The power of nine: Creating a community of digital practice in library services

In January this year, The Space launched our Digital Spaces programme aimed at transforming the way libraries engage with digital creativity.

Public libraries are unique public spaces. They’re perfect venues to test the idea that digital technology and creative media can enrich the lives of individuals and communities.

They offer a safe and accessible space, trusted by people from all backgrounds as a place to simply be and keep warm, as well as somewhere to engage in learning and creativity. Being free to access, libraries can tackle the inequalities in our communities and provide accessible answers to digital exclusion. 

Rich opportunities

We’re already familiar with the rich opportunities presented by embedding digital technology in library spaces, thanks to our pilot programme with Coventry Library Services in 2021-23.

In that programme we supported Coventry in delivering a range of digital experiences and training sessions, which included VR content, community co-creation projects and staff skills development.

The benefits of our digital programme were wide ranging for the library’s local communities: not only did the majority of participants report a highly positive experience of the VR content, but they expressed an increased interest in the technology as a result of taking part.

Most encouragingly, the programme reached audiences from ethnically diverse backgrounds and socio-economically deprived areas of the city – people who might not otherwise have had the opportunity to engage with the digital experiences the library offered.

A groundbreaking community of practice

If one library can engage with digital creativity in such a powerful way, imagine what nine libraries working together can achieve. That’s the opportunity being provided to the libraries taking part in phase two of Digital Spaces: Bradford, Cambridgeshire, Coventry, Leeds, Manchester, Newham, Inspire (Nottinghamshire), Somerset and Sunderland.

The initiative will deliver an array of digital experiences in libraries, ranging from an awe-inspiring VR tour which will visit each library twice, to hands-on VR-180 community masterclasses and funding for creating individual bespoke new digital projects.

While much of their individual content development work will be site specific and tailored to their unique collections and communities, the digital know-how behind the delivery and production of these experiences will be shared in accompanying peer support sessions.

Through these sessions, the libraries will form a groundbreaking Libraries Digital Network. There will be three elements to the community of practice:

1. Action learning sets in which a core team get together to discuss a particular area of interest and help each other work through problems.
2. A learning programme of online workshops, which will include training around particular skills, Q&A sessions with a Space associate or other invited expert and a sharing of case studies by the libraries themselves.
3. The creation of a repository of all learning materials (documents, recording of workshops, links, bibliographies etc) for the libraries to access as needed.

Peer support

This level of peer support can be transformative when it comes to navigating particularly thorny and complex aspects of digital technology. To deliver a VR experience for instance, in usual circumstances each library would need to confront issues surrounding the procurement of licences, content and headsets, not to mention the practical aspects of presenting the experience to the public.

To deliver the VR tour, we’ve worked with partners Virtual Umbrella and Neon8 to ensure each library is guided every step of the way in the process, thus turning what could have been an overwhelming task into an enjoyable learning experience. As the tour progresses around the country, each library will take turns to host and share their experience, building a self-supporting network of digital practitioners.

Similarly, the libraries will have the opportunity to share what they learn as they work towards developing their own unique digital commissions. With funding each and support from Space associates along the way, the libraries will be able to pool a vast variety of knowledge from their individual productions.

Ultimately, we intend Digital Spaces to be a catalyst for culture, creativity and innovation within libraries, enriching the lives of local communities by inspiring people to explore the creative possibilities of technology, art and culture. Libraries play a vital role in society, and this programme will serve to expand and amplify the ways in which they engage with their communities.

What does the programme involve?

The Digital Spaces programme will support libraries to deliver a wide range of experiences and skills development. The key elements are:

• Digital commissions: Each library will be given a budget to develop their own unique digital commissions, tailored to their communities and local needs. They will also receive support from Space associates along the way to guide them through content development, production and marketing and evaluation.
• Audience ‘deep dive’: As an alternative to a VR library, some libraries will opt instead to conduct deep research into their audiences, establishing what they want and expect from digital experiences.
• VR Tour: Thanks to funding from the BFI through the National Lottery, an exciting VR tour will visit all nine library services twice during the year. Delivered by project partners Virtual Umbrella, it will showcase a rich collection of VR titles designed to captivate a wide audience, including Wallace & Gromit in the Grand Getaway, The Philharmonia’s Lark Ascending and Monoliths, an immersive XR experience exploring England’s northern landscape through the voices of three women.
• VR workshops and regional production: Through immersive filmmaking workshops led by Neon 8, priority communities in six library locations will learn the art of 180-degree film production, empowering them to tell their own stories using cutting-edge technology.
• Library staff community of practice: There will be a core cohort of 18 people, plus public facing ‘digital champions’

And finally, the Digital Spaces programme will conclude with an evaluation, legacy planning and further sector sharing to the benefit of all libraries across the country.