The Big Lottery Fund and the Community Libraries Programme

The Big Lottery Fund is providing £80m to support the Community Libraries Programme across England. It is primarily a capital programme to support the innovative development of public library buildings and spaces based on the results of engagement with local communities. The funding is only available to public library services.

MLA and the Big Lottery Fund

MLA is working in partnership with the Big Lottery Fund to deliver the Community Libraries Programme. As part of the partnership arrangements, two Community Libraries Programme Support Officers have been appointed. The two Support Officers will undertake a range of duties based on helping library services engage with the Community Libraries Programme and aiding the Big Lottery Fund with running of the programme. These duties include:

• Providing advice and guidance to library services on Community Engagement
• Providing advice and guidance to library services on the Community Libraries Programme generally
• Participating in events and workshops related to the Community Libraries Programme
• Promoting and disseminating good practice in Community Engagement
• Promoting and disseminating good practice on library design 
• Providing the Big Lottery Fund with contextual public domain library information 

The delivery of the Community Libraries Programme will also be supported through our partner organisations based in the English regions. The MLA Regional Agencies will offer support by:

• Referring enquiries to the two Community Libraries Programme Support Officers
• Helping to co-ordinate regional events and workshops
• Providing expert regional advice on the sector