Reading from the same page

The library perspective
Oldham Library and Information Service has a network of 12 libraries across the authority, including a volunteer-led library in the Saddleworth village of Delph. There is also a Library at Home service which includes Talking Books and a book delivery service to those who are unable to make a physical visit to any library.

The vision for Oldham Libraries is enshrined in the strategic plan. It outlines how the Service aims to develop and extend provision to create a dynamic, innovative and accessible service, playing a key role in the delivery of the Council’s corporate plan by engaging local people. Crucially, the Service has ambitions to establish local libraries as ‘cultural hubs’ within local communities, where each community can experience a rich variety of accessible artforms from storytelling and author evenings to music, poetry, theatre and dance. Key to this strategy has been the need to take a critical look at all aspects of the service provided. The programming is a key tool by which we hope to attract new audiences and keep current library members active. The focus for the events is now on quality rather than quantity.

With our children’s outreach programme we have moved away from the traditional library craft-based activity of the ‘cut it and stick it’ variety to focus on an arts-based approach. However, for this approach to be successful we have also had to focus on another area highlighted for development in our strategic plan. This is to raise the profile of the service with other partners (both internal and external) to support the library service in its strategic aims but also to ensure that it becomes the service of choice for partners looking to develop their own agendas.

Against this backdrop, the opportunity to work with Oldham Coliseum Theatre is one that we have very much welcomed. The Coliseum’s education and outreach team had been supporting libraries to make the transition in terms of improving the quality of the programming for the past two years by providing themed drama workshops to for children and young people, but the arrival of Richard Hall as Head of Participation took the partnership to a new level.

From an initial enquiry following a performance by the education team during October half term last year, the partnership has developed into something that is strong and palpable. There is a commonality and shared passion about what we do and the partnership has provided the opportunity to blur the boundaries between what libraries and theatres traditionally provide. The partnership has led to some exiting and innovative projects such as StoryLab drama sessions to promote this year’s summer reading challenge, Saturday Playmaker sessions which involve fun, games and drama in the children’s library and the adaptation of one of the shortlisted Oldham schools’ book award titles, John Hegley’s Stanley’s Stick, which will tour around libraries during half term as well as be performed at the high-profile book award presentation evening in November.

Andrea Ellison is Library and Information Manager at Oldham Council.

www.oldham.gov.uk

The theatre perspective
For a number of years the Oldham Coliseum Theatre’s education and outreach department has annually supported the summer reading challenge in Oldham libraries. When the decision was made earlier this year to temporarily close the Coliseum for essential refurbishment, it became apparent that a new home would be required to house our busy and popular inreach programme.

A request to meet Andrea Ellison to discuss housing some of the department’s activities at Oldham Central Library, including drama sessions for young people and adults, yielded an extremely positive response and it soon became clear that a short-term request for space could be developed into a more meaningful and substantive partnership – one that has to date impacted significantly across both organisations.

In discussing how the Coliseum could make use of the extensive facilities at the library, including a fully equipped 80-seater performance space and designated teenage room, Andrea and I quickly realised that the key to making the partnership work was to develop new programming ideas that would make appropriate use of the space available and also enhance both the Coliseum and Oldham Libraries audience development strategies. The joint programme as it now stands provides opportunities for audience members and library users of all ages to meet directors and actors regularly, take part in specially themed family-friendly play sessions and also access a comprehensive arts mentoring and vocational programme, run by the Coliseum’s creative development officer.

The Coliseum has helped to run the performance space at the Central library where we have hosted evenings of new writing and exciting new work for young children and families. The space has really struck a chord with audiences, so much so that some performances scheduled to take place next season are already sold out.

As someone who has previous experience of working across the cultural and heritage sectors, I am delighted that the partnership between the Coliseum and the Oldham Library Service has been and continues to be so successful. In the past I have sometimes experienced difficulties setting up partnerships across sectors, usually as a result of suspicion, unfamiliarity and an understandable fear of the unknown. I am full of admiration for Andrea for embracing the partnership so enthusiastically and also for her suggestions regarding joint programming which include a forthcoming Coliseum library tour of an adaptation of Stanley’s Stick by John Hegley, one of the books nominated in this year’s Oldham Libraries book awards. The library is also supporting a new playwriting competition to complement the Coliseum’s new writing strand called Home Grown.

In short, the Central Library has provided more than a temporary home for our activities. It has become both a creative and community hub that long after the Coliseum Company returns to its permanent building will continue to provide a welcome focus in the town for our inreach and audience development programmes.

Richard Hall is Head of Participation at the Oldham Coliseum Theatre.
www.coliseum.org.uk