The early death of Michael Jackson is sad, the death of a community is a tragedy. More than 800 jobs are being axed by Corus in Sheffield and Rotherham - 40% of the current South Yorkshire workforce. The effect on individuals will be devestating and the whole community will be seriously affected.
Public libraries are a part of that community and will share in their pain. To be honest there is little that libraries can do to alleviate the initial impact of mass redundancies but they can a should be part of a process to help damaged communities to heal themselves. At a basic level they provide free or cheap access to books and DVDs. They are a source of information needed by people who are unemployed and facing financial problems. They provide a gateway to lifelong learning opportunities. Finally, they are a community resource, a place for people to come together.
If libraries are to have any impact in this situation many things must change. Librarians will need to consider new ways of working and new priorities. Local authorities must see libraries as being more than just books. Other national and local agencies must recognise the potential role of libraries.
Some mining communities never recovered from pit closures. Some communities in South Yorkshire may not recover from this latest blow. Many lives will be damaged and some destroyed. Can libraries be a light when all others have failed?
Friday, 26 June 2009
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
The twater's lovely
According to Alison Flood on guardian.co.uk "Libraries throughout the UK are testing the waters of Twitter as a way to both engage with their readers and dispel their image as fusty, silent enclaves staffed by old-fashioned introverts". [No doubt this article was written by a journalist in a short break between a long liquid lunch and a boozy night out in a Fleet Street public house.]
The article points out that librarians are using Twitter to network among themselves as well as communicate with potential users. As Stephanie Taylor points out (my last blog) there are barriers to librarians using Twitter etc at work. Also it is very difficult to build up a following among your target audience. The recently launched Sheffield Libraries tweet so far has only 23 followers and many of those are organisations like SINTO rather than members of the public.
However, barriers can be overcome and followers will grow in number. My message to anyone thinking of sticking a toe in is "Come on in - the water's lovely!"
The article points out that librarians are using Twitter to network among themselves as well as communicate with potential users. As Stephanie Taylor points out (my last blog) there are barriers to librarians using Twitter etc at work. Also it is very difficult to build up a following among your target audience. The recently launched Sheffield Libraries tweet so far has only 23 followers and many of those are organisations like SINTO rather than members of the public.
However, barriers can be overcome and followers will grow in number. My message to anyone thinking of sticking a toe in is "Come on in - the water's lovely!"
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
One Counter, two cultures
Next week SINTO is running a seminar on Web 2.0/Social Computing, led by Stephanie Taylor of Critical Eye Communications. This is a course that Stephanie has run for us before and is very popular.
In her own blog Libraries in a cold climate, Stephanie raises an issue that she has come across in several courses she has run. Library staff are often blocked from accessing Social networking tools at work. She point out:
In her own blog Libraries in a cold climate, Stephanie raises an issue that she has come across in several courses she has run. Library staff are often blocked from accessing Social networking tools at work. She point out:
In some UK public libraries, things are so bad that on one side of the counter, library users can freely access social networking sites via PCs linked up to the People's Network, but on the other side of the counter, library staff are blocked on their own PCs from accessing those same sites. The customer side of the counter - free access. The professionals' side of the counter - no access. This is the situation in many of the UK public libraries today: one counter, two cultures. Is this really the best way serving users of public library services? Of any library services?Stephanie raises an important point. Social networking tools are a valuable source of information and an important CPD tool. Library staff must be able to use these tools at work.
Friday, 19 June 2009
Twittering Yorkshire
Recently the Bookseller had an article on Libraries populate the Twitterverse which said that:
Libraries are seizing on Twitter, the micro-blogging phenomenon, as a new way to
reach out to users and to network with colleagues and the wider book trade.
Mike Stores of Stockport Libraries posted messages on LIS-PUB-LIBS about libraries and related bodies that are using Twitter and listed almost 40 organisations.
When I last blogged about this on the 4th June I said I only knew of one public library in our area (Leeds) that was using Twitter.
Here is a list of libraries from all sectors in Yorkshire that I now know of who are using Twitter.
- Sheffield Libraies. @SheffLibraries
- Rotherham MBC Culture & Leisure (including libraries). @Cultureleisure
- Leeds Central Library. @leedscentlibs
- Business & Patents library Leeds @baplig
- Bradford Libraries & Information Services. @bradfordlibs247
- Leeds Metropolitan University Library. @LeedsMetLibrary
- University of Sheffield Library. @UniSheffieldLib
- Information Commons at the University of Sheffield @sheffinfocommons
Thursday, 11 June 2009
The Library Show 2009
The Library Show is traditionally strong on library management systems and library furniture suppliers and most people go to get information from a range of suppliers. However one benefit of attending the show is the serendipty of finding suppliers that you weren’t looking for but are still of interest.
In the spirit of "we go to the library shows and drink the overpriced coffee so you don't have to" here is a random list of some exhibitors at the show you may have missed.
Harwell Support Services. Restoration of library and archive collections after fire and flood. www.harwellsupportservices.co.uk
The Library of Birmingham. Plans for the new Birmingham Central Library www.birmingham.gov.uk/libraryofbirmingham
Sight and Sound Technology. Solutions for the blind or visually impaired and for people with learning and reading disabilities. www.sightandsound.co.uk
ICC. Business information services www.icc.co.uk
Bailey Solutions. Library management systems, knowledge management and research tracking for smaller library systems. www.baileysolutions.co.uk
Spectrum Plastics. Durable plastic library cards and other encapsulated products. www.spectrumplastics.co.uk
Action Deafness Books Supplier of Sign Language Books and DVDs www.actiondeafnessbooks.org.uk
Access-it Software. Library management system designed for schools and colleges. www.accessitsoftware.co.uk
Go Green Bags Company. Eco-friendly bags. www.gogreenbags.com
Carel Press. Library promotional material for school and other libraries. www.carelpress.co.uk
MultiScreen Channel. Using television to communicate with library visitors in-house. www.multiscreen.biz
DLT Media. Supplying libraries and businesses with magazines. www.dltmedia.co.uk
Digitorial. UKPressOnline Newspaper Archive (Daily and Sunday Express,Daily and Sunday Star and Daily Mirror). www.digitorial.co.uk
and last but not least
The Amazing Adventures of Curd the Lion and us in the land at the Back of Beyond by Alan Gilliland
A self published children's book. Not the first writer to think they can match Lewis Carol, but this whimsical nonsense story stands out because of its illustrations by the author and it has a local setting - Brimham Rocks in the Yorkshire Dales. www.ravensquill.com
In the spirit of "we go to the library shows and drink the overpriced coffee so you don't have to" here is a random list of some exhibitors at the show you may have missed.
Harwell Support Services. Restoration of library and archive collections after fire and flood. www.harwellsupportservices.co.uk
The Library of Birmingham. Plans for the new Birmingham Central Library www.birmingham.gov.uk/libraryofbirmingham
Sight and Sound Technology. Solutions for the blind or visually impaired and for people with learning and reading disabilities. www.sightandsound.co.uk
ICC. Business information services www.icc.co.uk
Bailey Solutions. Library management systems, knowledge management and research tracking for smaller library systems. www.baileysolutions.co.uk
Spectrum Plastics. Durable plastic library cards and other encapsulated products. www.spectrumplastics.co.uk
Action Deafness Books Supplier of Sign Language Books and DVDs www.actiondeafnessbooks.org.uk
Access-it Software. Library management system designed for schools and colleges. www.accessitsoftware.co.uk
Go Green Bags Company. Eco-friendly bags. www.gogreenbags.com
Carel Press. Library promotional material for school and other libraries. www.carelpress.co.uk
MultiScreen Channel. Using television to communicate with library visitors in-house. www.multiscreen.biz
DLT Media. Supplying libraries and businesses with magazines. www.dltmedia.co.uk
Digitorial. UKPressOnline Newspaper Archive (Daily and Sunday Express,Daily and Sunday Star and Daily Mirror). www.digitorial.co.uk
and last but not least
The Amazing Adventures of Curd the Lion and us in the land at the Back of Beyond by Alan Gilliland
A self published children's book. Not the first writer to think they can match Lewis Carol, but this whimsical nonsense story stands out because of its illustrations by the author and it has a local setting - Brimham Rocks in the Yorkshire Dales. www.ravensquill.com
More Sheffield Floods!
I was at the Library Show yesterday with a SINTO coachload of librarians. The LIS could be called the "Not as good as last year show" which is what people always seem to say but it does still perform a useful role. Perhaps the idea of running it every other year might work.
I attended Phil Bradley's presentation about twitter . Phil gave a basic introduction to using Twitter and then looked at how it could be used by librarians for professional development and as a source of information. As Phil said - the first reaction to Twitter is "What is the point?" but as you get into it you find it is a useful tool and should not be ignored.
I will post some more about the show later but at one point I was at the Harwell Support Services stand, who specialise in restoration of collections after fire and flood damage, suggesting that SINTO might run an event on disaster planning.
On the trip back we ran into very heavy rainfall but I don't think anyone realised how bad it was. I got off the coach at Meadowhead (and was then stranded there for a couple of hours) so I don't know how everyone else managed. There was severe local flooding causing traffic disruption and I imagine many people found it difficult to get home. Sheffield Central Library suffered flooding and is closed until further notice.
Although it was not of direct help to us at the time (no-one having mobile internet access), Twitter was to be a useful source of information on developments. As Phil had pointed out earlier, Twitter is good for breaking news. A local blogger @sheffieldblog provided regular tweets on developments and the Sheffield City Council's Press Office @SCCPressOffice also provided valuable information including first news of the Central Library closure. The University of Sheffield used Twitter for news of the closure of the Information Commons.
I have always thought that public libraries should have a more active role in such situations. They could act as a valuable source of information to their local communities by seeking out information from websites, blogs and Twitter and passing it on. They are the link between the information rich and the information poor.
I attended Phil Bradley's presentation about twitter . Phil gave a basic introduction to using Twitter and then looked at how it could be used by librarians for professional development and as a source of information. As Phil said - the first reaction to Twitter is "What is the point?" but as you get into it you find it is a useful tool and should not be ignored.
I will post some more about the show later but at one point I was at the Harwell Support Services stand, who specialise in restoration of collections after fire and flood damage, suggesting that SINTO might run an event on disaster planning.
On the trip back we ran into very heavy rainfall but I don't think anyone realised how bad it was. I got off the coach at Meadowhead (and was then stranded there for a couple of hours) so I don't know how everyone else managed. There was severe local flooding causing traffic disruption and I imagine many people found it difficult to get home. Sheffield Central Library suffered flooding and is closed until further notice.
Although it was not of direct help to us at the time (no-one having mobile internet access), Twitter was to be a useful source of information on developments. As Phil had pointed out earlier, Twitter is good for breaking news. A local blogger @sheffieldblog provided regular tweets on developments and the Sheffield City Council's Press Office @SCCPressOffice also provided valuable information including first news of the Central Library closure. The University of Sheffield used Twitter for news of the closure of the Information Commons.
I have always thought that public libraries should have a more active role in such situations. They could act as a valuable source of information to their local communities by seeking out information from websites, blogs and Twitter and passing it on. They are the link between the information rich and the information poor.
Friday, 5 June 2009
Twitter as a resource for business information librarians
Twitter is a microblog - that is an application where you can post short messages which other people can then choose to follow. It can be used to keep your friend informed of what you are doing or it can be used professionally to disseminate information.
There is growing interest in the use of Twitter as a business tool in different areas. For example Phil Bradley recently wrote a piece in Library & Information Update about Twitter and librarians (April 2009). I will look at how Twitter might be a useful tool for the business information librarian.
One advantage of Twitter is that each post (tweet) has to be short, no more than 140 characters. As information overload and information obesity are major problems this enforced brevity can be very useful. Many people use Twitter to tell their followers about items they have posted on their blogs or websites so tweets can be seen as an alternative to RSS feeds. Regular checks of your Twitter feeds can keep you in touch with a wide range of useful sources of information.
Twitter is a form of social computing so it can be used not just for a one-way flow of information but as a networking tool to maintain a dialogue with colleagues. You can make use of this yourself and you can promote this to your users (e.g. small businesses which may feel isolated).
A probem with Twitter is that it is a very informal means of communication with many tweeters indulging in personal comments and asides. This is fun in small doses but can be a problem if you are trying to use it as a source of hard information. The business librarian probably needs to look at Twitter in three ways. First there are those tweets that are useful to you as a source of information. Second, tweeters that it would be useful for you to network with. Third, the wider world of business tweets that may be of interest to your users.
Sources of Information
(It is usual to prefix Twitter user names with @. When searching for people on Twitter do not use the @ prefix.)
@BIPC. British Library Business and Intellectual Property centre. Provides links to the new BIPC website.
@PATLIBUK. Supporting the UK's Inventers and Entrepreneurs with specialist patent and IP information and services
@baplig. Business and Patents. Leeds Library providing information for business, companies, inventors & students on patents, trademarks, copyright, designs, market research and much more.
@karenblakeman. Karen Blakeman. Karen is well known for her business information blog.
@intutebusiness. Intute Business. Covers the Intute Business website.
@BusinessLinkGov. Business Link
Networking
A useful way of developing a network using Twitter is to find someone of interest and look at who is following them and who they are following. Useful starting points might be:
@baplig (listed above)
@cityinfogroup. CiG A community for .people who work in and around the City of London, and utilise business and commercial information.
@tadpole99. Alison Williams. Business librarian by day. Haiku librarian by night.
General business tweets
There are of course thousands of these! Just Tweet It (http://justtweetit.com) is a directory of people who tweet organised by categories. However many of the categories contain hundreds of entries and most will be US based. There is a Twitter for Business section which includes "50 ideas on using Twitter for Business".
Here is a small selection of tweets I have come across:
@s4startups
@jennifersmith
@women_unlimited
@smallbiztweets
@businessnews
@TimesBusiness
And last, but not least - don't forget @SINTOcarl for keeping up-to-date with all things SINTO.
There is growing interest in the use of Twitter as a business tool in different areas. For example Phil Bradley recently wrote a piece in Library & Information Update about Twitter and librarians (April 2009). I will look at how Twitter might be a useful tool for the business information librarian.
One advantage of Twitter is that each post (tweet) has to be short, no more than 140 characters. As information overload and information obesity are major problems this enforced brevity can be very useful. Many people use Twitter to tell their followers about items they have posted on their blogs or websites so tweets can be seen as an alternative to RSS feeds. Regular checks of your Twitter feeds can keep you in touch with a wide range of useful sources of information.
Twitter is a form of social computing so it can be used not just for a one-way flow of information but as a networking tool to maintain a dialogue with colleagues. You can make use of this yourself and you can promote this to your users (e.g. small businesses which may feel isolated).
A probem with Twitter is that it is a very informal means of communication with many tweeters indulging in personal comments and asides. This is fun in small doses but can be a problem if you are trying to use it as a source of hard information. The business librarian probably needs to look at Twitter in three ways. First there are those tweets that are useful to you as a source of information. Second, tweeters that it would be useful for you to network with. Third, the wider world of business tweets that may be of interest to your users.
Sources of Information
(It is usual to prefix Twitter user names with @. When searching for people on Twitter do not use the @ prefix.)
@BIPC. British Library Business and Intellectual Property centre. Provides links to the new BIPC website.
@PATLIBUK. Supporting the UK's Inventers and Entrepreneurs with specialist patent and IP information and services
@baplig. Business and Patents. Leeds Library providing information for business, companies, inventors & students on patents, trademarks, copyright, designs, market research and much more.
@karenblakeman. Karen Blakeman. Karen is well known for her business information blog.
@intutebusiness. Intute Business. Covers the Intute Business website.
@BusinessLinkGov. Business Link
Networking
A useful way of developing a network using Twitter is to find someone of interest and look at who is following them and who they are following. Useful starting points might be:
@baplig (listed above)
@cityinfogroup. CiG A community for .people who work in and around the City of London, and utilise business and commercial information.
@tadpole99. Alison Williams. Business librarian by day. Haiku librarian by night.
General business tweets
There are of course thousands of these! Just Tweet It (http://justtweetit.com) is a directory of people who tweet organised by categories. However many of the categories contain hundreds of entries and most will be US based. There is a Twitter for Business section which includes "50 ideas on using Twitter for Business".
Here is a small selection of tweets I have come across:
@s4startups
@jennifersmith
@women_unlimited
@smallbiztweets
@businessnews
@TimesBusiness
And last, but not least - don't forget @SINTOcarl for keeping up-to-date with all things SINTO.
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