A supplement to Update/Gazette from the CILIP NW Branch North West News, No. 40, May 2012
Registered Charity no. 313014
nw news In this issue of nw news •
A review of CILIP NW Member’s Day from Jennifer Ridout.
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John Dolan remembers a skilled Librarian Leslie Smyth and considers what Librarians today can learn from his experience
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And Runcorn library begins new chapter by Helen Sheriden
Firstly however we are delighted to announce that the 2011/12 CILIP NW Student Prize Winner is Waseem Tahir from MMU. Waseem has proved himself to be a diligent and conscientious student and we wish him well for the future.
Members Day and Committee Meeting Jennifer Ridout, Librarian at Preston College shares her experience of CILIP NW’s member’s day. On the 15th March CILIP NW members congregated at the Riverside Campus of Chester University for the annual member’s day of CILIP’s North West Branch. It was a diverse crowd with a range of library sectors present as well as some welcome interlopers from across the borders. Throughout the day we heard from ambassadors from public and school libraries, CILIP HQ and a representative of our writer cousins in the form of Anne Caldwell. Although each brought a different perspective to the table a common theme ran throughout the day - that of the importance of communication. In these times we need to talk, with each other, with our stakeholders and users, with the media and
maybe most importantly with decision makers, our councillors and MPs. If we can’t articulate what we do and how well we do that, we can’t expect anyone else to take up our banner. For Jim Grisenthwaite, talking about the changes underway in Cumbria, this communication took the form of user consultation and engagement with council members. Happily their changes don’t take the form of closures, instead Cumbria is seeking to increase users, doing it with services that seek to engage increasingly mobile customers and meet the diverse needs of communities across the county. In Werneth, school librarian Nikki Heath teaches a lesson to many librarians struggling to engage with their academic staff. Communication, determination, maybe it should be called sheer force of will, has created a school library service that is embedded into the curriculum in a way that should be the envy of anyone. With reading schemes, videos and events Nikki proved the point, echoed later by Annie Mauger, that there is no magic wand, no easy option. Whatever sector we’re in, if we want to survive we need put in the hard work, take ourselves out our comfort zones and then tell whoever will listen. In harder times organisations are less willing to give time (let alone pay) for events such as the members day. However I’m sure everyone who attended took something away and wouldn’t question the value of the day. Annie Mauger made it clear that it’s up to us, as well as CILIP HQ, to articulate this value and make sure our employers and stakeholders understand the importance of both what we do and the support we have behind us. Personally I certainly left feeling a little more confident in my professional body and a lot more confident about by future as a librarian.
team came to the fore with shared working, structured on-the-job training, learning the service “live”, building skill and confidence in real business information delivery on the base of earlier library education in generic principles and practices.
Well worth remembering: a reflection on a great librarian’s skill from John Dolan, OBE On 24th January I went to Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society’s (www.manlitphil.co.uk) memorial lecture honouring Leslie Smyth MBE. The speaker, Dr Diana Leitch, is the former Deputy University Librarian at the John Rylands University Library of Manchester. Leslie Smyth headed up the Commercial Library in Manchester Central Library where, after the graduate trainee programme in 1975, I took up my first professional post. I’d used the service for a student project but was now in post, at the counter. You didn’t sit! It was hectic; staff, like a rapid response team, were always on the move as walk-in users and phone callers made rapid demands for prompt, authentic, sourced and reliable information and you raced to find, retrieve, assess and deliver it … now! After the Commercial Library I moved into community information librarianship, but what I learnt under Leslie Smyth’s leadership informed the rest of my career. For example, •
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Obviously pre-digital, collections were comprehensive and current. Sharing closely with London’s City Business Library, Leslie created a unique arrangement, organising material the way the user would approach their learning and information discovery. This break with the Dewey past later informed how community information resources came to be organised. Compare also the “Categorisation” of both fiction and nonfiction reflecting popularity, importance and/or urgency. Skill with speed; this work was physically and mentally demanding. Constantly on the move, we had to know the rest of the Central Library to connect the user with related resources; we actively referred people to other institutions – academic, commercial, professional – for specialist or different help. I remember my first-day-terror ... an introductory 1-2-1, a library walkabout, a run through basic procedures; then, simply onto the counter. It was now that the knowledge and support of my colleague
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Leslie was ahead of the game. That telex machine was the first in a public library in the UK, a vital communications tool. In a 60’s refurbishment, Leslie designed bespoke furniture for visibility and easy use of cumbersome, but critical, trade and industry directories; still in use until the current refurbishment closure (http://bit.ly/ pzIPpM ).
Central to this early experience was the creed of putting user and community first, of the complexity and critical value of accurate and timely information and the importance of working with users rather than for them – empathy. I took all my learning from this business service into the world of community librarianship; I found the critical needs of business had parallels in the information needs of inner city communities. Diana also told us of Leslie’s dedication to the Lit’ and Phil’ (yet he declined invitations to be president) and, in particular, the papers of John Dalton, “Father of Chemistry”, first proponent of atomic theory and a founder member. Most of Dalton’s papers were with the Lit’ and Phil’ when its George Street building was wrecked in the blitz. Only a metal trunk, found fortuitously and retrieved from basement rubble protected some of the most significant documents in the history of science. This and all the resources associated with John Dalton are held and conserved at the John Rylands University Library (http://bit.ly/ ym76z5 ). However, it was Leslie Smyth who devotedly and skilfully catalogued and indexed them – to an expert degree of detail – making accessible to researchers world-wide an invaluable piece of global science heritage. Leslie Smyth showed, in his library and information services and his enthusiasm for John Dalton, that without a librarian’s skill, experience and qualities so much of our information, learning and knowledge, both current and historic, would disappear beyond reach. Be careful, you may not miss it till it’s gone.
Runcorn library begins new chapter by Helen Sheriden
Runcorn Reading Room ©Halton Libraries Halton libraries have relocated their Runcorn library from the Carnegie building that has been its home since 1906, to the old market building in Runcorn town centre. The library now boasts wi-fi, 10 public use computers, self service machines and brightly coloured furniture. Paula Reilly-Cooper, Halton library services manager, said ‘We hope it will become a real community hub where people can come to use the library and for information and access council services.’ The refurbishment follows the lottery funded renovation of Halton Lea library in 2009 and ensures that Halton library services can deliver a 21st century service to the borough.
A word from the Editor According to Terry Pratchett and Star Trek there is an ancient Chinese curse ‘May you live in interesting times’ and the last few months have certainly been interesting. One of the things I am finding particularly ‘interesting’ (or more accurately, challenging) is how to successfully blend my working life and my professional life with actually have a, you know, life. You might have noticed that the cover date for this newsletter is later than advertised, for which I apologise, but I would like to take this opportunity to invite you all to share your experiences of how you manage your conflicting time pressures. What do you prioritise, and what gives? Do you spend as much time on CPD as you would like or is your work life balance skewed in the wrong direction for you? I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts and as always it would be interesting to receive feedback on the newsletter. All submissions whether of articles or photographs are welcome. Copy dates for next issue of NW News. Editorial Copy Deadline: End of July Cover date: No. 41 Autumn 2012 Contact the editor: Alison Bond McNally Email: Tel:
a.e.bond@bury.gov.uk 0161 253 7345
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