Youth Engagement Network report launched

We’re delighted to be launching our Youth Engagement Network evaluation report, bringing together two years of learning from our Youth Engagement Network Programme.

The report, which was independently evaluated by Marge Ainsley, shares what we’ve learned from working alongside 20 library services and 236 young people across England, exploring what’s worked, the challenges we’ve overcome and the impact co-creation is having for both young people and library services.

The findings show that when young people are trusted, involved in decision-making from the start and given ownership, everyone benefits. Libraries become more welcoming and relevant, staff grow in confidence and young people feel heard, valued and empowered.

It’s enabled a group that feel that there are barriers in their lives anyway, to find somewhere that they feel valued and that they feel slightly more understood, that there aren’t specific expectations on them as such.

Library Staff member

Some of the report’s key findings include:

• 94% of young people said they felt their voice was truly listened to.
• 92% felt more welcome in their library.
• 85% felt proud of what they achieved.
• 77% gained new skills and knowledge.
• 61% said they were more likely to visit the library in the future.

The programme also had a positive impact on library staff, with 88% reporting greater empathy towards children and young people and 56% saying they felt more confident delivering co-created projects. Many described how their confidence developed through building relationships, experimenting with new approaches and giving young people meaningful opportunities to shape library services.

Our Chief Executive, Tabitha said,

The evidence is clear: co-creation in libraries helps young people feel heard, builds confidence and belonging, and supports the development of inclusive services. The key is to start the conversation, and to truly listen.

Alongside the report, we’re also launching a new co-creation advocacy toolkit, designed to help library staff make the case for co-creation within their own organisations. It contains evidence and key messages from the evaluation report to help support conversations with colleagues, managers, partners and funders to put young people’s voices at the heart of library services.

We hope the findings will inspire libraries across the country to embrace co-creation and continue creating spaces where young people feel heard, valued and welcome.