Articulating the Impact of Cultural Programming in UK Public Libraries

Supervisors

• Professor Katy Bennett kjb33@leicester.ac.uk
• Dr Tess Osborne  t.osborne@le.ac.uk 

AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) PhD Studentship

Articulating the impact of cultural programming in UK public libraries

The University of Leicester and the British Library are pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded Collaborative Doctoral Studentship from 1 October 2024 under the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme.

The project aims to generate new perspectives on the relationship between libraries and the communities they serve and how this is mediated by, and impacts, cultural programming and co-curation. Underpinned by the work of the Living Knowledge Network (LKN), the doctoral project will explore the less tangible aspects of library life, focusing on cultural learning, well-being, togetherness, and community cohesion.

This project will be jointly supervised Professor Katy Bennett and Dr Tess Osborne at the University of Leicester and by Katherine Blamire and Alice Hiller at the British Library.  The student will spend time with both the University of Leicester and the British Library and will become part of the wider cohort of AHRC CDP-funded PhD students across the UK. 

The University of Leicester and the British Library are keen to encourage applications from a wide range of students and particularly welcome those currently underrepresented in doctoral student cohorts.

The research project

In multicultural Britain, public libraries bring people together and shape the experience of places in ways that we don’t fully appreciate. Whilst they are essential sites for accessing books and information, they are also vital to mixing, meeting and encountering others, providing a focal point of community and conviviality and increasingly understood as social infrastructure critical to collective life, well-being and sociality. Public libraries, then, create all kinds of opportunities for learning through their books, resources, and digital inclusion agenda, their cultural programming and related co-curation activities and through opportunities to be with others, shaping ‘cultural learning’ about each other and a sense of togetherness in (superdiverse) places.

Collaborative work with the BL and the Living Knowledge Network (LKN) presents a brilliant opportunity to explore the value of public libraries in relation to all the activities, cultural programming and co-curation that happen in library space and the significance of these for democratising access to cultural experiences, for well-being and living together better. The project aims to generate new perspectives on the relationship between libraries and the communities they serve and how this is influenced by cultural programming and co-curation. Underpinned by the work of the LKN, the doctoral project will explore the less tangible aspects of library life, focusing on cultural learning, well-being, togetherness, and community cohesion.

Research aims include:

• To take an ethnographic, case study approach to explore the relationship between libraries and the communities they serve and how this is mediated by, and impacts, cultural programming and co-curation. 
• To understand the wide-ranging value of libraries for people and the places they shape, with particular focus on cultural learning, well-being, togetherness and community cohesion.  This means that the project will focus on the less tangible aspects of library life that lie beyond current data collection.
• To create a practical toolkit for libraries that enables them to demonstrate the wide-ranging value of their cultural programming and co-curation activities for communities and places. This will involve developing understanding from the outset on how to determine impact, engaging with (local) government guidelines, including The Green Book (2022)/Magenta Book (2020).

Benefits and opportunities

The successful candidate will be registered with the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment (GGE) at the University of Leicester. Leicester provides opportunities for outstanding postgraduate study. You will be embedded in the Centre for Critical and Creative Geographies Research (CCG), a focal point for world-leading geographical research which employs critical perspectives, innovative methodologies, and robust public engagement strategies to tackle the most complex issues of our time. Additionally, you will be part of the Institute for Digital Culture (IfDC), an interdisciplinary hub dedicated to advancing digital capabilities within the culture sector. With a diverse cohort of academic staff and PhD students covering a wide range of geographical expertise, you'll have ample opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, and intellectual exchange. Whether you're engaging in lively debates during seminars or forging lifelong friendships at social events, you'll find yourself surrounded by like-minded individuals who share your passion for knowledge and discovery. In GGE, postgraduate supervision is research-led by scholars at the forefront of their fields, and postgraduate students have access to outstanding resources available across the University. Postgraduates participate in a comprehensive programme of training sessions on topics appropriate to all stages of their development. 

At the British Library, the student will become part of a vibrant cohort of collaborative doctoral researchers and benefit from staff-level access to the Library’s collections, resources and in-house training and development opportunities. CDP students also benefit from a dedicated programme of CDP Cohort Development events delivered in tandem with the other museums, galleries and heritage organisations affiliated with the AHRC CDP scheme.

This collaborative PhD studentship offers the opportunity to combine academic training with practice-based experience and research behind the scenes of a major cultural institution. This is a unique opportunity to gain a wide range of transferable research and professional skills, including:

• communicating with a wide range of partners and stakeholders, including communicating with library staff and visitors, and learning how these partnerships intersect with a large and complex organisation;
• gaining knowledge in the field of community centred exhibitions with opportunities to experience co-curation, through interpreting impacts and outcomes for wide audiences;
• developing a range of distinct analytical skills and the ability to interpret quantitative and qualitative data successfully in a range of sites, environments and communities.
• the chance to deliver research findings to a wide range of audiences via webinars and in-person talks;
• valuable insight into the learning and landscape of the library sector across the UK, and the workings of local government, councils and other trusts that oversee libraries and define their priorities.