LISNPN London meetup 01.10.10

As I can't make the New Professionals Information Day, i'm going to the meet up after at the College arms. I tried to get a friend I worked with previously at a public library, and she was worried that the event is all about talking about libraries. My email response?

yup. we just talk about our collections and shushing policies.

I think I put her off. Anyway, many others going tomorrow?

Today programme discussing libraries

Yesterday, Today reporter Bob Walker went to Nottingham and Grimsby to look at the effect library cuts would have upon patrons, and what can be done to preserve them. Link here.

Great article on Public libraries from the States

(Found via here). The go-to-hellman blog has a very insightful post entitled Are Public Libraries in a Death Spiral?. In the post he makes two very salient points when he writes:-

A favorite budget-cutting tactic of public library directors seems to be curtailment of opening hours ......To me, this seems like the worst possible thing for a public library to do. ........Public library funding comes from the public, and the best way to convince the public that their library deserves more funding is to get the public inside the library doors.

Public Broadcasting is a good example for public libraries (and a competitor for donor support). Does public radio turn off their transmitter when they need money? No, they put on specially good programming and have pledge drives. My local library puts donor names on bricks; I'd like to see libraries put donor names on opening hours.

Tough economic times are exactly when public libraries are needed the most. The assistance that libraries offer to people looking for work, training for new occupations, learning to read, or finding social networks makes public libraries valuable parts of their communities, but that doesn't happen when the doors are locked.

Would Britain be willing to pledge money to its libraries to increase hours? I doubt it. The Lib/con pact are looking at cuts, and what services we do provide will be reduced (in my mind). So, last one that leaves the library, please turn off the light.

The conservative policy on Libraries? We have the answer

For those of a squeamish disposition please turn away now. Seems the lovely lib/con pact is cutting into the library budgetby suspending the Libraries Modernisation Programme by £12m. All Ed Vaizey promises seem pretty hollow. Well, with Cameron as leader thats no surprise then?

Good news about libraries.......shock, horror

After the sadness about 10 library closures in Belfast, in which I stated 'maybe one day I'll have some good news on this blog.' Well, the BBC reports 'Libraries in Wales see borrowing rise, against UK trend'. Its seems, in Wales, there's been a 3.7% increase in usage of libraries.

Guardian article on free labour

And not the one that lost. Seems that The Guardian has an article entitled Council services in our hands, which looks at public services going to volunteers. This has been mentioned previously. What a great idea. After the initial euphoria of volunteering it all slows down. Anyhow, why do I pay taxes for experts to do jobs and get volunteers instead. Ridicolous idea.

Musical Darwinism: the evolutionary implications of indeterminate notation and its intersection with a Library 2.0 world paper

A colleague of mine has just written an interesting paper entitled Musical Darwinism: the evolutionary implications of indeterminate notation and its intersection with a Library 2.0 world. Very worthwhile if interested in musical libraries a web 2.0.

The Hollywood Librarian discussion

After the talks we discussed the role of libraries and librarians. Tell you what, it was depressing. Many of us felt that we are less valued. Our opinions are under-rated and that our job is now about numerics. One academic librarian at Art school pointed out art students don't take items as the books are usually heavy. Hell, I think i'll reach for a drink.

Seth Godin and the future of libraries

(Found via here). Seth Godin has an interesting post The future of the library. He asks:-

What should libraries do to become relevant in the digital age?.

I suggest you read the rest to see what his idea's on the subject are.

Library 2.0 Gang guests Meredith Farkas

Talis December Podcast of the Library 2.0 Gang entitled Social Software in Libraries. Along with the usual suspects of Nicole Engard, John Blyberg and Marshall Breeding are joined by Meredith Farkas. Well worth a listen, in that it discusses the users needs rather than technology for technologies sake. The Mp3 is here.

10 things librarians hate....

(Found via Adventures in Library Land) pointed me in the direction of Swiss Army Librarian blog entitled Top 10 Patron Pet Peeves. There really had some resonance upon me. Especially number five which says:-

Patrons with no cell phone etiquette Cell phones aren’t banned from my library - we just ask people use them politely.

I did also feel that i'm a bit of a grouch at work when I read Liz's comments in which she points out librarians failings:-

Fair enough. But having been to three separate libraries in the span of four days recently, please allow me to pose a few Librarian Pet Peeves:

1. Treating patrons as inconveniences. I’m so sorry to tear you away from your hard work on eBay or that juicy phone call about your sister-in-law’s illegitimate child’s paternity suit, but may I please ask you a question without being sneered at? If it is something important and work-related, a simple “I’ll be with you in a moment” is greatly appreciated.

2. Using nondescript or derogatory references to coworkers. For some reason, it bugs me when one librarian will say to his or her colleague, “Yeah, this girl / lady / woman has a question about WestLaw” - how about “This PATRON has a question”? My favorite was a reference helper who had to get the head reference librarian; when she came from her office and asked him who had the question, he responded “The chick in the blue shirt over there.” Nice and professional.

3. Pointing. Me: “Excuse me, can you tell me where I can find the updated State Codes and Regulations, please?” Help Desk Librarian: (points to the… SSE’ern-ish corner?) “Over there.” I understand time is short and I don’t expect to be led there by the hand, but descriptive directions, such as “Just past the reference materials here on the last shelves on the left” is far more helpful than a finger.

4. Disappearing. This happens more than I care to admit. Occasionally while answering my question or checking out materials, the librarian who has been assisting me will just get up and wander away. Usually it’s to get more information or to ask a colleague for help, but I would appreciate knowing that. This is another instance in which a few extra words, such as “This book isn’t scanning properly - I’ll be right back” are incredibly appreciated.

I’m sure none of you wonderful and dedicated individuals reading this blog are guilty of any of the above, but maybe you have a colleague or two who has a habit of doing them. Of course I don’t wish to sound ungrateful - my school and county libraries are wonderful and the staff works hard to be helpful, but these little annoyances often keep me at home accessing materials electronically rather than in person.

Interesting stuff.

Unquiet History podcast

Librarian.net introduced me to an interesting podcast [whoops error, digital recording], entitled Unquiet History, which follows on from Matthew Battles book of the same name. When I finally get my ipod touch might even get to listen to it.

Dis lookz da bomb........

Having moved house (no it did not go well), I was checking my bloglines, when I came accross this found via Self-plagiarism is style. Its in England and its free (which one is rarer). I'm going to go to what they describe as :-


This informal event is a chance to meet others involved in Library Technology and related fields such as metadata, search, etc. Inspired by the Mashed Museums event, the day will give the opportunity for you to discuss ideas, share visions, and hopefully actually develop some stuff. All you need to take part is some enthusiasm for exploiting technology in the Library and Information world.

Mash it up.

Another library documentary

Following on from the success of Hollywood librarian news is coming through that an amercan film crew are making a documentary about Latvian libraries. The article says of the film:-

The film is being shot for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which plans to show the film to librarians and library administrators from many countries where similar projects could be implemented.

"Tresais teva dels" is the foundation's pilot project in Europe; before that, the foundation supported the development of libraries in North and South Americas.

Last week the film crew visited Preili Library, Kastire Library and Riga Central Library branch "Vidzeme", where library visitors were interviewed. The goal of the documentary is to show the role of modern libraries, provided with latest technologies, in the improvement of the quality of life.

Facebook aricle of interest

David Lee King has a great article on how libraries can use facebook. He discusses:-

I’ve done into three sections - Basic Info, Facebook Functionality, and Social Stuff.

I've passed it on to my manager to see if we maybe able to use it on our facebook page.

Why no comments article via ttw

Taming the web has linked to an interesting article entitled 'why no comments' (via here). In it, TTW says (sorry this is poor practice but still):-

One of the stumbling blocks for libraries when we talk about blogging is the fact that so many library blogs never get comments. This article - focused on associations - might be very useful for strategic planning for the library blog.

I especially like this one:

2. Open and easy. If you really want to build comments, you have to be open and make commenting easy. Limiting your blog content or commenting features to members also limits what you can achieve with your blog. A members-only strategy may be appropriate in some cases, but not if your goal is to engage a vocal audience. In fact, to truly be open, try setting up a blog with

No login;
Easy to find comment links;
No captchas—those annoying things that make people spell out letters to prove they are human;
No moderation. (You can always be notified of new posts and moderate after the comments are posted.) The instant gratification a new commenter feels when they see their name and content post to your site is not to be underestimated.


I totally agree. So many times i've spoken to libraries and ease of access is such a stumbling block. It could be I don't sell it well enough, but I think any blogger feels content when they recieve comments.

Please feel free to comment ;)

Hollywood Librarian review

Having missed the first screening of the Hollywood librarian, I was not going to miss the first in London. I got there in good time, and was one of 8 people there to see it. I'd seen more people at worst films than this, with friends who will remain nameless.
Well, for those of you who have seen the film, are librarians and enjoy you job (so not annoyed librarian then), you will love it. The film discusses the role very much from an American view point, but thats not a bad thing. It looks into the descruction of Baghdad library, comparing it with the desctruction in Alexandria. It looks at the declining revenues paid into libraries and the impact they have on there communities. It looks at how libraries have been portrayed in film (from Fahrenheit 451 and the time machine, and librararians). But most importantly it looked at how we love our job, and how priviledge we feel to do it. I came away feeling quite elated.
One complaint though. Why not more people there? Why didn't they advertise it in Cilip ? it is London.

Who needs a librarian?

Nice youtube video about the needs for librarian (found via Siva Vaidhyanathan)

The demise of public libraries.....is it happening?

Having worked in public libraries, I have been reconsidering staying within this area. This was underlined via a story by MaintainIT, which pointed to a Boing ,boing story about internet access being filtered and unfiltered in California. In the article RandomReader makes the following comment:-
As a former public library librarian, I can say that unfiltered Internet is simultaneously 1)important for intellectual freedom reasons and 2) a giant pain in the rear end. More broadly speaking, computers are transforming the texture of libraries and attracting new demographic slices that previously had no use for the library. Add to that what Amazon and Half.com have done for allowing book lovers to access books, and the impact of Google on giving people access to basic reference information, and you have even more more upheaval in public library land. Just today I predicted to a colleague that by 2025, the stereotype of public libraries as being about books and a quiet environment will be replaced by something having to do with computers, community programming, and probably the taint of Internet addiction/e-stalking/etc.

I'm in agreement. The days of looking for books are dead. Being an expert on e-mail is soo the vogue. No wonder i'm looking at legal libraries.

Job satisfaction

Having said previously of starting my new job, I am getting into the swing of things. Yesterday, was exceedingly good. Just the simple things make it enjoyable, like getting on with work colleagues and assisting people who need it, and best of all learning from my mistakes. Shame the jobs short-term, but its nice to be enjoying a job.