Editorial

The CILIP rebranding has made the national newspapers with both the Times and the Mail writing pieces.  Whatever happens, thankfully, after the vote the word “library” will remain in the name of the professional organisation and then, hopefully, the organisation and librarians can get behind the most powerful brand that we have.  That is, as long as we don’t use the Mao link helpfully emphasised by the Mail who, if one didn’t know better, one might suspect as having some sort of agenda against public sector workers. Surely not.

Changes

Ideas

CILIP rebranding

  • CILIP members urged to vote against the motion to halt the rebrand – LinkedIn. A discussion about the rebranding process, with the CILIP side presenting their view as that of progress and those on the other side saying that, its merits or otherwise entirely aside, the consultation was incompetently presented in the first instance and then CILIP failed to present a neutral viewpoint when it was challenged, giving a voice only to their own view in their magazine, emails, etc while attacking those who criticised them as old-fashioned.
  • Knowledge People? Attempted rebrand gets librarians raising their voices in outrage – Mail. “a major row has broken out among librarians over a £35,000 attempt to rebrand their professional organisation, the respected Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP).  While that name may not be the catchiest, tensions flared when it emerged that none of the six new names proposed by consultants include the word ‘library’ or ‘librarians’, The Times reported. “.  An apparent copy of the the Times article, with extra attention being given to Mae Tse Tung being a librarian.
  • On the shelf – Times / Letters (behind paywall). “While librarians have been busy re-branding themselves, many libraries have closed or have been transferred to volunteer groups Sir, The decision by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals to re-brand itself (“Raised voices as librarians try to find a better word for themselves”, July 6) amid the greatest crisis ever faced by public libraries is unbelievable. … the public library service urgently needs effective advocacy and strong leadership, not internal debates …”.  Letter from Shirley Burnham.
  • Press statements are not delivered under oath – Question Everything. Highly critical of the CILIP rebranding exercise with “a “consultation” exercise that reminds me of how councils do consultation, I.E badly. The options given were so pathetic I suspect the decision had long been decided behind closed doors and the consultation is just paying lip service to give the appearance of process and buy in for members.” … “my own view is public libraries would be better off if CILIP didn’t exist.”
  • Raised voices as librarians try to find a better word for themselves – Times (behind paywall). “Not since Rasputin was fed poisoned cakes and shot in a library in St Petersburg has the hushed world of libraries been quite so animated. Librarians have been roused from their usual serenity to revolutionary fervour after Britain’s most august library body spent £35,000 on a rebranding project that sought to remove any references to “the L-word”.”

“Lets hope that CILIP will be able soon to focus on advocating strongly the value and importance of public libraries. The new library director at ACE admitted at the Library Campaign meeting that the public library service faces 40% cuts and that there is no strategic plan, with clear objectives, to improve and develop the service. The service at the national level apparently must rely upon “distributed leadership”!” Desmond Clarke via email.

News

  • Cure for the summer slide is as close as your library – JS Online (USA). “A kid doesn’t have to read all that much — say, six age appropriate books — to make summer a net plus, rather than a minus. This led me to the central Milwaukee Public Library one afternoon last week. There are a lot of efforts underway to help Milwaukee kids read, and I applaud them. The library’s programs are the biggest and most important. They’re also great. Free. Fun. And easy to join.”
  • Experimentation and innovation in libraries – Slideshare. What we can learn from lean startups.
  • Falling Standards In Education Could Be Reversed By Library Use – Ghana Spy (Ghana). “The use of public libraries by students is one of the surest ways to rescue the fallen standards of education in the country, especially the usage of English Language. Mr. Johnson Opong, acting Regional Director of the Volta Regional Library Authority, made the observation in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Ho on Tuesday.”
  • Google’s library in the sky grows – PC Mag. “Google has scored a deserved victory in its battle to build the largest digital book library and we should all be applauding—even authors and publishers.” … “Google Inc. notched a legal victory in its bid to create the world’s largest digital books library, winning the reversal of a court order that had allowed authors challenging the project to sue as a group. A panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said Circuit Judge Denny Chin prematurely certified a class of authors without first deciding if the “fair use” defense under U.S. copyright law allowed Google to display snippets of books.”
  • Helensvale Branch Library and Community & Cultural Centre – Gold Coast (Australia). “The new centre will include a wonderful children’s area; reading spaces; a meeting room; space for special events and activities; 36 public access computers; a 200 seat auditorium; rehearsal, recording and digital media rooms; a Council Customer Service Centre and Divisional Councillor’s office. It will also feature a commercial kitchen and servery area and a central social gathering space for informal meetings, social events and functions.”
  • Lisa Hutchins, web developer/public library assistant, North Hertfordshire – Voices for the Library. “I have two completely separate jobs – for part of the week I am a web developer and information architect running my own company with my designer/coder partner. I also work part-time as a Senior Library Assistant for a county library authority single-staffing a very small branch library. These roles might seem disparate but at heart they’re both based on exactly the same principle – advocating for users and making sure they can access the information that they need to go about their lives”

“I think we need to move the conversation away from the cost of libraries and towards their value. I want to talk about the role of public space in forging communities, and to question the narrative of public transport, public housing, leisure centres and libraries as places of last resort for those who can’t afford to run cars or take on huge mortgages, pay for gym subscriptions or patronise expensive bookshops that took their design ethos from libraries in the first place. I believe paid, trained and qualified staff are at the heart of any library or information service. I’m far more interested in building links and commonalities between sectors than filing us all in different silos. And I’m interested in joining in with the Library Voices project to try to get across the wealth of things our profession has to offer, stretching far beyond format or job title. I think education is the answer to most things, if not everything.”

  • Literary treasure hunt in Sudbury – CBC Books (USA). “The Sudbury Public Library has scattered 100 books all over the city as part of a new program called Book Trek. The library wants you to find the book, read it, then release it “back into the wild.”. The program was designed to improve adult literacy initiatives, Michelle Fex, the outreach programs and partnerships programmer told Morning North host Markus Schwabe. The 100 books include a wide variety of formats and genres, designed to engage as many different readers as possible.”

“To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with (a) other government departments and (b) non-governmental bodies on strengthening the role of libraries in (i) promoting digital and other forms of literacy and (ii) providing access to public computers in (A) areas of serious deprivation and (B) other areas, and otherwise furthering national policy.” Dan Jarvis

“I recently had discussions with the Minister for Civil Society, my hon. Friend Mr Hurd and I am due to meet Ministers in Cabinet Office, Department of Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities and Local Government on the Government digital agenda in the provision of the library services. In addition, Arts Council England (ACE) as an arms-length body of Government has identified four priorities to sustain and develop a 21st century public library service including making the most of digital technology and creative media. While many public library services run by the local authorities across England already promote digital literacy and provision of access to computers and the internet, the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) in partnership with ACE and The Reading Agency, launched the Universal Offer’s initiative in January 2013 which included the Universal Digital Offer that defined the minimum a public library authority should provide and what customers should expect from their public library. This includes free access to the internet for every customer for a minimum period of time and staff trained to help customers access digital information. This initiative is being rolled out across public libraries in England during 2013.” Edward Vaizey  holding answer 1 July 2013 They Work For You

  • Obama Tapes Thank You Video To Librarians For Agreeing To Sell Obamacare, White House Bans Public From Seeing It… – Weasel Ripper (USA).  Video of thanks from President Obama to ALA is only to be shown at conferences and not to publicly viewed.
  • Public libraries put up stiff defence in battle for the books – Canberra Times (Australia). “public libraries are defying predictions of their eventual demise, and are reinventing themselves, recording many more visits in the year 2012-13 than they did five years ago. More than 1,962,700 visits were paid to ACT public libraries in the past financial year, a similar number to 2011-12, when there were 1,963,200 visits, and more than the 1,706,400 recorded in 2007-08. Libraries ACT director Vanessa Little said more people were using libraries to attend educational programs, children’s story time readings and to use public Wi-Fi.”
  • Railcar’s last journey makes it a library for north Hamilton – CBC (Canada).  Disused railway carriage used as public library “Larry Paikin Literacy Express”.  “The car will house the community centre’s library resources, and will feature a “First Class” compartment for quiet reading. MacVicar said he expects the facility to be ready by October.”.  Funded by donations.
  • Stockholm library interior – CG Society. The rather wondrous library gets a computer graphics makeover.

“… I work with volunteers too, and I have the greatest respect for their efforts, but they don’t want to work on their weekends and they are used to going on holiday whenever they like. If there’s something they don’t like doing, they don’t feel they need to as they are not paid and if they ever have to deal with an unhappy client, they leave. None of this is as straightforward as the government thinks it is” They are our libraries and museums – Facebook.

  • Poster – Voices for the Library. Poster to advertise campaigning website, Voices for the Library, intended for printing off and displaying in library staff rooms etc.

Local News

  • Calderdale – You’ll be paying for the library you didn’t want to begin with – Brighouse Echo.”A few weeks ago, the Council applied for planning permission to build its proposed new Halifax central library next to the Piece Hall. Only a few years ago, over 16000 people signed a petition against moving the library. Last year, the Council’s own open consultation process showed that a majority of residents favoured redeveloping the existing library building rather than moving to a new site, yet despite the wishes of the public, the Council has refused to back down. The new library will cost £9.25 million to build, money which will in part come from Brighouse residents paying higher Council Tax. The rest, over £5 million will come from borrowing. Clearly the Council has not learnt anything from the mistakes of the last government: not only do they show disregard to the views of the public, but they blindly pursue projects for which they haven’t got the money, choosing instead to saddle the ratepayers of tomorrow with their debt.”
  • Dorset – Stalbridge Community Library closes for hub building work next week – This is Blackmore Vale. “The new community hub is being built on land next to the library and will form one building offering town council and community offices and meeting rooms.”
  • East Renfrewshire – Library up for renewal – Extra. “GIFFNOCK library will be shut for six months as part of a £450,000 redesign. Doors close on August 3, with arrangements at East Renfrewshire council HQ (open Monday to Friday, plus a Saturday service at Eastwood Park Theatre) in place by August 5.”
  • Herefordshire – Take over toilets or they may be closed – Ledbury Reporter. “Coun Harvey also revealed that, because of a £9.5m hole in Herefordshire Council’s budget “cuts to library opening times are likely to be faced in Ledbury well ahead of the library moving to the Master’s House””
  • Lincolnshire – Consultation on libraries cuts will go ahead – Spalding Today.
  • Lincolnshire – Article: should we be cutting public funding from local libraries? – Save Lincolnshire Libraries. Article against closures including seveal arguments. “It’s inspiring to see local communities and trade unionists in cities, towns and villages across Lincolnshire respond swiftly to these proposed cuts by organising public meetings and speaking out in opposition. The best way to fight these cuts is to build a mass campaign rooted in the communities working alongside our redundancy-threatened library staff to defend the services that they deliver as professionals, and to oppose their replacement with volunteers.”
  • Lincolnshire – Lincolnshire – Good Library Blog / Tim Coates. “In the local paper we read that book lending over ten years has fallen from 5m to 3m books per annum and that only 18% of the residents are now active members. What the local paper doesn’t say is that the operation of the library service in Lincolnshire during that time has been appalling. In 1997 there were 1.3m books to lend, and now there are only 700,000 – the fall in borrowing is hardly surprising. Everyone understands that councils are faced with making cuts, but the proper way to handle them in a library service is to devote all the money that can be made available to the operation of small branch and town libraries. Every single central and overhead cost should be cut including management structures and distribution and systems costs”
  • Lincolnshire – Fight to stop Deepings Library closure steps up – Bourne Local. “It would be unthinkable not to have a library facility at the heart of two communities, particularly a growing and substantial community. I think the council needs to think again. I appreciate that the way people access information is changing and I think it is fair the council has carried out this appraisal of what is offered at the library. “I also understand the council is under financial pressure and it is important that all services are looked at with a careful eye but there is a very strong argument for Deepings Library.”
  • Lincolnshire – ‘These changes will betray the people of Lincolnshire’: Louth councillors slam Lincolnshire library revamp – Louth Leader. “Coun Roger Featherstone presented a dossier of information to the council, in which he claimed savings could be made elsewhere by the county council. Holding up a letter to the town council from the county authority outlining how the plans will affect Louth, he said: “There’s no indication of the devastation that’s going to be caused by this, it’s going to be a disaster for the people of Lincolnshire.”
  • Midlothian – State of Art library opensScotsman. “The Lasswade Centre facility will replace Bonnyrigg Library, which closed in June. It is a combined school and public library – a first for ­Midlothian – and will be home to three self-issue machines allowing books to be borrowed quickly without queueing.”
  • Peterborough – Further cuts to Werrington library announced – Swing Focus Team. “From now on, what was once a community facility, will be closed every Thursday and Sunday! But has our Council Tax gone down? Of course not! Libraries are more than just a place to borrow books, and in some areas of the country the local authority has shown insite and imagination, in Peterborough the Tories figure, ‘well we don’t use them so who else does?’ – But as mentioned we DID vote against these cuts, unlike some elected members!””
  • Powys – Mobile library service ‘under review’ – BBC. “Powys council wants to “improve” the scheme and wants users to fill out a questionnaire in order to gather feedback. There are four mobile libraries visiting mainly rural areas every week, making 440 stops across the county. A council spokesman said it was “too early say” if mobile units would be cut.”
  • Sunderland – Final chapter for Sunderland’s Carnegie libraries? – Sunderland Echo. ““I am fundamentally opposed to all library closures, but especially the Carnegie ones,” said Michael Johnson, a local architectural historian and university professor. Hendon and Monkwearmouth are of historic significance, built with altruistic and philanthropic ideals, to help people. It is tragic this idealism is being swept away.””
  • Sunderland – Library campaigner calls for closure rethink – Spark Sunderland. “Helmut Izaks, from the Hands Off Sunderland Libraries campaign, said there was a risk of over-burdening the remaining libraries which will stay open. Mr Izaks said: “I don’t think the council have properly considered what will happen in terms of footfall. For example, at some of the libraries that are going to stay open, there are already long queues to use services like computers.”