Tag Archives: United Kingdom

National Libraries Day

Johnny Rotton

 

In a specially recorded message singer, songwriter and musician John Lydon, also known as Johnny Rotten, implores the UK to value its libraries and urges everyone to show their support on National Libraries Day, Saturday 7 February.

Crediting libraries and librarians for his recovery from memory loss after contracting meningitis as an eight year old, the audio message was recorded to mark the annual national celebration of libraries and library staff and follows the recent publication of Lydon’s autobiography, Anger is an Energy.  The recording will be available to listen to on Saturday 7 February via the National Libraries Day website.

7 February rounds off a week’s worth of celebrations hosted by libraries of all kinds around the UK for their communities, including a J.R.R. Tolkien trail walk, a school’s Guinness World Record attempt, stargazing and Warhammer and special appearances by local authors, historians and others.

Details of nationwide events are posted to the National Libraries Day online event map and people can show their support in person by joining a local event or by simply visiting their library during National Libraries Day week. Supporters can also share stories, messages and library ‘shelfies’ online and on social media.

First introduced in 2012, National Libraries Day is designed to say a collective thank-you to librarians and library staff everywhere and to raise awareness of the valued services they offer. Last year thousands of people took part in over 600 events and many public figures including well-known authors, illustrators, MPs and musicians sent messages of support.

Image source: “John Lydon Mosaic by Ed Chapman” by dullhunk, used under CC BY 2.0 / Background colour changed, text added and image cropped and resized

 

The A to Z of Library Advocacy

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The Library A to Z has been launched in the UK and is now available  for use. The campaign is focused on free promotional and advocacy materials for use by libraries and their supporters, as well as a means of highlighting the economic and social value of libraries to decision makers to encourage continued investment. The key message highlights that modern library services are much more than buildings containing books – they provide services beyond this scope that support the development and well-being of individuals, the community and the economy.

The Library A to Z was funded by 155 generous backers, including key sponsor The Library Campaign, via a Kickstarter campaign during May 2014. We raised £4,543, which was more than twice the basic funding goal. With this money the organisers (Andrew Walsh Gary Green) commissioned freelance illustrator Josh Filhol to produce full colour images depicting the words that reflect the great work, activities and values of libraries. These illustrations are used as the basis for a range of promotional and advocacy materials including posters, cards and a full colour book. As well as the illustrated library alphabet, the book also includes quotes from library users from the Voices for the Library site and a chapter about the positive impact of libraries.
Library A to Z materials including full colour illustrations, posters, book and greeting cards are available for anyone to freely download and use for promotional and advocacy purposes here. Unless otherwise stated, these materials are available to re-use and adapt under a creative commons licence (cc by 4.0). week, 17-22 November.

Speaking Volumes

Small Dianah reads to Niamh 3

A new publication from the Carnegie UK Trust, Speaking Volumes,  provides examples of the wide range of activities that demonstrate the impact public libraries can have in four key policy areas – social, economic, educational and cultural. The leaflet also shows how these directly contribute towards to individual and community wellbeing. The leaflet folds out into a poster and is based on hundreds of examples of practice throughout the UK and Ireland, as well as published evidence of impact. A database of these examples is available on the Trust’s website.

Help required by MSc Student

Hartwig Pautz is studying for an MSc in Information and Library Studies at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland.   Hartwig has asked for support from colleagues in the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany in writing his dissertation which addresses income generation methods used by public libraries and the potential impact of income generation methods on public library ethos.

Among the outcomes of  his research will be a typology of income generation methods used by public libraries and a critical analysis of the impact of these methods on public library ethos as seen by librarians.  Hartwig hopes that these outcomes will help librarians addressing financial difficulties and building stronger institutions while defending principles and ethos. All results of the study will be made public on Strathclyde University’s open access repository.

For the purpose of this dissertation Hartwig is seeking help. Below is a link to a short electronic questionnaire which seeks to gather information about what librarians think about a set of income generation methods and their impact on the principles of librarianship. The questionnaire consists of 10 questions and should not take more than 10 minutes to complete. The survey is anonymous.   https://strathsci.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9BtLwndmU9nPQ6p

Hartwig would like to gather as much information from as many public library staff (library assistants, librarians, managers, public library fundraisers) in whatever function or position as possible working in the US, the UK or Germany.

Any questions should be directed to Hartwig at : prb12163@uni.strath.ac.uk