Editorial

CILIP related things catch my eye today.  There’s three excellent examples of best practice in the Libraries Change Lives Awards, with the emphasis being on partnership with others.  The winner will be announced at the CILIP AGM on 20th September by none other than William Sieghart, whose report and recommendations on public libraries in England is eagerly anticipated. CILIP has done very well in getting these awards together and by getting Mr Sieghart as well.  They’ve also done well recently in  organising the Public Librarian of the Year Awards.

Also AGM related is an article in the BookSeller by CILIP President Barbara Band which is, sadly, still behind a paywall. Barbars has, though, kindly sent me a copy and so I can report slightly on it (but I can’t link to it as I don’t want the BookSeller upset). The article emphasises the advocacy work that the organisation does and the return it gives to its members for their subscription fees. It also looks hopefully to the AGM, wishing it to be different to the one last year that both voted down the rebranding suggestions (remember Information and Library Professionals UK or, as me and others possibly unkindly labelled it, ILPUK?) and also passed a vote of no confidence in Ed Vaizey.

That last may be a problem.  It is clear that many within the leadership of CILIP see that vote as a big mistake, meaning that they have been frozen out of conversations with Government.  The problem is now selling that view to the membership who view the libraries minister as presiding over the destruction of the public library sector by, at best, benign neglect.  That’s a tough sell and, by trying to get back into the good books of Vaizey, the CILIP leadership may be running the risk of being seen by members as ignoring their express will.  This would not do well for the perceived democratic nature of the organisation, especially at the time when that is being scrutinised as never before because of the new governance proposals that would increase the number of non-elected council members. Barbara, though, does make clear that campaigning for libraries is a key part of the organisation and, to me at least, they are indeed doing better in this regard. Whether this will be enough to avoid a re-run of the AGMus Horribilis of 2013 we will know soon enough.

National

  • Leading from the front – BookSeller (behind paywall). An interview with Barbara Band, President of CILIP. Looks at CILIP AGM. Barbara regrets the resignation of Tom Roper and supports the governance review. Barbara says that CILIP was frozen out of conversations with Ed Vaizey after the vote of no confidence in him but “we’re getting that back”. Against volunteers. Supports the cost of CILIP membership “less than a coffee or a pint of beer a week” and points to rise in numbers and “very good value”. “I want to bridge the gap between the council and members”.
  • Librarygame – “Librarygame is a bespoke library enhancement product that adds game elements directly into the library experience to make it more fun, engaging and delightful. As well as giving your library patrons a fresh social discovery interface, Librarygame also provides useful metrics on how your library is being used. “
  • Transforming lives at a personal, local and economic level: the CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award 2014 – CILIP. “Philanthropist and publisher William Sieghart will announce the winner of this year’s CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award from a shortlist of three outstanding library partnership projects published today by the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals. With a 5 minute film of each initiative in action, the shortlist includes a project bringing greater equality and social inclusion to children with severe learning difficulties and their families; an initiative which opens up opportunities in the creative industries for young people, particularly disadvantaged youths from an inner city BME community; and an enterprise partnership which is stimulating entrepreneurship and business start-ups in a region hit by above-average unemployment.” Shortlist is (1) Enterprise Hubs – Northamptonshire Library and Information Service and the Northamptonshire Local Enterprise Partnership, (2) KidsHub Library Sessions – Hertfordshire Library Service in partnership with the charity KidsHub and (3) Studio 12: Writing Leeds –A partnership between Leeds Library & Information Service and specialist local film production company Left Eye Blind.

International

  • Help Wanted: Librarians, Sea Captains – Wall Street Journal (USA). “America may be running out of sea captains and librarians. Those professions, along with occupational therapists, plant operators and scores of others, are likely to report significant deficits of qualified workers over the next 15 years or so, according to a report coming out Tuesday from the Conference Board. The corporate-research organization examined the risk of labor shortages in 464 occupations, projecting shortfalls for a majority of them.”
  • Hey Book Lovers: Stop Paying to Read Books – Psychology Today (USA). “If there’s one thing we learnt from the recent battle between the mega-publisher Hachette and the on-line retail giant and super polluter Amazon, it’s that they both want to increase their take of the reading public’s money … the public library is an enduring example of this socially oriented model—a great facilitator of democracy and key site of the American Dream”
  • Librarianship: A Philosophical Investigation – Ethos (USA). “One of the first things you learn as a professional librarian is that very few people have any idea what you do … Librarians themselves … are in a constant state of evolution, changing with the times to help people think well about what matters to them. Unlike Google, they’ll be central to teaching and learning for a very long time.” see also the response What Librarians Do – Marcus’ World. “it’s what you do with the stuff you find that really matters. What is worth reading? Who makes scurrilous claims? What are the implicit biases and where are the strong arguments in any given text? Librarians are the best people on campus to sort out these claims”
  • The Librarians – “Humanity’s End” Trailer – “Humanity’s end begins at the… library?”.
  • Public Libraries Weren’t Meant to Be Ivory Towers… Chattanooga Public Library: “Come Down to the People” – Citizen Watch (USA). “During these times of economic decline, it is not a responsible use of taxpayer dollars to travel the world drawing attention to yourselves while the people of Chattanooga are left behind. The Public Library exists to serve the people of our city.” see also Chattanooga Library official resigns, another suspended after audit findings – Time Free Press.
  • Technology-enabled Public Libraries Can Help Improve the Quality of Life of the Rural Elderly – World Bank (China). “Over the past 40 years, China’s population has been aging at a rate that took more than 100 years in developed countries … The World Bank in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been supporting Chinese government’s efforts to improve access to information and communication technologies (ICT) and related services for enhancing the lives of rural residents. As a part of the initiative, a study was recently undertaken to assess the potential of enhancing ICT usage among older people in China and examine the feasibility of leveraging public libraries and library-like institutions to serve as venues to foster digital and social inclusion of senior citizens and improve their well-being. “

UK local news by authority

  • Bury – ‘Hideous’ sculptures get go-ahead at library – Bury Times. “Members of the Reinstate Bury Library group attended Bury Council’s planning meeting to voice their opposition to the plans, which are part of the Asia Triennial programme, which will be held in the sculpture centre from September 6 to November 29. The planning committee gave their approval on Tuesday night to the designs, which will be erected in the alcoves each side of the main entrance to Bury Library, in Moss Street.”
  • Hampshire – Hampshire libraries moving with the times – Get Hampshire. “The council is embarking on a ‘bold and ambitious programme’ to look at the future shape and scale of library and information services in Hampshire. The number of people visiting a Hampshire library and borrowing books has continued to decline since 2009, the council has found, while children’s book loans and the use of e-books has increased. The council is seeking to find out why residents are not using the library service and set out a plan to address the decline in use.”

“The programme will look into potential changes to its governance and organisational structure, new delivery models, new partnerships, back office, IT and stock management systems as well maximising the potential of digital and virtual library services to increase the customer base. One option to save money is to let rooms to community organisations, with Aldershot police having already been mooted to be based in the town’s library.”

 

  • Hampshire – Seventeen mobile library stops have been saved but Hampshire County Council is axing paid staff at three libraries – Hampshire Chronicle. “Seventeen mobile library stops are to be saved from cuts – but county bosses are pressing ahead with axing paid staff at three libraries. A mobile service for under fives is also set to be scrapped as part of £93million cuts passed by the Tory led administration earlier this year.” … “Since 2009 there has been nearly a 25 per cent cut in spending on the library service, according to an official report – which also reveals the number of library visits has dropped by 9.2 per cent during that period. “
  • Havering – Allowances bill for Havering councillors under scrutiny – Romford Recorder. “Service areas facing cuts to their budgets include libraries, social care, youth services and cultural facilities.”
  • Kirklees – Rallying call to Almondbury and Lindley residents as library services threatened – Huddersfield Daily Examiner.  Includes photographs of every library under threat, with brief summary of probably future for each.
  • Leicestershire – Still Time To Have Your Say On Libraries – About My Area. “The County Council is proposing to cut funding for four of North West Leicestershire’s six libraries, including Castle Donington and Kegworth. This will put the libraries under threat if local communities cannot take over the running of the libraries. Jamie is looking to highlight local people’s concerns before the Council look to make a decision in September. He wants to speak up for local people. That’s why Jamie is asking to have their say, telling him what they think.”
  • Manchester – Archives+ at Manchester’s Central Library – Museums and Heritage. “On entering the library’s ground floor, visitors are greeted with an open space where people can come and browse to see what’s on offer, with ‘tasters’ to encourage active engagement with the collections and resources at their fingertips. The focus is very much on the visual rather than text-based resources, catering to different learning styles. It’s a digital exemplar project that links to the wider networks of partner collections to bring everything together in one digital environment – very much providing the ‘wow factor’.” … “In the first of its kind in a library setting, the exhibition encourages interaction with the collections – especially with a younger, more digitally-aware generation – by throwing off the ‘stuffy image’ associated with archives and bringing them into the digital age. “

“Central Library and Archives+ has been an overwhelming success since opening its doors earlier this year, attracting school groups, family and local historians, traditional library users as well as those visiting for the first time for a coffee or to take in the surroundings. Visitor numbers reached 5000 on the first day of opening and over 300,000 visitors in the first three months.  Compared to 70% of the building being inaccessible before, now 70% is accessible and open to the public.”