The new normal, 2020

Editorial

The last couple of weeks have been marked by the settling down of the new normal. More library staff have been redeployed to other services and more people continue to discover and use library online resources. What’s not yet clear is when libraries will get back to normal and what that will be. Will there need to be screens between more distanced out computers? Should library books have their plastic jackets removed? Who knows. Hopefully, hopefully, we will find out soon.

Take care, keep well.

Changes

• Luton – Now run by Active Luton leisure trust, not Luton Culture.

National news

• The Bookseller’s Library of the Year Award launches despite lockdown – BookSeller. “The coronavirus crisis puts libraries—alongside all the rest of us—in an unprecedented situation. Yet we still want to recognise the crucially important work they do, through thick and thin. A shortlist of outstanding libraries will be profiled in a special issue of The Bookseller to be published in July; that issue will also reveal an overall winner, who will receive a golden Nibbie, the coveted trophy of the British Book Awards, and be named Library of the Year 2020.”
• CILIP moves celebrations for 2020’s Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal winners – BookSeller. “CILIP is postponing the winners’ ceremony for the 2020 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals and extending its Shadowing Scheme until October, taking into account the government’s advice concerning the ongoing pandemic.”
• Libraries from home – Libraries Connected. “We want to help families to choose live and recorded events not just from their own library service but anywhere in the country. We’re also promoting activities to keep adults connected through library reading groups and book discussion groups.”. Lists five services each doing rhymetimes, storytimes, lego clubs, reading/book groups. Also “efestivals” and code clubs. Also mentions World Book Night and Get Creative At Home. Lists e-resources available.

“Local libraries are important community hubs and a fantastic source of entertainment and education for people. While we all stay at home to protect the NHS and help save lives, I am delighted to see so many libraries increasing their digital offerings through initiatives like this.”

Libraries Minister, Caroline Dinenage:

• Libraries see new online memberships soar amid lockdown – Breaking News. “New online library memberships have rocketed by up to 770% in some parts of the UK, as the nation turns to books for solace during the Covid-19 outbreak.”
• Public library services and Coronavirus: GLL – Public Libraries News. A summary of the first “closed” week amongst GLL library services.
• Yorkshire library volunteers must be treasured – The Yorkshire Post says – Yorkshire Post. “It is simply not feasible for local councils to pay for full-time professional librarians at every remaining branch in the county, the desire of some.” … “And that means supporting those volunteers, backed up by paid library staff,”

International news

• Austria – Austrian museums, libraries can reopen from mid-May as lockdown eases – Reuters. “The conservative-led government says the action it took early in the outbreak and the fact infections are increasing by less than 1% a day make it possible to reopen parts of the economy, but it will make adjustments if infections accelerate.”
• Canada – “We can pack 850 food hampers in two hours”: How the Toronto Public Library turned its branches into food banks – Toronto Life. “The discussions to turn libraries into food banks happened a day or so after the decision to close the branches. We see libraries as community hubs and librarians as public servants… Almost right away, we decided to redirect our resources to help with this critical need. We have 100 buildings in neighbourhoods all across the city. We realized, “Okay, we can do this.” The library handles materials all the time. We do plenty of packing and unpacking. We work with communities. It just made sense.”
• Finland – Finnish libraries adapt to life under quarantine – The Mayor. “while these individual approaches are proving to be somewhat effective, municipalities are lobbying for a nation-wide approach that would bring together all local libraries in a single structure that is able to accommodate the needs of all Finnish citizens who are on the lookout for a good book to pass the time.”
• Germany – Angela Merkel says small shops can reopen and considers easing restrictions on schools, despite Germany seeing its deadliest day of coronavirus deaths, with 285 fatalities yesterday – Mail. Bookshops to reopen.
• Global – “Never let a serious crisis go to waste”: Libraries transforming in the age of Corona – Christian Lauersen. Lists the various ways libraries are responding to the crisis.
  • COVID-19 and the Global Library Field – IFLA. “The information and resources below are provided on a non-exhaustive basis but will be updated regularly. It is based on publicly available information, and that submitted to updates@ifla.org. We welcome additional ideas, references, suggestions and corrections to this address. Please see also our  FAQs specifically concerning IFLA.”
• Greece – Writing a fairytale together: an initiative from Katerini Public Library (Greece) – Naple Sister Libraries. ““One day I dreamt of becoming a doctor. I think I’ve always wanted to become a doctor. Then, I thought I was too young to make such an important decision. I picked up my toys, placed them in the magic chest and off I went…”.
• Spain – #TheLibraryatHome: the answer of Huesca Municipal Libraries (Spain) to the coronavirus – Naples Sister Libraries.
• USA – COVID-19: How Libraries are Responding & How to Keep Yourself and Your Team Productive and in Good Spirits – SirsiDynix. “onspiring responses of libraries across the country and discuss how to gauge individual and team morale while balancing management during a time when staff may feel uneasy”
  • Hennepin County tells library workers to staff homeless hotels or take PTO – CityPages. “Those who weren’t able or willing would have to start using their paid time off days. Should they run out of PTO, they could borrow up to 240 hours of leave and go into debt with the county. Their final option is to take unpaid leave.”

Local news by authority

• Aberdeen – Aberdeen libraries take Bookbug online for children – Evening Express. “On Saturday, the first online session took place, with a 30-minute video created to keep children entertained while continuing to support their development.”
• Aberdeenshire – Aberdeenshire Libraries team tasks 3D printers to create protective visors for health and social care staff – Grampian Online. “using the three 3D printers at libraries headquarters in Oldmeldrum to create protective visors for Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership colleagues.”
• Brighton and Hove – Letter: Our libraries must be treasured because reading is a pleasure – Argus. “People relish books. We must take this opportunity to ensure that our libraries system is better placed to cater for this, by restoring the rôle of librarians in book selection.”
• Cambridgeshire – Coronavirus: Record numbers using online library service during lockdown – Peterborough Telegraph.
• Cheshire East – Cheshire East Council welcomes support for heritage sector – Cheshire East Council. “The Heritage Emergency Fund is accepting applications for funding from £3,000 to £50,000” inc. libraries.
• Cheshire West and Chester – Cheshire West offering online movies, drama, crafts and karaoke during lockdown – Cheshire Live. List of library online activities and resources.
• Cumbria – Council reminder that digital services are on offer throughout lockdown – News and Star.
• Dundee – Video: A look back at Tayside’s libraries through the years – Evening Telegraph. “The great thing about the libraries around Dundee is not only do they hold vast collections of novels, children’s books and non-fiction delights but they are also examples of fantastic architecture.” One minute video.
  • Online reading rockets at Dundee libraries during lockdown – Evening Telegraph. “Digital book and eAudio books have grown by 67% and eMagazines and comics are up by 60% in the last month.”
• Durham – Coronavirus: Libraries offer free family history learning at home – Northern Echo. Ancestry.
• East Riding of Yorkshire – eBooks and eAudiobooks soaring in popularity at East Riding libraries – more titles added to collection – Scarborough News. “Over the last month, issues of eBooks have increased by 68 per cent, and more than 700 titles have been added, making a total of around 4500. For eAudiobooks, issues have increased by over 30 per cent, with more than 450 titles added, making a new total of over 4000 titles.”
• Essex – Essex Libraries eAudio and eBook users rise during lockdown – Gateway 978. “In response to demand, a selection of e-audio books has been added to Essex Libraries eMagazine and eComic range.  The number of e-comics available has also been increased from 238 to over 1,500, all with unlimited access.”
• Fife – ONFife campaign to keep Fifers entertained while libraries, museums and theatres shut – Courier. “Other schemes include ‘LibrarYAY’, a new Facebook group developed by the Libraries Young People team”
• Gateshead – Libraries helping frontline workers – Gateshead Council. “Libraries across Gateshead closed last month to help prevent the spread of coronavirus however, using some of the latest technology, library staff are now helping other Council services by printing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). “
• Hampshire – Coronavirus: Decision on Hampshire library closures put on hold – BBC. “Sean Woodward, executive member for recreation and heritage, said the decision due to be taken in June would be delayed but was still expected to happen over the summer, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. He said he would be “taking into account” the rise in digital users when the responses to the consultation were being considered.”
  • Civic chiefs urged to save libraries from being axed as digital service spikes – Romsey Advertiser. “Hampshire County Council (HCC) has seen a 770 percent increase in people joining the digital service to access their favourite books using Borrowbox – an app offering thousands of free audio-book and ebook titles. Now a Test Valley community leader is urging the county council to save ten libraries across Hampshire from being axed, claiming there is “a need for these services in the community”.”
• Herefordshire – Herefordshire’s library service available online – Malvern Gazette. “over 150 new members joining in the past three weeks alone.”
• Hertfordshire – Three hundred per cent rise in BorrowBox sign ups in Hertfordshire – Hertfordshire County Council. “The number of people using our library online loaning service, BorrowBox, increased by 332 per cent in one week during March.”

Kensington and Chelsea’s Home Library Service delivers books and other reading materials to vulnerable residents (e.g. elderly, disabled, people with mental health issues, mobility issues) is returning for our residents from tomorrow Tuesday 7 April. pic.twitter.com/mYQEU7KwLB

— RBKC Libraries (@RBKClibraries) April 6, 2020

• Kent – Bookworms can now join libraries online to access e-books – Times Local News. “To sign up for library e-services, residents of Kent just need to visit kent.gov.uk/libs and submit their details and create a PIN number.”
• Lambeth – Lambeth Libraries online events include reading groups, online quizzes, history talks and film clubs, April 2020 – Brixton Buzz. includes book quiz on Zoom, Kanopy film watch party,
• Leicester – Leicester Libraries launches free online storytelling – Leicester City Council. “From today – 8 April – two new stories will be told online every week, available to stream from Wednesdays.”
• Leicestershire – The eBooks Leicestershire library members are reading during lockdown – Leicestershire Live. “Leicestershire County Council revealed this week that demand for digital books was up thanks to libraries being closed due to the country’s efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19. The authority said it will buy additional eBooks and eAudiobooks to keep up with demand.”
• Moray – Moray libraries open for business online – Grampian Online. Ebooks.
• Newcastle – Newcastle libraries put hundreds of books online to help beat lockdown boredom – and it’s all free – Chronicle Live. “Library staff have added 240 new titles to their online collection and have also made it easier for people to sign up as a new member online, which can also be done for free, so you can get reading or listening straight away to help beat the lockdown boredom.”
• Newport – Children’s art competition deadline extended – South Wales Argus. “young artists now have until the end of this month to submit their entries for a Newport library competition. And the rules have been changed to allow parents or carers to take a photograph of the design so they can be safely sent for judging amid the coronavirus crisis.”
• Norfolk – Revealed: Top 10 books Norfolk is downloading to read during isolation – Eastern Daily Press. “he county’s libraries have closed due to the pandemic, but keen readers have been borrowing downloadable eBooks from Norfolk Library and Information Service, with almost 20,000 borrowed in March. There have been more than 800 new sign-ups to the service.”
• Northamptonshire – Northamptonshire library staff redeployed to check on vulnerable residents told to shield from coronavirus – Northamptonshire Chronicle. “Library staff across Northamptonshire have been redeployed to help vulnerable residents who are self-isolating during the coronavirus pandemic. Around 70 staff from Northamptonshire County Council will be supporting the community resilience hub from today (Friday, April 17). They will be calling vulnerable people from library phones to check that they are safe and well, and if they need any support.”
• North Yorkshire – Action to help North Yorkshire’s libraries serve as ‘community focal points’ – Northern Echo. “authority which handed over 33 libraries to varying levels of community responsibility to cut costs will next week consider the authority’s first strategy for the service since the major reorganisation.”
  • Online library service sees surge in demand – Northern Echo. “In the first fortnight of the lockdown, 474 people joined the library remotely, an increase of 490 per cent compared to the previous two weeks.”
• Perth and Kinross – Culture Perth and Kinross appeals for public support – Daily Record. “CPK is asking members of the Perth and Kinross public to consider donating £7 – the average cost of a new book. The chief executive points out how that one single book could then be loaned out up to 30 times in one of their libraries. Helen wrote: “With our venues closed to the public, we are no longer able to generate income, impacting on the budgets and resources we have available for these services.”
  • Culture bosses ‘absolutely overwhelmed’ by response to Book Hero crowdfunder to support Perth and Kinross libraries – Courier. Raised £1k within hours.
• Powys – Powys Council waives library fines on books due back during coronavirus – Powys County Times.
• Redbridge – What’s on Redbridge app relaunched to help keep users entertained during lockdown – Ilford Recorder. “The app was originally used to display events on digital screens in libraries. However, it has been refocused to entertain.”
• Richmond – Call for coronavirus stories at Richmond Library for future – Guardian series. “The Library’s Local Studies Library and Archive will coordinate the plan to document residents’ experiences during the unprecedented global pandemic of Covid-19 coronavirus.”
• Sheffield – £20k boost to eLibrary content for Sheffield Libraries – Sheffield Newsroom. “Sheffield City Council is pleased to announce that the eLibrary service has been given a £20,000 boost. This online resource, available to every Sheffield Library member, is accessible on any digital platform and is free of charge to use.”
  • Calls for Sheffield libraries to be returned to council control are ‘damaging’ – Star. “A petition demanding that Sheffield libraries are returned to council control has been criticised by the chair of a local volunteer library.” … “Mr Smith argued that Sheffield City Council should follow the Leeds model, which has 33 staffed libraries under Council control. He added: “You’re supposed to be opposing this austerity and all you’re doing is implementing it. If it’s acceptable to run libraries with volunteers why not schools or hospitals?”
  • Explore the history of Sheffield and your own family tree at online library – The Star. Stories from Sheffield past online.
• Shropshire – Rainbow at Market Drayton library to spread joy – Shropshire Star. “Market Drayton Library is closed to help address the coronavirus crisis but the team of staff left it with a rainbow and a friendly teddy bear in the windows to keep morale high.”
• Somerset – Lockdown Library Service – here for you 24/7 – Frome Times.
• Stirling – Residents to be given a say on new ‘once in a lifetime’ £500k library – Daily Record. “Residents in the Strathblane area are being given the chance to say what they want from a proposed new library, made possible by the generosity of a local family. Thanks to a £500,000 donation from Angus Graham, the villages of Strathblane, Blanefield and Mugdock are looking forward to creating the new facility.
• Suffolk – Suffolk Libraries goes online and interactive to keep Suffolk stimulated and entertained – Suffolk Libraries. “It’s a very challenging time for everyone at the moment and with library buildings closed we’re doing everything we can to provide content, information and entertainment. We’re working on plans to keep in contact with regular customers who might be isolated but we’re delighted that so many of our wonderful staff have risen to the challenge to run online activities which will hopefully make a difference to people across the county”. Email from library service: Visits to the eLibrary pages are up 600% from the same time last year.
  • Fighting and urinating in a lift – extent of anti-social behaviour in Suffolk’s libraries revealed – Stowmarket Mercury. “Urinating in a lift, defecating on a roof garden and fighting are some of the worst examples of anti-social behaviour which has been reported by Suffolk’s libraries over the past two years” … “The information showed that library staff dealt with 511 incidents of anti-social behaviour between January 2018 and February 2020 including racism, violence and bad language.”
  • Which Ipswich library is planning a £45,000 extension? – Ipswich Star. “Gainsborough Community Library in Clapgate Lane has lodged plans to expand the facility into its rarely-used garden area. According to the library – which recently scooped a High Sheriff’s Award – the extension will be for a “garden room” space that community groups and activities could use, and feature window boxes and plants”
• Swindon – Swindon Libraries live streamed story time is watched by thousands – Swindon Advertiser.
• Tameside – Public libraries and Coronavirus: Tameside – Public Libraries News. A list of what services Tameside are doing for the public online.
• Warrington – Book in to enjoy an escape – Warrington Guardian. “libraries might be closed but LiveWire’s community librarians have come up with a list of recommendations for some books to read during lockdown.”
• Warwickshire – Hundreds sign up for online library services – Stratford Upon Avon Herald. “More than 500 users have recently signed up to the service as staff work hard to ensure that people still have access to digital books, music and other library material.”
• Wiltshire – Rise in eBook loans from Wiltshire Council’s library service – Salisbury Journey. “In the last few weeks, the council says, the service has seen 177 new members and loans of eBooks are up 43 per cent.” emags up 90%, eaudio up 10%.
• York – Thousands of free online magazines and books available via York Explore – thanks to a £17K council grant – York Mix. “Newspapers, magazines and ebooks will be made available to library card holders online – thanks to a £17,000 grant from City of York Council. Audiobooks and ebooks for children and adults are already available through the York Explore website – as well as ancestry research tools and historic images of the city. But the extra cash means the library can buy more online books – and subscribe to Press Reader – a service that offers access to more than 7,000 newspapers and magazines from all over the world.