on International Library and Information Work Volume 45, Number 3, 2014 Editorial

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BiblioTech - A Matter of Logic Laura Cole

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From Collection to Connection: the re-design of a library Anne Kristen Nybø

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A Library with People and for People Mari Jore, Leikny Haga Indergaard and Ragnar Rørnes

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Modernising a Library at Germany’s Oldest University David Westley

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Falkenberg Fandango Ian Stringer

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From Goldsmiths to South Africa: a travelling librarian’s information literacy voyage

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A Library for Prisoners Anil Singh

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Eurotoolbox - What is that? John Lake

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Canadian Library Conferences John Pateman

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Breaking Down Barriers John Lake

115

ILIG Business

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Focus on International Library and Information Work Vol. 45, No. 3, 2014

Editorial Libraries and Cultural Change – does this sound old hat or extremely contemporary? More seasoned members of the library and information and knowledge profession, may be reminded of the title of a book by Ronald C. Benge which caused quite a stir when it was published* in 1970. But today the phrase is no less demanding of our attention, since our libraries, now more than ever, are required to change in order to survive and meet the new needs of users and potential users. Many of the articles in this issue of Focus reverberate with the beating of this drum for change, whether it is: in the new approaches to designing and planning libraries in Bergen and Stavanger in Norway; re-thinking how a library should work in Germany’s oldest University in Heidelberg; taking on the challenge for change with communities in Canada; providing ground-breaking all-digitised services in Bexar County, USA; or establishing a library for inmates in jails in India. The need for re-imagining of services is with us constantly but now it seems that a fresh vitality is called for with the unprecedented pressure on budgets and the need for transformation of services from physical to digital as was discussed at the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Public Libraries Satellite Conference in Birmingham in the UK this August. But is the need for change just a case of the king’s new clothes? Well not when you look at how people’s lives and societies can be improved and enhanced by services which have adapted and realigned to the needs of the communities they serve evidenced in these articles. And what if we don’t change? Well, as the engineer, statistician and management consultant W. Edwards Deming said, “It is not mandatory to change. Survival is not mandatory.” John Lake, Editor *Benge, Robert Libraries and Cultural Change, 278pp, London: Clive Bingley, 1970. Focus on International Library and Information Work is published three times a year (March, July and November) by the International Library and Information Group (ILIG) of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). This issue printed by: Foxprint Editor: John Lake Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

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BiblioTech – A Matter of Logic by Laura Cole*

I remember learning about analytical reasoning in high school. Despite the many years since, I still recall practicing logic questions using the “if-then” conditional to make reasonable deductions. “If the team scores a goal, then the crowd will cheer.” “If she arrives by 7:45, then she will be able to catch the 7:50 bus.” “If we want to provide cost effective library service to patrons geographically distanced from the library then..?” This is exactly the challenge that officials in Bexar County, Texas, faced in 2012. Bexar County boasts a population of 1.7 million, with San Antonio, population 1.3 million, the largest municipality within its borders. For decades, Bexar County has partnered with the city of San Antonio and San Antonio Public Library (SAPL) to provide library services to those residents outside the city limits. SAPL is comprised of 26 beautiful branch libraries dispersed throughout the city. Confronted with explosive growth on its perimeter, Bexar County recognised that an ever larger percentage of its residents were moving farther away from existing branches. The current service model was no longer meeting our needs as it had in the past. The question of library services needed to be *Laura Cole has worked in county government for the past 11 years. In 2012, she was privileged to be charged with directing the development and implementation of BiblioTech as Project-Coordinator. Ms Cole holds a Bachelor of Arts from Viterbo University in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Texas San Antonio. She is a member of the American Library Association and Texas Library Association and is currently pursuing a Master’s of Library Science at Texas Woman’s University. email: [email protected] 84

reframed. If...then...what? For County Judge Nelson Wolff, the answer was a matter of logic. If the library patron cannot go to the library, then bring the library to the patron. In autumn 2012, I was fortunate to lead a team of officials charged with developing BiblioTech, Bexar County’s first library. As it happened, BiblioTech is also the first digital public library in the United States. It was created, not for the sake of being “first”, but as a logical solution to a growing problem. Through BiblioTech, Judge Wolff wanted to accomplish two goals: break down barriers to reading and serve the needs of disadvantaged communities. Within a span of 11 months, BiblioTech opened its doors to the public on September 14, 2013. The cost advantage of a creating a digital library was obvious. BiblioTech was built, inside and out for $2.2 million – roughly one third of the cost of a traditional branch library. Conceptually, BiblioTech is a simple matter of logic. If the objective is library access, then it is necessary to provide a means of conveyance for those without access to technology. Our library is available and free of charge to all with internet access and electronic devices. What about those unable to afford such luxuries? A digital library is of no value to those without access to technology. We found the answer in a 4,800 sq. ft. space of a county-owned facility on San Antonio’s south side, an economically challenged area of the county. Our physical location provides technology solutions where consumer buying power and internet access are severely limited. Our technology includes 600 basic e-readers available for external circulation as well as 200 enhanced e-readers pre-loaded with

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BiblioTech

Technology tuition session at BiblioTech

children’s content - also available for external circulation. We have reading accommodations and adaptive technology for the visually impaired. Within the walls of our library, we have 48 desktop computers, 40 I-Pads and 10 laptops available for internal circulation. Our space includes a children’s area with four surface tables and interactive wall screens with learning software. We also recognised that a library is far more than a repository for books. The social function of library as the “third space” for the community needed to be addressed. With a mere 4,800 square feet we can offer classes, provide meeting space, school tutoring and children’s reading programmes. We have study rooms for group projects, a reading lounge, a cafe with light refreshments available and a community room for meetings and larger classes. If a digital library does not require the patron to visit a library, then a digital library requires an alternative delivery model. Technology affords the ability to invert our service. We can turn the bricks and mortar library inside-out. Rather than having the

public come to the library, at BiblioTech we focus on outreach - bringing the library to the public. We believe that reading should be in your hands - not behind our walls, and we will make every effort to ensure that happens. A focal position on our staff is a full-time Community Relations Liaison. This position is responsible for arranging outside presentations for school and community groups, scheduling instructional visits at senior living centres, and participating in local conventions and festivals. This position also arranges field trips and tours for groups in our library and fosters partnerships with local businesses and service agencies. In the first twelve months, our outreach team participated in over 215 community events. At each of these events, the team was able to take the entire library with them by means of electronic devices. A digital library affords an aggressive approach to service not available to libraries encumbered by volumes of paper. To manage a digital library in the same way as a traditional library is to miss the mark. If a digital library is not confined by location, then the digital library can go anywhere. A digital library can permeate walls, it can “fit” in corners and it can reach through razor wire. Digital makes its way where physical is inhibited. When space requirements are no longer a primary concern, worlds of opportunity open. We have capitalised on BiblioTech to serve county operations internally. The justice system is a core function of county business with over 40% of the county budget dedicated to its service, particularly in jail operations. Incarceration is costly and recidivism is all too common. It goes without saying that it is in the best interest of both the county and the taxpayer to foster skills to support successful re-entry

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BiblioTech

for inmates. In co-operation with the Bexar County Sheriff, BiblioTech launched a reading programme for incarcerated mothers in the jail. Books on subjects such as parenting, self-improvement, job skills and devotional reading are loaded on to e-reading devices and distributed to the inmates for independent reading. A BiblioTech staff member joins the group to lead a weekly book study. This programme, also a first in Texas, has been extremely successful in building reading skills among the inmates. A teenage child of one of the participants reported he had never before seen his mother engage in any kind of positive activity, and he was excited that she was developing an enthusiasm for books. Similarly, we have partnered with the juvenile detention centre. Juvenile detainees are universally registered for library cards, and probation officers use material downloaded from BiblioTech’s catalogue to motivate learning and mitigate the interruption in their education. When juveniles leave the facility, they do so as registered library patrons with new educational resources at their fingertips. BiblioTech is entirely scalable and can find a home in a variety of iterations. In January 2014, we opened a satellite branch in the Central Jury room of the County courthouse. The “branch” is comprised of a small circulation desk and on-site staff to register patrons, instruct them on our resources, and circulate reading devices should jurors find themselves trapped for several hours without a good book. We have established a presence at a local military hospital as our way of saying “thank you” to those who serve. We are currently expanding into 14 Bexar County school districts, donating reading devices, registering students and augmenting their school libraries through full access to BiblioTech’s catalogue. 86

Afternoon at BiblioTech If library service is suddenly available where none has been before, then providing learning support is primary. It is unreasonable to expect to be able to speak a language fluently without regular opportunity to develop an ear for its sound and rhythm. Likewise, the library patron cannot be expected to download and read digital material without the benefit of prior exposure and baseline knowledge. When a small rural community has never had a municipal library, access to a digital library can be life-changing, but only if they are given the instruction and tools to use it. Freedom from the tasks associated with managing paper inventory; shelving, stocking, cataloguing, allows our staff to dedicate their time to direct patron service. Our collection currently has over 25,000 e-books and will continue to grow annually. We also have audio books, movies, music, television programmes, periodicals, graphic novels, databases, language

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BiblioTech

learning programs and software education programs. Each of these platforms carries a learning curve. Our staff spend the vast majority of their time providing one-on-one instruction with patrons; teaching them how to use devices, how to source materials, how to download books, etc. Likewise, the digital librarian takes on a new role. The librarian is no longer a gatekeeper of information, but rather, a guide or even fellow explorer. If a digital library is intangible, then ubiquitous visible presence is essential to promote usage. It is difficult for people to wrap their minds around the “virtual.” Our senses communicate reality. Feeling, touching and smelling all help us to interpret our world. The inability to touch the pages of a digital book makes the concept of a digital library that much harder to understand, and, by extension, patronise. BiblioTech takes marketing very seriously. We are shameless self-promoters. At every community event we attend, we give away merchandise emblazoned with our logo. In addition to pens, pencils, temporary tattoos and screen cleaning cloths, we also sell thumb drives, coffee mugs, tote bags and ear buds. We also make full use of augmented reality in our library. “Techolote” (owl) is our library mascot and serves as a site key for our augmented reality application. Simply hovering over the image with a tablet or smart phone instantly takes the patron to

a screen of BiblioTech options including registration, library catalogue, webpage and social networking. Our Techolote image can be found on bumper stickers, t-shirts, window clings and will soon be prominently featured in local grocery stores. With a little assistance from Techolote, the library will be impossible to avoid. “If – then” statements frequently culminate in some kind of a projection; for example, “taken to its logical extreme, x is likely to result.” It would be irresponsible for me to make such a prediction. Digital libraries are a disruptive model and one of which many, even in the library profession, are fearful. It is difficult to imagine that the digital library will supplant the traditional library, and I make no claims that it should. BiblioTech has been very successful in reaching the unreachable library patron, a niche population that is both larger and more varied than we realised when we started. Digital libraries are uniquely positioned to deliver these services. As time goes on, the term “digital library”, will become more commonplace and will be interpreted with more confident understanding. As more unreachable patrons receive library service and local budgets are eased with the advent of more digital libraries, knee-jerk reactions and fears will begin to subside. Ultimately, logic will prevail.

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From Collection to Connection: the re-design of a library by Anne Kristin Nybø*

Stavanger is the fourth-largest city in Norway with a population of approximately 130,000 people living in the urban city zone and 319,000 in the metropolitan area. Sølvberget, Stavanger Cultural Centre, situated in the middle of the city centre, is the home of Stavanger Main Library. In 2013, the library had 866,000 visitors, a number expected to be a great deal higher in 2014. The 27-year-old award winning building is innovative in its use of concrete, where the challenge was to make it live harmoniously side by side with Stavanger’s historic wooden houses. Over the last two years, the building has gone through some major alterations, which has given us the opportunity to re-think the way the library is organised - both the organisation itself, but also how we want to welcome our visitors. The first step was just completed this spring, with the opening of a brand new library on the ground floor. A selection of the library collection is presented here, as well as functioning as a place where people can meet, have a coffee, surf the net or work. It is a busy and active gateway to the rest of our library. The opening of the “Super Library” has revitalised the ground floor of the building, and has been a huge success. The next step is the re-make of floors one to three, including re-organising the library collection, removing all cell offices and moving all staff to one larger area, opening up the top floor (which today houses the administration department) to the public, and opening up a spacious roof terrace which has a wonderful view of Stavanger. Why? Before any of the work started, a long process *Anne Kristin Nybø is Project Manager; Rebuilding of the Stavanger Library Sølvberget, Stavanger Library and Cultural Centre. email [email protected] 88

Market Square and the main entrance

took place, asking the question; why? What was our goal – what was it that we wanted to achieve? As the title suggests, we wanted to move away from purely focusing on our collection to considering how and why do we want to change? Why are we important to people? Why are we needed in a fast-moving digital world? As our vision states, the library is committed to securing people’s rights to information, to be a place where visitors can expect a good answer to a question – possibly to a question they had not even considered! The library should not just be a home for books but a place to stimulate curiosity and reflection. We are committed to give our visitors an extraordinary experience, and to communicate the important stories for generations to come. The library is committed to bridge cultural, religious and economic differences, eliminating dividing factors such as income, age and social standing. In an increasingly fragmented and commercial social environment, the need for neutral places to meet is greater than ever. Sølvberget commits to be an arena for integration, influence and discussions. Our toolbox It was crucial first of all to generate enthusiasm, a positive attitude and to motivate our staff. Our staff are the heart of our organisation, and

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without working together, we would not have had the success we experience today. A large number of the staff enrolled in business school programmes like “Project Management” and “Managing Changes”. Inspirational lectures and workshops were arranged, as well as trips to libraries and other cultural institutions in Norway and abroad, in cities including London, Amsterdam, Malmö and Copenhagen. Simultaneously, we implemented our new organisational model, which took us from a traditional hierarchical management structure to a flatter model; a matrix model with three main columns; Experience, Knowledge and Meeting Point. Our communication strategy was upgraded (to be more visible in social media, web pages, through editorials, and to clarify routines and responsibilities) and a brand new vision for the whole organisation was presented: Knowledge and Education, Experience and Communication, Diversity and Possibilities, Meeting Point and Involvement. The new vision is a result of every staff member’s input and involvement; doing this encourages a feeling of ownership and active participation. The new matrix is an organic model and it is expected to be adjusted and re-organised throughout the life of the project. The Re-build, step 1: The Super Library on the ground floor. Opened January 2014. Due to a large expansion of the local movie theatre, which is also located in the building,

The entrance to the library

Loans and returns

we were forced to think smart – how could losing large parts of our book depot create new possibilities for the library? How could we use this to address the decrease in loans, the lack of space for meeting places and additionally stay one step ahead of the constant threat of budget cuts? Being a non-commercial institution without the possibility of charging for our services, we were forced to explore other channels of sorely needed income. (Norway has a Public Library Law that states “The Public Libraries have an obligation to present information, education and other cultural activity, though active communication and by making books and other medias available, without charge, to everyone living in this country”) After the completion of the new movie theatres, we were left with a large empty area on the ground floor. Based on the results of our research, there was a wish: to create an instant experience for visitors immediately upon entering the building – a Super Library; to provide a seamless transfer from the main hallway into the library, a hallway that functions like a throughway from a market square on one side of the building, to the narrow streets on the other side; and to make this area become a busy meeting point and a place where our visitors could get a taste of what the rest of the library has on offer.

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From Collection to Connection

We have gathered small samplings of our entire media collection on this level. Inspired by book shops, the presentation of the books and other media is carefully planned, and encourages a high level of self-service. Specially made “book islands” and custom designed furniture, with their use of materials, reflect the unique architecture of the building. There is also a large open space, covered with a locally woven woolen carpet that kids and teenagers love, curling-up with a book or doing somersaults! In addition, we abandoned the old rules of no food in the library – by opening up access, directly from the library into a new and trendy café; our visitors are now welcome to enjoy a coffee or a muffin while spending their time in the library. The choice of a high quality café and restaurant has proven to be the success we hoped for. The architects used the way Stavanger is laid out as a template for creating an environment that mirrors the hustle and buzz of a city, with its narrow streets and small squares revealing themselves through exploration. The visitors were given a space to browse, study, work, meet or just hang out and relax. At Sølvberget we host a great number of events every season – the programme this autumn offers about 170 events – a story time for small children, book presentations for adults, homework workshops for pupils, debates,

The cafe 90

Activities

concerts, exhibitions, digital workshops for seniors, a cinema series, gaming sessions and different cultural activities engaging our foreign citizens. A large, professionally lit sound stage is located on the ground floor as well, which gives us the opportunity to host a great variety of events. Being in the vicinity of people, enables us to more easily communicate these events to the non-user that simply happens to be passing by.

Relaxed reading

At the centre of the ground floor annex is the library information centre. Visually designed to be a striking focal point, it has specially designed red counters and a red floor. Digital screens display event information, as well as a live twitter-feed. This is also where the users can return the books via an automatic machine that sorts the books and collects them on trolleys, ready to be put back on the shelves. The ground floor library is open weekdays from 08.00 – 22.00, Saturdays 10.00 – 21.00 and Sundays 12.00 – 21.00.

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us to move from ground floor to the top of the building using one staircase. We will move our entire collection (with the exception of the art and architecture book collection, which, along with an art gallery, will be located in a different part of the building) to this “column”, staging a journey through different environments while moving upwards towards the top floor.

Secret spaces for children

The Re-build, step 2: Library, workshops and office space, First to third floor. Opening spring of 2016. We are currently in the planning phase for the re-design of the remaining floors. As with the ground floor, we have involved the staff by putting together six teams, each with a specific task: Wayfinding; Digital Communication; User Involvement; Office Space, Library Collection/ Special Collections/Focal Points; and Workshops/Arenas/Meeting Rooms. Because of the new cinemas being built, we found ourselves in the position to seek funding from the council to build a new staircase, connecting three previously separate library sections into one vertical “column”, enabling

Concentration

The new staircase

First floor With the busy “Super Library” on the ground floor, the first floor will continue that busy feeling with a collection and environment that will accommodate all ages; children, teenagers and adults. This will be a playful and inspiring floor that will allow the visitor to discover even more. Second floor Moving one floor up, this plan is for a quieter, more focused environment, enabling the search for facts and specific information. Secluded study rooms are planned for on this floor. Third floor Reaching the top floor, a real jewel is revealed to our visitors. This floor is currently filled with offices, meeting rooms, and our canteen. This floor has glass walls facing north, east and south. The view from these rooms is spectacular, looking out on the mountains rising high above the fjords, also giving a view of Pulpit Rock, one of the biggest tourist attractions in this region.

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A glass cubicle

By relinquishing our cell offices we hope to create a floor for contemplation, reflection and study. The aim is not to have a completely quiet floor – the plan is to integrate some of our collection here as well, perhaps our extensive music collection. What is now our canteen will be converted to a café with access to a large and well-kept secret; a roof terrace looking down on the town square. The plan is to have multi-functional rooms on every floor - meeting rooms or workshops. As stated in our vision, the library is a place where education and integration takes place. We will provide the facilities for workshops hosted by others, but also run workshops facilitated by our own staff. Our aim is to have a high activity level throughout the day, during our opening times.

the different needs our staff have regarding sound levels, space and equipment. To regroup in a smart way the result will be a better workflow between people, but also break down the barriers that are often present between the different professions. The goal is to create an open office space that will become be a zone where people find energy and inspiration, a playful area that stimulates creativity and communication. Summary: That’s why! As for all libraries, it is important to be able to meet the challenge of continuing to be relevant to our users and to work smarter within the organisation. Moving in a digital fast track, the importance of the urban living room is greater than ever – to be able to provide space, time

Specially-made book islands

Office space Moving out of our present cell offices, we are taking on the challenge of creating a new large open office, facing all the pros and cons related to that. It is essential to accommodate

and a physical environment for unexpected meetings, and to encourage interaction between people. To be able to be that place, the library is no longer merely a place for collections, but equally important – a place for connections.

Newspapers

Theory: The Library as a Room The theory of Edward Soja (a postmodern political geographer and urban planner) will be a great tool during this whole process. “First Space – the material and measurable room”, “Second space – the imaginary and symbolic room” and “Third space – the audiences’ perception and expectations”.

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A Library with People and for People by Mari Jore, Leikny Haga Indergaard and Ragnar Rørnes*

Is it possible for a traditional library to accentuate the user and accommodate learning, creativity, experiences, sharing and participation on a par with modern, useroriented libraries? A current trend in public library development is to invite the user not merely as a borrower or visitor, but as a resource in the sculpting of the library service, based on new demands and wishes. London’s Idea Stores are strategically located in the local community, attracting visitors to brand new premises with services spanning access to new literature, knowledge and media, municipal services and facilities for lectures or meetings. Beacon libraries are established all over the world; recent examples include Aarhus and Birmingham, with Oslo following suit soon. Exciting developments of library services and facilities come about in processes involving users, employees and expert groups (Schultz, 2013). These projects are impressive and inspiring, and extend to sectors like urban development and cultural and educational policy. To most libraries, reality is quite the opposite. Old, decaying and historic buildings as well as conservative notions of the library service pose challenges. At Bergen Public Library, we have several ongoing projects that aim to shape a library that involves our users with the context of a heritage building, whether in the form of including our users in designing a new youth department, submitting ideas on shape and content, producing a video book in the library *Mari Jore is Project Leader and Leikny Haga Indergaard is Library Director of Bergen Public Library. email Leikny. [email protected] or marij@bergenbibliotek. no Translated by Ragnar Rørnes, Library Consultant.

Bergen Reads Copyright Haarvard Legreid & Francisco Munoz

or providing a meeting place and an entry point to “digital citizenship”. This article will present some of our projects where users are integral. One Size Fits All? It is no small task the public libraries are facing. A modern library must offer cultural experiences, accommodate for public participation and co-creation, as well as offer competence and advise on new media, books, networks and knowledge (Jochumsen, Rasmussen and Skot-Hansen, 2010). This challenges the traditional library, which facilitates knowledge acquisition by making media available, with the librarian operating as the link between user and library collections. “With a shift in focus, from transaction to relation, where libraries are organised around partnership, a library is now more than its collections – it is the sum of our skills and competence in synergy with our partners and users” (Bolstad, 2013). This shift leads to more open and dynamic libraries, but it also makes it harder to find a universal formula. The principle of “one size fits all” is no longer valid. Library services and facilities must change and adapt to the needs

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A Library with People and for People interviews in the streets, at schools and in sports centres, as well as in workshops with a focus group. The ideas and wishes of the focus group provided the framework for the room’s design and construction.

Code Club Copyright Ragnor Roernes

of existing users, as well as potential users.1 Bergen Public Library’s “UROM” (“Youth Room”), which is a part of our YOUNG Project is a great example of how new rooms can be created in a dialogue with new user groups.

UROM (Youth Room) Bergen Public Library has a firm rooting with children and adults, but lacks the same connection with young adults aged 13–19. With the YOUNG Project, we wanted to design a new room and service in collaboration with the target demographic, hoping to inspire a sense of ownership. The goal is to offer a userpowered “young-to-young” cultural advisory, and thus create a natural meeting place for young adults. The project was launched in January 2014, when the library partnered with students from Bergen School of Architecture (BSA), where external, practical projects are readily incorporated into education. The students were assigned the task of creating the library’s new youth room, and worked with youths through

The result is a room that is not confined to the strict shapes and straight edges usually associated with a library – caves, curves and, quite literally, window seats flourish. The feedback from the interviews and workshops served as guidelines when the students planned the form and function of the youth library. The result is a non-traditional library space, which can house activities as diverse as quiet reading, gaming, film screenings, larger events and concerts, and even multiple, simultaneous activities. The project has prompted the library to acquaint itself with young adults, map their requirements in a library and invite them to fill the room with content on their own terms. This process is based on the idea that if the library is to be relevant to its users, the users must be included in the shaping of the library service. After the completion of the room, we have even hired young adults aged 14–18 part-time. Their job is to come up with and administrate events, and document, report and evaluate the project. We wish to provide all spheres of youth culture with a sense of

Window seats Copyright Ragnor Roernes

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UROM Reference group Copyright BAS

ownership and belonging in their relation to the library, by giving them influence and the opportunity to contribute. The architecture and the activity of the room are young voices given form. Bergen Reads – Together Another effort to raise the voices of Bergen is Bergen Reads, a three-year project, started in 2010, which is part of the national goal to promote reading pleasure. Bergen Reads 2011 was all about collective reading experiences, where the entire city was invited to nominate and vote for their favourite book. In 2012, we sought to elicit book tips from the personal book-shelves of readers in Bergen through a portrait interview book – Show Me Your Library. In Bergen Reads 2013, we wished to develop a meeting ground where the public would contribute their personal reading of known works, in Bergen Reads - Together.2 In collaboration with BEK – Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts, we developed a reading booth and gave it a central location in the library. While BEK sorted out the technical side, we held a vote for the book to be read aloud, and the winning title was the novel Rain by Bergen author Stig Holmås. Our visitors were encouraged to enter the booth and read a short passage from the book while video and audio

recordings of their reading were being made. The recordings were published directly to the Bergen Reads website, and are still available to the public. When the entire book had been recorded, the video was projected onto the library exterior, and passers-by could watch and hear Rain – from cover to cover. The intention with Bergen Reads – Together was to have personal readings by the general public, but pop-ins by authors and artists helped kickstart and promote the project. We collaborated with schools and other institutions in order to recruit readers, and the Mayor of Bergen, the leader of the Norwegian Arts Council and the Director of Den Nationale Scene, Bergen’s theatre, as well as authors and cultural workers from Bergen, contributed their readings. The Bergen Reads projects were based on our users’ favourite books, book tips and personal performances. We connect with our users by focusing on their own literary preferences – our users aren’t just visiting; what and how they read is of interest to our employees, who work with and share an interest in literature. Our users’ book tips can be the basis for events and further literary advisory, and their collective reading in our read-aloud project

UROM seating area Copyright Ragnor Roernes

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provides an exciting insight into the nuances and possibilities of a text. The most interesting entry in the read-aloud project was perhaps a passage performed in sign language3. Bergen Reads – Together is personal communication of literature – the passages of the book are brought to life in the faces and voices of our users. The project is the amalgamation of literature and the technical and communicative possibilities offered by the digital realm. Digital Arena Digital technology and knowledge are at the core of Digital Arena, another three-year project we initiated in 2013. The goal is to turn the library into an arena of learning, debates and experience in the fields of new media and digital technology. We wish to join forces with avid internet users and the tech savvy, take part in their culture and be the physical meeting place they need when they look beyond their computer screens. Informational competence within the library is enriched by these spheres, where people live to share knowledge and culture. Through collaboration with these milieus, the library can bridge the gap between people, technology and knowledge (Bolstad, 2013). Digital Arena has several branches, out of which two are presented here. 96

Code Club One of our collaborators in Digital Arena, is Lær Kidsa Koding! (Teach Kids Code!), a national value network, inspired by the British Code Clubs, working to provide children with an introduction to computer programming. This network was started to lower the high threshold of programming and coding, which are essential in most of everyday technology. The library hosts an entry level course for children, the Code Club, where individuals from the technology field teach children the basics of coding through Scratch and NXT Lego Mindstorms. These gatherings are very popular, and 60 children and adults come together and learn every week. With the Code Club, the library provides a meeting ground for professionals and technologically inclined children and adults. Coding is a creative activity which highlights problem solving, logic and understanding of the language of machine instructions. Thus, the library enables access to important knowledge that is not yet provided in the Norwegian school system (Bolstad, 2013). DEL - Digital Inclusion Another important user group are the more or less digitally illiterate. Our DEL project seeks to heighten digital literacy in adults

Code Club Copyright Ragnor Roernes

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who shy away from using online services, by offering one-to-one guidance and courses. As part of the project, we have started our Service Centre for Language and Digital Services, where our visitors have daily access to guidance by staff of IT and language proficiency. We provide assistance with everything from job applications to introductions to tablets, mobile phones and social media. We offer guidance in Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Arabic and Somali at different hours in our schedule, as well as English, which is spoken by all of our staff. In addition, we host Laptop Clubs, where we focus on elementary computer skills and use of public digital services. The clubs have a capacity of 10–12 participants whom our assistants guide and encourage to learn from and help one another. This service is highly popular, and the clubs usually fill up a few days after their announcement, and thus, the main challenge is meeting the high demand. This is why we will now host larger, more open events, where we present popular topics from our Laptop Clubs in short lectures followed by practical problem-solving, which allows us to reach out to more people. With the DEL project, rather than relying heavily upon external professionals, we seek to heighten in-house competence. Our idea is that library staff needs digital and pedagogical

skills as well as networking and facilitation resources to be able to provide a relevant service to our users. The competence required to meet the needs of the modern library user is complex, and library staff need to live digitally in order to think, speak and act digitally. A Library with People and for People. When we include our users through involvement in shaping the library space and content, in literature advisory, or when we help building their digital literacy, the library’s identity changes. The new public library must usher in people on their own terms, create networks, facilitate activities and be the meeting place required by future citizens. References 1 http://modelprogrammer.kulturstyrelsen.dk/hvorforet-modelprogram/bibliotekets-brugere (Accessed 2014.09.30) 2 The project is inspired by Ross Phillips’ Read Aloud project in the National Media Museum in Bradford, England, as a part of the Life Online exhibit, running from March 2012 to June 2013. 3 http://bergenleser.bergenbibliotek.no/recordings/253 Bibliography Bolstad, Sverre-Helge, (2013) “Biblioteket – møtestad for digital kultur og teknologi”, Bibliotheca Nova 4-2013. Oslo: Nasjonalbiblioteket. Folkebibliotekerne i vidensamfundet: Rapport fra Udvalget om folkebibliotekerne i vidensamfundet. (2010). Copenhagen.: Styrelsen for Bibliotek og Medier. Schultz, K. (2013) “Biblioteket – en relationel organisering med fokus på samfundsmessig inovation”. [ONLINE] http://www.hordaland.no/ Global/kultur/fylkesbiblioteket/dokument/Halmstad/ Biblioteket%20en%20relationel%20organisering%20 Bergen%209.4.13.pdf

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Modernising a Library at Germany’s Oldest University by David Westley*

Introduction The University of Heidelberg was founded in 1386, making it the oldest university in Germany. Today the University has a two-tier library system consisting of a central library and around 64 smaller libraries based in the various institutes of the University. The Central Library is the main lending library for the University and also operates an information service, a multi-media centre, the inter-library loan system, a digitisation workshop, a bookbinder, and other services. It also offers induction courses for all new students, as well as running workshops on topics such as the use of databases or bibliographic management software. The Deputy Director of the Central Library is responsible for overseeing the running of the 64 institute libraries, which includes recruitment, placement and training of the 71 librarians. The Central Library also provides and maintains the library management system (SISIS), supervises the cataloguing software and controls the quality of records. All libraries catalogue in the SouthWest German regional catalogue (which, due to the anomalies of the German union system, includes not just the main libraries in the South-West, like Mannheim, Kaiserslauten, Freiburg and Tubingen, but also the major East German libraries in Leipzig and Dresden). In March 2008 I took over the post of Librarian at one of the 64 institute libraries, namely the English Department (“Anglistisches

*David Westley MCLIP is Librarian of the Library of the English Department at Heidelberg University. Email david.westley@ as.uni-heidelberg.de

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Central University Library

Seminar”), in the heart of the old town in Heidelberg. The Institute is housed in a Jesuit school dating from around 1620, and overlooks the Baroque Garden and the impressive Jesuit Church. The English Department has been housed in this building since 1976, although the library, which takes up most of the ground floor and basement of the building, has a collection that was started around the middle of the 20th Century. Judging by the rubber-stamps in the older books, it appears that the collection was started by donations of relevant English material from the German and Romance language institutes. The library does contain several thousand older texts, from the 17-19th centuries, but these were added to the collection via book buying excursions around the United Kingdom, undertaken by a previous librarian in the 1960s. It was clear when I started that there was an urgent need to modernise the library in three areas: 1) collection management, 2) infrastructure, including the IT network, and 3) services to readers. Collection Management Until 2004 the institutes in Heidelberg ran their libraries independently of each other and the Central Library. This means that each institute

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Building of the English Department - library covers most of the ground floor

employed their own librarian and these were not necessarily qualified, e.g. in some institutes a secretary looked after the library. As a result, the catalogue records were not consistent or even very accurate. After 2004 the Central Library took over the responsibility of running the libraries, and one of the first projects they implemented was the retrospective cataloguing of each collection. This was done using the various card catalogues and the lack of consistency, even within individual collections, has made this a long and painstaking process. In the English Department this project started in 2007 and is due to be finished by the middle of 2015. The project made good progress in the first couple of years because the introduction of tuition fees (modest by UK standards, at around £800 a year), allowed us to employ a number of student helpers. With a change of regional government in 2011 tuition fees were abolished, meaning we couldn’t employ students anymore and the remaining stock, around 15% of the collection, had to be catalogued by the librarian when time and other work permitted.

nothing in the way of stock-control had been done for many years. Several thousand old dissertations (held also at the Central Library) were removed, as were a number of serials (where permanent online access was available). There was a collection of around 5,000 shortloan books, which was dissolved. The vast majority had not been on a reading-list for many years while others, particularly the paperbacks, were not in any condition to be read. Each useable book had to be checked to see whether it was already in the main collection; if it was it could be permanently removed, if not, it was re-classified and integrated into the main collection. A peculiarity of the collection was the number of books dating from the National Socialist period (1933-1945). The Institute had been re-named during this time (from “Anglistisches Seminar” to “Englisches Seminar”), and each book acquired during this period had a swastika rubber stamped in it. I must admit I was somewhat shocked when I first came across a swastika in a book and wondered why no one had thought fit to remove them during the past 60 years or so. Apart from the PR aspect of having swastikas in your collection, they are a banned symbol in Germany. When I looked more closely at our Main staircase of the Department - shows the age of the building well (built in the 1600s).

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Modernising a Library at Germany’s Oldest University though as the Library, in co-operation with teaching staff, is planning a display on the history of the Institute during the National Socialist period.

Library entrance and door to library office, before the renovation

Same area after renovation

collection, particularly texts printed during the National Socialist period, I found other reasons to be concerned. There were a number of books about German culture and language, for example concerning the interpretation of runes that reflected explicitly the racial views of the Nazis. In our bibliography collection was a text listing American authors with Jewish names, with a comment in the introduction to the effect that “hopefully these names will not be around in the near future”. The question for me now was what to do with these items. I decided the best solution was to donate them to the library of the Historical Institute, where they could be preserved as a historical reflection of thought at this period. They had no place in the remit of the library which is to “support current teaching, study and research in the English Department.” Some examples of books with swastikas in them will be kept 100

Other aspects of modernising the collection include the removal or digitisation of analogue sources, such as cassettes or videos. The Library has a good collection of TV drama productions from the UK, broadcast in the 1970s and 80s, and most of these are not available on DVD, so digitisation was the only viable option to preserve them. Infrastructure Although the Institute has an architecturally interesting building, not without a certain aesthetic appeal, it is, like many older buildings, not ideally suited to housing a modern library. The task of modernisation here meant working in co-operation with the Director of the English Department, the Central Library, and the Building Services Department of the University. While the Institute itself is responsible for financing the book-buying budget and for furnishing the library, the University administration finances any changes to the structure of the building, including carpets, lighting and the electricity and IT networks. Once we had proposals from the architect and a detailed plan from Library entrance, showing extended glass doors, giving impression of space and light

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Modernising a Library at Germany’s Oldest University age meaning, at long last, readers can use their mobile devices anywhere in the library (including the basement, which is a vaulted cellar with very thick walls, so the fact that WiFi works here is particularly pleasing).

PCs for catalogue searches, in same room as journals and DVD collection (DVD collection is now at around 2000 items and is one of the most heavily used parts of the collection. Students particularly like tv-series, as these help them understand accents and idioms by following the same characters over a period of time).

Building Services it was a case of waiting on funding. Due to the extent of the renovations, it was decided they would have to be done in several phases, to spread the costs over several financial years. Phases 1 and 2 saw the main reading rooms completely renovated, including new carpets, ceilings, lighting and the addition of a TV/Video/DVD viewing room. Phase 3 took nearly 18 months (of working under somewhat chaotic conditions), but was completed in February 2014. This saw the complete re-structuring of the entrance hall to the Institute, the main library entrance including the library reception desk, the offices of the Librarian and assistants (12 students work part-time helping the Librarian) and the readers’ services area, which includes PCs, copier and scanner, short-loan collection, DVD collection and information point. The final phase saw the installation of a new server and IT structure, including transmitters for WiFi access throughout the building. This finally brings the library into the digital

Reader services My first impression of the library when I started was that it wasn’t a particularly welcoming place. Apart from the antiquated and run-down appearance, there were too many hand-written notices around admonishing readers to do (or more usually, not to do), any number of things, from not using mobiles, to re-shelving used books or not bringing food into the library, and the shelving system signage was very hard to comprehend. I removed all the notices, relabeled the shelves to make our classification scheme more understandable and waited to see how things developed. The rules and regulations were re-written and modernised, to include the aspects covered by the multitude of notices. The result is the library now offers a less cluttered appearance, the layout is more understandable and there have been few if any problems with anti-social behavior. In terms of notices, it does seem that the fewer you have, the more they are adhered to. One of the first things I initiated was a questionnaire of our students, to find out what they thought of the library, how they used it, and what changes they would like. The response rate for the questionnaire was very good, mainly thanks to the co-operation of the academic staff, many of whom allowed the questionnaire to be presented at the start of lectures and then allocated 10 minutes of lecture time so that the forms could be filled out on the spot. The results of the questionnaire prompted some changes to our

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Modernising a Library at Germany’s Oldest University services, including an extension of the opening hours. This has been achieved partly through additional funding for student assistants, and partly due to efficiency savings by streamlining the tasks the assistants undertook in back office tasks, like handling post and processing new books. A liberalisation of the loans policy was something students also wanted. Each of the 64 institute libraries operates a basically reference only service, with limited loans, e.g. over the weekends. This policy has basically continued, but we could offer students a much more liberal loan policy for CDs and DVDs. Beforehand, these media were only used within the library. After the questionnaire, overnight loans were introduced and proved so popular that for most DVDs the loan period is now one week. The DVD collection (around 1,500 titles and growing), has also been re-classified to make it more user-friendly, particularly for those students who are just browsing. One of the student assistants devised a genre-based system (e.g. Action, Crime, Fantasy, Kids, etc.), which has proved very successful. Some of the wishes expressed in the results to the questionnaire have been met only recently. As a result of the renovations to the library it has been possible to make changes to the use of space in certain areas. Space generally is at a premium, and the building offers little opportunity for alterations, but it was possible to allocate a room with reserved study-places for exam candidates and PhD students. The basement area of the library has been designated a group-study area, with space for around eight groups of between three to six people. Here the thick walls of the

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building are an advantage as they allow this area to be quite noisy, without interfering with the quite study areas on the ground floor. Future developments So some six years after starting in the post, it is possible to look at the library and see many results of modernisation. A lot of factors have played a role in this process, but it isn’t possible (or useful) to include them all in this short article. The changing demographics in Germany and political changes in the SouthWest have altered the number and age of students studying here, which in turn will affect the services we will need to provide to support them. The Bologna Process has radically altered the degree system in Germany and that also demands a change from support services like libraries. Aims for the following years include: • Information on the Library Website to be expanded • More handouts about library services to be developed • Induction and training of new students to be improved and better co-ordinated with academic staff • Completion of the retrospective cataloguing project • Co-operation with the Writing Resources Centre (WRC) could be developed. The WRC and the Library of the English Department are aiming to provide improved study support within the library over the coming years. This means the library evolving into a “learning centre”, providing specialist writing support, aimed specifically at non-native English speakers who have to produce essays or assignments etc. in English

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Falkenberg Fandango by Ian Stringer*

Dancing to the Pogues at 2am on a Swedish beach was one of the highlights of an excellent mobile library meet in Falkenberg, a town in Halland province. It is not the sort of thing we get up to at United Kingdom (UK) mobile meets, but we no longer attract 200 delegates from six different countries. Maybe we should? I first came into contact with Anders Gistorp at the IFLA World Library & Information Congress in Gothenberg in 2010. He had answered my call for a mobile practitioner presence at the conference in fine fashion. There were no fewer than four different vehicles attending each day. We had kept in touch and met up at mobile library conferences in Ribe, Denmark and Turku, Finland, so when it was time for a Swedish mobile meet Anders pulled out all the stops. Not only did he attract 200 delegates but had 25 or so mobiles from Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway. He asked me to start the proceedings by doing a presentation on what I’ve learnt on my travels with mobiles round the world. He also asked for plenty of humour. On one of my slides I showed how people love their mobile libraries and showed one of the many Lego mobile library pictures I was sent when editing Service Point (a UK mobile library newsletter). But before I showed it I said; ‘There is a famous Scandinavian product, well known for its ease of construction, and equally famous for the ease in which it breaks up’ I then showed the Lego, there was a sigh of relief and then my second caption came up on screen ‘I hope none of you patriotic Swedes thought, even for a moment, that I was talking about IKEA’

There was a laugh of embarrassment and then lots of applause. The Swedes can take a joke! But it set the tone for a very happy meeting. We had an excellent speech on a Swedish open source Library Management System (LMS). Here we are in the UK paying millions to Bill Gates for his Microsoft licences and thus closing libraries and many Swedes are making do with a slightly less sophisticated product for free and keeping their libraries open. This is the web-based library system Koha. We had a visual tour by video of the mobile libraries in Norway, including a day out on the Book Boat Epos as it goes around the Norwegian fjords and has done so for 25 years. There was a session on book mobile reader day – and a feature on the mobile library of Brondersby, which had travelled over by ferry to the conference. There was a whole preschool session which I understand featured a cloakroom library at pre-schools in Halmstad. Another whole session was devoted to older people. One library had found that football memories were very good when dealing with people with Alzheimer’s and we saw a video of famous Swedish footballers meeting readers. There was also a session on the culture bus/ mobile library in Troms by Anne Gerd Lehn, who visited the UK last year. I had taken her No mobile library is complete without a hammock!

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Falkenberg Fandango

to various UK mobile Libraries where she picked up many ideas which she is now using. But of course a mobile meet is all about seeing the other person’s mobile library and we were favoured with a great variety. One van had a timber clad interior like in a Swedish house. Another had a hammock so that in the depths of winter the villagers can find a little bit of summer in the mobile. Another had a canopy and deck chairs. Many have coffee machines. One even had a crate of wine, but that was from Denmark where you can afford to drink wine. At 450 Kroner per bottle (£41) for house red in Sweden I had to make do with beer. It is obvious that

the Scandinavians try and make their mobile libraries into a pleasant meeting point. It’s certainly more than books. All the new vehicles use the term Mobile Library not Book Bus. Most have online facilities. Visiting lots of mobile libraries is a great way to network and I soon discovered that there is an immense amount of co-operation between the four Scandinavian countries. So as I said at the start, the party was great and was on a beach-side restaurant. It was 24 degrees centigrade and fine but out in the Kattegat a thunderstorm was raging. We could see the lightning and hear the thunder - a most impressive end to a mobile meet!

E-books: reading the future A one-day seminar organised by EUROLIS, the consortium of librarians of European Cultural Institutes in London and ILIG. The seminar will explore the impact of e-books in the European market and how librarians in different European countries are integrating the use of e-books and digital technology. Leading experts, coming from the European countries of Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom will share their experience and ideas with the audience. Presentations will raise and discuss such questions as: • • • •

e-books accessibility in Europe: from source to end-user e-books and EU libraries today: their effect on users and librarians - best practices Developing new strategies New technology and living on the “Cutting Edge”.

Venue: Italian Cultural Institute, 39 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8NX Date: Friday, 28 November 2014, 09.30 – 16:30 Fee: £60 (concessions £50) including lunch and drinks More details from: http://eurolis.wordpress.com or [email protected]

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From Goldsmiths to South Africa: a travelling librarian’s information literacy voyage* Following applications from across CILIP’s professional community, the English-Speaking Union (ESU) and CILIP have selected Goldsmiths’ librarian Elizabeth Williams as the recipient of their Travelling Librarian Award. The Award will enable Elizabeth, a Subject Librarian at Goldsmiths, University of London, to visit South Africa in April 2015 where she will be based at the University of Pretoria (UP). There she will explore Pretoria’s higher education outreach initiative, focusing on promoting the literacies needed to undertake higher education and the role of libraries and librarians in this, including the English language and information literacy. She will also share with South African colleagues outreach and information literacy initiatives she is involved with at Goldsmiths. Elizabeth said: “I am very excited at the wonderful opportunity that this award provides to be able to explore literacy and related issues in South Africa which has just marked its twentieth anniversary of full democracy. I am confident there will be an enormous amount one will learn and share with professionals in the UK”. Elizabeth will also visit the University of Johannesburg Soweto campus to examine information literacy provision there, as well as the Tertiary School in Business Administration in Cape Town (both city and rural campuses), to explore community programmes of literacy provision. Barbara Band, CILIP President said:"The Travelling Librarian Award is a unique opportunity that allows the recipient to experience new ideas, to collaborate with colleagues, and to enrich their own *source: CILIP / English Speaking Union

Elizabeth Williams

practise. This exchange of views between librarians internationally not only strengthens the profession but also allows for personal development which is why it is such an important award. I wish Elizabeth every success and an enjoyable trip”. Melanie Aplin, Senior Education Officer, ESU said: “English is a tool for communication that brings people together and Elizabeth’s research is a perfect example of how professionals from across the globe can exchange ideas and learn from one another, ensuring best practice within their fields of expertise. It will be fantastic to see how Elizabeth can apply her research upon her return to the UK”. Open to CILIP Members living in the United Kingdom (UK), the Travelling Librarian Award encourages librarians to explore further areas of professional interest through a study tour of relevant libraries and associated agencies in the United States of America or Commonwealth countries. Recipients are committed to share their findings and experience with the broader professional community in the UK on their return. For more information about the Award, please visit www.esu.org/travellinglibrarian

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Library Services to Prisoners: an initiative by the Ranganathan Society for Social Welfare and Library Development by Anil Singh*

It is widely acknowledged that libraries play a positive role in the lives of prisoners, as they do with other people. As modern societies gradually adopt a more humane and enlightened practice of criminal justice and incarceration in accordance with the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, they shift their focus from punishment to education, rehabilitation, and constructive use of time. The prison library then becomes an important part of the entire prison environment in its support for educational, recreational, and rehabilitative programmes. They help in addressing psychological needs, attitude problems and difficulties in coping with prison life. The prison library also provides a level of “normalcy” in a highly regulated environment as a place where individuals are free to make their own choices and engage in self-directed pursuits. The library presents a window to the outside world and can provide much useful information for those preparing for release to the outside world. Libraries Serving Disadvantaged Persons (LSDP) Section of International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, *Anil Singh is a Doctorate in Library & Information Science and has 20 years of experience in the field of practicing Librarianship. Presently he is in the Library & Documentation Division of the National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT), New Delhi and also a volunteer with RSSWLD. He has also worked in the Library and Documentation Center of Competition Commission of India (CCI), New Delhi and G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment & Development, Almora, India. He can be contacted at email: [email protected] 106

The Hague (IFLA) provides leadership to libraries, associations, and government agencies for the development of specialised services to those groups within the community which are unable to make use of conventional library services. These groups include Dasna Jail persons in hospitals and prisons, the elderly in nursing homes, the housebound, the deaf, and the physically disabled. In accordance with the mission of the LSDP Section of IFLA, the Ranganathan Society for Social Welfare & Library Development (RSSWLD), which is financially supported by the Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), has taken initiative to develop libraries in jails so that the prisoners can utilise their time constructively and improve the quality of lifestyle in jail. Till now it has developed three fully computerised libraries at Dasna Jail, Ghaziabad, District Jail, Lucknow and District Jail, Greater Noida. All these jails are in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The first library in Dasna Jail, Ghaziabad was inaugurated by Mr. A K Panda, Deputy Inspector General (Prisons), Meerut Range and Dr. Harivansh Chaturvedi, Director BIMTECH and also a President of RSSWLD on 17 March, 2012 which has 4000 volumes. In his inaugural address, Mr. Panda expressed his happiness about the quality of the books in the library and commended RSSWLD & BIMTECH

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Dr H Chaturvedi, Director of BIMTECH and President of RSSWLD speaking to prisoners

for coming up with this noble activity. He advised the inmates to make best use of the facility and help themselves in improving their lives after their release. The facility was the culmination of an intense four months joint effort by Dr. Viresh Raj Sharma, Jail Superintendent of Dasna Jail, Dr. Rishi Tiwari, Secretary RSSWLD and also a Commonwealth Professional Fellow, members of RSSWLD and the students of BIMTECH. The library has also an audio-visual section, which includes documentaries, inspirational movies as well as a few popular movies. After the success of the Dasna Jail Library project, the RSSWLD was approached by the Lucknow District Jail to develop its library as well. The second library was inaugurated by Mr. Rajesh Pratap Singh, Inspector General (Prisons), Uttar Pradesh and Dr. Harivansh Chaturvedi on 25 May, 2013 which was named as “BIMTECH Pustakalaya” at District Jail, Lucknow. For the establishment of the library at the District Jail, Lucknow, RSSWLD provided the following items: • 4500 books covering different aspects like religion, philosophy, literature, etc. • Two computers with multimedia kit and open source library management software. • Catalogue card table, library stationary, book shelves, table, chair, notice board, etc.

In this library RSSWLD has also established an e-library for the inmates in the jail by providing a collection of around 300 CDs/ DVDs of Hindi movies, CD/DVD cabinet, projector, screen, DVD player, sound system, etc. According to Mr. D. Maurya, Jail Superintendent, Lucknow, “after the establishment of the library the people are developing their reading habits and often ask about the collection available in the library”. After running successful libraries in Ghaziabad’s Dasna Jail and in Lucknow Jail, a third library was established for the inmates of the Greater Noida Jail. This library was inaugurated on May 28, 2014 by Dr. Preetinder Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police, District Gautam Budh Nagar and Dr. Harivansh Chaturvedi. The library has approximately 2000 motivational and inspirational books written by Indian writers. The library is being run by inmates. A team of volunteer inmates have been selected depending upon their qualifications and interest. Dr Rishi Tiwari, Librarian BIMTECH and Secretary, RSSWLD, said that “a survey was conducted in Greater Noida jail to know the literary interest of inmates. After the analysis of surveyed data, we have purchased books of eminent writers in Hindi literature like Premchand, Mahadevi Verma, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Mannu Bhandari,

Dr Preetinder Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police, District Gautam Budh Nagar addressing prisoners

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Library Services to Prisoners

Inauguration of the Library in the newly-built District Jail in Greater Noida

Mrinal Pandey, Sudhish Pachauri and others,” . Developing the Libraries in Jails It was emphasised by all the jail authorities that there is a need for helping the prison inmates to upgrade their skills and knowledge to enable them to find suitable jobs after their release. The establishment of a fully automated library, comprising a wide variety of books on all subjects was an essential first step in that direction. For BIMTECH students, the Jail library project was initially an extension of their social initiative programme. When the students started work on the project, some of them were apprehensive that the jail authorities might interfere in their work. Others did not know what kind of reception they would receive from the prisoners. However, much to their surprise, not only did the jail authorities welcome them, the jail inmates too treated them with utmost respect. In order to create a well-balanced library for the jail inmates, the students needed to understand the lifestyle of the prisoners, their background and reading interests. For this, they called upon the HR philosophies that they had learnt in their classes at that point of time. They created a questionnaire that would help 108

them to understand the prisoners’ demands. The method adopted by students proved successful as the results of the survey clearly showed that the reading choices of the inmates were specific down to the author and even the titles of the books that they would like to read. Of the opinion that inmates would probably prefer religious and maybe a few current affairs books, their choices ranging from Hindi literature to law and even management books surprised the students. To set up libraries in these jails, first the students requested their peers, alumni and others to donate books. The gaps in the compiled list were filled with the help of the funds allocated by BIMTECH. All the books were accessioned, bar-coded and marked with the respective jail stamp and arranged in classified order. BIMTECH also donated a couple of computers to all the jails, which were then upgraded with the latest opensource library software. Students developed a computerised catalogue of all the books and even trained some inmates who had been nominated to take charge of the library functions to operate the computers and keep the library up-to-date in terms of records. In all jails daily after 10.00, four prison inmates who volunteer at the newly formed

Mr A .K. Panda, DIG Prisons, Meerut Range (third from right) with Dr H Chaturvedi, Director of BIMTECH (fourth from right)

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libraries, take a round of all the barracks to collect paper slips from the prisoners, which state the title and author of the book they would like to read. Next, the same inmates who are in-charge of the library operations spend much of the afternoon delivering the books to the inmates. Since the library now has a more comprehensive reading list, with titles that interest most prisoners, the demand for reading has gone up very rapidly. According to Sunil Azad, one of the prison inmates who is in charge of the library at Dasna Jail and a big fan of literature, books in Hindi are the most popular genre amongst the prisoners. According to jail authorities, the existence of a library has brought about many positive changes. It has made the overall atmosphere more peaceful. Earlier, a lot of idle time led to fights amongst the prisoners, now instead of fighting, they read the books of legendary writers of India. The increase in reading habits has reduced their tendency to become violent. The most notable effect was the decrease in the

suicide rate by inmates which has reduced to zero. Many students of BIMTECH were involved voluntarily with these library projects in all jails. RSSWLD is also involved in various areas for betterment of the living conditions and environmental issues in the jails like ‘Waste Management’. A team of BIMTECH faculty and students and volunteers of RSSWLD have been deputed to work in this area. Another such option was to make bio-fertilizers from the abundant food waste from the jail kitchen. RSSWLD came forward with proposals to offer prisoners training facilities for skill enhancement in different trades and vocations. Reference Lehmann, Vibeke and Locke, Joanne Guidelines for Library Services to Prisoners (3d Edition). The Hague, IFLA Headquarters, 2005. – 24p. – (IFLA Professional Reports: 92). International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.

Notes for contributors to Focus Articles for publication in Focus are always welcome. Focus is not peer-reviewed, and articles are primarily intended to keep readers (who are professionals from a variety of different types of library and information services) informed about what is going on in the international library and information world, to introduce new ideas and programmes, report on activities and experiences, etc., rather than be ‘academic treatises’. Articles are normally between 1,500 and 2,000 words, though can be a little longer if necessary. The inclusion of references and URLs/links to further information is valuable, as are relevant photos (640 × 480 at 300dpi), if appropriate. Focus is published in March, July and November. Copy deadline is normally the end of January, May and September, respectively. Please e-mail material for consideration to the editor at [email protected]. Articles should normally not have been previously published, or be under consideration elsewhere. Focus on International Library and Information Work Vol. 45, No. 3, 2014

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Eurotoolbox - What is that? by John Lake*

A handy tool pack for travelling by car in Europe? - an investment package for saving your hard-earned Euros? - or a free resource for librarians and teachers who need to inspire children with the latest children’s books in European languages? If you chose the last of these options you’d be right on the button. Eurotoolbox is a resource collection which has been put together by Eurolis,1 a group of expert librarians in the cultural centres of France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain with the assistance of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) in the United Kingdom (UK). Now in its fifteenth year, the most recent toolbox for 2014/15 contains the best children’s literature from the countries represented in the shape of picture books for babies through to books for young adults supported by fully annotated bibliographies in English to use alongside the books. With many years of production experience and feedback from the users, the expert team of librarians have built a resource which enables librarians and teachers to use over 60 books in each collection for individual reading or group sessions in their own library or the schoolroom for a month at a time at no cost to their organisation other than onward transportation to the next location in the UK. The books are labelled for easy identification and there is a handy checklist supplied of all the books when the time comes to gather them in. Last year the new public library in Birmingham exhibited the books and enjoyed some great comments about the collection *John Lake is Chair of the International Board of CILIP and Editor of Focus 110

Eurotoolbox display in The Library of Birmingham

and use of the books from local people. Other locations included the independent school Shebbear College in Devon and Westminster (Tri-Borough) Library Service in London. The only restrictions are that your organisation has to be in the UK and that the books cannot be borrowed due to the need to move the complete collection onto the next participating organisation on time. This year the resource was launched at an event in the Italian Institute in London on European Languages Day (Friday 26 September) with Italian born art illustrator, Sara Fanelli and exhibition curator Paola Vassalli from the “Scuderie del Quirinale” in Rome who talked about children’s book illustration. If you are interested in more information about this free resource visit http://eurolis.wordpress. com/ or contact Mariella Reidy at the Italian Institute by email: [email protected] or telephone: 020 7396 4425. 1 EUROLIS was born over 15 years ago when the European Cultural Institutes librarians based in London decided to work together and promote European Languages in the UK in association with CILIP. They meet every other month and their main activities centre on: • One annual seminar on a chosen topic, aimed at all librarians in the UK • The Eurotoolbox resource for librarians and teachers in the UK

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Canadian Library Conference Reports By John Pateman*

Atlantic Provinces Library Association Conference (APLA), Moncton, 3-6 June 2014

I was invited to speak at this event, which was overshadowed by the killing of three Royal Candadian Mounted Police officers and a lockdown of the City. But the conference went on... Opening Keynote The Toronto Public Library system is the busiest in North America with 19 million visitors and a circulation of 33 million items annually. This session gave us the library angle on the Rob Ford administration. Maureen O’Reilly has worked for the Toronto Public Libraries for 26 years. In 2010, only two months before Rob Ford took office as mayor, she became president of the Toronto Public Library Workers Union (TPLWU) and has lived to tell the tale! The budget crisis of 2011 became the battleground, and thanks to the efforts of advocates and a savvy social media campaign, Maureen and her team were able to save numerous jobs and libraries. Creating an Aboriginal presence in your library Over 50% of Canada’s 1.4 million Aboriginals are under the age of 24. Aboriginal related services and programmes are on the rise in Canadian libraries, and most libraries are starting with children’s programming. This is not surprising as the Aboriginal population is rapidly growing. In the past five years, the New Brunswick Public Library Service has been actively enhancing Aboriginal library *John Pateman is the Chief Executive Officer/Chief Librarian of Thunder Bay Public Library

services through: outreach to 15 First Nations and to urban Aboriginals in New Brunswick; developing staff awareness training for all staff; adopting collection development strategies that promote Aboriginal content; creating innovative programming for all ages; and committing to the future by hiring an Aboriginal Services Librarian. Developing a Community-Led Public Library In this session, based on extensive research and good practice in the UK and Canada, I provided a blueprint and road map for developing community-led public libraries. Community-led service models offer a way forward for public libraries in Canada. A community-led public library: engages and involves active users, passive users and nonusers in the planning, design, delivery and evaluation of library services; is predicated on the assumption that all people have needs and everyone has different needs; is focused on those with the greatest needs; has strategies, structures (staff and service), systems (policies and procedures) and organisational culture (‘the way that we do things around here’) which enable it to identify, prioritise and meet community needs. This requires a holistic and systematic approach to organisational change. Public Libraries As part of my visit to the APLA conference I was able to visit a number of public libraries in Fredericton and Halifax. Fredericton Library opened in 1955, moved to its current location in 1975, and was renovated in 1991. It is the capital city’s main public library and the Resource Centre for

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York Region, providing support to the other libraries and bookmobiles in the region. The library has over 150,000 books, magazines, newspapers, documents, CDs, DVDs, and videos. The modern, well-equipped computer lab is open to the public. It is one of the busiest public libraries in the province with over 700 visitors per day. The Special Collections include a reference-archival collection, the Mary Morrison Mayo Folklore Collection and the Don Walker military collection. My host for the tour of Halifax Public Libraries was Ken Williment, who worked with me on Developing a Community-Led Public Library (Ashgate Publishing, 2013). Halifax North Memorial Public Library is located in Halifax’s historic North End. A community-based library, its particular emphasis is on offering culturally diverse service, which includes carrying an extensive Black, First Nations and multicultural collection. The branch’s Heinish Learning Centre houses a number of public access computers complete with internet access and a variety of adult and children’s software. The Centre also offers presentation and other equipment and is available free of charge for group workshops and training sessions. In the autumn of 2004 the branch underwent significant renovations to provide upgrades including new lighting, shelving, furniture and carpeting. The grounds in front of the Library were also revitalised. The new design provides an attractive, comfortable and functional space for the community. Captain William Spry Public Library opened in 1983, and moved to the Captain William Spry Community Centre in 1986.

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This spacious branch offers a large collection of materials including books, videos, CDs, DVDs, magazines and more. Services include programming for both adults and children, adult literacy and public access computers complete with internet access and adult and children’s software applications. Sackville Public Library is located on the main floor of the former Acadia School building. This bright and spacious fullservice library offers a wide range of materials, including books, videos, CDs, DVDs, magazines and more. Services include general interest programming for adults and youth, a reference room for quiet study and rentable meeting space. The Library also offers computers - complete with internet access and a variety of adult and children’s software applications. An Information Technology Training Center is available for community use. APLA gave me a good insight into public libraries in Canada’s Atlantic Provinces. It was also a unique experience to be caught up in the drama of a multiple killing and subsequent police manhunt. Moncton was effectively locked down for 36 hours, with restricted access into and out of my hotel, and whole areas of the city cordoned off by police road blocks. The usually busy and bustling Main Street with its French-style street cafes, pubs and restaurants became a ghost town. The triple murder of three local police officers hit this tight knit community very hard. There was a palpable sense of disbelief that ‘this cannot be happening to my city’. When the killer was caught there was a collective sigh of relief. I will never forget APLA 2014!

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Canadian Library Association (CLA) Conference, Victoria BC, 28-31 May 2014

I attended the 2014 CLA conference in the beautiful city of Victoria, British Columbia. I felt very much at home while enjoying tea and scones on the terrace of the Empress Hotel and cricket in Beacon Hill Park. The conference was rather good as well! Future of Libraries Ken Haycock gave a very interesting presentation on the Future of Public Libraries. The main question which Ken posed was ‘Will public libraries still be around in five years time?’ We like to think that public libraries will always exist, but there is some considerable and compelling evidence to suggest that, unless we radically change the way we operate, we could go out of business within the next five years. There are several reasons to explain why this might happen. The amount of people who use public libraries has been on a steady decline for many years. Another major challenge is the competition we are facing. We have always had competitors, but now we are competing with the likes of huge corporations such as Amazon and Google who are steadily but surely encroaching onto our territory. In fact there is nothing that we currently do which is not being offered by one of our competitors, including book loans and children’s programming. Public libraries used to be ‘leaders’ with a number of ‘unique selling points’. Now we are just one of many organisations competing to meet people’s education, information, cultural and leisure needs. That is why we have to change what we do, to halt the decline in our use and to encourage more people to visit our libraries and use our services. We need to reposition ourselves within the community by maximising the ‘democratic public space’ which our libraries provide. We need to work in partnership with

a wide range of organisations which share our purpose, values and vision. We need strategies, structures, systems and cultures which enable us to identify, prioritise and meet community needs. And we need to actively engage and involve the local community – regular users, occasional users and non-users – in the planning, design, delivery and evaluation of library services. Resistance to Change I was the co-presenter at the session entitled The Truth about Resistance to Change and How to Manage It. My co-presenter was Paul Takala, who is Chief Librarian/CEO at Hamilton Public Library (HPL). There are many misconceptions about what is behind resistance to change in organisations. Our session explored how ‘fear of change’ is a very incomplete and unhelpful answer to what is underlying staff motivations when resisting change. By having a more informed understanding of the emotions and motivations behind resistance we are able to deliver strategies and avoid common pitfalls that organisations often make. We explored Peter de Jager’s approach to change management and its application, including the Kubler-Ross 5 Stages of Grief, which is used to analyse common behaviours that are seen in organisations making changes. Change – whether big or small, personal or organisational – means losing something and people grieve this loss. Everyone goes through the same emotional cycle of change: 1. Denial – this can include shock and disbelief that change is happening. 2. Anger – this can include blame and a desire to return to the ‘good old days’. 3. Bargaining – this can be used to cope with the change and to stop people going back

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into the Anger part of the cycle 4. Depression – this can include fatigue with the amount of change and/or the length of the change process. 5. Acceptance – this is when people get used to change and the new way of doing things. Some staff choose to opt out of the change and leave the organisation. Everyone moves through this cycle at a different pace. Some people move through it very quickly; others take more time. Generally speaking, the more fundamental the change is the longer it can take to move through the change cycle. That is why it is better to do change the ‘slow way’, to give staff time to adjust to these fundamental changes, and to ensure that change is meaningful and sustainable. Community-Led Public Libraries I was part of a panel session entitled A Discussion in the Round: Community-Led Service at Your Library. Members of the CLA’s Community-Led Service Network hosted round table discussions focusing on implementing community led library services: 1. A day in the life of a community librarian – approaches towards initiating and partnering with community organisations; creating balance in your role inside and outside of the branch; best practices for allowing the community to be the expert in determining potential library services. 2. Organisational barriers to change and how to overcome them – institutional barriers (opening hours, rules and regulations), personal and social barriers (lack of basic skills, low income, poverty), environmental barriers (access, isolation, poor transport links), perceptional barriers and lack of awareness (people who do not think libraries are relevant to their lives or needs). 114

3. Evaluation of community-led work – measuring the impact of what we do; involving the community in evaluation of services, programmes and collections; developing new outcome measures; deciding when and how to stop an existing service or programme. 4. Engaging staff in community-led work – making sure that everyone is involved in the community-led approach; measuring the staff contribution; removing barriers to staff engagement; increasing understanding and knowledge of community-led work; developing new attitudes and behaviors to ensure staff ownership of this work. 5. Recruitment – ensuring that staff have the right skills, and incorporating these into job postings and descriptions; developing these skills in existing staff; encouraging people with the skills and experience we need to join the library profession. 6. Identifying barriers, needs and gaps in communities – recognising the barriers to library access; tools that inform community strengths and needs, including statistical data and staff knowledge; developing community profiles and asset mapping; building relationships with partner organisations who understand community needs. This very practical session drew a wide range of participants from board chairs to front line workers. It formed part of our ongoing efforts to build the Community-Led Public Library movement in Canada. Two libraries which use this approach have recently received national awards. Edmonton Public Library has won the Library Journal Library of the Year Award, while Vancouver Public Library was honoured with a special mention. This is evidence that the Community-Led approach is a win-win for public libraries and the communities they serve.

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Breaking Down Barriers between Physical and Digital: IFLA, Public Libraries & Birmingham in the UK a report by John Lake*

After eight years of service on the IFLA Public Libraries Section between 2001–2009, part of the time as Secretary and Chairperson, you’d think a person would have had enough of conferences and all things connected with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). Well not a bit of it. When Annie Mauger, Chief Executive Officer of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), asked me if I’d like to attend this Satellite Conference organised by CILIP, the Society of Chief Librarians and the current IFLA Public Libraries Section at the superb new library in Birmingham which opened in 2013 – my answer was swift and categoric – yes and may I bite your hand off please? Being a member of the IFLA community often represents a lifelong association with a huge circle of colleagues and friends around the world who sustain a common ground and meeting place that erodes all barriers and languages which can be richly rewarding for the individual and the libraries in which they serve. Certainly, that has been my experience and now as a retired librarian, or “full-time professional layabout” as the much revered Edward Dudley, (past Head of North London Polytechnic School of Librarianship and Editor of Library Association Record and New Library World) would have put it, I find the experience still has many rewarding experiences and uses as editor of this modest little journal. The “Satellite” conference had the theme “Breaking Down Barriers Between Physical *John Lake is Editor of Focus on International Library and Information Work, Vice Chair of ILIG and Chair of the International Board of CILIP.

and Digital” and took place prior to the main IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Lyons, France, in August, in the inspiring surroundings of the new Library of Birmingham (see report in Focus Issue 44 No.3, pp. 118 - 119) and having co-organised one of those events myself in Montreal, Canada in 2008, I was only too aware of how much goes into the preparation. So much relies on a good relationship with the hosts as all the work has to be done remotely until the very final moments before the first day of the conference. That relationship was clearly a good one in Birmingham because this conference made me recollect just how rewarding a well-run conference with interesting speakers can be. Marion Morgan-Binden and Jan Richards from Australia expertly provided the introductions, questions and concluding remarks, supported by the CILIP Events Team and the staff of the Library of Birmingham, who made sure everything worked smoothly and on time. The theme of the conference was broad enough to embrace many topics as well as appeal to staff from many sizes and types of public libraries. The first day reflected that diversity with a keynote speech from Brian Gambles, Director of the Library of Birmingham and Chief Executive of Birmingham Development Trust who talked about the process of planning, funding and building the largest public library in Europe through to a bite-size presentation from Sarah Dudek and Vera Binz on a compact topic room in the Berlin Central and Regional Library (ZLB Library), who came up with a title for their talk as a neat twist on the title of the conference - “Let’s Tear Down the Wall Between Physical and Digital” and skilfully demonstrated how old style presentation skills

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of topic-based presentations can be adapted to include all media and formats. They also showed how they dealt with really up to date and potentially inflammatory subjects in topics such as “Israel after the Election”, “Book burning of 1933”, “The diversity of Islam”, “Right wing Extremism” in a really well-balanced and insightful way. I was delighted to hear a presentation from a colleague from China, who I had booked for a conference programme on social inclusion at the IFLA Congress in Durban in 2007. Huang Qunqing spoke on a very different project based in the Guandong Province of China which demonstrated how her library was providing new learning experiences for users with the help of technology to provide a weekly lecture programme which had exterior wall displays for people who just wanted to drop in for some of the lecture or for people who were unable to get seats in these highly popular and educational events. The day also featured news of life-long learning on mobile libraries in Espoo City, Finland and “making without maker spaces” in Roskilde, Denmark as well as the more managerially focussed “Overcoming Barriers to Change and Growth” by Corinne Hill, Library Director, Chattanooga Public Library, USA who demonstrated how she and her staff had transformed the fourth floor attic in their Library into a technical hotspot where 3d printers, maker spaces, hi-tech conferences and a lot more, have been introduced on an innovative rolling programme of change. The afternoon provided further proof of the diversity of the conference programme with Sue Lawson from Manchester Libraries introducing us to some incredibly inspiring 116

community programmes using technology under the title “Madly innovative”. From SciFi book clubs to local people’s photographic collections annotated and tagged by local people, from “Manchester Girl Geeks” doing coding workshops to mini-maker spaces using home objects such as toothbrushes, from mad hatter musicians playing in the library to community radio – was there no stone unturned in this imaginative hot-bed for community programming? Then Laura Cole from Bexar County Biblio Tech, USA showed us how the all-digital library can look. Not one hard copy book, audio product, film or magazine was on offer. Everything in this totally digital public library worked as well for the person down the road as it did for the County’s far-flung farming communities who had initially stimulated the need for this library. The physical space still exists though and a vibrant digital skilling programme, literacy courses and reading programmes run alongside “Blogging for Seniors”, “Genealogy courses”, “Coding for Kids”, “Virtual Book Clubs” and a lot more throughout each weekday. The first day was followed by the Public & Mobile Library Group’s annual awards ceremony of the Public Library Champion of the Year (Gareth Hatton); Mobile Library Champion of the Year (Fiona Litscher); and Public Librarian of the Year (Jacqueline Cooper) at a reception in the Library of Birmingham which provided an excellent opportunity for networking amongst delegates, speakers and organisers. See www.thebookseller.com/news/cilip-names2014-library-staff-year.html for more details of the awards winners and look here; www.cilip.

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org.uk/public-and-mobile-libraries-group/awards; for news of when nominations are sought for the 2015 awards. Day two of the conference continued with a very thought provoking keynote speech by Jens Thorhauge from Denmark who provided us with excellent food for thought when he asserted that “The traditional public library concept was so strong because it fitted so well to the world’s knowledge and was de facto an international standard concept.” and that “Everybody recognises that conditions call for a new concept, but at least we do not have a common solution to replace the traditional organisation…” He illustrated the current Danish solution of a 4-space library model integrating “innovation, experience, empowerment and involvement” as a solution to the challenge he’d posed to us. The morning provided further food for thought from Geoff Strempel from State Library of Australia, Ciara Eastell, Head of Libraries, Culture and Heritage, Devon County Council showing us her “FabLab” in Exeter Central Library and Dolores Gandara Sanz from the Libraries of Barcelona, where the use of QR codes, Spotify and their own Biblio app. were already well established marketing devices as well as an international based reading club made possible through social media networks. The last speaker of the morning, Jean Fairburn, introduced a topic which might already be familiar to regular readers of Focus since there was a feature on how the EIFL Public Innovation Programme is assisting the libraries in Myanmar in Issue 44 (2) in July 2013 and the speaker provided one answer

to the question from the floor in the previous session as to how can librarians around the world in developed countries assist those in the developing nations? Electronic Information for Libraries(EIFL) provide one answer but it is nevertheless a continuing problem which needs further solutions. Have you thought about how you or your library might help? The afternoon session was liberally laced with further intoxicating speakers – from the UK, Janene Cox, Past President of the Society of Chief Librarians provided the keynote speech on “Thinking innovatively, acting collaboratively and managing creatively”, Ayub Khan, Customers Services Manager (Face to Face) for Warwickshire County Council who introduced the hospital-based library book lending vending machine service which is a UK first in its field and Gary Green gave further evidence of reading online across borders which has been achieved with his library’s partner from Orebro Sweden , represented by their Development Manager, Elisabet Brynge. I’ve galloped through the two fully packed days of the conference to give a taste for readers to (hopefully) feel inspired to look at all of the programme, speakers and presentations from the conference which are available on the CILIP website at; www.cilip. org.uk/cilip/events/ifla-satellite-conference which I recommend you take a look at. But more importantly, I urge you to consider how you and your community might benefit from your involvement in international programmes using social media to extend the range and depth of the services in your library which this conference programme so amply illustrated.

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ILIG Business ILIG Committee Profile The second of a series introducing members of the ILIG Committee John Lake Editor of Focus, Vice Chair of the Committee and Chair of the International Board of CILIP

Association and its successor CILIP, followed by eight years of service on the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Public Libraries Standing Committee. The combination of sheer dedication and enthusiasm demonstrated amongst members (and past members) of this Special Interest Group Committee has never been matched in my experience, making this a joy of a Committee to work with. There’s always a willing volunteer for a job to do (well nearly always) and the commitment to providing a quality range of activities for members is very motivating. Since I am now a retired librarian, this “work” is not something I have to do for profession accreditation, but, so long as it’s of value, I feel I can still contribute to a profession which I think is vital in building global cohesion through a networked library community, and it is this quality which make this special group “special” for me.

I have been on the ILIG Committee since 2010 and was very quickly plunged into the role of editing Focus when my predecessor Roger Stringer handed down his reigns. As Roger superbly completed his duties and input to the Committee entirely from Zimbabwe, I realised that doing this job from home in Brighton, UK ought to be entirely possible for me as a recently retired public librarian. I’ve been a “library professional activist” since my student days at Brighton Polytechnic (now a University) since 1974, working with the Association of Assistant Librarians (the “ginger” group of the then, Library Association) through to serving on the London and Home Counties Branch of the Library 118

ILIG Informal Professional Associations as a Foundation for an International Profession Wednesday, 12 November 2014 - 6:00pm to 7:45pm Sue Henczel is PhD candidate at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, where she is researching the impact of national library associations on individuals, their employers and the profession of librarianship. This presentation explores the roles that professional associations play in ensuring that members have the mobility to connect and work internationally where true mobility relies on the alignment of education, qualifications, professional standards and perceptions of the profession. This presentation intends to initiate discussion about the roles and

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responsibilities of national library associations as the profession evolves within a changing global and professional environment - as roles and connections become increasingly global. This will be of interest to members who see themselves as part of a global profession as well as to those shaping the directions and activities of the library associations. Attendance is free but booking is required for catering purposes (light nibbles/wine). The informal will be broadcast on a web blogspot platform on the night and available on YouTube afterwards. ILIG Workshop Marketing your Library Service: Principles and Actions: An ILIG Workshop with Ned Potter Date & Time: Tuesday, 18 November 2014 10:00am to 4:30pm This event is fully booked but look out for a report in Focus in 2015 Umbrella in Liverpool in 2015 The next biennial Umbrella Conference for CILIP’s Special Interest Groups to participate in, will take place in Liverpool in July

Alan Hopkinson, Doug Knock and Lee Houghton at Committee Meeting June 2014 2015. Anna Jablkowska is the Committee representative on the planning group. ILIG Committee Comings and Goings The Committee has had several changes to its membership in 2014. We’ve said good bye to Adam Tocock and Joan Dargan who contributed so much by creating our monthly e-newsletter over the last year. However, we have gained Colin Storey to the Committee following his return from working in Hong Kong as a University Librarian and welcomed back Sabelo Mapasure who had represented the Continuing Professional Development Group at our meetings in the past. It was great to welcome Alan Hopkinson back to our Committee meetings this year also after his stroke in 2013. His wife Marion accompanied him and he was able to understand what was going on and greatly enjoyed the company and proceedings with the assistance from his local hospital transportation unit.

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY ILIG INFORMALS AND MEETINGS ILIG Informal Wednesday 12 November 2014, 18.00 – 19.45 Professional Associations as a Foundation for an International Profession With Sue Henczel from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, CILIP, 7 Ridgmount Street, London, WC1E 7AE ILIG Committee Meeting Wednesday 12 November 2014, 13.30–17.00 CILIP, 7 Ridgmount Street, London, WC1E 7AE ILIG members are very welcome as observers, please notify the Secretary Anna Jablkowska: [email protected] ILIG Marketing Workshop Tuesday 18 November 2014 Ned Potter, Marketing Using New Technologies Fully Booked CILIP, 7 Ridgmount Street, London, WC1E 7AE Eurolis/ILIG Seminar Friday 28 November 2014, 09.30 – 16.30 E-books: reading the future Italian Cultural Institute, 39 Belgrave Square - London SW1X 8NX See more details on page 104 or at http://eurolis.wordpress.com/ Bookings to: Mariella Reidy by email: [email protected] or telephone: 020 7396 4425 ILIG Informal 2015 “Beat the January Blues” Informal Date tbc Keep up to date with ILIG via its webpages at www.cilip.org.uk/ilig If undelivered, please return to ILIG, c/o CILIP, 7 Ridgmount Street, LONDON, WC1E 7AE, UNITED KINGDOM

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