Comments on: Shhh https://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/2013/02/shhh.html What's happening to your library? Wed, 06 Feb 2013 11:22:57 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 By: John Kirriemuir https://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/2013/02/shhh.html#comment-5653 Wed, 06 Feb 2013 11:22:57 +0000 http://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/?p=3990#comment-5653 They have that right about the need for quiet study areas, to have some kind of appropriate balance between the quiet (for academics, for researchers, for people who want or need to read something in quiet), and the not so quiet (group work and study, social activities, child sessions).

The Hive in Worcester, the collaboration between the council and the university, doesn’t have this balance. The only quiet area for study or research is, literally, a small attic room that can only hold a few dozen people at the most, and the odd small room here and there. The rest of it is open planned and open to all, and the noise travels out of the large childrens area and the cafe into the rest of the library. The university – or, more accurately, the students from the university – does seem to have gotten a rough deal out of it.

]]> By: Sam https://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/2013/02/shhh.html#comment-5648 Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:12:43 +0000 http://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/?p=3990#comment-5648 Thanks once again for all your great work Ian.
The ‘Get involved: library volunteers’ video from Northamptonshire libraries shows for me the problem with volunteering in libraries. Their policy says that ‘volunteers do not replace paid staff’ (http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/councilservices/Jobs/volunteering/get-involved/Documents/PDF%20Documents/Volunteer%20Policy%20July%2012%20.pdf )but every one of the volunteer roles described – school visits for the Summer reading challenge, running Rhymetimes, homework help – used to be done by paid staff not so long ago. Add to this the continual reduction in staff numbers in Northants libraries and it’s hard to see how they can claim there is no replacement of paid staff with volunteers.

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