World Book Night 2018: Programme Review and Evaluation

Transcription

1 World Book Night 2018: Programme Review and Evaluation Contents 1. Introduction 2. Programme Overview 3. Participating Organisations and Events 4. Research and Press Release 5. Social Media Coverage 6. Evaluation Methodology 7. Impact of World Book Night - Spotlight Focus on: Mental Health 8. World Book Night in the Future 1. Introduction World Book Night is an annual celebration of reading and books that takes place on 23 April. In 2018, the programme s eighth year and its fifth at The Reading Agency, we saw 42,160 books donated by publishers given away in prisons, homeless centres, hospitals, colleges, public libraries and other organisations with the aim of more closely reaching and engaging people who don t regularly read. This year, there was research undertaken to look at book-block in the British public. A press release was produced that had significant media coverage. This report summarises World Book Night activities and gives an overview of its impact in participating organisations. 2. Programme Overview Important facts and headlines for World Book Night 2018 include: 42,160 books were donated by publishers for World Book Night 2018, comprised of donations of 23 titles from a range of genres including crime, health and wellbeing, literary fiction and comedy. 3 of the chosen titles were aimed at Young Adults. Additionally, one poetry collection was chosen, as well as one Quick Reads title Publishers donated between 1000 and 2000 copies of each title Books were chosen through careful discussions with publishers to establish which titles are best suited to reach key audiences A range of male and female writers were chosen, and 5 of the authors come from a BAME background 4 of the titles address mental health needs

2 Books were given away in a total of 356 organisations, including colleges, prisons, public libraries, homeless shelters, hospitals among others Events took place up and down the country, including quizzes, book swaps, author readings and talks A survey was commissioned to research book-block in the UK and find out how the public view reading and books they don t finish. Brits were encouraged to quit-lit to stop reading books they re not enjoying and find something else 3. Participating Organisations and Events Books were distributed to the following organisation types across the UK: 1 Care home 4 Family learning projects 5 Youth centres/projects (16+) 8 Social and supporting housing projects 10 Homeless centres or hostels 19 Literacy and learning support organisations 35 Hospitals or health centres 50 Prisons and/or Young Offenders Institutions 64 Colleges 69 Public libraries 91 Other; e.g. arts organisations or charities There was a total of 356 organisations. These were chosen from over 1,000 applications, as they best demonstrated how they would reach people who do not regularly read. Of the 356 successful organisations, 109 had not received WBN books before, and 223 were holding an event specifically to distribute their books. Organisations received boxes of either 80 or 160 copies of a single title to give to their users along with supporting resources and guidance. A range of events were held, including book swaps, author talks, poetry readings and quizzes. Many organisations provided free food and drinks at their events, and found creative ways to draw people in. 4. Research and Press Release A survey was commissioned asking 2,000 members of the British public their thoughts on reading, with the results used for a press released entitled: Research reveals 35 million Brits are paralysed by book-block. Key findings of the survey: More than half of us (54%) spend up to 3 months struggling through a book before deciding to give up on it

3 Nearly a quarter (22%) of people in the UK think you should never give up on a book Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James is the book most Brits say they have started but never finished The Reading Agency responded to these findings by encouraging Brits to quit-lit to ditch the burdensome books they re not enjoying and try something new instead. World Book Night is the chance to find a book that works for you. Between the press release and WBN, there were 200 pieces of media coverage: 29 pieces of national coverage 167 pieces of regional coverage 3 pieces of consumer coverage 1 piece of trade coverage Press coverage from our successful consumer campaign with our PR agency, Stand, included pieces in The Telegraph, Sky News, The Guardian, The Times and various BBC radio shows. The Daily Telegraph, 23 April 2018 Excerpt from ITV News, 23 April Social Media Coverage (December 2017-April 2018) The two most active months on social media were December 2017 (when the booklist was announced) and April In April 2018, there were 18 tweets on the World Book Night Twitter profile and 236k tweet impressions. The profile had 10.6k profile visits and 1,117 mentions. The middle months (January March 2018) had between 1 and 6 tweets and under 2,000 profile visits per month The top tweet was on World Book Night itself, with 145,445 impressions, 2,280 engagements, 339 likes and 211 retweets

4 The Reading Agency Twitter profile tweeted on 23 April. The post had 424 engagements, 121 likes and 92 retweets There were Instagram posts on 17 December (60 likes) and 23 April (83 likes, 3 comments) One post on the World Book Night Facebook profile reached 5,861 people, with 53 likes and 19 share One post on The Reading Agency Facebook reached 6,918 people, with 71 likes and 40 shares 6. Evaluation Methodology In May 2018, The Reading Agency circulated an online survey to the 356 organisations that took part in World Book Night The survey ran until 29 June 2018 and received 151 responses, a 43% response rate. The survey asked them to assess the impact of World Book Night in their organisation. Anyone who received a book was also encouraged, via social media and directly through these organisations, to complete a short survey about the impact of World Book Night on them, which received 47 responses. Throughout the following section percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. 7. Impact of World Book Night Organisational Givers 97% of participating organisations rated their experience of taking part in World Book Night as Excellent or Good 95% thought that the books donated by publishers in 2018 would help encourage people to read more 88% said that either all, most or some of the people they gave their books to were people who don t read for pleasure 94% said that World Book Night was received well or very well in their institution

5 Many organisational givers shared positive feedback with us about taking part in World Book Night: It was nice to be able to give the offenders a tangible gift and it had a positive impact. Many offenders either don t read for pleasure, or are isolated, so we were able to meet both needs with this initiative Derbyshire County Council, gave At My Mother s Knee The fact it was a poetry book enabled the more general subject poems to be read out by those interested in creative writing and poetry and generated discussion about opportunity and the reflections of everyday life and how knowledge and reading opens up connectivity NTW NHS Trust, gave Kith It was brilliant! It was lovely as students who are normally too shy to come into the Learning Resource Centre actually came in and chatted not only with us, but other staff and students too. It was a really positive event that has promoted the love of reading with our students - basically like having Christmas in the spring! Ashford College, gave What the Dog Knows I love the ethos of World Book Night as a keen reader myself I can really appreciate the benefits of getting lost in a book and for well-being. I think reading is a powerful tool. I work with parents promoting play for parents and children from families where there

6 are additional stresses and pressures can be mental health issues, poverty, social isolation, and the emphasis is usually on doing things that are benefitting the children but World Book Night is about the adults being the focus Many parents say they haven't read for a long time and wonder how they will find time. It's great to hear back from them later that they have been reading and enjoyed the book, I hope they go on to read other books too Home-Start Mid & West Suffolk, gave My Everything It was, as always, very well received. Anything that promotes the joy of reading and offers a free, interesting book to this troubled community is a highly positive event. Poverty is a major problem within this community so a free event relieves the pressure and doesn t discriminate against anyone. Reading and access to books should be available to all and this event helped to achieve that and highlight the magic and powerful benefits of reading for pleasure; survival during difficult times and selfdevelopment Seacombe Library, gave The Detective s Daughter The books where very positively received. One patient cried stating 'I've never been given a book before.' A dyslexic patient really enjoyed the book as it wasn't too long and they found it easy to read 3-4 pages a day and not feel too daunted by the book. Most of the patients were surprised that they could keep the book: 'It s for me? Really? I can keep it?' It opened up lots of discussions between different ages and abilities. The patients organised their own mini book club on one of the wards to talk about the book. Staff were involved reading the book to patients who had difficulties with concentration and reading abilities. Staff and patients have all been interested in the event itself and asked for further information. They have already asked if we are taking part again next year Derbyshire Mental Health Services Foundation Trust, gave The Woman in Black Recipients 98% of people who received a book agreed that they were pleased to receive the book 89% said that they were interested in the book, with 62% saying that they had enjoyed or were enjoying reading it 57% said that they have read more since receiving the book and 64% have talked to other people about books more Only 30% of respondents said that before receiving their World Book Night book they read every day, with 23% said that they either never read or read less than once a month As well as general comments about being happy and grateful to receive a free book, we also received positive feedback from recipients about receiving the books: It was a total surprise and what a delight. As it happened, I was visiting my sister-in-law in hospital and she was beginning to get confused. The book gave me so much food for thought about what it felt like to be the sufferer rather than family support. It certainly got me thinking World Book Night 2018 recipient, received Elizabeth Is Missing

7 I find it a great scheme and have found the titles recommended very good reads. The scheme has introduced me to a wider variety of authors I hadn't read and that has given me the confidence to recommend more authors World Book Night 2018 recipient, received Satellite Survey response for The Recovery Letters Spotlight on: Mental Health This year, four of the World Book Night titles addressed with mental health needs: Open, Gemma Cairney: A guide for young people questioning what life s all about or dealing with hard times The Recovery Letters, James Withey & Olivia Sagan (eds.): An anthology of letters for people living with depression, serving as a comforting resource for anyone on the journey to recovery Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World, Mark Williams & Danny Penman: A programme of simple, short meditations that will transform the way you see the world Elizabeth is Missing, Emma Healey: A mystery narrated by an elderly woman with dementia These books proved to be extremely successful and well received for many people struggling with mental health problems. It was a nice surprise and actually really relevant in helping understand dementia more when working for the NHS, I intend to pass the book on to colleagues/family when I'm done recipient of Elizabeth is Missing This book was an appropriate choice for those living with severe and enduring mental health issues. It can help provide a new lived experience perspective to our residents and number commented to me the importance of this it adds an authenticity to what is being written. Because it was made up of letters it meant that people could dip in and out as they wish depending on how they are feeling. It also helped staff to increase interest through doing shared readings at our communal house meetings and encouraging residents to share their thoughts on the letters with one another Oxfordshire Mind, gave The Recovery Letters

8 Perfectly suited our users (young people). It was accessible, had pictures and dealt appropriately with mental health and a whole host of subjects and issues that affect young people and teenagers. It was written in a non-judgemental way The Prince s Trust, gave Open Many of the recipients received the books well, they all had smiles on their faces at being given a gift for free! Some of the prisoners were happy that someone had considered them for a book. One particular prisoner was donated a book due to his poor mental health, on receiving it he was happy and then a few weeks later he came in to explain to staff how thankful he was for the book. His attitude has changed, he was livelier and more positive. It was great to see! HMP Risley, gave Mindfulness We held our main event in our 'Safe Haven' which is open every night from 6pm to 11pm as an alternative to A&E for those in mental health crisis. During the night we started work on one giant recovery letter (on a huge bit of paper) and everyone who came in to collect their book added one sentence to the recovery letter. The event worked really well as it was a draw for people to come to the Safe Haven and check it out (which is especially important for the clients with mental health issues who came along because it will be easier for them to seek support from the Centre when they are next in crisis having been familiarised to it when they were relatively well). It went well and was a busy evening. We gave away the rest of the books over the next week to clients with depression that had been referred to us by their GP, Mental Health Team or another agency Mary Frances Trust, gave The Recovery Letters The mindfulness book was relevant to service users with mental health issues and provided a useful talking point we combined issuing this book with quick read titles that were also donated as part of a drive to encourage reluctant readers. I was also able to issue books to those attending a mindfulness course fantastic resource to back up teaching! St. George s Crypt, gave Mindfulness Responses from organisations that gave other books also mention that being given a book had a positive impact on recipients mental health, showing the overall benefits of reading. We have weekly sessions that parents attend but for the week of World Book Night the sessions have a focus around the books and encouraging talking about reading for wellbeing, making time for yourself in the day and how hard that can be with the demands of young children (all recipients had children 0-4 years old) Home-Start Mid & West Suffolk, gave My Everything The patients after the event organised their own book club around the book, and it opened up lots of discussions between patients, staff and carers. Lots of staff and carers went out and got the book too which gave everyone something to talk about and explore together. Making an actual event was a great way to go for me on the mental health unit as it also opened up many discussions about using reading as a distraction and coping technique, and giving a treat with the book went very well Derbyshire Mental Health Services Foundation Trust, gave The Women in Black

9 8. World Book Night 2019 For the second year, the targeted model of World Book Night has proved successful and will continue in World Book Night continues to have a positive impact on the recipients of the books and the communities within and around the organisations who give them out. The programme is able to achieve a broad reach, both geographically and demographically, as well as across groups with specific needs, such as those in prison, isolated older people, those engaged in literacy learning and with health needs. Key objectives for the future will include: To build on our successful PR campaign and further broaden the celebrations to include more general reading promotions To embed fundraising activity into the programme, and promote this in our communications To encourage more engagement from businesses, charities, plus libraries, bookshops and other community reading hubs, unlocking access to even more local activists To further extend our reach to those whose life chances we can help by inspiring them to become readers To encourage more engagement from organisations who are not successful in receiving books To look into possibilities of providing organisations with multiple titles to hand out rather than a large number of one title