I'm sitting writing this on the Virgin train from Wigan to Euston (wifi on trains -- what next) after four days of events up north. Great events, all of them in libraries, none in book stores, with lively audiences and lots of interesting and thought-provoking questions.

Trips like this reinforce my view that it's important for authors to get out and meet both the public and the busy hard-working armies of professionals in the library services out there. The occasional visit to a well-organised library event benefits everyone. Here are some of the factors that I think can make these ventures work.

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<ul>
	<li>When possible always have more than one author talking. It's more interesting for the audience when two authors can converse with one another, and you reach a broader group too. I was lucky to be in the company of the wonderful Ann Cleeves in the north east, who made our events there far more thoughtful than they could have been on their own.</li>
	<li>Library events work best in libraries that have developed their own communities in advance. If anyone wants to see hwo this works I'd advise them simply to head off to the north east and talk to the skilled library people in places like Newcastle, North and South Shields and Gateshead. These are some of the best-integrated libraries in the country -i incredibly popular with many active reading groups and efficient publicity machines. The new Newcastle Central Library, for example, has five thousand walk-in customer <em>per day.</em></li>
	<li>Publicity, well in advance, is important. A poster in the library itself won't suffice. All of the libraries I've visited, from Newcastle to Wigan, got the publicity right long before the event took place and it showed in the turnouts.</li>
	<li>All these libraries sold books at the events (or more accurately handed sales over to a local bookseller). Sales are important if publishers are to support library events too.</li>
	<li>Time and money are at a premium here. Ann worked closely with the north east libraries to set up five events over three days. This was a good use of our and their resources. It would have been a lot less worthwhile for me to trek up all the way to the north east for one event. It would be very useful if different library services had some system that made the most of authors' time by combining events in neighbouring areas into a joined-up tour. Makes a lot more sense to do five events in three days than one event in two with travelling. The north east has got this off to a tee -- the rest of the country needs to learn from them.</li>
	<li>If it's just one author doing the talking something it's no bad idea to offer something more than a simple speech. I show photographs of locations from my books. Other people have used actors to read from their work. When we're on the road like this we're travelling entertainers. We need to remember that we have to entertain.</li>
</ul>
Libraries often get overlooked in the book business because, in raw economic terms, they don't seem very important. But as the retailing landscape changes, and bookstore events become rarer and ever more difficult, libraries are fast becoming one of the most important ways authors can reach their readers directly, in person. It's in everyone's interests -- writers, publishers, libraries and most important of all, our readers -- that we make the most of the growing opportunities available to us.