Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal June 2006 Volume 4(3)

Information & society

Help Yourself to Learning – Scottish Borders

In 2003, the Scottish Borders Adult Literacies Partnership and Library and Information Services (LIS) agreed to participate in a joint literacies initiative and each commit £1,500 annually to provide literacy collections in libraries. By December 2005 Help Yourself collections, identified by the local Learning for ALL and the Big Plus logos, were in all 12 public libraries and on two of the six mobiles which serve the Scottish Borders.

In February 2005, a successful application was made to the SLIC Innovation and Development Fund, to build on the success of these library collections. The Help Yourself to Learning project would employ a qualified tutor for 10 hours per week to introduce the People’s Network as a learning tool for literacy skills. The tutor would undertake a range of activities, including developing a programme of workshops and short courses in two libraries, encouraging self-help access to learning, and raising libraries’ staff awareness of those who might have literacy or numeracy needs. Community Learning and Development partners would provide training, guidance and information, and promote the project to learners.

The pilot libraries were located in Hawick (population 15,000), a priority regeneration area, and Peebles (population 8,500), a more affluent area where latent learning needs are harder to admit.
Difficulty in recruiting a tutor created an immediate challenge, but Community Learning colleagues promoted the project internally, resulting in the ideal candidate. Alison Watson started in August. Faced with a nine-month timescale for a 12 month project, Alison worked double the planned 10 hours per week until classes were running in October.

Interviews and advertising from local media and websites to leaflets and posters, along with awareness training to libraries’ staff, helped to promote the project.

Three types of classes were offered: E-citizen, teaching how to use the internet for everyday tasks; Literacies workshops, offering 1:1 tuition; and Online learning, illustrating free courses on the Internet.
Evaluation forms were completed at the end of the course. Participants said: “The course has opened up the world of computers to me. I never thought I would be able to send an email. There is so much more I would like to learn, but the course has given me courage to explore,” and
“I had limited knowledge of computers and after the course I gained much needed experience and this improved my confidence greatly.”

Outcomes
TARGET ACHIEVED
36 learners 46 learners (inc 6 literacies)
3 /4 x 6 week classes 6 x 8/9 week classes
+5% Help Yourself issues Yes

The project has also provided some valuable lessons. Each partner must know what their role will be and exactly what is expected of them. The project brief should be clear, with aims, objectives, criteria and timescale specified in an understandable and unambiguous fashion. Otherwise, grey areas can develop, leading to misunderstandings, incorrect decisions and time wasted. Administration and planning take time in a project like this – make sure that the necessary time is allocated!

Although libraries’ funding has reduced for 2006-7, Help Yourself to Learning is continuing to develop: waiting lists in Hawick and Peebles are being fast tracked, and the project is extending to Galashiels library. Partnership working between library staff and adult education workers is increasing. Library and Information Services are accepted as an important element of the informal learning scene in the Borders, as members of the Adult Literacies Partnership and Rural Adult Learning Project Board, and are participating in the Community based Adult Guidance Group, supporting delivery of its Action Plan.
Gillian McNay

Information Scotland Vol. 4(3) June 2006

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