Newcastle Central Library

During a weekend jaunt up north I took an hour out to visit the new Newcastle Central Library... I say new, it has been open since 2009! This is part of the new generation of public library and the thing that always hits me about these buildings is how they look and adopt the layout of academic libraries reminding me of Sheffield University’s Information Commons. It was also interesting to compare it with Swindon Central Library and Wiltshire’s new Trowbridge Library (housed within County Hall, Wiltshire Council’s headquarters).

The central library is over six levels with space for exhibitions, meeting rooms, a computer suite, cafe, crèche and all the normal things a library holds including BOOKS! I particularly liked the express zone on level one with different themed displays for quick choice but was thrown that the fiction is housed on level three. Instead the non-fiction is located on level one and adds to the feeling of it being an academic as oppose to public library. I should explain that there are two entrances to the library but in some ways it’s more like walking into a shopping centre than a library (modern design is funny like that!). It would take too long and you would be asleep by the time I’d finished so I'm just going to pull out a few interesting and what I think are key points.

• All library staff are roving in the central library and were easy to point out but became few and further between the further you went up. There are enquiry points but none of the more traditional counters for memberships and queries.
• For the size of the library there are only two bays of horror fiction although there is a very prominent blood-thirsty display but I wonder what will happen to this once the genre dies down.
• The size of the children’s library struck me as odd in proportion to the size of the library but I imagine that children are not the main catchment for the central library. It takes up a third of the floor space on level three along with what you would expect in a standard public library (fiction, DVDs, music, large print and talking books). Whilst we were there this space was also being used for a gaming afternoon which livened the atmosphere and brings an often reluctant demographic into the library.
• Newspapers and magazines were spread out across all levels of the library which could be confusing to first time users. 

The library’s wide variety of services include the normal eBooks, author events, home delivery service but also other initiatives which I believe work in these urban environments such as work clubs, business workshops, Internet taster sessions and law in the library which sees solicitors from Northumbria University School of Law give free legal advice to users. There is a similar programme in Wiltshire not with the law but with health which sees local nurses hold drop in sessions in libraries which has proven very successful over the last two years.

One last point I would like to raise which is along the same lines is the  promotion of a collection called “From Words to Wellbeing” which is much like Wiltshire’s “Books on Prescription” in that local GPs can ‘prescribe’ books that help you manage your wellbeing. In Newcastle Central this collection is kept together and under signage which makes it obvious to all what a person is looking at... the advantage of this is that members of the public can find it themselves and help themselves if they are too shy to ask. In Wiltshire libraries these books are kept in with the normal run of non-fiction and people have to come to the counter... it would be interesting to compare these two services and see whether users are comfortable with one way over the other.

Below are a few photos of interesting displays and initiatives set up in the library. Living in such a rural county it is interesting to see how more urban areas are dealing with the challenges of twenty first century public services including libraries. Newcastle impressed me and there are small changes I can make in my libraries which may prove successful. 

October Book Reviews

A stunning emotional debut by Laura Harrington... Alice Bliss and her family are thrown into unknown territory when her father is called up to fight in Afghanistan. When he leaves the family try to carry on as normal but cracks start to appear almost immediately... an already fraught relationship between Alice and her mother doesn't get any better, boundaries shift, life changes and 15yr old Alice is just trying to keep up

I read Engelby a few years a go which is a very twisted novel and I've always meant to go back to Faulks... Charlotte Gray seemed like an obvious choice and easier as I knew the story due to the film... little did I know it's completely different! Charlotte is an independent young woman ahead of her time in many ways who wants to help in the War effort. She is snapped up by G unit and sent to France in a matter of months where the truths of War unfold and Charlotte learns what it is she's fighting for.... Love is ever present as a purpose for her actions and we follow many characters through their individual battles.

A hard slog but I'm glad I made it through... characters

made by Faulks will haunt you for years after

 A wonderfully seductive and easy read with the complicated lives of a small group of friends Amber, Greg, Jen and Matt. With a group of close friends who have known each other for years they are always going to be secrets, old and new. The chocolate run embeds us into Amber's life as she traverses life, love and the brilliant relaxing qualities of chocolate in a modern world. An easy read whilst ill and a beauty from an author I've been meaning to read for a while... I'm glad I took the time!

Another of the never-ending dsytopian teen novels. This for me was lacking something although I can't put my finger on what.
Cal is just a normal kid, goes to school, comes home, does his homework but then the cracks start appearing, voices are in his head, seeing things in the shadows... and then he is woken from the coma that has been induced in him for 12 years. What ensues is a need for truth, discovery of a new world and the need to find a family you don't remember.

For those that like a bit of quirky with their novels... If you enjoyed the Jasper Fforde Thursday Next novels this will be right up your alley... PC Grant is coming to the end of probation and working out where to go next when he gets sent to DC Nightingale and the magic law unit... what ensues is a case of murder and magic, gods, goddesses, ghosts all in the setting of the multicultural capital... slow to start but picked up pace and now I can't wait for the next installment!

The 2012 Orange prize Winner.. a debut by Miller focusing on the life time relationship of Achilles and Patroclus...like all ancient greek history the Gods aren't quiet for long and we follow the twists and turns of a unique relationship in the time of the siege of Troy... written in a easier style not losing the poetry of ancient greek tradition... easily read with a balance of action and emotion to keep you reading

After following a £10 note around for a weekend Steve Boggan went to the next step and followed a $10 around the USA for a month... with no input or influence Boggan follows the noted from the centre of America in Kansas to Illinois. As much a story of travel around USA what stays with you is the people Boggan meets along the way and the trials they face in modern day America... the kindness of strangers is abundant.. an interesting perspective and a quirky way of viewing modern american society.

Reflections on Shadowing

As part of my Chartership journey I have been taking the opportunity to shadow various member of the Wiltshire Library Service, to see what skills I will need to develop in order to progress on my professional path.

There is always an air of mystery wrapped around managerial positions and being able to shadow these roles gives a human angle which makes it all seem less scary for want of a better word. I have been very lucky to spend time with colleagues and question them about their own professional experiences, their time in the service and how they feel their jobs have changed over the last few years and where they may be in ten or twenty years time.

I have recently spent days shadowing a Community Librarian (the next rung) and our Library Operations Manager who amongst multiple responsibilities holds a managerial role over the stock and budgets for the county and reader development (areas that I am particularly interested in). Both colleagues were happy to give up a day to have me tag along and question them incessantly about present roles and challenges but I also found it very interesting to get their views on where they feel Wiltshire’s library service and public library services in general are heading.

For example, 5 years ago each library service would have a dedicated reader development librarian who would be responsible for reading promotions such as the six book challenge, quick reads, author talks and library reading groups along with regional and national programmes such as the National year of Reading in 2008. In the present climate this very important role for libraries has been intertwined with other responsibilities and does not seem to have a dedicated post anymore, more and more it seem it is folded into stock unit positions, outreach librarian roles and in some cases given as added responsibilities to library assistants and general librarians. When speaking to our operations manager about this he pointed out that not having dedicated roles for reader development meant that implementing national strategy can be very difficult. As reader development roles are spread over different layers of staff being able to attend meetings, conferences and committing to programmes becomes harder. Where some staff have control over budget and capacity to green light projects straight away others have to go back to their authority and sell an idea, this makes regional and national projects harder to get off the ground as you are unlikely to get a unanimous verdict on any given day for multiple authorities.

In my opinion shadowing provides a brilliant opportunity to understand colleagues various roles and the chance to talk about the service; it’s past, present and future. Being able to spend time with colleagues I would not normally interact with is also helpful on a personal level, to put faces to names and understand better how you can work together. Shadowing is an inexpensive and  yet valuable form of CPD and I feel it has helped me understand more about the services core goals and the future that we face. It is a worthwhile and educational experience and above all showed me what skills I need to develop to rise to these positions in the future.

Events, Conferences and Advocacy (Things 15 and 16)

Events and Conferences

I have been in the library profession for nearly three years now and have had the chance to attend a number of professional events and conferences. I know it is stupid to say but here it goes anyway... I am always taken aback by the friendliness and welcoming atmosphere at conferences. There always seem to be two cliques though... professional conference goers/organisers and those that get to attend a conference a year. I’m not in anyway surprised by the welcoming atmosphere and I love the opportunity it gives for me to network and put Twitter names to faces but I also feel somewhat like an outsider twice over, as a professional who doesn’t get to attend very many conferences and as a public library Librarian. In regard to the latter it is more often than not at conferences I attend that I am the only delegate from the public sector. This may be partly due to the climate we find ourselves in at the moment but I also feel that many conferences are aimed at the academic/private sector.

Then why I hear you say don’t you speak at one of these conferences or events? And the answer comes back... lack of self confidence, time and resources. I know it’s an excuse but it’s the one that I’m using for the moment. Not to say that the conferences I’ve attended have not been informative, helpful and educational but a balanced delegate list would help to advance networks and the sharing of best practice. These conferences and events are also helpful with keeping up with current awareness and building on my knowledge of the wider profession.

The idea of presenting at a conference or event scares the living death out of me I’m not going to lie but I think I would relish the chance to present a view of the public library sector at the moment. Unconferences such as Library Camps go some way to helping those like myself who aren’t gifted public speakers but the other side of the coin is working out whether you have something to contribute which is valuable to the profession or whether I’d just be filling time in a programme but I think that’s an issue I need to get over rather than a professional opinion.

When I was a student I was a representative of the North East CDG. With two student representatives and members of the committee we organised a careers event for that year’s librarianship intake. This included guest speakers from alumni and staff sharing their experience of the job market. I was also in that year part of the librarianship social society and so this helped me understand the organisation behind events in terms of finding a viable venue, and organising a programme attractive to your target audience. This event was attended by approx 25 students who gave excellent feedback and was a brilliant first step into networking and establishing professional relationships which are still helping me today.

Advocacy

I was lucky enough to be published in the Pubic Libraries Journal (PLJ) before it’s cessation in 2010 and have also written pieces for group newsletters regarding events and visits attended. This blog is also a perfect advocacy tool and I like to think people learn a little bit more about modern librarianship by reading it. The Internet and Twitter have become amazing advocacy tools over the last few years and the media are focusing a lot on libraries in the present climate and yet I still have people come into the library to sign up that are astounded when I tell them there is no charge.

This is why I believe events such as National Libraries day are so important to promote the versatility and breadth of the modern library service.  Now more than ever advocating our profession is essential, not only educating the world at large but those users who have only scraped the surface of our services.

I have not been a part of any national advocacy at large but have taken part in some on a local scale and getting out into the public whether it be a street stall or a school assembly and setting right some of the myths surrounding public libraries. These events needs to be well organised and publicised but are well worth the effort. It is something I would be very interested in pursuing given the chance and time.

September Book Reviews

Beautifully written coming of age story about first love. River and Flynn are from different schools, but when they come together to perform Romeo and Juliet sparks definitely fly. But as the star crossed lovers become closer not everything is always at it seems.

An amazingly thought provoking story with one liners that will stay with you long after you've finished the book. Eddie has had a humdrum life but as he dies and is made to look back he realises just how much of an effect you have on those around you without realising.

An excellent kids story set in the wonderous Whippet Hotel. This isn't just any hotel though... set between the floors are hidden rooms, mysteries and tunnels that lead into the beyond. Leo the maintenance man's son and employee of the Whippet has two days to find out just what mysteries are to be discovered with the help of Remi (the doorboy) and Betty (the duck!). A brilliantly magical story for 7-11 yrs.

This can be seen as along the same lines as Split Second - a situation seen from may different perspectives. A child murderer and the resulting consequences on his family and the family of his solicitor. The question is not innocent or guilty but at what cost do you follow principles and how far are you willing to go to protect those you love

A Future for OA in Academic Libraries?

The movement towards OA has always been a point of interest for me since I studied the Green and Gold roads during my MA year in Sheffield.

 For those who may not know OA (open access) is exactly that – a move toward access for everyone to academic papers and publications via either the gold road (funded by authors, institutions or funded for the author) or green road (published in institutional repositories, OA journals or hybrid journals where some articles are author paid and others are traditionally published). An acknowledged definition is

“free availability on the public internet permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search or link to the full text of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable for giving access to the internet itself”.

                The Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002).

The implications for the access and dissemination of research through OA are staggering but like anything there are pros and cons. The work contributed by academics and researchers and the models put forward for OA by publishers and librarians are making institutional repositories more and more valuable. Therefore I was very interested to see the news in Update regarding the SAGE commissioned report that came out of a round table on OA attended by academic publishers and librarians earlier this year. This report Moving towards an open access future: the role of academic libraries focuses on the next steps of OA, still in its relative infancy, and how Academic Libraries factor into it. (www.sagepub.co.uk/oareport )

Reading through the report I was struck by a few things – mainly the global reach and potential of OA and whilst those in attendance at the round table believe that there could be a growth in OA papers of between 20-50% in the next ten years it is a far cry from the Horizon analysis of OA that predicted that by 2015:

                “Digital anything, anywhere, anytime, and anyhow will be the expectation.”

ARL Digital Repository Issue Taskforce (2009: 32).

And there is still a discrepancy between what is published by OA routes in different subjects. There is no doubt that OA is seen as more transparent than subscriptions and there are benefits for students to collaborate on a global scale, not to mention partnerships with affiliated institutions over the world.

Reading this report there is no doubt that the growth and success of OA can be influenced by Academic Librarians. They play a key role in information access and as OA grows it will be Academic Librarians who will be looking at collection development, promotion of materials and the budgets allotted. It will also be Librarians that help in the teaching of the information found in these OA articles and Information Literacy will play a big role. One point made, a con of OA, I’m going to put in simple terms, is what’s to stop students bypassing the library if articles they require are OA, freely available via Google or links on Wikipedia. One answer to this taken from the report is

 ‘We’ve collected materials so people can read them. The challenge is to make unique materials widely available in the digital world’.

Librarians work in a dynamic and evolving society and part of our job is to evolve with technology and culture. This can be seen with the introduction of RFID technology, the changing role of information and access and the need to advocate our unique selling points.

For OA to thrive there will need to be closer working between publishers and librarians and there may be issues of budget to overcome but OA is definitely a player in the future of research and therefore has implications for academic librarians the world over. I am glad that this is an area which is thriving and getting the advocacy and focus it deserves.

Catch Up Time... Online Tools (Things 12, 13 and 14)

Back to the library stuff! Needed a bit of a catch up on my 23 things so am being cheeky and rolling social media, Google docs etc and referencing all in one!

Thing 12 – Social Media

The first question how social am I on social media... yes I have IDs on the main social networking sites Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and am getting more familiar with LISNPN but I do feel like I’m still a bit of a lurker in a professional capacity. I’ve caught up on a couple of #UKLibchats after they’ve happened and had a brief foray into #chartership chats but never gone further than this. It may be the English in me but there seems to me something strange and slightly rude in just randomly picking a twitter “friend” and striking up a conversation. Yes, I have colleagues who I have bumped into once or twice at conferences and work shops but these “relationships” are small talk at best. There’s a fine balance in a working relationship and I suppose I haven’t found that yet, mixing the social with the professional for whatever reason it may be but this thing has given me a push to try and start becoming more involved in the online community whether it be through forums, Twitter chats or the odd email back and forth. I suppose what I’m saying is I may have to get over myself slightly!

Thing 13 – Google Docs, Dropbox and Wikis

I have had brief experience with each of the above through different projects I have been involved in whether that be inter-organisation or on a CILIP or networking level. Google Docs is very often used for #uklibchat agendas and I can see the advantage in this when you have a large group using and working on the same document. This, if I had thought about it, would have come in very handy a few months ago on a project that I was working on with colleagues at different sites in Wiltshire but the issue I have with a lot of these new resources is the downloading of different packages, applications etc and this isn’t always possible at work with the nature of our corporate firewalls and security. When you are working on a network that is accessible from anywhere it negates the need for things such as Dropbox and Google Docs but I can understand that in the future when I may be working with different authorities on regional issues that these applications will come in very handy.

My first experience with contributing to Wikis has been very recent when I was involved in LibcampSW. Again, this is an excellent tool which leads to multi-agency working and is a great aid in collaborative working. This would have also been very helpful when at university for societies and project working. Unfortunately just a few years too late but I look forward to finding a way to use this tool in the future.

Thing 14 – Zotero, Mendeley and CiteULike

These are all referencing tools and in all honesty since my dissertation I have thankfully not had a need to use them although I will revisit them when compiling my Chartership portfolio. When writing my MA dissertation I used Endnote as it was championed by teachers and students and I was given the program for FREE! (Probably not the best reason I know!) I found it very easy to get to grips with after initial struggles but I suppose in my techno-phobic ways I have never felt the need to use it again or explore it’s further attributes.

Whilst in my current role I can honestly say I’ve never been asked for referencing tools but taking part in programs such as CPD23 helps to keep my awareness up and I imagine if I changed sector the information learnt here would hold me in good stead for interviews and day-to-day enquiries.