The Library Association organised an international seminar at the London Bookfair with funding from the European Union (EU) Campaign for Raising European Public Awareness of Books and Reading. Attended by most of the library associations of Europe, and supported with full simultaneous translation facilities, this was the first time the reader-centred perspective was introduced on an international platform as both Rachel Van Riel and Chris Meade gave presentations.
In 1995 East Midlands Libraries, led by Northamptonshire, held a conference, Words Across Europe, in partnership with the Dutch Centre for Public Libraries and Literature (Nederlands Bibliotheek an Lectuur Centrum) and County Clare Public Libraries, Ireland. The conference was supported by the Arts Council and East Midlands Arts and looked at a wide range of initiatives to promote literature. Participants were especially impressed with the Dutch programmes, both for national promotion of reading and for centralised book selection for libraries. A follow-up conference on promoting literature in translation, supported with EU Ariane funding, was held in 1998.
The British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT) was a partner in the East Midlands conferences and approached Opening the Book to develop a strand to support reading of books in translation. BCLT and Opening the Book both joined the international Network for the Promotion of Books, Reading and Translation, funded by the EU programmes Ariane and then Culture 2000. They jointly created Readers Online Europa, the first multi-lingual website for readers across Europe, managed by Premio Grinzane Cavour.
The National Year of Reading generated many enquiries and the British Council www.britishcouncil.org] showcased the Year in Nepal, Jordan, Bangladesh, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. Grace Kempster, a key champion of reader development in public libraries, moved to the British Council in 2001 and worked with Margaret Meyer, Director of Literature, to promote reader development in British Council programmes.
Since 1999, a growing interest has been shown in the reader-centred approach by many library services, literature organisations and educational bodies in other countries. Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Iceland, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic are just some of the countries who have invited Opening the Book to work with their national organisations. See International for a full list.