Study visit Day 1

My first library visit was to the State Library NSW (SLNSW) and in some ways it represents the pinnacle of libraries and of the the visits i'm to make over the next week and the only library that is a library in and of itself and not used to support the function of another organisation.

The library is impressive on many accounts, from the buildings (you can go on a virtual tour  if you haven't been there for a while) to the breadth of their collection which includes manuscripts, paintings and objects valued into the billions - with some of the best collection of early (European) Australian artifacts


Image: Life Interrupted. Exhibition at the SLNSW http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/

Two things struck me based on the talks and visit. The change in focus to children and education and the digital excellence program. The focus on children is a clever one and has been echoed by other cultural institutions who recognise the importance of securing their futures through building their next generation of visitors and users and the financial gains that can be made from the education sector through visits.

The digital excellence program including the digitising of the collection to provide greater access - much of which is shared on TROVE. One of the highlights of this is the WWI diaries displayed in the Life Interrupted exhibition. I was also interested to see they have also developed an app Curio.  


SITE 2: ABC Library

http://www.abc.net.au/tours/ultimo/

The ABC library was a great contrast to the SLNSW and an example of a library that is there to service the function of the organisation - in this case broadcast. As a result the library's main role was to provide material to TV and radio including the cataloguing of images, sound and film footage (in lots of detail). The hours of the library are long every day of the year and often the librarians have to provide materials in very short time frames (hours). It was also interesting that there were many different cataloguing systems in use which necessitated excellent staff knowledge to operate efficiently and the use of a variety of different systems. The library seemed low on staff, time and budget - which made the fact they gave up 2 hours in a very busy work environment very laudable.

Library of the Year

Edmonton Public Library has won the 2014 Gale/LJ Library of the Year. This library is doing some interesting things and obviously engages with the community really effectively. Read all about the library and its programs in Library Journal. Its great to see that leadership and teamwork are credited with having made the library so successful.


LEARNING CURVES Top: The interior of the innovative and award-winning Jasper Place branch is a highlight of the system. Second row, l.-r.: Library assistant Beth Hallett helps a patron, while community librarian Mike Eaton (standing) offers computer assistance. Third row, l.-r.: Jasper Place offers activities for all ages, and an outdoor patio offers a peaceful place to read. Bottom l.: the library’s curving roof is a striking sight. Photos by Phil Chin/AP Images for Library Journal

Retrieved http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2014/06/awards/2014-galelj-library-of-the-year-edmonton-public-library-transformed-by-teamwork/

"Libraries really are the gates to the future" - Gaiman

Authors are sometimes the library's best advocates. Neil Gaiman gave a lecture for the Reading Agency
 on the 14th of October in London. Here is just some of what was said.  

Neil Gaiman Image: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming

“....libraries are about freedom. Freedom to read, freedom of ideas, freedom of communication. They are about education (which is not a process that finishes the day we leave school or university), about entertainment, about making safe spaces, and about access to information.

I worry that here in the 21st century people misunderstand what libraries are and the purpose of them. If you perceive a library as a shelf of books, it may seem antiquated or outdated in a world in which most, but not all, books in print exist digitally. But that is to miss the point fundamentally...

In the last few years, we’ve moved from an information-scarce economy to one driven by an information glut. According to Eric Schmidt of Google, every two days now the human race creates as much information as we did from the dawn of civilisation until 2003. That’s about five exobytes of data a day, for those of you keeping score. The challenge becomes, not finding that scarce plant growing in the desert, but finding a specific plant growing in a jungle. We are going to need help navigating that information to find the thing we actually need.”

For the full article go to the Guardian 

 Finding the plant in the Jungle is what makes the need for qualified teacher librarians so essential for today's world.

Back into it

So after a long absence and a lovely trip round the world I return to the world of libraries ....

and having seen some amazing uses of digital technology in Museums while away I thought I might continue on the digital theme and share this link.....

Fancy.. a whole library without books. Is it the way? Personally I have only just begun reading on a tablet and I confess that I still prefer the real thing. Having said that the convenience of the tablet while travelling was indisputable.

The first bookless library: BiblioTech offers only e-books

Books on Bikes

Books on bikes?... well.... Librarians on bikes anyway.

This is an interesting way of taking services to more people -  perhaps public libraries could also go this way for older people too.
For the full article go to:
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-a-public-library-on-a-bicycle-seattle-has-one-20130612,0,803544.story

Library policy help and morals (again)

As i was trying to get stuck into this assignment, I came across the UK publication of Primary School Guidelines. See below.

http://www.cilip.org.uk/filedownloadslibrary/groups/ylg/primaryschool_guidelines_2002.pdf

Its quite a good little publication and i wish I had it prior to doing  ETL503 the Library policy.

So, to the question of moral purpose again ... Fullan has suggested that this includes a plan to make a difference - that is, intend to do something 'good' that will improve our 'clients' -  in this instance planning to do something that will increase a persons' ability to use information successfully (Wizenreid, 2010).
So I guess I have to concede that in this context we do have a moral purpose - albeit one that is not used in the traditional sense of "moral".

Wizenreid, A (2010) Visionary Leader for Information. Centre for Information Studies: Wagga Wagga.

What's a library

Have a look at the article below.
What is a Library?

Its interesting that people who don't use libraries feel they can comment on what a library is or isn't. I think more and more libraries are becoming social spaces and community spaces and that what and how they interact with the community is changing as the community changes too.

I watched this utube a while ago where the idea of what a library is and can do is expanded and challenged.
I wish my local library loaned cake tins!

Librarians of the future

Libraries are cool

I came across this article and thought its a great idea of to engage new people in a library collection. It allows people to use technology to animate digital photographic collections form the library. Its created a stir and hopefully will result in more people utilising this library and its collection.
Click below to read about it.

3-D It Yourself, Thanks to New Library Site

 

Libraries of the Future

UTS in Sydney put together this video. I thought that given our leadership focus this semester and looking at where libraries may go, that some of the ideas raised here are quite pertinent.

LIBRARY OF THE FUTURE IN PLAIN ENGLISH

Children's Libraries of the future .

As I may have mentioned before, I currently work in a Museum. There is many more cross-overs between Museums and Libraries than you may at first imagine. In America there is the Institute of Museum and Library Service - who have some great resources and publications including this great 21 Century skills checklist for museums and libraries.
http://www.imls.gov/assets/1/AssetManager/21stCenturySkills_matrix.pdf

I was further struck by the cross-over when viewing the children's interactive library. Many of the ideas and technologies used here are already in use in museums but could also allow museums to become more interactive, responsive along with making way-finding (like resource finding).

The Children's Interactive Library 

 

Mixed use libraries



Images courtesy of Hugon Kowalski, UGO Architecture and Design, via Designboom.
From Would More People Use the Public Library If It Had a Water Slide?

John MetcalfeMar 19, 2013

Found an intersting article which suggests that libraries need more than just books to attract readers - perhaps waterslides instead. Mad i hear you say ..... have a look at the article

Would More People Use the Public Library If It Had a Water Slide?

zombies save the library

this was too good not to share. I love how creative school libraries can be in responding to student interests.

Click on the title to go to the full article.

Zombies help spread the word: School libraries alive and kicking

Teacher-librarians are rising from the budget-cut graveyard and finding unique ways to educate South Sound students.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/03/09/2506616/zombies-help-spread-the-word-school.html#storylink=cpy

Black Hills High junior Jensen Hartman concentrates on her studies in the school library last month as zombie mannequins lounge nearby. (STEVE BLOOM/Staff photographer)

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/03/09/2506616/zombies-help-spread-the-word-school.html#storylink=cpy

creativity and leadership

Yesterday I attended a conference -  Creativity Project. Big Fat Smile. At the end of it I was struck by how important creativity and the creative process is to learning and expressing and to finding ones voice and consequently how creativity is probably an essential quality  for a dynamic leader to possess.

Richard Gill and John Marsden were standouts as was Margo Ward from kidsxpress. One of the speakers Glavin Scott Davis showed a lovely cartoon of the evolution of the tablet - not quite this one but i like this too!. Galvin spoke about his journey from app to printed book that has seen him develop an app and merchandise first with the ultimate aim of getting his book published. It is inspiring to think that we could all follow this pathway to print or an alternative way to get ours or a student's work published. Incidentally, his book "Dandelion" which is about bullying is released this week!

http://www.threadless.com/submission/252383/Evolution_of_Tablet

Pew report on library services

The Pew report, "Library Services in the Digital Age"provides some interesting research on what people want and expect from libraries in the digital age. One of the interesting finding was that there were different views about whether libraries should move some printed books and stacks out of public locations to free up space for tech centers, reading rooms, meeting rooms, and cultural events: 20% of Americans ages 16 and older said libraries should “definitely” make those changes; 39% said libraries “maybe” should do that; and 36% said libraries should “definitely not” change by moving books out of public spaces.

Thoughts raised by librarians in terms of libraries perceived strengths, direction and limitations in Part 5: The present and future of libraries were interesting particularly in terms of the notion of community. Perhaps there is more to be explored and gained from public and school library partnerships.

wireless library technology

Image: 'Its a Library Card!'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14802104@N07/6345154126
Found on flickrcc.net

Change the conversation.

Loved this!!

Troy Library from Jennie Hochthanner on Vimeo.