Background to the People's Network project The achievement The People's Network project has revolutionised the delivery of public library services in the UK. Thanks to a massive £120 million lottery investment, nearly all public libraries now provide broadband internet access at free or low cost to members of the public along with access to support and expertise from trained library staff in the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). The project was complemented by a £50 million digital content creation programme called nof-digitise which has led to the creation of a digital learning materials foundry of well over 1 million images, tens of thousands of audio and video clips, innumerable pages of text and many hundreds of new learning packages on a diverse range of topics, all of which is being made freely available through the People's Network. Further information about the project is provided in the following sections: People's Network film View our selection of short Flash movie clips to find out more about the People's Network project. To view these you will need to have Flash 6 player installed on your computer. Download Flash 6 from here. Additional information about the film. Strategic Partners The People's Network project was managed as a partnership between MLA, the New Opportunities Fund (now Big Lottery Fund ) and Library and Information Councils of the devolved administrations. - MLA has been responsible for coordinating and managing the planning, roll-out and future development of the project in England.
- The Fund has administered the funding for the project. The Big Lottery Fund provides lottery funding for education, health and environment initiatives across the UK. As a non-departmental public body sponsored by DCMS, Government determines the policy directions for The Fund's initiatives and The Fund develops detailed policy and programme delivery mechanisms with relevant partners.
MLA and the equivalent bodies in the devolved administrations have provided The Fund with professional advice on the public library sector and technical expertise. MLA and The Fund have worked together on a number of projects to promote take up of the initiatives. This includes the production and distribution of a CD-ROM and magazine in associations with the BBC Webwise campaign, the running of workshops and seminars for libraries, and a national communications programme to celebrate the completion of the project.
People's Network : People's Network project information
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