Librarians and publishers will be coming together on Thursday 17 January at Southwark's Canada Water Library when, with The Publishers' Association, we will be hosting the Digital Skills Sharing wrap event.

The event will showcase the work of six teams of publishers and librarians from around the country who have been working together on using new digital approaches in a ten month-long digital skills sharing project. The skills sharing teams will share their highlights, challenges and learning.

The event will also feature a keynote speech on Digital Public Spaces from journalist and commentator Bill Thompson, and a panel discussion on Compelling Reader Experiences in the Library of the Future with Stephen Page, CEO Faber and Faber; Liz McGettigan, Libraries and Information Services Manager at City of Edinburgh Council; Nick Stopforth, Head of Doncaster Libraries; and keynote speaker Bill Thompson.

The project was launched on 30 April 2012 and aimed to provide library services with new digital skills and the confidence to innovate. The overarching goal was to help librarians develop and enhance digital skills, enabling the library sector to amplify its work with existing audiences and develop new audiences in diverse ways, appropriate to a 21st century library service.

A full, final project report will be available in February.

The project was funded by Arts Council England, as part of its Library Development Initiative. It has been delivered through our library/publisher consortium, which involves 40 publishers and the whole UK library network, in creating successful and exciting events and activities for readers. It responds to 2011 research which showed that only 3% of library services have a digital strategy, and that 64% of library authorities want help with using digital media to develop their reading offer.

Get involved

Read the post-event press release or, for more information about the project and resources created, visit the project website.