Strengths, Interests and Volunteering (Things 21 and 22)

Strengths and Interests

As part of my chartership I have been looking at my strengths and interests to make sure that my CPD is going in the right direction. I conducted a SWOT analysis whilst writing my PPDP and asked my line manager to contribute as well... very open to constructive criticism.

Since studying at Sheffield and writing my dissertation I have taken a keen interest in reader development but this seems to be the part of librarianship that is slowly dying. If you look at organisational charts of ten years ago you would see a full time post of reader development librarian but these roles have now been watered down and folded in to librarian positions. I spent a day shadowing Wiltshire Council’s library operations manager who as part of his role is responsible for reader development from everything to reading lists to the running of the six book challenge, author events and more. I have written about this before and so will not go into too much detail here (Reflections on Shadowing). I have been very lucky that since this shadowing experience an expressing an interest in reader development, colleagues higher in the library service have given me opportunities to work in this field; creating reading lists, helping with stock selection and working  on the national reading well campaign collection (part of the four core services set out by the SCL).

Interests outside of librarianship have helped to influence displays and events including dramatic readings of favourite poets and read the film displays. Looking at your strength and interests and updating your CV whilst in a positive mood can be very beneficial. In terms of interview tips the best I can say is be yourself, prepare well and don’t act your way through an interview. Remember it’s as much about making sure it’s a good fit for you as much as the company you’re interviewing for.  

Volunteering Experience

In the blog post for thing 22, Bronagh McCrudden spoke about the idea of experience catch22 and she could not be more right. Especially in this job market young people are finding it harder and harder to get breaks into employment and not everyone can afford to volunteer for free.

A lot of the experience I have in the library sector has come from volunteering opportunities. When I went to library school I had no specific library experience and felt that I was going in behind everyone else. I have volunteered in a local studies library and a public library whilst studying and job hunting and it was not until I had these experiences that some of the theory I learnt made sense.

After a talk given by David Smith of the Hull Local Studies Library as part of my degree studies I approached him about work experience at the library. This was at a time when the library was moving into its new facility and so a lot of my time was spent cataloguing stock. At this time the library wasn’t open to customers which was a shame but I learnt a lot about the different stock the library held and anecdotes about research undertaken on behalf of customers. I spent a day a week at the library for six months before having to focus on my dissertation.

I strongly believe that the six months I volunteered at Catford Public Library helped me to get the job I have today. By experiencing the day to day running of a library I had a database of knowledge at my disposal for interview scenarios. Again this was a day a week in which I got to shadow library staff, take part in baby rhyme times and activities, learnt weeding policy and helped with school assemblies. This was invaluable experience that helped me talk more openly during interviews and gave me the confidence to go after jobs that I thought I was ill qualified for previously.

I am a strong believer in volunteering as work experience and giving people the opportunity to learn more about a profession that they are passionate about. As staffing gets tighter and budgets are cut it gets harder to find the time to devote to younger professionals who are the future of librarianship but it is one of the easiest ways to promote the profession to a younger generation.

An Overdue Apology

So I started my CPD23 journey back in November 2011 (OMG) and it's fair to say that I've had quite a languid approach doing bits and pieces here and there but I am determined to finish it by the end of this month (it's in print now... I have to do it!)

One of the issues (apart from my hideous lack of commitment and laziness) is getting to grips with these applications with a laptop that belongs in the 80s. It unfortunately has given up the ghost and the secure network at work does not let me download programmes and applications so it has made it difficult to explore these tools. 

With this in mind I'm going to skip on over to thing 20 and explore the library routes project and hopefully come February 28th I'll be able to reflect on what I believe is a truly great programme of CPD . Thanks to all involved in the CPD23 project and may I take this moment to recommend working through the programme to any who haven't embarked yet.

Cotham School Library, Bristol

After attending a career’s event at UWE in November I arranged a visit to Cotham School Library in Bristol with their Librarian. I’ve always been interested in school librarianship but the idea of lone working frankly scares the bejesus out of me (self confidence thing - I'm working on it though). Much like public librarianship I think there are hidden depths to the variety and scope of school librarianship that people don’t realise. This was affirmed after spending the morning in the library. The librarian works in a small team with two other library assistants on part time contracts but the running and maintenance of the library and the stock are ultimately her responsibility. Along with this there is also the need to liaise with teaching staff and the chance to teach information literacy sessions and other library sessions in the library and out in the school.

On the Cotham School website it says "The Library aims to be a whole school resource, providing materials for all aspects of school work as well as for the development of personal interest and recreational reading." The collection is very impressive and in my opinion lives up to it's aims. It also includes a staff collection with the latest development textbooks and a small adult fiction selection. The main library is a main floor and a mezzanine. The latter is a quiet sixth form study area which has a mezzanine collection of post 16 fiction along with a bank of computers and tables. This was very well used in the morning that I was there as it was exam time and free lessons can be spent here. The main floor has a bank of twenty computers, a large non-fiction collection and fiction collection including graphic novels. I was impressed by the range of the collection – the fiction collection runs from the predictable Jacqueline Wilson, Robert Muchamore but also has George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones and Philippa Gregory novels. I asked the librarian about the mix of junior, YA and adult fiction and there are age guidelines on the inside cover of the older spectrum. All issues and returns are run through the counter which means that staff can supervise what is issued. It was also interesting to note that the librarian doesn't use just one supplier and actually has reps come in to see her on a regular basis.

At break time the library becomes a hive of activity. Although there is a strict silence rule enforced there is a general hum of productivity with students using online facilities, printing homework or just sitting down to read for 10 minutes in between classes. Teaching staff are also timetabled on to supervise in the library during breaks and at lunch and there is a strong sense of discipline. The library is open both before and after school and student's are given every opportunity to use the facilities in the library during opening hours.

I know that one of the harder issues in school librarianship like academic librarianship is gaining the support and respect of the teaching faculty and making sure that the library’s voice and message is getting through to students. There is no better way of doing this than advocating your worth and value to staff. The librarian admitted she is very lucky in that she has a lot of support from both the head and deputy head of the school and weekly staff briefings are actually held in the library making it a vocal point of the school. There is still an issue though which to those outside the profession may not seem a big deal but to those who do the differentiation between librarians and library assistants is significant. Selling the value to libraries and their staff to teaching staff and parents is almost as important as selling it to the students themselves but it can be an uphill struggle. Workshops have been held with parents of year 7 students to support reading for pleasure and dealing with book recommendations but with mixed results.

Being here for just a few hours dispelled a few myths for me. It also taught me that maybe I could do this some day. It is a role with many different threads, it requires creativity and the lateral thinking and I truly believe school librarians in general must be some of the hardest working in the profession. I am not ignorant to the troubles this sector is having at the moment and the idea that schools, especially secondary schools could lose this invaluable resource is maddening and worrying in equal measure. 

January Book Reviews

Bit heavy on the YA front this month but it was after Christmas!




I've always wanted to read a Maggie Stiefvater and went for this one purely on the cover art - I know... not best way to choose but that's how I roll! I can honestly say I enjoyed it but am so confused about what actually happened!

Blue lives in a family of psychics but has no supernatural ability herself - she has been told from as young as she can remember that if she kisses her true love she will die - bit harsh when you're 15. This doesn't seem a problem for Blue until she meets Gansey, Adam and Ronan... the Raven Boys, each with their own plethora of problems.... what ensues is a search for more supernatural enmeshed in angst from all characters trying to solve problems beyond their years.

The final instalment in The Caster Chronicles series... Ethan and Lena now live in different worlds after Ethan's sacrifice at the end of Beautiful Darkness. But, like teenage love... nothing can separate this couple. As Ethan tries to make his way back to Lena he encounters the demons and angels of the otherside. Lena hasn't given up either and she and the rest of the gang including Link, Liv and Ridley help each other to bring Ethan back where he belongs.

The latest offering from Pittacus Lore sees the garde of Lorien learning to use their legacies and work as a team to defeat Setrakus Ra.... The action doesn't stop in this third instalment, those that are following the series will not be disappointed especially with each garde member trying to work who is in fact Pittacus!

Moon Over Soho picks up with the story of our lovable bobby on the beat DC Peter Grant. The story literally begins a couple months after the events of Rivers of London and Peter is still learning the magical craft from Nightingale but it doesn't stop him from investigating the murders of the jazzmen of Soho... not a normal serial killer by any means. The joy in these books is the simplicity of plot movement, there is always something going on and we see much more to Peter than just the copper!

An anthology of poems from the last 60 years collected by Poet Laureatte Carol Ann Duffy to celebrate the Queens Diamond Jubilee. Now I am by no means a poetry expert or necessarily lover but I was surprised at how few names I recognised in this anthology. Of course you have poets such as Roger McGough, Wendy Cope and Simon Armitage but more often than not I turned the page and thought who? This obviously doesn't stop the enjoyment although there it does not leave you feeling overly jubilant. This was a reading group choice and it was interesting to note that others remembered subjects from earlier years.

Sharing Knowledge - Volunteer Reader Development Training

Over the last year I have had the opportunity to be involved in many interesting projects within the Wiltshire Library Service. During the Autumn I received an email from our volunteer co-ordinator asking myself and a colleague to develop and roll out training at our volunteer aided libraries of which there are ten in Wiltshire. Twice a year volunteers are invited to a coffee morning with professional staff to receive training, it also provides a chance for feedback and dialogue between volunteers and staff. The training we were to provide was to enable the volunteers to confidently talk about books in the library and provide resources to help them improve their knowledge and help answer simple enquiries e.g. the next in a series or authors of the same genre.

Reader development has always been an area of interest to me but seems to be a dying part of library services in an age of technologies and budget cuts. This project gave me a chance to explore this area more thoroughly in order to provide insight on resources that could help volunteers when fielding enquiries and getting them involved in the idea of a “reader-centred library”, a phrase coined by Rachel Van Riel of Opening the Book notoriety. A couple of obstacles that we had to keep in mind were that not all training sessions were held in libraries and also that the number of volunteers that attended varied dramatically between five and twenty.

After an initial ideas session we came up with a basic format for the half an hour session. We wanted to keep it as informal and participatory as possible and so began with an icebreaker to get the participants talking about the books that they enjoy reading for the first five minutes with a chance for feedback to the group. Trying to stop this conversation in some libraries proved troublesome but at least we have enthusiastic volunteers! This then flowed into a conversation on why we as a library service value readers and the importance of being able to communicate this love with our readership... it reminds me of a phrase we used to use when I worked at Habitat which was “Our product is our passion”, cheesy but it gets the point across! We also felt it important to point out the difference on the way we work as oppose to bookshops. For instance we do not have multiple copies of bestsellers, forty copies of The Casual Vacancy were ordered in to satisfy a reservation list of nearly seventy over the thirty-five libraries in our county. It is not in our interest to buy multiple copies as a book shop would do but paying at 80p reservation charge is not as bad as paying £12.99 for a book you’ll only read once. So unlike book shops we rely on our customer service and other stock, not just best sellers, to keep our readership interested. We take into consideration our readership when ordering stock; we talk to them and display stock in such a way as to enable readers to explore new authors and genres.

The final part of the training was running through a list of resources found in the library both in hard copy and online which would help volunteers to help with reader enquiries and recommendations. Resources such as Who Else Writes Like, Fantastic Fiction, Books and Media and even Amazon which can help find authors and titles.

There was also the option of a practical exercise if time allowed and volunteers were enthusiastic which was a crate of books picked out for display with a couple of obvious stand outs e.g contemporary literature with a couple of aga sagas thrown in such as a Linda Page or an Emma Blair which would facilitate conversation about what is appropriate to display and how we put displays together. This could be seen to echo some of the frontline training provided by Opening the Book which was adopted by local authorities.

All the information communicated in the session was contracted into two easy to follow handouts and added to each of the volunteer libraries handbooks. There was a handout on resources and one with practical tips on book displays so volunteers went away with the information and those who were unable to attend coffee mornings did not miss out.

Due to staff and timing constraints I was only able to deliver the training in one venue but there was a group of four Librarians who delivered the training to the ten volunteer libraries, supported by the Community Librarian of that area. This went surprisingly well with a good discussion of reading habits and recommendations and the volunteers responded positively to the information they were given. From what I gather of the other training sessions this was true across the board but with the session only lasting half an hour and the mixture of people delivering the sessions were also unique to the volunteers that attended, making them more memorable.

This was a first for me in terms of devising and rolling out library training and it was good to have a group of experienced librarians to go to for advice and guidance. There was also the obstacle of producing this for an audience of volunteers who were not aware of library jargon especially when talking about concepts such as “reader-centred” libraries and explaining the key term of reader development. It also gave me the opportunity to work closer with other members of the library service who I may not necessarily see very often which will help me in future projects. I really enjoyed my time on this project and am glad that it was received in a positive light. Following the project through from inception to delivery took three months which meant balancing it with other core responsibilities which I felt I handled well and I look forward to the next opportunity.

December Book Reviews

The sequel to the intensity of everyday life picks up with the residents of Edenfield 8 years on from the happenings of the previous novel.
Familiar characters have new dilemmas, younger characters have grown older and in most cases more precocious... but they're all looking for the elusive emotion of love.

Any Nicholson story is a treat for me and gobbled this one down in less than a week... easily readable with rounded characters and real live dialogue... simple and life affirming and perfect for a winter's evening curling up with a glass of vino!

A disease has wiped out all the people on earth apart from 82 people in a village in Surrey - one of whom happens to be the only person to engineer a cure for Hav3n! 

When Michael retruns with the vaccine the people of Little Sheen have to learn how to survive in a world where they are the only inhabitants and much rests on the shoulders of the 4 teenagers of the village.

Are you part of the church gang or the Wheatsheaf gang? When you're the only people in the world is it easier to keep order? it would appear not! 

A nice change from the distopia/vampire fiction that is drowning the YA market at the moment... and a stand alone to boot!

A necessity for homemade Christmas presents and novice preserve makers! I made blueberry and lime jam and lemon and ginger marmalade from the recipes found and they were really easy to follow. Was also brilliant to read the advice about testing for sets and how to properly sterilise jars... v useful!

 I've always wanted to read Pepys' Diary but when seeing the epic-ness of it I thought this may be the next best thing!

Bastable recreates Pepys' world using extracts from Pepys' own diary and those of his contemporaries... very readable and easy to digest!

A teen series I've been meaning to read for a while, when I realised there was a graphic novel I thought it would be a brilliant way to get started! 

After being orphaned, James is taken to an Orphanage... what he doesn't know is he has been head hunted by CHERUB... the youth section of MI5 - no-one suspects a child of espionage... James gets put to the test in his first mission but will his naivety get the better of him?

The first of The City trilogy... an adult novel from Darren Shan. Capac gets off the train in the city to begin the gangster life he's always been dreaming of... his Uncle Theo starts to show him the ropes but when he is gunned down in front of Capac everything changes... the only person that matters in the city is The Cardinal and Capac is on his way to meet him!

As Capac fins his way in the city with his new mentor not everything is quite as it seems... violent, gritty and magical at times this will keep you wanting more!

After reading Howard's End is on the Landing I felt the need to read this story but I found myself getting lost very easily.

 Mayor follows the Rector's Daughter Mary and her life in Deadmayne. She lives a life of servitude and duty whilst everyone around her finds happiness... A unique writing style but I doubt I'll be diving in again any time soon

A selection of Christmas stories from Phinn's Dales books... if these stories do not lighten your heart you're basically dead inside. A brilliant way of getting into the festive spirit!

November Book Reviews

Bluebell's 13th Summer is one she will always remember but that's because she has someone helping her to make the right choices... herself!A birthday wish ends up with a future Bluebell "Red" tagging along for the Summer as Bluebell meets new friends and enjoying the Summer of a lifetime. Pacey with an extraordinary twist at the end... this story will resonate with young teens and those in the early double figures as Bluebell explores friendships, love and family dynamics... 9+

A touching coming of age story about first love, lust and the heartache that follows. This was my first foray into LGBT fiction and I enjoyed it. It was very easy to forget it was LGBT and think of it as just another teen love story apart from a couple of pages when Sean was unsure how to approach the subject of his sexuality with his loved ones.. these pages spoke outand could have been read separately from the book as a how to. Setting it in a small town gave the author the chance to show the diversity of a small population but he needed an outsider from the big city to re-assure Sean that everything was going to be ok... This Summer changes everything

 I've tried to read The Hobbit and it didn't stick but with the film coming out later this month I thought I'd try it in simpler chunks... Wenzel's adaption and illustrations help move the story along... we meet the dwarves and the elves and the wonderful Gandalf... beautifully illustrated I think I've got the basic plot down!

"Echoing Tess of the D'urbevilles"... the dust jacket is incribed with and I can see the comparison.

Mary is a fifteen year old farm girl in 1830... the youngest of 4 daughters to a vicious father and a complacent mother she is sent to live and work with the local vicar and his sickly wife.Outspoken Mary does not fit into domestic life but the vicar's wife finds her entertaining and indispensible as she grows ill. The vicar finds her in need of help and teaches her to read and write but things are not all as they seem... anyone who reads the classics or has read Tess will be able to tell how this ends but with the unusual style of writing and the unique voice this is a gem to read

One of my favourite authors of all time. I was so excited when I found he had a new book. This story focuses on the significance of time and how it affects everything we do as humans. Such a large subject is handled deftly through the stories of three individuals; 17yr old Sarah, terminally ill Victor and Dor the inventor of Time. Albom's words are contagious, you can't stop reading and I'm still thinking about it now. Beautifully written and happily devoured

The fourth instalment in the enemy series... Children live in the buildings of London hiding from the sickos, the oppos, the zombies, the adults that have taken over the city. But the zombies are getting organised, they are being called to the centre of the city whilst the children arejust trying to survive... recurring characters Dognut, Sarah, David, Ed and Kyle move the plot along and we learn more about Sam and the Kid and the shadowman introduced at the end of the fear. Another gripping instalment but how much longer can it go on for?

When Chris' best friend dies unexpectedly it affects him in ways he didn't realise it could..Chris becomes mute whilst he tries to come to terms with Declan's death, how he feels about Declan's supportive grlfriend and the new boy at school who reminds him so much of Dec. Well written concerning sensitive issues