EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE LIBRARIES’ ‘BRAINWORKS PROJECT’ WINS OVER £7,500 SUPPORT FROM
PIONEERING NEW FUND FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES
- “Brainworks” is one of fourteen innovative library projects across the UK to have been chosen to inspire conversations, curiosity and debate within local communities
- The £7,500 interactive project aims to bring together different generations to explore brain function at different life stages
East Dunbartonshire Libraries’ “Brainworks” project is one of 14 winning applicants selected to receive new ‘Engaging Libraries’ funding from the Carnegie UK Trust and Wellcome to help local communities explore major health and wellbeing issues including stress, obesity, body image and even death in new and innovative ways.
The successful “Brainworks” project aims to creatively engage both young and older generations using input from NHS Health Improvement specialists and scientists. The interactive programme will explore how our brains change, grow and develop, focusing on teen behaviour and the aging process, bringing all ages of the community together to discuss brain development.
“The rationale behind the ‘Brainworks’ is that young and old people are two groups in society approaching and dealing with major life changes and have perspectives that could be useful to each other. Both groups are the subject of popular myths concerning brain function – many of which are being debunked in ongoing brain research,” explained Sandy Marshall, Chair of East Dunbartonshire Leisure & Culture Trust.
This one-year ‘Engaging Libraries’ programme is a £200,000 pilot to help the successful applicants use creative methods to bring people together, from ‘selfies’ and comic books to teddy bears, exploring ideas related to health and wellbeing. The vision of the programme is to inspire curiosity, spark debate and create conversation by enabling local people to get involved in imaginative and interactive projects exploring various health and wellbeing topics on a national scale.
Martyn Evans, Chief Executive, Carnegie UK Trust said: “Public libraries are unique, trusted places at the heart of local communities. The Engaging Libraries programme gives libraries the opportunity to engage with the public on a range of complex health and wellbeing issues, providing a safe space for debate, discussion, interaction and learning.
“We were delighted to receive 120 thought provoking applications to the programme and we are very excited about the range and quality of the winning entries. We’re looking forward to seeing these projects come to fruition and we hope that they will be a source of inspiration and learning for the public library sector.”
Simon Chaplin, Director of Culture and Society, Wellcome said: “Public libraries are a place where people can connect with and create ideas as well as discover information. This funding will help libraries discover how they can help their communities explore ideas related to health. As an organisation dedicated to improving health Wellcome is delighted to be supporting these projects.”
The winning projects were selected with the input of an expert Advisory Group including representatives from the Society of Chief Librarians, CILIP The Library and Information Association, Arts Council England, Scottish Library and Information Council, Welsh Government, the Local Government Management Agency in the Republic of Ireland and Libraries NI.
As a result of the high standard of entries to take part in the programme, additional funding was provided by Wellcome to allow a further four projects to take part in the pilot initiative. All participating projects will be invited to be part of a new, national online network to share learning and best practice.
The impact of the Engaging Libraries programme is to be independently evaluated by social research company Blake Stevenson Ltd.