It Makes Sense
IT Makes Sense is a free IT and coding course. Working in partnership with King’s College London (KCL), we have developed a bespoke course aimed at people not in employment, education or training, care leavers and ex-off enders in one of the most deprived districts in London.
I’ve worked in public libraries for just over 15 years in both adult and children’s services and often meet young people and adults who missed the opportunity to attend college or seek further education. Lambeth has areas of high economic deprivation and unemployment and the course aims to be a starting point for attendees who have an interest in pursuing further education, increasing confi dence and improving employability skills. By running taster courses based on King’s Informatics degree material, we hope this may give attendees the confi dence to con- tinue on to further education, improving chances of applications being accepted and increasing chances of employability.
IT in an informal setting The library off ers the ideal setting to run IT Makes Sense. Colleges and other educational institutions are often daunting to our target group whereas we can off er a relaxed and informal setting where students feel at ease and confi dent to attend. The courses will be run in the central location of Brixton Library and eventually be delivered across the borough in our other libraries. When I heard about Library Lab, I collaborated with a member of Friends of Carnegie Library in Herne Hill and senior lecturer at KCL to submit a joint application. I worked with numerous local organisations and was thrilled to get the opportunity to work with KCL’s infor- matics department who provided student volunteers. We continue to work with a range of local organisations to recruit to the course.
Pilot
We ran a pilot earlier this year attended by members of the public and staff mem- bers who will now assist in running the courses. This was a hugely useful exercise as it helped us realise the ways in which we needed to adapt the course following feedback. Crucially, we have made the course shorter and adapted the content. Through this partnership the student volunteers from KCL and library staff who ran the pilot (and will go on to run the courses) supervised by KCL lead academic
40 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
Dr K. Lano, gained valuable experience in training and tutoring and are embracing the opportunity to work with the community. Following the very successful pilot of this project we hope to continue to work more with KCL in the future. The project also feeds directly into our service plan and our objectives to increase digital services in the borough, improve resident’s online skills and to develop staff skills.
Personal development I valued the whole Library Lab experi- ence and have developed my leadership skills through the online learning modules off ered. I also feel I have developed my or- ganisational skills through project managing IT Makes Sense and can transfer these skills to my everyday work as Library Manager. I am also now acutely aware of my strengths and weaknesses following our personality type analysis at the start of the process and am embracing my Dr Seuss characteristics! We were also treated to several amazing library expeditions including tours of the stunning Manchester Central Library and the British Library which were both inspir- ing and uplifting – and gave me lots of ideas for what I’d like to deliver in Lambeth. I have been grateful for the support of the Carnegie Trust team, my mentor Rosemary Doyle (previously head of Islington Librar- ies) and Blake Stevenson who supported us through the evaluation process. I have also received the full support of our library head, Susanna Barnes, my line manager, Oniel Williams and staff members keen to
Caroline Mackie, Library Manager, Libraries and Archives, Children, Adults and Health, London Borough of Lambeth.
be involved. It’s been a pleasure to work alongside KCL and we are hugely grateful for their continued support on this project. I’ve also valued the opportunity to work alongside the other Carnegie partners, exchanging ideas and supporting each other as our projects developed.
Next steps
Following the success of IT Makes Sense, Dr Lano of KCL put in a bid to KCL’s widening participation programme to help with the continuation of the course and received the grant. KCL also hope to develop self-study materials to be made available in our libraries. This will be a great help in ensuring the future of IT Makes Sense and will contribute towards the longevity of the courses and the library’s partnerships. This is a great out- come from my time as a Carnegie Partner.
Look out for the third and fi nal round of Library Lab: applications open on 9 January 2018. IP
December-January 2017/18
Carnegie Trust Peachey
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