feedback.

Libraries Unlimited

Grant awarded: £37,321 · Region: South West

To introduce an online booking system, giving users access to all available spaces across the region: from hot-desking to conference and community rooms, catering to online seminar capabilities. We will highlight the range of services we offer, allowing easy functionality for bookings, including photographs & online tours of the facilities.

Libraries Unlimited

Grant awarded: £49,095 · Region: South West

Online Odyssey is a bolt-on set of digital activities to accompany our existing Secret Book Quest which inspires 5–12-year-olds to read and seeks to reduce the literacy gap exacerbated by the Pandemic. Children will play online quizzes and puzzles with unlockable content to encourage sustained reading.

Lincs Inspire Libraries

Grant awarded: £30,000 · Region: North

Animated Inspirations is an innovative project that uses quality animation production and Augmented Reality (AR) technology to showcase, highlight and celebrate the resources and services that are available for children and families within our libraries.

Middlesbrough

Grant awarded: £14,000 · Region: North

To purchase PTFS Aspen Discovery Platform providing one door access, an upgrade to our existing library website/catalogue bringing together physical stock, Borrowbox our Digital Library and our standalone local history website. This is central to our digital strategy and will deliver transformational change for the service.

Newcastle Libraries

Grant awarded: £13,780 · Region: North

The project will establish a bespoke Newcastle Libraries room hire website. This will allow hirers to search and discover the spaces; find information; take virtual tours; and submit bookings. It will enable staff to easily manage the spaces; handle bookings; build relationships with customers; and analyse usage reports.

Newham

Grant awarded: £28,720 · Region: London

To improve the online presence of Newham Libraries by making it easier for residents to find the website and to make it more useful once they have found it. We want residents to interact with the website to find out more about, and to increase usage of, our services.

Oldham Libraries

Grant awarded: £42,150 · Region: North

Creation of a new green-hosted Oldham Libraries website, with amplified discoverability and appeal through integration with its partner services in Oldham’s Heritage, Libraries and Arts section. The new website will also revolutionise the user experience, with the introduction of an image-led and intuitive information architecture, with bespoke interactive elements.

Sefton Library & Information Service

Grant awarded: £30,000 · Region: North

Sefton Libraries will create an advertising campaign. Working with local creatives, designing an imaginative and engaging campaign package which would work across a range of platforms to maximise our reach. We would use the adverts to reach out to non-users, digital only users and those unaware of our community offer.

Southampton Libraries & Archives

Grant awarded: £29,650 · Region: South West

A beautiful and simple web experience which encourages users to discover both familiar and new library resources seamlessly from a single place. It will surface never seen local archival records, digital images and oral histories and events wrapped in a responsive new web design.

Stoke-on-Trent Libraries

Grant awarded: £20,500 · Region: Midlands

There are four strands to the proposed project, which will help customers discover Stoke-on-Trent Libraries:

We intent to refresh our current website.
Create and host both 3D virtual walkthroughs and 2D floorplans.
Use a professional photography to highlight service areas.
Introduce the Solus Library App

Suffolk Libraries

Grant awarded: £70,000 · Region: South East

Suffolk Libraries aims to change public perception of libraries. Through elevating the homepage and extensive exploration into non-user experience, we aim to develop a replicable UX formula which positions libraries as the “Department Stores for the Soul” celebrating the breadth of activities and services they offer in a contemporary context.

Sunderland Libraries

Grant awarded: £64,000 · Region: North

We will revitalise the library offer by rejuvenating our online presence and significantly improving the customer journey. With an improved digital footprint that has increased functionality as well as investment in infrastructure to support the continued creation of new content, the platform will remain fresh interesting, accessible and useful.

Surrey Libraries

Grant awarded: £56,656 · Region: South East

This project will deliver virtual tours in 30+ Surrey libraries to improve accessibility and signpost to a range of virtual and in person services and programmes of activity. It will build a visual library of images to encourage, promote and inspire current and future library users’ engagement with libraries.

West Sussex service

Grant awarded: £30,000 · Region: South East

This project involves creating a suite of new online assets including professional photographs, films and animations showcasing what we mean by a baby rhyme time, knit and natter and other library events to help us reach out to new audiences. The project includes a marketing campaign.

Timeline

1 March 2023 — Fund launched and opened for Expressions of Interest
15 May 2023 — Deadline for full applications closed
12 June 2023 — Project delivery period began
22 December 2023 — Project delivery period ends