Find of the Week (14)

I tweeted yesterday that I found some interesting booty - a cannonball, a pair of ice skates and a WW1 bullet, inside a box. I forgot they had been stored in the basement, they were to form part of an exhibition earlier in the year but in the end they didn't make it into the display cabinets. You might wonder what a cannonball, pair of ice skates and WW1 bullet had in common, nothing, but as individual objects they represented visuals for the written exhibition boards. Finding the objects was an avoidance tactic. I was in the middle of writing a grant proposal and I needed distraction, I found it. I also found a cigarette packet and a small metal tin on my short wander round the basement. Short as in medium sized Carnegie library. The cigarettes were an empty packet of Kensitas extra size, it still had the little piece of silver foil on the inside and a very faint smell of tobacco. I also noticed some numbers faintly stamped on the bottom but I couldn't read them so I'm not sure what they represented. I think it dates back to the late 1940's, early 1950's.

The small  metal tin, Altoids. It sounds more like a disease or dietary straining disorder than a peppermint. I wonder if whoever smoked the cigarettes used the Altoids to mask the tobacco smell.

LGBT 2 - 20 lesbian books on a shelf

20 Lesbian books.

How do you decide on a list of 20 lesbian fiction books? [ 20 that you’d like to see in public libraries]

This list is not a definitive guide to lesbian fiction, it has been put together to highlight the diverse collection of lesbian fiction that is available today, and as an aid to stock selection panels.

Firstly, getting the list of titles down to 20 is hard, deciding on a list that takes in all genres of lesbian writing, is hard. I am one librarian, one lesbian; my selection won’t suit all literary tastes or persuasions. I’m looking on bookcases, under tables, in the dusty recesses of my mind to remember all of the authors I have either read or have listed to read.

There are the classics, the books that will be gathering a thin layer of dust on any self-respecting lesbian’s bookcase. Alongside these will probably be the set of contemporary fiction must haves, and finally, the popular lesbian titles, the ones I often refer to as the chick lit* shelf fillers.

* Not intended to offend any author. The majority of these titles are constantly on  bestseller lists.

In no particular order -

The 20:

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

Dykes To Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Curious Wine by Katherine V. Forrester

Landing by Emma Donoghue

Mind Games by Nancy M Griffis

Talon by J P Mercer

The Devil Inside by Ali Vali

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

Lonely Hearts Club by Radclyffe

Tristian Book 1 –The Clinic by Cate Culpepper

Hunters Way by Gerri Hill

Stir Fry – Emma Donoghue

Safe Harbor by Radclyffe

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterston

Patience & Sarah by Isabel Miller

The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg

Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

Amongst the books I’ve selected you’ll find crime, sci-fi, fantasy, graphic novel, drama and romance.

If you have a favourite lesbian novel that’s not mentioned then add a comment.

LIBRARIANS - take the challenge: how many of these are available in your area?

Next Blog Post- LGBT 3 - junior/teen/ya fiction -

LGBT 1 - the dormant research proposal

It's been a few years since I wrote my research proposal but I believe some of the references may still be relevant  when looking at LGBT fiction in public libraries. Libraries have a duty to take reasonable steps to ensure equal access and equal service provision for all community/minority groups under their umbrella, they may not have an obligation to promote the service however there is a duty to provide resources.

“Public library services in Scotland are entirely the responsibility of local authorities which have a statutory duty to secure the provision of adequate library facilities for all persons resident in their area” ¹

Scottish Libraries also have the Scottish Library & Information Council (SLIC) an independent advisory body whose members include all local authority‘s in Scotland. They established the Public Library Quality Improvement Matrix (PLQIM) ² a quality assurance tool specially developed to support policies in areas such as health and regeneration. Within the document it recommends that public libraries;

• Libraries must promote inclusion, equality and fairness and work positively with partners to facilitate communities of interest and encourage participation

This list is part of the bibliography I put together when I first started looking at LGBT provision in public libraries, something on the list might be of use:

Cook. J., 2005. Gay and Lesbian Librarians and the ‘need’ for GLBT Library Organizations: Ethical Questions, Professional Challenges, and Personal Dilemmas In and ‘Out’ of the workplace. Journal of Information Ethics 14 (2) pp32-49

Curry. A., 2005. If I ask will they answer? Evaluating public library reference services to gay and lesbian youth. Reference & User Services Quarterly 45 (1) pp65-75

Curry. A., 2000. Collection Management of gay/lesbian materials in the UK and Canada . LIBRI 50 (1) pp14-25

Goldthorp. J., 2007. Can Scottish public library services claim they are socially inclusive of all minority groups when lesbian fiction is still so inaccessible? Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 39 (4) pp 234-248

Greenblatt. E., 2003. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Library Users: Overcoming the Myths. Colorado Libraries v29 (4) pp21-25

Joyce. S,L., 2000. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual library services: a review of the literature. Public Libraries 39 (5) pp 270-279

Norman. M.,1999. Out on Loan: a survey of the use and information needs of users of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Collection of Brighton and Hove Libraries. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 31 (4) pp188-196

O'Leary. M., 2005. Pink perceptions: the information needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender library users as perceived by public librarians and by the LGBT communities within Sheffield UK and Denver CO, USA [Online]. MA, University of Sheffield. Available online: http://dagda.shef.ac.uk/dissertations/2004-05/External/Oleary_Meagan_MALib.pdf

Potts. H., 2003. Searching the Database. A quick look at Amazon and two other online catalogues. Journal of homosexuality 45 (1) pp161-170

 Seborg. L., 2005. Sharing the Stories of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community: Providing Library Services to the GLBT Patron. PNLA Quarterly 70 (1) pp15-17

Thomas.D., 2007. A Place on the Shelf. Library Journal 132 (8) pp40-43

Van Buskirk. J., 2005. Out of the Closet? Library Journal v130 p62

Enquiry List

I mentioned in my last blog post – ‘every day I make someone smile’. Yes, I probably do, but it’s not down to telling them a good joke or offering them a chocolate, it’s about helping them find the answer to an enquiry. Like anyone in an information role I work through steps to ensure I can answer as accurately as possible. I ensure that I ask the right questions, use the right resources and have the tenacity to find the answer. I make the best use of the resources available to me and I am constantly sourcing additonal information to improve the service that I deliver.
The list below is a selection of some of the enquires I received this week in the local studies department;

• American author emailing to find out when he can come in to collect digital copies of archive photographs of the local football teams
•  TV researcher from a new family history programme following up earlier emails about local printing and dying industry – what examples of archives/photographs can we send for final selection
• Where can I find plan/map of Dumbarton cemetery?
• American lady enquiring about a Scottish Long Clock – just bought the old clock and the label of the back has a few words leading the enquirer to Dumbarton
• Local walking group wanting to know if I present local history talks over the winter period
• Do we hold copies of local newspapers for 1884 in particular July to October.
• Another local authority contacting us on usage of certain archive photographs that we hold for a new exhibition, looking at reproduction costs / copyright
• Information on a boat built by Denny the ‘Sir Walter Scott’ what information do we hold on its build. Also looking for a copy of the book ‘William Denny Shipbuilder’, he could source a copy for £250.00. (I could send him an inter-library loan for under a tenner. Or show him online where he could buy it for under twenty).
• Man brought in an old bottle he fished out of the River Leven can we tell him anything about the local dairy company name engraved on the bottle.
• Someone wondering why their great grandmother was born in the local Poor House.
  
• Gentleman from New Zeland looking for information on the Nobles of Ardmore and Ardkinglass’ covering both the Kenny and Geils families. Including local maps and photographs where possible.
• Council Legal Department asking for ownership details from valuation rolls from 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s.
• Library Centenary Year – mug shots in local paper, staff want copies for archive and personal use.

This list does not constitute my whole working week, however it does represent how varied the enquires received can be.  

Day 3 - retail therapy?

Day three of the CILIPS annual conference began for me with a presentation by Fiona Edwards of Opening the Book. The theme for the presentation ‘Turning Browsers into Borrowers: adapting retail techniques for the library’. As you can imagine it was a packed session in the Blythswood Room of the Mitchell Library. Fiona gave us cause for thought with her presentation on improving the browsing/choosing experience of our library patrons, customers, users, visitors. The retail aspect of the presentation focused on bookshops in particular Waterstones, which to be fair still have a hold on the UK High Street book market. Fiona briefed us on where bookshops get it right, mostly through their promotions such as multi buys, bestsellers, top ten and book of the month displays. As library services we don’t have the stock budgets to produce these large scale displays or keep these displays adequately stocked. So, how do we improve our services and turn browsers into borrowers? Fiona gives us some tips:

• Quick Choice – tempts the borrower, makes choice easier
• Recommendations – whether it be reader to reader or staff recommends  
• Face-on Displays – in fiction and non-fiction areas, helps to brand non-fiction areas

As mentioned Fiona is from Opening the Book, who provide online library training ‘frontline’ for library staff. The enthusiasm of staff that have completed the course was evident today listening to Elizabeth Farr and Liz Moffat from Stirling Libraries. Their session ‘Marketing Books to readers in Stirling’ described their approach to reader development and marketing after completing the frontline training course. They explained how rewriting their policies on reader development and marketing came from re-evaluating after the training. Through identifying their strengths and weaknesses they have several new initiatives, one being ensuring they have 2 new promotions each month. They have also taken the approach of branding their libraries, having not only a marketing team but a design team who work in conjunction with Stirling Councils corporate communication team, which I thought was an excellent idea.Tips from Liz & Elizabeth:

• Talk to your borrowers
• Just do it! Try things, if it doesn't work drop it
• Remember your 'loss leaders'
• Evaluate constantly
• Keep information positive 
• Look outside your comfort zone for stock promotions

I enjoyed the session however as a past employee of Waterstones and a current public librarian I also felt exasperated by it. Only over the past couple of years it seems are public libraries looking at retail techniques that have been about for decades, longer even (I can remember one Scottish authority visiting Waterstones in the late 90’s to discuss with us how to promote stock to both adult and junior borrowers). Although comments heard after the presentation concentrated on the realisation that the majority of us use or have used the techniques mentioned above. So, have we become complacent in our approach to continuous best practice in developing the reading experience and marketing of books? We provide excellent services; we have large diverse ranges of stock, we have fantastic initiatives – too many to mention SO are we just really bad at marketing book stock? Do we need to be making more regular visits to the High St for inspiration? Should I be calling Mary Portas for advice? Have we spent far too much time over the past few years concentrating on our learning provision and lifelong learning initiatives and not enough time on stock promotions and reader experience? As librarians we should not underestimate what we can learn from the retail sector, after all Waterstones is still fighting and winning its retail battle. Many will argue that the retail bookshops learned from librarians, maybe so and it’s a large maybe, but they manage to keep selling books, our issues are dipping. At the end of the day bookshops need to make money and we need borrowers and issues, its cold hard profit which ever way you dress it. If the retail sector holds the key to falling issues and active borrower statistics then I’m all for getting a copy of the key.

Move

I've moved. I haven't moved far, but the views are different and the air is fresh. I've taken five days to move fifty feet, its been a slow process and I'm still not finished. I started the move on Tuesday at 9.01am, I didn't even have my morning coffee.  I had a plan, a visual one in my head, I could tweak and adjust as I went along. I piled books on and under tables, the bookcases being easier to move empty! I even had a dedicated removals volunteer who helped me move cases and place books back on shelves. By 11am I had moved the bookcases and identified some new map tables. Coffee. Placed the remainder of the books back on the bookcases, taking a little longer than necessary when two piles fell over, scattering dewey all over the floor. The afternoon meant moving the heavy equipment, a 2 person job. We moved the microfiche and microfilm machines form one room to another and rejoiced that they fit in their allocated spot. First day of move complete.
Wednesday, day off. So, Thursday morning, time to move the desks and navigate the stairs from the basement. It looked really easy, wrong!  We got stuck twice, jammed fingers once, swore several times. It's amazing how many positions the human body can achieve when trying to squeeze a desk up through a narrowing turning stairwell. Desks done. Publications group meeting, short. Friday, my mantra for the day was, 'email Irene', should have worn an elastic band or wrote it on my hand, forgot to email. So, not sure when my PC can be moved. Saturday, managed to enjoy the view from the window. Oh, my view, a roundabout, the sheriff court and some lovely green trees. After working in a basement with artifical light and no air, I'm enjoying the change.

Find of the Week (9)

This ‘find of the week’ deals with the library itself, well the 1922 catalogue. I had spent an afternoon looking for some old photographs and came across a set of the library interior from the 1950’s. The first photograph that caught my eye was one of the large indicator panels. The panels were located where our learning suite and reference sections are now situated. The large panels held records for each book in the library, they had blue and red indicators to inform customers which books were in stock or on loan. The boards made it look more like a ticket office than a library, due to the fact that all of the stock was located behind the counter on stacks.

©West Dunbartonshire Libraries

I don’t have the actual catalogues from the 1950’s but I do have the 1922 edition where the arrangement of the catalogue was known as the ‘dictionary catalogue’. This edition of the catalogue had 7,987 entries. Each book was entered in alphabetical sequence under the author’s name, its subject, and, where distinctive its title. Fiction however was only added under the author.

An example from the catalogue;

Austen (Jane) – Persuasion …….E.W……F2277
Australia. Hill (R. and F.) What we saw in Australia, 1875……B1979
The E.W. after the Austen title is an abbreviation for Eminent Women Series and the number before each book number is one of the seven main classes;


A – Philosophy and Theology
B – History, Travel and Biography
C – Law, Politics and Economics
D – Science and Art
E – Poetry & Drama
F – Prose Fiction
G- Language and Literary Miscellany

The catalogue also had 25 abbreviations listed and a separate section at the back for the local collection. The actual book itself is bound in hardback and fits the hand, a little like a modern e-reader, nice size. The interest for me though isn’t the actual arrangement of the catalogue but the ‘local studies’ collection mentioned within. I’m sure some of the local studies books I use as reference tools, are the ones mentioned in this catalogue. Thankfully due to these titles being closed access they have been preserved well.

Find of the Week (7.1)

I arrived back at my desk after Easter, silently placing a bet as to how many emails I'd have in my inbox. I skimmed headings and authors in no logical order, until one caught my eye. Mike Davis from Helensburgh Library had replied to an email I sent him before the holidays. I'd sent him a query asking if he had an image of Eunice Murray and he came up trumps. Due to local council boundary changes, much of the information on Eunice Murray is held by Helensburgh. I was excited reading Mike's email and very eager to open the attached .jpg. Mike mentioned having coffee the next time I'm through in Helensburgh, I think I'll be buying!
I had certain images in my head as to how Eunice would look, they were all lost the moment I opened the .jpg. For those interested here is the picture of Eunice Murray, sister, suffagette, parliamentary candidate and councillor.

Courtesy of Mike Davis, Librarian, Helensburgh

  

Dirty Dancing, Elephants and the Census

It’s been a strange week, firstly I managed to last the course. The course was part of my induction training, the lovely trainer from HR&OD put some effort into making the mundane a little more stimulating. Or it may have been the chocolate bars she was giving out. My break times however were disturbed by the sounds of Dirty Dancing. To some that might have been akin to the eye scene in Clockwork Orange,all I could think about was Jennifer Gray in white tight jeans, dancing atop a wooden bridge. It was however conducive to some good day dreaming during the less dynamic parts of the day.
It’s amazing how some enquires come to us. We were asked this week about the Elephant on the Dumbarton Coat of Arms, after some theories on the Fred MacAuley radio show. The elephant is there as some say it is similarity in shape to Dumbarton Rock and Castle, especially if you look at the castle from the north east. Another theory is that it is regarded as a mythical, almost invincible animal.


The Census from 1911 will be released in Scotland early next year. With the opportunities it represents to both family and local historians, the Scottish Local Studies Group are using it as the theme for Local Studies week, 2011. The amount of social history that is documented in census enumeration books is immense; they are still studied today by local historians, PhD students, genealogy enthusiast and librarians to name a few. So, the frustration felt today by Scottish Local Studies Librarians was understandable. It was explained that there would be no microfilm copies of the 1911 census for public libraries to purchase. Scotland's People would be our medium. Most will wonder then where our concerns lie, that would be with the access to this information. Previously we paid a fee to have the microfilm copies, which we use in public libraries. The cost to library users is minimal, the cost of an A4 print. With the introduction of the Scotland’s People site, as the medium for the 1911 census, we will all have to pay to access the records. Are we then contributing to cover the costs for the 2011 census by paying for historical access? Income Generation by another name? However, not a bad thing in the present climate of recession and public sector reductions on spending.


Previously we could use the enumeration books to find social trends within towns, villages or particular streets, this will be made more difficult by the way that Scotland’s People displays results. You could write to the Register General and request to view records, however make sure that you give enough evidence to support your application.
The light at the end of the tunnel may be the talk today of having license agreements to access Scotland’s People records. However the General Register office seems to be concentrating on the new Family History Centres. The city of Dundee has a centre which operates a great service and their local studies librarians praised the service, however where is the money to be found to open more of these centres? Yes, shared services do work; we are becoming accustomed to them in the library sector. However do many public libraries have the space to accommodate the registrar’s service and the local history provision within their libraries? I’d be interested in a similar style of service within my own authority, to increase the customer experience of those looking for information on family/local history.

No Find of the Week as due to courses and Easter I've only been in the basement/local studies section one day this week. The Bennie, Rhudie and I are heading up to Inverness for the weekend, if the A9 is open tomorrow afternoon.

Find of the Week (7)

This find came from an a.s.a.p email sent by my Head of Service. The Council’s Public Relations Officer needed historical information on elections and voting in the area, specifically early voting and suffragettes. The research has been done and the information handed to PR. The find for me was exploring a women’s life, her work, writings and politics and the possible inequality of women’s heritage and archives stored within the department.

The woman was Eunice Guthrie Murray – b. 1878, d. 1960. She lived her life in Cardross, a small village near Dumbarton. She joined the suffragette movement in 1908 by becoming a member of the Women’s Freedom League (WFL) after becoming disheartened by the hostility to suffragettes in her area. By 1913 she had became president of the Glasgow branch and later Scottish Council of the WFL. She spoke out throughout her time in the suffragette movement and was arrested in London for persisting in an attempt to address a meeting from the steps of Downing Street to the Horse Guards Parade. The suffragettes went to many lengths to have their voices heard, as the well documented accounts confirm, such as Emily Wilding Davison. However Ms Murray disagreed with arson which had been used throughout the country to publicise the campaign.


She stood for the Glasgow Bridgeton seat at the 1918 elections, at the time she is stated as having said she had a ‘good deal of encouragement from both men and women’, however at the count she only received 1000 votes. This did not deter her and in 1919 she became a councillor in the Dunbartonshire area, she was also awarded the M.B.E in 1945. Ms Murray wrote throughout her life from early pamphlets for the suffragette movement to books on social history, in particular women’s history. From her collection of writings two stand out ‘Scottish Women of a Bygone Age’ and ‘A Gallery of Scottish women’.


Ms Murray was quoted in 1947; “Women have a two-fold calling, for not only are we as wives and mothers the guardians of the future, but we are also the custodians of the past,” (Scottish Homespun 1947) I’ll take the custodians of the past, as for the first part, I’m an Aunt not a Mother. As a local history librarian however I do believe I am now a custodian of my authority’s archives and related history. All of the custodians before me have been men, a long line of them. As librarians, each has brought new meaning to the collection and has specialized in specific areas. My main focus this past fortnight has been on the historical development of women in the area. I couldn’t find a great deal within the overall collection, even within the archive. However when you dig deep and spend time just researching and reading you start to find little things that could have been added to cuttings files or catalogued in the archive. We had a very brief outline of Ms Murray in the library; however with a little detective work on the old newspapers, it was relatively easy to find information. The question remains as to why until now is it not documented. Ms Murray was not only a woman but the first Scottish women to stand for a parliamentary seat, a local councillor and local author. My mission now is to focus on the Herstory of the area, something that is well overdue. What of the notable women in the 17th and 18th century, what of the women who worked in the whiskey bond or the wives of the shipbuilders, what social history is out there that we haven’t documented and is right in front of our eyes. It’s a very steep mountain to climb but one I am sure will pose a challenge for a few years. I have to place my feet firmly under the table and establish my knowledge on the area, then piece by piece interweave the women of the area into the herstory.

Belfast - Linen Hall Library

Our first city break of the year was to Belfast in February. I've just recently downloaded all the photographs from the camera and came across three of the exterior of the Linen Hall Library. I decided to visit the library as a tourist/visitor to the city. I liked the sense of anonymity to the visit, but I also felt like a mystery shopper. The first thing I loved was the actual location of the library on Donegall Square North, sitting on a corner facing the City Halls. The entrance had the feel of a conservative men's club in the city, all sandstone, glass and wood. The red hand of Ulster on the overhang is now painted cream but in older postcards you can see the hand painted red. The library was founded in 1788 and is the last subscribing library in Ireland.
Once we had climbed the stairs to the main information desk we came around to the coffee shop and main lending area of the library. Being a local studies librarian I was more interested in what treasures they had waiting on the third floor. So, I pulled the other half up the stairs and promptly left them to browse the shelves. I think I’m lucky to have such an understanding other half. So, the third floor, you could have picked me up at the end of the weekend and I still wouldn’t have finished looking, observing and reading the books. They had some very interesting titles including for me, The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815, fascinating book. The room it full of books dedicated to local studies and family history, they hold a card index of the births, deaths and marriages from the Belfast newspaper 1801-1863. The view from the third floor is stunning looking over to the green copper roof of the city halls. So, time well spent visiting the library and viewing first hand the extensive collection they hold. The only annoying thing is not taking note of the books of interest to both myself and for my job. Thankfully I can access their online catalogue from work and home.

©Sam Moore -images                 

Find of the Week (6)

The ceilings been painted and the lighting has been upgraded but that doesn’t stop us from bumping into desks. Near the back of the basement we have a desk full of donated material needing catalogued and preserved. One stack had a resemblance to the Torre pendente di Pisa, until about 4pm on Friday. That is until it all came tumbling down. I’m sure on Monday several hours will be spent sorting the materials and trying to assign ownership to some. This minor calamity led to the next find of the week, a small book of poetry by Mrs. C Campbell, a Dumbarton woman.

Mrs. Campbell was born in Alexandria, Dumbartonshire, in 1844, the daughter of a highly respected cooper. Mrs. Campbell moved to the nearby town of Dumbarton upon her marriage to Mr. Campbell. She began writing poetry at the age of 13 and wrote throughout her life. Mrs. Campbell’s poetry was featured in the Dumbarton Herald until her death in 1906, Donald McLeod a local historian and president of the Burns Club wrote the introduction/dedication to Mrs. Campbell’s book. In total thirty five poems are contained in the small volume, it’s bound in red leather and published by McNaughtan & Sinclair, Glasgow. I’ve enjoyed reading them all over the weekend, particularly her advice on marriage, the death of her dog, the changing of seasons and a particularly bad winter in 1895.
There are many of the poems I could add here but I’ve chosen ‘wee jenny’. The portrayal of Jenny by  Mrs. Campbell  is amusing. The poem is littered slightly with old Scots dialect :

wee jenny

To me wee Jenny's blithe and sweet,
I like tae hear her wee bit feet
Toddlin' oot an toddlin' in ;
I like tae hear her try and sing,
She does her best tae please us a',
But Jenny canna sing ava'.
Her little tale she tells in glee,
A' thochts and things she speirs at me;
And a'e thing Jenny likes tae ken,
Is when the pay-day, comes again;
Then will I get a ha'penny, maw?
And gang tae Jeanie's for a draw?
Yes, Jenny, that you'll sharely get;
Well, maw, you'll mind and no forget,
For Jeanie has long farthing stocks,
She's blue and yellow sugar rock,
She's sugar men and ladies tae,
I saw them a' this very day.
Oh ! Jenny bairnie, say nae mair,
Just gang and get yer ain wee chair,
And tak' yer dolly on yer knee,
And gie me peace jist for a wee.
So Jenny, laughing, gangs awa',
She gets her doll and chair an' a',
Her ain wee stool's turned upside doon,
And dolly's washed frae tae t' croon,
It's cuddled in her bosom sweet,
And then laid cosy doon tae sleep.
Oh, happy bairn, and fu' o' glee,
The warl' has got nae care for thee,
Ye dance and loup frae morn till noon,
Till soothing sleep comes creeping roon'.
Then in his arms my bairn lies doon,
And when she on her pillow lies
And sleep has firmly sealed her eyes,
I gaze into her sweet wee face,
Where sorrow yet has left nae trace,
She's innocence frae head tae feet,
She's a' tae me that's pure and sweet.

Let there be change...

I left work on Friday for Belfast and returned today to find some improvements to the basement workspace. I  knew the changes were happening, so it was fantastic to come back to new lighting and ceiling paint. I'd liken the basement before the change to being a bit of a warren. A lovely, warm, cosy place. Every time I look up or turn around I am surrounded on all sides by books, photographs and archives. However the lighting was about 30 years old and the paint on the walls over 50 years old, time for change. The new lighting and ceiling paint have changed the ambience of the basement, it is brighter but more clinical in appearance. I'm worried about a couple of the book collections in the basement area. I may have to move them into the archive room annex as the light is now too strong.
I also need to have a look at temperature controls within the main archive room. During the winter I believe the room temperature has been colder than recommended conditions and archive materials appear damp. At present we have no archivist within the department, so I need to find a solution to the problem asap . Being in the basement of a 100 year old scottish library doesn't make archive storage simple.

Find of the Week (5)

Never judge a book….

This little find was in one of the dark corners of the basement. I happened upon it by chance, again whilst dealing with another enquiry. The first thing I noticed, and it can’t be missed, is the large black swastika on the front cover. The first thought that obviously came to mind was WWII, that it might have been written and printed in Germany during the late 30’s into the 40’s. With closer inspection however it was actually a Nelson publication reprint of the book by F. Marion Crawford  an American novelist (Italian born) in the late 1800’s. I should have noticed at the time that the swastika used was not of the adolf  persuasion with its 45 degree angle. Nelsons use of the swastika might have been as originally intended as a good luck symbol.

Find of the week (2)

The 6th to 13th March is Local History Week and I've now started to work on a small display that can be placed in the new junior library. The theme for the year is shops and shopping and I've been busy trying to devise something for kids in our local area.


I believe it's time to get the kids involved in their local heritage and history, it is also a topic covered within the curriculmn for excellence. I've already organised with local schools a drawing competition on this years theme and my thoughts are now firmly on the display.


I'd been looking through the photo archive and came across a whole bunch of local advertisments for shops in the local area, circa 1910. These are a great find as it's the main libraries centenary this year, so I could actual combine my two themes. The picture shown here is an advertisment for 'Mrs. Campbell Teeth Specialist', I just loved the smiling faces of the caricatures used in the advert . It's just one of the adverts I'm going to use in the display, including several historical notes on how the High St has changed over the past 100 years to coincide with the library centenary.

Find of the week (1)

I've started my new job as Information Services Librarian for a small Scottish local authority. The job has several areas of responsibility one of which is the local studies enquires and the local collection for the area,the past few weeks have been at times overwhelming when I realise the array of information that is stored within the devision. I thought of the 'find of the week' as a way of displaying weekly the little gems that I find whilst perusing the shelves for query answers.
The first find of the week was found whilst I was replying to an enquiry on the 72nd Highlanders being in the area. I looked over to my left and saw lying on the shelf a little leather bound book that looked mottled by damp, I picked it up to realise it was a scout diary from 1932. From the evidence in the book the lad was about 16, sitting his highers and attendning the local scouts group, he had also included some football scores from the era on local teams. 
Near the back of the diary they had to enter dates for nature events throughout the year such as first blackbird, open flower etc The gem of this diary or the find of the week was reading the handwriten sentence at the bottom of the nature page;
Event: seen a woman .........Date: every night of the week


Good to see in 1932 boys were still only interested in 2 things women and football!

Chartership Portfolio Building 12th Jan

It was a very cold start to the day in Edinburgh, walking up to the National Library certainly cleared the head and cooled the hands. The morning session started with Celia Jenkins introducing herself and letting candidates know that she is working on courses and informal gatherings for the Scottish CDG. There was advice on how to find a mentor from Valerie Walker and Paul Hambleton from the National Library shared his experiences of chartering. The main presentations coming from Michael Martin from CILIP and Anna Heron a member of the chartership board, both talked through differing elements of the chartering process. From the session the most important comments were:
Use the framework matrix
Evaluate your service performance
Evaluate your personal performance
Measure your effectiveness Be aware of wider professional context/issues


An informative morning spent in Edinburgh and it was good to see a great turn out for the event.

Leaving

After 9 fantastic years with Culture & Sport Glasgow I’m moving on to pastures new with West Dunbartonshire Libraries. I have many great memories of Glasgow Libraries and the people I’ve worked with over the years. I can still remember my first day, nervous, eager and little bit unsure of what to expect. I needn’t have worried as the first two women I met were June Murray and Linda Macpherson both fantastic women and great librarians. I learned a lot listening to both of them over the years and it was with great sadness that Linda passed away earlier in the year. June always said to me “you should never, not be busy in the library” and its true there is always something that has to be done.
 I walked into the first branch I worked in yesterday and it brought back a lot of nostalgia, the library seemed smaller but warmer, the staff had all changed and a revamp had occurred but I remembered ghosts of conversations past and of customers by now gone. I was idealistic and passionate about my job, over the years I’ve kept the passion but became more realistic about what we can do and achieve in a climate where change is inevitable and budget cuts loom.
 It will be sad to leave the service on Friday but I know that I contributed to lots of little smiles from the storytimes and class visits the kids had when I was in the YP team. Introducing new authors to customers when working in community libraries and becoming part of that community, slowly without noticing. Knowing people within the city have better resources and training courses for information technology as part of the Digital Learning Team. I know there are now customers of aren’t afraid of the internet and who have better information retrieval skills. I made people feel at ease and occasionally made them laugh with tales of my dog, the only dog in Scotland who must have over 50 email addresses.To my colleagues I hold the utmost respect as I work with a very determined and passionate bunch of individuals. I’m sure I’ve probably debated (argued) with many of them, had countless laughs with all of them and learned things from each and every one. I’ve came a long way in my nine years from young people’s assistant to my new role as Information Services Librarian with WDC and I give credit to the people I work with for inspiring me to follow my path.


So, I’m lucky to be walking my path the way I want to, I’m sure I’ll meet new challenges and interesting people but that’s the beauty of my progress, the unknown, keeping it fresh and remembering with great affection all that has passed.


I found this little quote by Gail Sheehy:
“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow we aren’t really living”.

CILIPS Equality & Diversity 17th Nov Mitchell Library - afternoon

The afternoon session started with John Kelly from JISC Legal talking about the “Framework for a fairer future: the new legislative landscape”. The equality landscape is changing and with the new equality bill on the horizon we must ensure that as employers and service providers our services are inclusive and that we make certain that best practice is followed. The new duties within the Equality Bill will affect all of us working in or for public/private bodies. The new legislation will ban pay secrecy or ‘gagging clauses’ on pay, reporting on gender pay gaps will be required and public authorities will report to ministers on equality. The influence of public procurement – using our purchasing power to improve equality by encouraging suppliers to promote equalities.
However, could a new government change priorities? John mentioned that this Equality Bill will be the present Labour Govt’s last manifesto pledge to be completed. After the election however will the Bill receive the same attention?

We try as services to be as inclusive as we possibly can when delivering our library services; this has been shown at the event by the amount of initiatives running throughout the country in the area of equality and diversity. However to my mind there are invisible minority groups that I feel we still don’t fully cater for in public libraries or where we don’t realise we are still not fulfilling our role as equality providers.

The second presentation of the afternoon was from Margaret McKay from JISC RSC Scotland SW, who Introduced Access Apps. Margaret discussed our role in libraries and how we hold a critical role in accessibility, she introduced Access Apps which can be used by people who have specific difficulties with reading and writing and may have sensory or physical problems, these apps give individuals the freedom to use any PC within a library and not one set aside specifically for those who need support. The ability to have this information on a pen drive increases the freedom and flexibility.

The final session of the afternoon was from Clair Scott and Claire Elliot fromEast Renfrewshire Libraries and Renfrewshire Association Mental Health, they discussed Positive Mental Health & books on prescription. They talked on the joint venture between the two, the libraries initial funding of 10k from the Health Board to fund 42 titles covering areas such as, stress, anxiety and low mood, they were given recommendations for tittles by local health professionals, the selection of books has been a success within East Renfrewshire and they have worked with the RAMH to ensure that the section is maintained and have encouraged partnership working between library and RAMH. The collection is geared more toward the adult learning however in the future they are hoping to include more titles for a younger audience.


The day ended with closing remarks from Margaret Forrest, Margaret focused on the good demonstrations of partnership working throughout the day and remarked that no library was an island and that we had to work with other agencies to keep libraries moving forward.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to attend the event and listen to the work that has and is being done continually by Scottish Libraries on the issues of equality. I found the stories from Edinburgh inspirational. Having the ability to use Access Apps will help so many individuals have more confidence when using public libraries. The influence that partnership working has had in East Renfrewshire, would the project been so successful without the work done by both the libraries and RAMH. Like Margaret Forrest, I have areas of equality that I feel are underrepresented by libraries at times, the customers that we tend to overlook or feel that we represent using other avenues. The day was full of good practice and ideas however for the future we should look at the equality groups that aren’t so PC, where we need to think outside our comfort zones without prejudice or ignorance to their needs. In Scotland this year alone I am only aware of one authority covering LGBT month however many more covered black history month, is this equality?

However I’m not trying to take anything away from what was an interesting day held at the Mitchell Library in Glagsow and it was also good to catch up with an old friend from the past.

CILIPS Equality & Diversity 17th Nov Mitchell Library - morning

Yesterday was CILIPS Equality and Diversity Course – promoting good practice in library work, held at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow.
The morning session began with Ayub Khan and Marion Huckle talking about the CILIP Encompass Project this is a positive action scheme to encourage more people from ethnic minority groups into the profession, at present only 2% of members are from a black or ethnic background. The course is a graduate training scheme and their aim is to train 50 librarians over a five year period. The scheme would work by converting an existing post into a trainee post over a three year period, they are however aware of financial constraints on all sectors in the coming economic climate and that it may not be possible to convert posts. The traineeship would have benefits such as tax advantages, recruitment costs and support from Path National. The main points to come from the question session were whether this could then be expanded to include people with disabilities and other minority groups. The overall cost of the traineeship, academic expenses to salary for the trainee were discussed. The traineeship seems an excellent opportunity but is it seen as a viable career by many ethnic parents as one member noted many parents wish their children to study law or medicine not librarianship. A fantastic opportunity to join a great profession however lets hope that during the interviews it is truly people wanting a career in librarianship who achieve the trainee posts and it’s not seen as just a job opportunity by young graduates.


Next on the programme Paul McCloskey from Edinburgh City Libraries talked about what makes good inclusive practice? Paul discussed the initiatives that Edinburgh have in place to increase inclusiveness in Edinburgh libraries. Children can join straight away when visiting the library without proof (however a letter is sent to parents if they want to opt out), the Capital Collections  a community digital program that empowers the local community to participate in their local heritage. The services they provide to care homes in the city, where they take trolleys into the homes and allow people to browse the books, Paul mentioned that the homes have some of the highest level of book requests in the city. For ethnic communities they have 14 separate collections within the city and have recently done work with the local Polish community and others supported through the PLQIM.


Having worked in young peoples services, I was impressed by the work Edinburgh have done with children and teenagers by seeing them as a minority group, the work they have done in particular at Sighthill Library has reduced the levels of anti-social behaviour. The reading champions initiative for kids in care, working in partnership with Barnardos , Action for Children and Edinburgh Book Festival where the books have been seen to help build emotional literacy.
The message from Paul was not only about inclusive practice but about working in partnership with other organisations to achieve realistic aims and create a more inclusive library service. To not only support the library user but our own staff to ensure that we can help the communities around us.


The last speaker of the morning was Professor Andrea Nolan from the University of Glasgow talking about Internationalisation in the education sector. The emphasis being on creating culturally diverse learning communities, promoting students who are more culturally aware and how by having a system of internationalisation local communities surrounding the higher education facilities will benefit by integrating into the local community. The need to increase educational partnerships as new competitors emerge into the higher education market creating newer places for students to study out with universities in the UK. To create partnerships where students to have the chance to not only study abroad but become more globally aware. I’m afraid I had to leave near the end of Professor Nolan’s talk as my car park meter was running low and I didn’t want a ticket.


The lunch break also consisted of an optional tour round the RUVI Resource Unit for the Visually Impaired at the Mitchell library with both sessions being booked full.


I'll add the afternoon session later in the week
All of the presentations for the morning should be available soon on the Scottish Librares Slideshare page.