Grants
Round 1

LibraryOn's first grants round gave £1.09m to public libraries in England.

Information for Round 1 grantees

Grants guidance

Application portal

Interim monitoring report

Final monitoring report

Overview

We received 68 applications in total, representing just under 70% of all library services in England. Of the initial 68, 43 were invited to submit a full application. 27 of those applicants received funding.

Our decision-making process had two stages. The first presented our 68 Expressions of Interest to a panel which included an Arts Council England representative and the Digital Lead for Libraries Connected. Applications included upgrading existing websites or creating new ones, digital marketing activities and the purchase of new software. The total value of these applications came to just under £1.09m.

In the second decision-making phase, we assembled a panel of sector experts, including voices from CILIP, the Good Things Foundation and former heads of library services. All full applications were considered and discussed in detail to ensure a good geographical spread and range of activities.

Grants recipients

The panel awarded funding to 27 projects with a total value of £1,080,846:

In the North, eleven projects were funded, including a new website for Sunderland Libraries to revitalise customer experience; a digital advertising campaign in Sefton; an animation and VR project working with young people in North Lincolnshire; a new library app in Kirklees and upgraded events booking for Gateshead.

The Midlands received funding for two applications, including a website refresh, virtual floor plan, photography and library app for Stoke-on-Trent; and a library app for Leicester Libraries.

London had five successful applications. They included a collaboration between the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) and Camden Libraries; an online discoverable catalogue in Lambeth; and an interactive website for five projects for Newham.

The South East received funding for five. They included creation of online assets such as photography, film and animation for West Sussex; virtual tours and photography in Surrey; and Suffolk reimagining its website’s user experience.

In the South West, four projects were supported, including online space booking for Libraries Unlimited; a new website in Gloucestershire; and an online history and archive project for Southampton.

Awards were also given to three consortiums, accounting for 20 services around the country. Activities include:

Ask for a Book - a website providing personalised book recommendations from librarians.

A film and photography project - reflecting findings from user research, where people said they would be more likely to visit a library if they could see what the spaces and events looked like.

Website upgrades which will help local libraries link up with LibraryOn.

Awarded projects

Library Service (A–Z)

Showing 6 – 10 of 26 grants

GLL Greenwich Libraries

£70,000

London

GLL will simplify the customer journey by delivering a single destination for customers to discover, engage and access library membership without having to visit different websites/platforms. Current disparate systems will be consolidated using data feeds to provide an enhanced customer experience that is easier to find and use.

Gloucestershire Libraries

£30,000

South West

To create a stand-alone website outside of the Council's corporate website allowing us to offer greater flexibility. This year (2023) we have become an Arts Council NPO. This is an important project to boost customer experience, accessibility online and direct digital communications to existing and potential library customers.

Hertfordshire

£21,100

South East

Our project will: - Extend digital access to and participation in events across Hertfordshire Libraries, utilising streaming equipment and hosting content on a high-quality YouTube channel. - Raise awareness of our services, achieving greater engagement, online and in person. - Create a 24-hour library offer, which customers can enjoy outside physical opening hours.

Kirklees

£10,326

North

Kirklees Libraries' digital offer does not include a mobile app; customers currently need to use a web browser. We propose to enhance our service by acquiring "BLUECloud" Mobile, an add-on to our library management system which will provide a whole host of service improvements not currently available.

Lambeth Libraries

£45,607