Category Archives: General

Refletindo sobre o passado e pensando no futuro é o tema da Seminário Intermediário

Refletindo sobre o passado e pensando no futuro é o tema da Seminário Intermediário

13 de abril de 2021 às 14 horas (horário de Brasília) – 7 p.m. horário de Amsterdam

Pela primeira vez haverá um painel em português com o tema “Bibliotecas Públicas e inovação em tempos de COVID” com relatos sobre os desafios e as alternativas encontradas para atender as comunidades durante a pandemia.

Nossos convidados são:

Isadora Cristal de Souza e Silva Escalante, Rede de Bibliotecas Comunitárias, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil 

Mestranda em Ciência da Informação no Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia (IBICT) em convênio com a Escola de Comunicação (ECO) da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Especialista em Alfabetização e Letramento pela Universidade Cândido Mendes (UCAM). Graduada em Biblioteconomia e Gestão de Unidades de Informação pela Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Atualmente é bibliotecária da Rede de Bibliotecas Comunitárias Baixada Literária em convênio com o Centro Comunitário São Sebastião de Vila de Cava (CECOM).

 

Marilena Nakano, Rede Beija Flor de Bibliotecas Comunitárias, São Paulo, Brasil 

É presidente da Rede Beija-flor de Pequenas Bibliotecas Vivas de Santo André. Cursou Pedagogia e História. Fez mestrado e doutorado na área de Educação, Estado e Sociedade pela Universidade de São Paulo e pós-doutorado pela Université Paris 13 (França). Até 2016, foi professora universitária na área de educação. Também foi professora da rede pública de São Paulo do Ensino Fundamental 1 ao Ensino Médio. Atuou na África no campo da alfabetização de jovens e adultos. Na França, foi professora de educadores sociais, trabalhando na área da mediação de território.

 

 Nuno Marçal, Biblioteca Municipal de Proença a Nova, Portugal.

Especialista em Ciências Documentais, variante de Bibliotecas concluída na Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias. Licenciatura em Sociologia concluída, na Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias. Bibliotecário-Ambulante responsável pela “Bibliomóvel” da Biblioteca Municipal de Proença-a-Nova desde o dia 26 de junho 2006. Bibliotecário da Biblioteca Municipal de Proença-a-Nova desde o dia 3 de janeiro de 2002.

 

Pierre André Ruprecht, SP Leituras, São Paulo, Brasil 

Graduado em administração de empresas pela Escola de Administração de Empresas FGV-SP. Foi professor de Metodologia da Pesquisa na área de Comunicação. Coordenou a área de multimeios e formação na Fundap, e ministrou cursos na área para o Senac, Fundação Cenafor, e outros. Foi coordenador geral da assessoria da Secretaria Municipal de Cultura de São Paulo e Gerente de Planejamento e dirigente em empresas, entre elas a Editora Brasiliense e, mais recentemente, gerente de projetos na área cultural. É tradutor e, desde 2011, exerce o cargo de diretor executivo da SP Leituras – Associação Paulista de Bibliotecas e Leitura, organização não-governamental responsável pela gestão da Biblioteca de São Paulo, da Biblioteca Parque Villa-Lobos, do Sistema Estadual de Bibliotecas Públicas do Estado de São Paulo e de outros programas ligados a bibliotecas e leitura.

Facilitadora: Adriana Ferrari 

Bibliotecária com especialização pela PUC Campinas e MBA pela POLI USP. Assessora e Coordenadora da Unidade de Bibliotecas e Leitura da Secretaria da Cultura do Estado de São Paulo (2007-2015). Assessora do Gabinete do Reitor da Universidade de São Paulo (2015-2018).  É Diretora da Biblioteca Florestan Fernandes da Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas da USP, Vice Presidenta da FEBAB e Membro do Comitê de Bibliotecas Públicas da IFLA.

Esperamos ver todos vocês em nosso evento virtual!

Faça sua inscrição aqui: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pIoOA9c_T56egeBkYeMjRw

Speakers announced for the Public Libraries Innovations in Covid Panel Reflecting Back and Thinking Forward – Webinar

Join IFLA Public Libraries and Literacy Reading Sections for our Reflecting Back and Thinking Forward Mid-term Seminar from 12-14 April 2021.  We look at how public libraries have responded to COVID and how the lessons learnt will impact the future. We will also explore some of the great initiatives around reading and literacy that have emerged during this time and how we can expand on this. There will also be an opportunity to ‘meet’ the world’s Children’s Laureates/Ambassadors and hear of their vision for the future.

The exciting program is listed below.

All times listed in Amsterdam Time:

April 12, 2021 – 9.30am – 10.30am: Meet the Children’s Laureates/Ambassadors
April 13, 2021 – 10am – 11.30am: Public Library innovations in COVID
April 13, 2021 – 12:00pm – 13.30pm: Literacy and Reading during COVID
April 13, 2021 – 19:00pm – 20:30pm: Public Library innovations in COVID (Portuguese)
April 14, 2021 – 10:00am – 11.30am: The future of libraries in a post COVID world
April 14, 2021 – 12:00pm – 13.30pm: Reading together during a pandemic
April 15, 2021 – 10am – 12pm: Public Libraries Business Meeting – an open meeting for all to attend

Register for the program here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pIoOA9c_T56egeBkYeMjRw

We are very excited to hear from Public Libraries from around the world on their changing

services in response to Covid-19:

 

Panel: Public Libraries Innovations in Covid: April 13th 10am – 11.30am

Whitney Oakley, Branch Manager, USA

Whitney was born and raised in Colorado USA. She has her B.S. in Human Services and currently works as the Branch Manager of the Anythink Bennett Library. Whitney is passionate about community and national service and sits on the Town of Bennett Board of Trustees as a Trustee Member. She currently lives in Bennett, CO with her husband, daughter and their many animals.

Whitney will share with us her library’s Elders Check-In Calls program and the impact it had on her community. 

You can find out more about her library here: https://www.anythinklibraries.org/location/anythink-bennett

 

Casey Bruck, Programming Librarian USA 

Casey Bruck is the Programming Librarian at the McCall Public Library in Idaho, USA. Casey calmly navigates all kinds of library programs—from kids’ maker-space robotics to adult travelogues.  Ask him about any ideas you might have to keep our library a dynamic place of learning in our community. He is also leading the way in our Idaho Room’s digital history project, to make all our local history records available online.

Casey and his Tutor Mobile partner Amanda Keaveny will share with us how they developed a new service: The Tutor bus for their community

You can find out more about McCall Public Library team here: https://www.mccall.id.us/library-staff

 

Binoy Mathew Librarian Selection Grade at the Valapattanam Grama Panchayat Library, Kerala, India 

Binoy Mathew is Librarian, Special Grade of Valapattanam Grama Panchayat Library in Kannur District, Kerala, India. He has a Postgraduate Degree in Economics and Bachelor Degree in Library and Information Science. He currently lives in Kannur district with wife,son and mother.

 

Catharina Isberg Library Director, Helsingborg City Libraries, Sweden 

Catharina has previously worked as a Deputy Director and Manager for an academic library and as manager and vice president on an international level for a pharmaceutical industry library. Catharina’s wide variety of different library fields has brought a wealth of different ideas to her work in public libraries.  Catharina has also been an active participant for IFLA and is has taken on a number of roles over the past 10 years with her current roles including Governing Board Member 2019-2021, Congress Advisory Committee Member 2019-2021, and a Professional Committee Member 2019-2021.  You can find our more about the Helsingborg City Libraries here https://www.bibliotekfh.se/service-och-tj%C3%A4nster?refId=guxzYT&culture=sv

 

Panel Facilitator: Martin Memet Könick 

Martin is Library Director of Ängelholm Libraries in the South of Sweden. Martin is an elected member of IFLA:s SC for the Public Libraries Section.

 

 

Panel Moderator: Sander van Kempen

Sander is a Senior Advisor at the Royal Dutch Library in the Netherlands.  Sander is an elected member of IFLA’s Section committees: the Public Libraries Section

 

 

We look forward to seeing you all at our virtual catch up.

Register Here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pIoOA9c_T56egeBkYeMjRw

 

Reflecting back and Thinking Forward

Join IFLA Public Libraries and Literacy Reading Sections for our Reflecting Back and Tinking Forward Mid-term Seminar from 12-14 April 2021.  We look at how public libraries have responded to COVID and how the lessons learnt will impact the future. We will also explore some of the great initiatives around reading and literacy that have emerged during this time and how we can expand on this. There will also be an opportunity to ‘meet’ the world’s Children’s Laureates/Ambassadors and hear of their vision for the future.

The exciting program is listed below.

All times listed in Amsterdam Time 

April 12, 2021 – 9:30 – 10:30: Meet the Children’s Laureates/Ambassadors
April 13, 2021 – 10:00 – 11.30: The future of libraries in a post Covid world
April 13, 2021 – 12:00 – 13.30: Literacy and Reading during COVID
April 13, 2021 – 19:00 – 20:30: Public Library innovations in COVID (Portuguese)
April 14, 2021 – 10:00 – 11.30: Public Library innovations in COVID April 14, 2021 – 12:00 – 13.30: Reading together during a pandemic
April 15, 2021 – TBD: Public Libraries Business Meeting

Register for the program here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pIoOA9c_T56egeBkYeMjRw

Our speakers include:

Panel: The Future of Libraries in a post Covid world

Mr Gene Tan, Assistant Chief Executive, National Library of Singapore https://www.linkedin.com/in/gene-tan-32316b63/?originalSubdomain=sg

  

Gene Tan is an Executive and Creative Director who has helmed 3 national projects working at the highest level of government & across people and private sectors – Singapore’s Bicentennial, SG50 Capstone Exhibition The Future of Us and the Singapore Memory Project. Top librarian who was Director of the National Library and President of the Library Association.

 

Ms Liz Jolly, Chief Librarian, British Library.

Liz Jolly has been Chief Librarian at the British Library since September 2018. She is responsible for teams delivering core activities such as collection development; services for researchers, learners, businesses and entrepreneurs; research strategy and digital scholarship; an extensive cultural programme of exhibitions, events, and the Library’s online presence.  Liz has over twenty years’ experience in a variety of institutions in the university sector, most recently as Director of Student and Library Services at Teesside University. An Honorary Professor at Teesside, Liz is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow both of the CILIP and the RSA. She was Chair of SCONUL, the UK university library directors’ group, from 2014-16 and is a member of the Board of Governors at the University of Portsmouth. Liz is a Vice Chair of the SCONUL Content Strategy Group and a member of the Editorial Board of the New Review of Academic Librarianship.

 

Ms Christine McKenzie

Christine is the President of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) from 2019 to 2021, leading the library field under the theme “Let’s work together”.[4][5] Her mandate takes the results of projects as the IFLA Global Vision where librarians around the world created a bottom – up strategy[6] where one of the highlights and opportunities are related to focus on our communities and work more collaborative and develop strong partnerships.

 

Margaret Allen, State Librarian, State Library of Western Australia, Chair Public Libraries Section Committee. ALIA President 2011, ALIA Fellowship 2014, Public Service Medal 2018

Through her role as CEO of the State Library of Western Australia, Under Margaret’s leadership the State Library works in partnership with Aboriginal people through the Storylines Project to ‘build and maintain an online database of digitised heritage material from the library’s collections relating to Aboriginal history’ and through its Aboriginal Family History project offers training in information literacy, and research skills to support clients with family history research.

Margaret a long term contributor to IFLA, was engaged in the 2012 IFLA International Leaders Programme. As Chair of the Australian Libraries Copyright Committee (ALCC) and a member of the Australian Digital Alliance (ADA) Board of Directors Margaret is an active participant in the Australian copyright reform debates committed to copyright reform that enables fair access. Margaret was ALIA President for the 2011-2012 term of office. She represented libraries on the government’s Book Industry Collaborative Council and she is a valued member of the ALIA ebooks and elending Reference Group, presenting at think tanks across Australia during 2013.

 

Panel Facilitator: Erik Boekesteijn

Erik Boekesteijn is a senior advisor at National Library of the Netherlands as well as a facilitator and consultant for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions and a SLIS Fellow. Boekesteijn got his start in the Netherlands’ DOK Library in Delft, recognized as one of the most innovative public libraries in the world.

 

We look forward to seeing you all at our virtual catch up.

Register Here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pIoOA9c_T56egeBkYeMjRw

 

Lithuanian public libraries welcome people with autism

Public libraries are public institutions and should be available to anyone. However, in reality – it is not always the case. Parents that have children with autism spectrum disorder often avoid public places because in most cases those places are not suitable for their children. But public libraries in Lithuania say “Library for everyone”, presenting a unique project implemented throughout Lithuania.

Experiences are not always pleasant

Ingrida, who has a son with an autism spectrum disorder says: “It’s not easy – you have to adapt to the environment, and communicate the way you do with anyone, but don’t expect a “normal” response”. She stresses the importance of teaching the basic rules, to show what behaviors are acceptable. For example, when you take a book from a shelf in a library afterwards you have to put it back on the shelf. You have to teach them what to do.

She mentions that “Saying to such a child to ‘sit quietly’ or ‘stay calm’ is the same as telling a blind person to ‘see’ or telling a person who can’t walk to get up and go. It doesn’t work like that”. Not only do people with autism spectrum disorder need to learn to live in the society, society also needs to learn to accept and understand this socially sensitive group.

Jacob’s mother Živilė says that people with autism spectrum disorder are greatly aided by visual information which indicates, for example, where books are placed, where to go, and finally where the toilet is. “These days, we talk a lot about integration but it is sometimes difficult for the family to go out in public. We are afraid because we do not know how the child will behave in the library and how others will react”.

 

Creating a safe environment for all individuals

Since November, the doors of Lithuanian public libraries have been decorated with a colorful logo “Library for everyone”. This is a sign that the library is becoming an even more open and friendly place for all individuals, despite their differences and diversity.

Many individuals with an autism spectrum disorder have an easier time processing information with visual cues. Using adapted text and pictures is key to familiarizing themselves with unknown environments and situations.

As of 2020 Lithuanian public libraries have social stories and posters that help visitors with autism spectrum disorder prepare for a visit to the library. The social stories that visitors will find on the library websites allow them to get acquainted with the library spaces, rules, and staff.

To help manage anxiety, calm down, and relax a special toolkit has been prepared for each of the public libraries. It consists of sensory-tent, tactile, audio, and visual aids. In addition, training for library staff on how to behave and help autistic children in the library have also been organized.

An example for all public institutions

In Lithuania, similarly to the rest of the world, the number of autism cases is increasing. The spectrum of autism is very wide, however, the most common problem areas are social interactions, sensory sensitivity, linguistic and non-linguistic communication. Still, research indicates that individuals with autism spectrum disorder identify the library as a great place to relax, educate, and spend quality time. In a recent survey, about 90 percent of families with autistic children said that they would visit libraries more often if they were more adapted to their needs.

The fact that Lithuanian libraries are becoming friendlier to this community is a big step forward, giving hope that other public institutions will follow this beautiful example.

The project “Implementation of a network of libraries friendly to people with autism spectrum and other language, communication and behavioral disorders” was financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania.

  If you would like to know more, contact:

Justina Grigienė, communication manager of project “Implementation of a network of librariesfriendly to people with autism spectrum and other language, communication and behavioral disorders”

j.grigiene@savb.lt

 

Keeping Older Adults in Singapore Digitally Engaged Amidst Covid-19

Undeniably, COVID-19 has profoundly changed life as we know it. The global pandemic has had a far-reaching impact on the way we live, work, and play, and everyone, including libraries, has had to adjust to a “new normal” at an alarming pace. In Singapore, the Circuit Breaker was implemented in April to contain the spread of the coronavirus and residents, especially the elderly were advised to stay at home. This meant that all non-essential workplaces including our public libraries were closed for almost two months. This unexpected situation meant that we had to promptly rethink our operations and current model of programme delivery for older adults and devise new ways to keep them meaningfully engaged at home. Before, our programming was mostly focused on onsite activities – many of which were designed with the aim of bridging the digital divide among older adults in mind.

Some examples include our partnerships with other organisations to introduce programmes that promote basic digital literacy through one-on-one assistance from volunteers, classroom training, and learning communities. For older adults who were ready to take their digital skills to the next level, we also rolled out hands-on workshops that tackled more complex topics, such as coding, app development and movie making. This helped to fuel their creativity and sustain their interest in the digital sphere.

While these digital readiness initiatives were already in place, the COVID-19 situation established the need to scale them up and deliver them in new ways. Bearing in mind that everyone has varying interests and familiarity with technology – it was crucial to curate programmes that could cater to most, if not all. Another key consideration was that certain types of programmes would not translate well onto an online platform: this included workshops with a heavy emphasis on hands-on activities, or those that required one-to-one guidance from the instructor. Programme duration was another factor: information had to be delivered in bite-sized chunks due to the possibility of “Zoom fatigue”.

Engaging Older Adults Through Online Programming

From the onset, we knew that we wanted to curate a suite of fun, exciting, and engaging programmes for older adults, involving programme concepts we had never done before. Some environmental scans and brainstorming sessions later, we birthed the #StayHome series, our very first online series for older adults. The #StayHome programme series comprise Read, Learn, and Play editions, and featured book recommendations, creative workshops, and games that covered a wide range of topics suitable for those aged 50 and above. These programmes were conducted by librarians or volunteer facilitators. On top of content creation, we supplemented all our virtual programmes with a curated list of eBooks and electronic resources that participants would find useful for continuing their learning in that particular domain. Here is more about the different editions:

 #StayHomeAndRead: Spotlights eBooks and encourages the love of reading. Sessions featuring non-fiction titles were complemented with hands-on activities (derived from the eBooks) to make reading and learning fun and interactive.

Past topics: Exploring the Fantasy Genre, PressReader App, Forest Bathing, K-pop

 #StayHomeAndLearn: Covers a wide range of topics so older adults can learn and stay relevant and connected to trends.

Past topics: Digital Housekeeping, Social Media, Coding, App Development

#StayHomeAndPlay: Engages older adults through cognitive games to improve their mental well-being.

Past topics: Print-to-Screen Trivia, Bingo, Word Scrambles

Despite having no prior experience with online programming, our enthusiastic volunteer programme facilitators were raring to explore the possibility of converting their learning communities to online meetups. Their willingness to step up to the challenge and their efforts spent tweaking their respective programme concepts successfully brought four of our volunteer-run learning communities to the virtual platform. The virtual approach was adopted for our major events too, namely the Time of Your Life Celebration in October, which is an annual celebration of older adults in conjunction with the International Day of Older Persons. This year’s event was held in collaboration with the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), and went fully online with a holistic spread of enriching programmes. This involved local and overseas industry experts deliberating on pertinent issues in the field of gerontology, which sought to inspire older adults to share about what sparked joy and created meaning in their lives.

Getting Older Adults Digitally Ready

Although the social distancing measures have affected all of us, it is safe to assume an uneven impact on the age groups when it comes to digital-readiness. While the younger generation would find it easier to cope with the situation because of their tech-savviness, for the older generation, who are less familiar with technology and often rely on face-to-face communication and in-store purchases, this meant a dramatic change in their lifestyle. Hence, there was an urgent need to get them digitally ready and equipped with the skills required for the new normal, such as video conferencing with their loved ones, ordering food and grocery deliveries, using electronic payment, and discerning fake news.

This was where the Virtual Digital Clinic (VDC), a collaboration with Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), came in. Seniors could join a VDC from the comfort of their own home and get their tech-related enquiries answered by a friendly volunteer during 20-minute consultation session. VDCs are held weekly and are available in our four official languages – English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil, to make it accessible to all.

Promoting the Joy of Reading eBooks

For book lovers who were unable to get their regular printed reading materials from our libraries, we curated a monthly list of recommended eReads on a range of topics, such as Coming of (Old) Age Fiction, Mental Wellness, and Indoor Exercises. These lists were sent out in the form of Electronic Direct Mailers (EDMs) to our mailing list subscribers, members of our various book clubs and learning communities, as well as strategic partners who could share these EDMs with other older adults beyond our usual reach. This monthly mailer also served as a good opportunity to encourage older adults to browse our digital collections in the safety and comfort of their own home. Along the same vein, our quarterly publication, the Time of Your Life: Good Reads for the 50+ magazine is also available for download from our corporate website1. Written by librarians, this lifestyle magazine features articles on topics ranging from technology to positive ageing, serving as a resource to help older adults keep up with trends.

 

1 Time of Your Life: Good Reads for the 50+ (digital copy):

https://www.nlb.gov.sg/SearchDiscover/ExploreourPublications/TimeofYourLifeGoodReadsforthe50plus.aspx

Though making the digital leap might seem like a huge hurdle, we encouraged older adults to take the first step with our suite of digital readiness initiatives such as the VDCs. The more tech-savvy were kept meaningfully engaged with our #StayHome programme series and curated eReads EDMs. Furthermore, we held Zoom tutorials for the public, where we supported our volunteer programme facilitators by guiding them on how to use Zoom prior to their sessions to build their confidence in conducting programmes on the virtual platform.

The world has hit the big reset button and we took this opportunity to review our offerings for older adults at the libraries. Libraries around the world face the same challenge of staying relevant, and evidently, this pandemic has only underscored the important role that libraries play – beyond just physical spaces where people borrow books and attend programmes, libraries play a vital role as learning concierges that enable and empower people with (digital) tools and skills to help them navigate the sea of information and the world beyond.

 

Raneetha Rajaratnam,  Director, Public Libraries Singapore

 

Public Librararies Section Online Business Meeting – save the date and join us!

IFLA Public Library Section next Business Meeting will be on 30th September 2020 and you are all invited.  So save the date!  We want public librarians to attend and let us know what is important to you about developing our Public library standards, we will update everyone on what is happening with the review of the UNESCO Public Library Manifesto and how we will be delivering a Public Library of the Year award while COVID-19 is still a major issue in our countries. We know that all Public libraries are being challenged by COVID-19 and how to deliver our services safely, for both our staff and our library members.  To meet this need we have organised a panel of presenters to tell us about their country’s public library response.

Hear from Carol Stump, Chief Librarian of Kirklees Council and the UK Libraries Connected president who will share their toolkits and COVID-19 guidelines for all UK libraries to work from and the challenges faced with opening libraries in the UK.  Library Director of Angelholm Libraries, Martin Memet Konick, will tell us all about the Swedish Library experience of COVID-19 and how they did not close.  Fatemeh Pazooki, will describe the Iran Public Libraries challenges and opportunities when faced with the Coronovirus situation in their country.  Sander van Kempen will focus on the Digital Services developed during the first COVID wave in the Netherlands.

Registrations will open soon.  Follow our Facebook page or our Twitter @IFLA_PLA for updates when registrations will be open.

 

 

Libraries facing up to Covid in the United Kingdom

In the Summer of 2019 it would have seemed impossible to believe the situation we’ve found ourselves over recent months, with locked down library services, and a pandemic affecting virtually every part of life around the globe.  A year ago, we’d never heard of Covid 19 but it has certainly changed our lives in a very short space of time.

Across the United Kingdom, public library buildings remained closed as they have done around the world at various stages through the pandemic.  In the UK re-opening began to appear in early July and services have dealt with the challenges of post Covid lockdown in different ways according to local needs.

UK public library services were one of the last publicly accessible networks to be closed down and staff were sent to work at home where they could at the end of March.  Since then public library staff have been engaged on a wide variety of work, some related to the service and some related to wider duties within their local authorities.

The situation required a quick change in the nature of the service we offer.  Whilst every library service in the country had some form of online library service, we quickly had to develop this at pace.  The demand for eBooks and for eAudio materials at least tripled in many areas of the country and our public library services struggled to keep up with the demand.  It has required many to find more funding to put into their online content and to increase access titles by purchasing more, as well as multiple licenses for popular materials.  Online information databases and resources also became extremely important for our customers and may suppliers have relaxed access rules and provided extra facilities for us.

We continued to keep in touch with our customers – especially we knew to be vulnerable.  Telephone “buddying” schemes became an important way of keeping homebound readers in touch with both library and wider services.  A limited number of library services managed to maintain some small delivery operations to those most in need in their communities.

Staff in our public library services got used to delivering storytimes, book groups, activities and craft sessions and a whole host of other innovations online through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and Instagram.  These have really shown the talent of the  people who work in our organisations and although at times they have created ICT challenges, library teams were incredibly innovative in working round these.  In many cases, the content created was shared between services across the country to help those who have limited resources or who were asked to supply staff for other duties in their local areas.  The wealth of material available for our communities to engage with has been reflected in the collation of sites and activities on a number of websites.

Through all of this Libraries Connected came into its own as a Sector Support Organisation, particularly in the first instance as a voice of concern over the lack of government guidance on the closure of public spaces.

As the situation developed, Libraries Connected helped to promote and share the good practice of its members.  Working with other library and reading agencies, the organization collated content in one place to show the range of work going on, as well as sharing best practice through its online support network.  Our Basecamp networks allowed us to talk to each other about the day to day challenges that we faced, providing solutions, but also just a friendly response from someone in exactly the same situation.

Now that we have passed the peak in the UK, services have been allowed to re-open but on a much more limited basis.  We prepared for this by working together through “Think Ins” and a Recovery Group facilitated by Libraries Connected and Tortoise Media.  Working together and taking on board the experiences of our international contacts, we developed our own Libraries Connected toolkit which was endorsed by central government.  This has proved an invaluable resource for all of us as we look at the best fit of recovery for our own communities, and of course the possibilities for the future.

Many library services across the UK have adopted a “ring and read” or “click and collect” approach to recovering their services – customers can select or have books chosen for them to be collected at a static library.  Some services have restored limited browsing straightaway and some have restarted their mobile library services.  All this has been achieved through team and partnership working according to the needs of local communities.

We know we will never be quite the same again, and in some ways, the Covid 19 situation has forced us to develop our digital offers much more quickly than we would have been able to before.  We still have many challenges as we start to consider how we maintain some of the best of the services we have developed quickly over the past months, alongside the more traditional place based offer we have always provided.  Usage of services in the UK has been slow to recover and we expect this to continue whilst our customers regain their confidence.  We also know that we will have to deal with significant financial challenges and challenges on the services we provide and their value.  We probably all knew before Covid  how important physical spaces and resources were, but the last six months has certainly confirmed that libraries provide people with places to meet, to learn and to live.  Our challenge now will be to quantify the real need that we know exists for people to meet, share ideas, learn and develop together – we know the value of the public library offer but we now need to communicate this strongly and be part of the rebirth of society.

If you would like to see more of the work of the UK’s public library services over the past weeks, you can visit the Libraries From Home web page at Libraries Connected here

http://www.librariesconnected.org.uk/page/librariesfromhome

The Libraries Connected Toolkit is available here

https://www.librariesconnected.org.uk/resource/service-recovery-toolkit-2020-word

Libraries Hacked has also brought together a collection of You Tube videos which have been aired during the “Lockdown” period  here

https://www.librariesathome.co.uk/

CILIP’s National Shelf Service has provided book reviews on a regular basis through the week and these can be seen here

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPUIqlJM0aieXdq-LxKDvWA

Text by Mark Freeman, Libraries & information Services Manager, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council