Inspired by the innovation(!) talk at Library Camp I've decided to start doing posts when I see or hear about great ideas in Libraries. One of the main points that came up in the session was to share ideas, and share what you see. Hopefully this will be the start of many posts like this filled with idea-goodness.
The first great idea I'd like to talk about was one that I actually came across last summer. I was visiting JJ in Swansea, and (as we were walking past it) I thought it would be rude not to pop into Swansea's main Library. Also it was a really hot day - a break in the shade definitely did my skin some good. Almost as soon as you entered in the 'entrance space' was a quick choice book display. Displayed on this were several square objects wrapped in newspaper. Intrigued I wandered over. A sign that cheerfully read "Blind Date with a Book" or words to that effect presided over what I now realised were books, wrapped in newspaper so they all looked more or less identical. On the individual books, there was a post-it note on which three words were written, giving you a vague idea of what sort of book was underneath the wrapping. The sort of words you might use as keywords when cataloguing, for example:
Family Issues
Comedy
Travelling
Etc...
What I also found useful was that although the books were wrapped equally, you could more or less judge the size of it, so if you wanted a shorter book, no problem!
I think it's a great idea. It get's rid of the 'never judge a book by it's cover' cliché and holds the potential to get people interested in things they might not otherwise pick up. You could adapt it for Christmas, by wrapping them in Christmas wrapping paper, and calling it "Mystery Christmas Read" or something a bit more inspired.
I hope to visit again soon to see if they've got anything else innovative going on!
Over and out.
Friday 13 December 2013
Monday 9 December 2013
Hot off the Shelf: What I'm reading - "Junk", Burgess, Melvin
Spoilers.
Warning: This book contains drug use. And not just “Oo,
let’s get high on a beach” kinda drug use. Full on, Heroin lovin’ Junkie
heaven. Oh yeah, and this is a book for kids.
For kids.
Yup.
Won a Carnegie Medal and everything. And I
can see why. It was a good book, full of truth.
I personally, would be happy with anyone above and including
thirteen years old reading this book. The main characters are fourteen years
old at the beginning of the novel, and the subject matter, sadly, is something
that a lot of very young kids do go through. I am however, slightly torn on the
‘consequences’ matter. Tar and Gemma, the main characters, suffer throughout
this book, even if they don’t at the beginning of it all when they run away
together (for very different reasons). But in the end they do end up with a lot
of regrets, and have a lot of bad things happen to them. Mostly brought on by
themselves. But I don’t know whether
there was enough of a message that they really really fucked up bad, and now they’re lives are changed forever. I understood that their lives would
never be the same again. I’m not sure if I would have understood this if I’d
have read it aged fourteen. I would have maybe thought “Oh, well look, they ran
away and lived in squalor and got into drugs in a huge way and loads of shit
happened to them but they’re both alive. And not doing terribly. Maybe it
happens that way for everyone on drugs.” I guess it’s the message that you can turn your life around after being an
addict, sort of. I’d probably have got my fourteen year old self another book
about drug users where it didn’t end so well, just to balance the viewpoint. To
make myself understand that just because they’re both alive and “okay” doesn’t
mean everyone who goes through that kind of stuff is.
It’s written well, the characters totally work. Each chapter
is written by a different character (some characters obviously have lots of
chapters), meaning we get a lot of viewpoints, but you never lose track of
what’s going on, or get confused by this. I think that’s due to the fact it is
written for kids (young adults, youths, whippersnappers, or whatever you want
to call them) and you have to keep it relatively straight forward to follow
else they’d lose interest (but not totally simple, else they’d feel like they
were being ridiculed). It’s a messed up book, but it’s a messed up situation.
Gemma as a character really annoyed me, but she’s just how some teenagers are –
stroppy, not getting on with her parents, self-centred and thinks she knows
best. Basically I think the book was really true about a whole lot of stuff
that other books just sort of ignore or pretend doesn’t exist.
Hard hitting stuff. Really interesting to read, especially
if you’ve never really read much like this. It got a lot of bad press and was
banned all over the shop, probably because in parts, it really makes taking
drugs sound like the best experience ever. Read it and see what you think. It
looks like a chunky book but it took me a little less than two days to read.
I’m on a pure role with reading at the minute – reading lots and getting myself
high of other people’s words. That’s a good high y’know? I’m waiting for a bad
book to come along and ruin my enjoyment.
Over and Out.
Friday 6 December 2013
Hot off the Shelf: What I'm Reading - "Never Let Me Go", Ishiguro, Kazuo
No Spoilers.
I loved this book and felt indescribably let down by it all at the same time. I’ve never read Ishiguro. I chose to read the book because I came across it on the library bookshelves and the blurb sounded like something that might interest me. I’ve literally just put the damn thing down and all I can think is UGH. WHAT ARE THESE FEELINGS?
I loved this book and felt indescribably let down by it all at the same time. I’ve never read Ishiguro. I chose to read the book because I came across it on the library bookshelves and the blurb sounded like something that might interest me. I’ve literally just put the damn thing down and all I can think is UGH. WHAT ARE THESE FEELINGS?
For a start,
it was depressing. Do not read this book if you want to be cheered up. The
narrator had this habit of making things perhaps seem okay for a bit, because
you didn’t know the whole truth. Then the whole truth was revealed, bit by bit.
Jarring, almost (something I didn’t enjoy) and it is all at once like a small
feeling of “Oh. Well then. That’s depressing.” Some things you could see coming
anyway, so the little ‘reveals’ were a tad overdue and therefore provoked my
emotions not even a little bit. But some were good. The ending was the most
depressing of all. It didn’t make me cry, this wasn’t ‘The Color Purple’ (sweet
flip-flops if you want emotions - read that book), but it just left me feeling
really empty and sad for the character.
One thing I
enjoyed was the writing style. It was almost like having a conversation with
the protagonist. Like you were sat in a room with her and she was telling you
her story – going back and forward through her memories so that you’d get
everything. This writing style is really bugging people according to other
reviews I’ve read. Everyone either seems to find the writing style beautiful
and engaging or the most painful, dreary, boring experience of reading the
novel. I personally really enjoyed it. I think it’s one of the better ways of
enjoying a novel more fully and exploring characters well. Even if you end up
with a slightly biased narration at the end of it all.
People have compared
this novel to works by Atwood and Huxley.
NO.
NO.
JUST…NO.
No-where
near as good. “Never let me go” was alright, and is currently leaving me all
muddled emotion-wise, but nothing close to Atwood/Huxley.
In
conclusion – give it a go. If the writing style begins to put you off just stop
reading because it pretty much stays the same throughout the entire thing. If
you want something cheerful, stay away. For all it’s bad points it does seem to
be getting everyone all worked up and irate about how good/bad they think it
is, so I’ll give it that – it makes a total bitch of your emotions whichever
way you go.
Sunday 1 December 2013
Library Camp UK 2013. The results from the notepad...
So at the beginning of Library Camp I left a notepad in the main theatre. The idea was that Librarians could write in tips for Graduate trainees, along the lines of "Things people I wish people had told me before doing my masters" or "Tips for the Librarians of the future".
I didn't get a massive response, but there were a few who wrote some things down, thank you to whoever they were! Here's what they put, in no particular order. There are a surprising number of exclamation marks. Love it:
1) Open up your content!
2) Learned more from my MscILM than my PGDIPILM - which is already out of date. Do the Dissertation!
3) Get involved! Stay in touch with passionate people. Try not to get bogged down by naysayers. Embrace your profession, be proud of what you are studying.
4) Spend as much time telling people what you're doing as you are doing it! Learn about marketing.
5) Keep an open mind - I've ended up 500 miles away from "home" doing a job I got the lowest mark for that course at library school, but I've learnt SO much and have really grown, good luck!
6) Un-conferences - Library Camp ;)
7) Keep gaining practical experience throughout. Even just through plt or voluntary work.
8) Talk to everyone on the course, find out what they do and share what you've done, you learn the most this way.
9)
- Get on Twitter
- Learn how to use reference management software
- Talk to lots of people in the profession
- Visit libraries
Don't get stuck in the (echo) - (Not sure if I have read this correctly!) chamber...read non-library journals and get ideas from other sectors.
And that's that! If anyone know where I could post this that will be of more use - I'm going to post to the graduate trainees facebook page for a start - please let me know!
Over and out.
I didn't get a massive response, but there were a few who wrote some things down, thank you to whoever they were! Here's what they put, in no particular order. There are a surprising number of exclamation marks. Love it:
1) Open up your content!
2) Learned more from my MscILM than my PGDIPILM - which is already out of date. Do the Dissertation!
3) Get involved! Stay in touch with passionate people. Try not to get bogged down by naysayers. Embrace your profession, be proud of what you are studying.
4) Spend as much time telling people what you're doing as you are doing it! Learn about marketing.
5) Keep an open mind - I've ended up 500 miles away from "home" doing a job I got the lowest mark for that course at library school, but I've learnt SO much and have really grown, good luck!
6) Un-conferences - Library Camp ;)
7) Keep gaining practical experience throughout. Even just through plt or voluntary work.
8) Talk to everyone on the course, find out what they do and share what you've done, you learn the most this way.
9)
- Get on Twitter
- Learn how to use reference management software
- Talk to lots of people in the profession
- Visit libraries
Don't get stuck in the (echo) - (Not sure if I have read this correctly!) chamber...read non-library journals and get ideas from other sectors.
And that's that! If anyone know where I could post this that will be of more use - I'm going to post to the graduate trainees facebook page for a start - please let me know!
Over and out.
Library Camp UK 2013. My take on a brilliant day.
Okay, so it didn't start out brilliant. I've been full of a horrendous cold since Wednesday. Little sleep and the fear of passing on germs meant that I did not attempt to make any food to contribute, which I was really looking forward to doing. I was going to make Vegetable Roll Ups. I even did a test run the previous weekend to make sure they tasted nice. Never mind. The lack of sleep also caused me my first (and only, thankfully) stressful moment of Library Camp.
I missed my train.
It left at half seven in the morning, meaning I would get to the library of Birmingham not only on time, but with enough time to mingle with some people before-hand. But it was not to be. I ran half heartedly up the hill towards the train station, and got there just in time to see my train pull out towards Birmingham, leaving me out of breath, coughing hideously and feeling like I should just go home and resign myself to the fact that I was not 'with it' enough to be going to Library Camp. But I stuck it out, bought myself a green tea and waited an hour for the next one. On arrival at Birmingham I didn't even consider trying to carve my way though the Christmas shopping crowds, and instead flung my sorry self into the back of a taxi and wheezed out "The Library, please - the new one, the big one!"
At least the drive gave me a few minutes to compose myself and gather my thoughts. I payed the driver (such a nice guy, why can't all taxi drivers be as pleasant?) and ran though the doors, barely taking in the outside of the building (which yes, does look like a giant Christmas present). I followed the signs to Library camp and inched my way into a dark room (a theatre of some sorts) lit warmly with a yellow haze. It seems I had only missed the introductions and I listened to a friendly bearded man (there was a lot of bearded men there), explain how the day would work and where all the rooms where the talks would be held were. Then everyone who wanted to pitch a session, stood and gave a thirty second pitch, a show of hands were given to indicate interest and the idea was written on a post-it and placed on a hand drawn timetable on the floor. After all the sessions were pitched, they were organised and some similar ones were merged and a full, organised timetable was typed up onto a spread sheet and projected onto a giant screen so that everyone could start to make some decisions about which talks they wanted to attend. I chose the following talks:
1) Social Media in Libraries
2) LIS (Library and Information Studies) students talk
3) Digitalization
4) Cataloguing
5) Innovation! (There was actually an exclamation mark after it. This may have been a factor in me choosing the session...)
The social media talk was definitely the busiest I went to during the day. We had to split into two mini-groups to fit into the space. The session proposer began by saying who she was and who she worked for, then basically everyone chatted back and forth about elements of social media that worked in libraries, elements that didn't, the various types of social media and the benefits and drawbacks of using it to promote your library. Things I leant:
- I need twitter. I was possibly the only one there without a) an I-Pad or Smartphone good enough to be doing lots of technical things on and b) twitter. The hashtag for the event was #libcampuk13. People were bigging up twitter in the promotion of libraries all over the shop. In deciding what type of social media might work for out library, I should just ask the students which they think would be best, or which they use most.
- Linking your social media sites works. One guys explained how their facebook and twitter pages are often used to promote links to their blog. Apparently more people are willing to read a blog post via social media than they are via an email update.
- Visual things work. Pinterest was mentioned. and there was a guy there using rubber ducks to help promote stuff at his library. People like the ducks, apparently.
- Have a personality. There's nothing worse (apparently) than a library social media page with no personality. Be exciting and relevant to your workplace. Make them 'like' you. Ducks can help.
- You could link with other institutions or places in your local area. Promo for promo kind of...
..and lots more. This is gonna be one long post if I keep blabbering on! Basically it gave me some cool ideas about potentially using twitter for our library. I could use it to promote new books, remind them about overdues - events in the local library in town. Get them to post books they want to read. Other stuff. Getting them interested in the library basically. It could also be a means of communication between the students and us when we aren't at our desk. I need to lean how twitter works first though, then run it by the 'powers that be', see what they think. It might never take off, but watch this space...
The LIS student gathering was interesting. There were people currently doing their masters, people who had done it, people who were thinking of doing it and people who were just interested. We talked about the various location options to study (studying abroad came up) and the perks and let downs of a couple of universities. There was a girl there who'd recently done her masters at Manchester Met, where I'll be next year and she only had good things to say about it. Which I must say, made me feel much better (and more excited). A good point that came up was that just because each university calls the degree something different (all variations on something along the lines of "Information studies/Librarianship") they'll all get you qualified and they'll all be recognised for what they are. A lovely friendly group of people, many of whom I chatted with later on too.
I wasn't sure what I was expecting from the Digitalization talk, because I couldn't remember exactly what the guy pitched, but it sounded mildly interesting so I popped along. To summarise it was basically along the lines of how to/ how do you digitalize your archive material - do you make it open access or not, do you hire other companies to do it for you, do you do it yourself etc. I didn't really have much to contribute here, as CC does most of the archive business for the school I work at, but it was interesting to listen to, as it's something I might have to do in the future. There was also a little discussion about the pros and cons of Google books. Apparently there's a website somewhere on which someone has gathered and posted all the pictures of scanning errors on Google Books, handprints, folded pages, shadows etc. I tried to find it to post a link, but I think it's blocked on the school's system (bane of my LIFE).
The cataloguing talk was interesting, especially to someone like me who hasn't been doing it for very long. The two guys running the session gave a brief history (with awesome drawings) of cataloguing and Dewey. The three things a catalogue must be: Sustainable, Browsable and it must Assist you in your choice. (I remembered!) We talked about the different systems people use to catalogue and which management systems people were using also. There were some brief comments about whether people just go with the assigned Dewey number of a book or change it to fit in more with the structure of their own library. Smaller libraries and school libraries tended to be the places where Dewey was messed with a little bit and books put 'outside' of where it was recommended to go, ours included. There was a bit of natter about the inventory as a whole, and how a network of relationships is important, helped of course, by using controlled vocabulary upon choosing keywords for books. Don't just make up words, or use common slang - as it may become a 'dead' word or phrase sooner or later. Controlled vocab keeps everyone happy about what to search. Another lady pitched an awesome idea - they keep 'dummy books' on the shelves with the real books, where the e-books would normally sit. These dummy books have a scan-able code on the front, which provides a link to the e-book. A nice way to get people who prefer shelf browsing using the e-books.
My, this post is rather long. But we continue. Because the day was amazing and I don't want to split it all up. It needs to come out in a massive chunk of amazing, just like the day was.
The last session I went to was 'Innovation!' This is how it was written on the timetable. I love new ideas and have a few myself that I think could work well in our library so it seemed like the place to go. It was great. we all sat in out room and the session proposer explained she'd called this session for ideas and also for thoughts on how to get around the 'powers that be' whilst trying to be innovative in the workplace. Some of the ideas about this that came up:
- Allocate 5% of staff work time to their innovative projects per week. Although a lot of projects include out of work time-input also.
- Think simple, in a lot of cases a simple tweak here and there could make a big difference.
- Do first, seek forgiveness later (I suppose this depends where you work. - No-one will die, but you may be fired or something depending on what you did!)
- Do a month of risk taking. See what comes out of it. People usually have more ideas than we give them credit for, just no chance to show-case them.
- Get to know your customer base before changing things. See how you could make things better for them. Innovate for your people.
- Often it can be a case of what you can stop doing, on a day to day basis, to make time for new ideas. There's many things that if you stopped to think about them, you could always do less - increase efficiency and look at what is core to your schedule.
- A lady there suggested a book. Sticky Wisdom: How to start a creative revolution at work. You can find a link to the book here. I hope to read and review it next year at some point.
And also there were lots of ideas about what kinds of innovation you could do. Another key point was sharing ideas online, and the importance of it. It's probably been done elsewhere, but others may not know about it, so share away via every platform you can!
And that was my hectic day! It was rounded off by some quick thank-yous, some cake judging and a reminder of how awesome we all are. You know what, I really think so too.
After all of that I declined the offer to spend some time at the bar with fellow Library-People and searched out my friend who lives in Birmingham for some well earned pizza and a catch up, and finally managed to get a train home - a little earlier than I would have liked, but the need for sleep was pushing me back to my bed. I only feel a little sad that I didn't get a proper chance to look around the library. I will have to return again one time, to do it properly! I had a fantastic day, and really look forward to hopefully going again next year. In the meantime, I'll recover from my cold, get Twitter (hopefully) and get innovating. And hopefully never miss a train ever again.
From a proud library worker,
Over and out.
I missed my train.
It left at half seven in the morning, meaning I would get to the library of Birmingham not only on time, but with enough time to mingle with some people before-hand. But it was not to be. I ran half heartedly up the hill towards the train station, and got there just in time to see my train pull out towards Birmingham, leaving me out of breath, coughing hideously and feeling like I should just go home and resign myself to the fact that I was not 'with it' enough to be going to Library Camp. But I stuck it out, bought myself a green tea and waited an hour for the next one. On arrival at Birmingham I didn't even consider trying to carve my way though the Christmas shopping crowds, and instead flung my sorry self into the back of a taxi and wheezed out "The Library, please - the new one, the big one!"
At least the drive gave me a few minutes to compose myself and gather my thoughts. I payed the driver (such a nice guy, why can't all taxi drivers be as pleasant?) and ran though the doors, barely taking in the outside of the building (which yes, does look like a giant Christmas present). I followed the signs to Library camp and inched my way into a dark room (a theatre of some sorts) lit warmly with a yellow haze. It seems I had only missed the introductions and I listened to a friendly bearded man (there was a lot of bearded men there), explain how the day would work and where all the rooms where the talks would be held were. Then everyone who wanted to pitch a session, stood and gave a thirty second pitch, a show of hands were given to indicate interest and the idea was written on a post-it and placed on a hand drawn timetable on the floor. After all the sessions were pitched, they were organised and some similar ones were merged and a full, organised timetable was typed up onto a spread sheet and projected onto a giant screen so that everyone could start to make some decisions about which talks they wanted to attend. I chose the following talks:
1) Social Media in Libraries
2) LIS (Library and Information Studies) students talk
3) Digitalization
4) Cataloguing
5) Innovation! (There was actually an exclamation mark after it. This may have been a factor in me choosing the session...)
The social media talk was definitely the busiest I went to during the day. We had to split into two mini-groups to fit into the space. The session proposer began by saying who she was and who she worked for, then basically everyone chatted back and forth about elements of social media that worked in libraries, elements that didn't, the various types of social media and the benefits and drawbacks of using it to promote your library. Things I leant:
- I need twitter. I was possibly the only one there without a) an I-Pad or Smartphone good enough to be doing lots of technical things on and b) twitter. The hashtag for the event was #libcampuk13. People were bigging up twitter in the promotion of libraries all over the shop. In deciding what type of social media might work for out library, I should just ask the students which they think would be best, or which they use most.
- Linking your social media sites works. One guys explained how their facebook and twitter pages are often used to promote links to their blog. Apparently more people are willing to read a blog post via social media than they are via an email update.
- Visual things work. Pinterest was mentioned. and there was a guy there using rubber ducks to help promote stuff at his library. People like the ducks, apparently.
- Have a personality. There's nothing worse (apparently) than a library social media page with no personality. Be exciting and relevant to your workplace. Make them 'like' you. Ducks can help.
- You could link with other institutions or places in your local area. Promo for promo kind of...
..and lots more. This is gonna be one long post if I keep blabbering on! Basically it gave me some cool ideas about potentially using twitter for our library. I could use it to promote new books, remind them about overdues - events in the local library in town. Get them to post books they want to read. Other stuff. Getting them interested in the library basically. It could also be a means of communication between the students and us when we aren't at our desk. I need to lean how twitter works first though, then run it by the 'powers that be', see what they think. It might never take off, but watch this space...
The LIS student gathering was interesting. There were people currently doing their masters, people who had done it, people who were thinking of doing it and people who were just interested. We talked about the various location options to study (studying abroad came up) and the perks and let downs of a couple of universities. There was a girl there who'd recently done her masters at Manchester Met, where I'll be next year and she only had good things to say about it. Which I must say, made me feel much better (and more excited). A good point that came up was that just because each university calls the degree something different (all variations on something along the lines of "Information studies/Librarianship") they'll all get you qualified and they'll all be recognised for what they are. A lovely friendly group of people, many of whom I chatted with later on too.
I wasn't sure what I was expecting from the Digitalization talk, because I couldn't remember exactly what the guy pitched, but it sounded mildly interesting so I popped along. To summarise it was basically along the lines of how to/ how do you digitalize your archive material - do you make it open access or not, do you hire other companies to do it for you, do you do it yourself etc. I didn't really have much to contribute here, as CC does most of the archive business for the school I work at, but it was interesting to listen to, as it's something I might have to do in the future. There was also a little discussion about the pros and cons of Google books. Apparently there's a website somewhere on which someone has gathered and posted all the pictures of scanning errors on Google Books, handprints, folded pages, shadows etc. I tried to find it to post a link, but I think it's blocked on the school's system (bane of my LIFE).
The cataloguing talk was interesting, especially to someone like me who hasn't been doing it for very long. The two guys running the session gave a brief history (with awesome drawings) of cataloguing and Dewey. The three things a catalogue must be: Sustainable, Browsable and it must Assist you in your choice. (I remembered!) We talked about the different systems people use to catalogue and which management systems people were using also. There were some brief comments about whether people just go with the assigned Dewey number of a book or change it to fit in more with the structure of their own library. Smaller libraries and school libraries tended to be the places where Dewey was messed with a little bit and books put 'outside' of where it was recommended to go, ours included. There was a bit of natter about the inventory as a whole, and how a network of relationships is important, helped of course, by using controlled vocabulary upon choosing keywords for books. Don't just make up words, or use common slang - as it may become a 'dead' word or phrase sooner or later. Controlled vocab keeps everyone happy about what to search. Another lady pitched an awesome idea - they keep 'dummy books' on the shelves with the real books, where the e-books would normally sit. These dummy books have a scan-able code on the front, which provides a link to the e-book. A nice way to get people who prefer shelf browsing using the e-books.
My, this post is rather long. But we continue. Because the day was amazing and I don't want to split it all up. It needs to come out in a massive chunk of amazing, just like the day was.
The last session I went to was 'Innovation!' This is how it was written on the timetable. I love new ideas and have a few myself that I think could work well in our library so it seemed like the place to go. It was great. we all sat in out room and the session proposer explained she'd called this session for ideas and also for thoughts on how to get around the 'powers that be' whilst trying to be innovative in the workplace. Some of the ideas about this that came up:
- Allocate 5% of staff work time to their innovative projects per week. Although a lot of projects include out of work time-input also.
- Think simple, in a lot of cases a simple tweak here and there could make a big difference.
- Do first, seek forgiveness later (I suppose this depends where you work. - No-one will die, but you may be fired or something depending on what you did!)
- Do a month of risk taking. See what comes out of it. People usually have more ideas than we give them credit for, just no chance to show-case them.
- Get to know your customer base before changing things. See how you could make things better for them. Innovate for your people.
- Often it can be a case of what you can stop doing, on a day to day basis, to make time for new ideas. There's many things that if you stopped to think about them, you could always do less - increase efficiency and look at what is core to your schedule.
- A lady there suggested a book. Sticky Wisdom: How to start a creative revolution at work. You can find a link to the book here. I hope to read and review it next year at some point.
And also there were lots of ideas about what kinds of innovation you could do. Another key point was sharing ideas online, and the importance of it. It's probably been done elsewhere, but others may not know about it, so share away via every platform you can!
And that was my hectic day! It was rounded off by some quick thank-yous, some cake judging and a reminder of how awesome we all are. You know what, I really think so too.
After all of that I declined the offer to spend some time at the bar with fellow Library-People and searched out my friend who lives in Birmingham for some well earned pizza and a catch up, and finally managed to get a train home - a little earlier than I would have liked, but the need for sleep was pushing me back to my bed. I only feel a little sad that I didn't get a proper chance to look around the library. I will have to return again one time, to do it properly! I had a fantastic day, and really look forward to hopefully going again next year. In the meantime, I'll recover from my cold, get Twitter (hopefully) and get innovating. And hopefully never miss a train ever again.
From a proud library worker,
Over and out.
I got my place!
I received a letter a couple of days ago - I've received an unconditional offer to study for my masters in Information Management and Librarianship next academic year! In Manchester!
Basically, I'm going home!
*Happy Dance*
It's a huge weight off my shoulders and means I'm one step closer to being a fully qualified Librarian.
Over and Out.
Basically, I'm going home!
*Happy Dance*
It's a huge weight off my shoulders and means I'm one step closer to being a fully qualified Librarian.
Over and Out.
Thursday 21 November 2013
The oldest bookshop in Britain and a second-hand wonderland.
I visited two bookshops within the past week, and I wanted to do a post about my experiences.
On Friday I went with the school Librarian to Cottage Bookshop in Penn, High Wycombe to see if we could get some useful books for the library (mainly to re-stock missing titles we have in some series). It sells second hand and antiquarian books from an 18th century cottage (tres cute, but a little chilly!) and will buys books from you for a small amount if they think they'll be useful. They only accept good copies - no stained, peeling pages here - and from the minute you walk in you can't see from one end of the shop to the other. There's books piled right up to the ceiling on shelves that tower over you and create little mazes for you to become totally lost in.
There is, however, method to this madness. It's organised roughly by genre - the rest is up to you. If you ask them if they have a certain book, it may be a case of "yes of course, I'll go and get it" or, more likely, 'Um, if you wait here I will go and see". You almost feel like you should be attached by a rope to the front door so you can make your way out again. Kendal mint cake, head torch and all the rest. But it's so fun in there! You don't know what you'll find, and most of the books are so cheap! We bought about thirty-ish books for about sixty-ish quid. £60 would buy you, maybe, six or seven books anywhere else. If you aren't put off by masses and masses of titles and the notion of emerging several hours later blinking in the sunlight then it's the place for you too.
Then, on the Saturday, JJ and I visited London. I wanted to visit Hatchards. Founded in 1797 it claims to be London's oldest bookshop, and some say the oldest bookshop in the UK. Sadly, I think it's owned by Waterstones now - I have nothing against Waterstones at all, but it seemed a little sad that it was no longer independent.
Hatchards was totally different to The Cottage Bookshop in every sense of the word. Organised, with helpful, very pretty floor descriptions so you knew exactly which books were on each floor. There were lots of signed copies (including Maddadam by Margaret Atwood- something I really wanted to buy, but have already asked my parents for for Christmas!) and a specific Folio collection.
The Cottage Bookshop is open from Tues to Sat: 10am - 1pm and 2.15pm - 5pm.
Over and out.
On Friday I went with the school Librarian to Cottage Bookshop in Penn, High Wycombe to see if we could get some useful books for the library (mainly to re-stock missing titles we have in some series). It sells second hand and antiquarian books from an 18th century cottage (tres cute, but a little chilly!) and will buys books from you for a small amount if they think they'll be useful. They only accept good copies - no stained, peeling pages here - and from the minute you walk in you can't see from one end of the shop to the other. There's books piled right up to the ceiling on shelves that tower over you and create little mazes for you to become totally lost in.
(PICTURES TAKEN FROM THEIR WEBSITE)
There is, however, method to this madness. It's organised roughly by genre - the rest is up to you. If you ask them if they have a certain book, it may be a case of "yes of course, I'll go and get it" or, more likely, 'Um, if you wait here I will go and see". You almost feel like you should be attached by a rope to the front door so you can make your way out again. Kendal mint cake, head torch and all the rest. But it's so fun in there! You don't know what you'll find, and most of the books are so cheap! We bought about thirty-ish books for about sixty-ish quid. £60 would buy you, maybe, six or seven books anywhere else. If you aren't put off by masses and masses of titles and the notion of emerging several hours later blinking in the sunlight then it's the place for you too.
(PICTURES TAKEN FROM THEIR WEBSITE)
Then, on the Saturday, JJ and I visited London. I wanted to visit Hatchards. Founded in 1797 it claims to be London's oldest bookshop, and some say the oldest bookshop in the UK. Sadly, I think it's owned by Waterstones now - I have nothing against Waterstones at all, but it seemed a little sad that it was no longer independent.
Taken by yours truly. (On my phone so the quality is not brilliant!)
Hatchards was totally different to The Cottage Bookshop in every sense of the word. Organised, with helpful, very pretty floor descriptions so you knew exactly which books were on each floor. There were lots of signed copies (including Maddadam by Margaret Atwood- something I really wanted to buy, but have already asked my parents for for Christmas!) and a specific Folio collection.
Sweet, pretty, expensive books...
In terms of selection and quality, of course it was going to be fabulous. Especially good to buy presents for book lovers - as you're sure to find a nice copy, perhaps signed, to buy for someone. Staff were helpful and the store was beautiful - still keeping a lot of the old features, with lots of sofa's to rest on. Well worth a visit if you're in the area.
My personal favourite has to be The Cottage Bookshop - I'm not sure if it's my bank account talking (you can't go wrong with £2 for a book) - or if it's the 'Alice' in me. It's like a bookish wonderland in there. Well worth escaping to for an afternoon and I can't wait to go back!
The Cottage Bookshop is open from Tues to Sat: 10am - 1pm and 2.15pm - 5pm.
| http://www.cottagebookshop.co.uk/ It's address is: Elm Road, Penn, High Wycombe, HP10 8LB | |
| and the telephone number is: 01494 812 632 Hatchards is open Mon-Sat 9:00am-19:00pm and Sun 12:00pm-18:00pm http://www.hatchards.co.uk/ It's address is 187 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LE and the telephone number is 020 7439 9921 |
Over and out.
It's gone!
On a quick note - I sent off my application last week to study Library and Information Studies at Manchester Met University next year. Wish me luck!
Pre-Library Camp Post #1: Why I'm bricking it.
Library Camp UK 2013. First of all, what is it?
For a start...it's not even a camp. Not in the camping sense. However Library 'Meeting' UK 2013 doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
Library Camp is an un-conference. It is a meeting, a gathering of Librarians, Assistant Librarians, Librarian wannabes and Library lovers to talk about - you guessed it - Library stuff. This year it's being held at the new Library of Birmingham, which I'm really keen to visit anyway for two reasons. The first being that it just opened - it's big and looks awesome and I want to see if it's got substance and style. The second being that my friend goes to university in Birmingham and afterwards we're going for some food and a catch up! But I digress...
What makes it an un-conference is the way in which it is structured. Basically, there isn't a structure. The tickets are free, all you have to do is snap one up (which I managed to do with just 14 left!) and the guests bring the topics for discussion. There are 200 people attending. The idea, to make it work, is that you suggest a discussion/game/something to do. Then you all go and do it. You're free to come in and out of the library, take time to wander around, blog, take pictures etc. You could just go and participate in everyone else's activities. However if everyone did this there would be very little going on. I really want to be one of those people who gets involved and holds a discussion on something really awesome and fun.
However.
I don't know what to do.
I've got all of nine days to plan and perfect something. Trouble is, having never been to one of these before, I've really got no idea what I'm supposed to do. Do I suggest a topic and just let everyone else discuss away? Do I have to give a short speech and present my opinions on something, then let everyone else pick over my points? Or do I come prepared with powerpoint presentations, flip charts and diagrams to give an hour long lecture? Probably not the last one. But you see my dilemma.
Oh the horror! There's a lovely sessions proposals page, where everyone is pitching potential ideas. All of them sound like they know what they're doing. There's another issue right there - if I did a session, would anyone gain anything from it? I don't know nearly half as much about the library world as some of the people attending. I'm not a qualified Librarian and I've only been in my current position of three months. Is it even worth contributing anything?
Idea's I'm potentially considering are as follows:
- Re-iterating the idea of the library as a communal asset. How do you prevent books being taken from a school library with no security system in place.
(Basically try and get some ideas. I work in a boarding school library, that the students can access 24/7. There's someone on the desk from 8:30am - 20:00pm Mon-Fri and 9am-12pm on a Saturday. However books go missing all the time. Students don't sign them out, wander off with them, then when we check the shelves they aren't there and we have no idea if they'll come back. Some do, some don't.)
- Libraries: Places for introverts and extroverts.
A discussion on the physical design of libraries. The open spaced, minimalistic approach, could be off-putting to introverted types, who studies show prefer 'nooks and crannies' (I know I do). There's some interesting work that's been done on office designs in this respect - it would be interesting to compare the findings relevant to what environments introverts and extroverts thrive best in, to library environments. How can we make spaces work for everyone? And can people over-generalise when considering what these two personality types 'need'.
And that's kind of all I've got. Apart from plan C, which is to turn up and wander vaguely around hoping to learn something from everyone else who is probably better at this that me.
Oh and lots of people bring food for the event. But that's another thing to panic over later.
Oh Knickers. Wish me luck.
Over and out.
For a start...it's not even a camp. Not in the camping sense. However Library 'Meeting' UK 2013 doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
Library Camp is an un-conference. It is a meeting, a gathering of Librarians, Assistant Librarians, Librarian wannabes and Library lovers to talk about - you guessed it - Library stuff. This year it's being held at the new Library of Birmingham, which I'm really keen to visit anyway for two reasons. The first being that it just opened - it's big and looks awesome and I want to see if it's got substance and style. The second being that my friend goes to university in Birmingham and afterwards we're going for some food and a catch up! But I digress...
What makes it an un-conference is the way in which it is structured. Basically, there isn't a structure. The tickets are free, all you have to do is snap one up (which I managed to do with just 14 left!) and the guests bring the topics for discussion. There are 200 people attending. The idea, to make it work, is that you suggest a discussion/game/something to do. Then you all go and do it. You're free to come in and out of the library, take time to wander around, blog, take pictures etc. You could just go and participate in everyone else's activities. However if everyone did this there would be very little going on. I really want to be one of those people who gets involved and holds a discussion on something really awesome and fun.
However.
I don't know what to do.
I've got all of nine days to plan and perfect something. Trouble is, having never been to one of these before, I've really got no idea what I'm supposed to do. Do I suggest a topic and just let everyone else discuss away? Do I have to give a short speech and present my opinions on something, then let everyone else pick over my points? Or do I come prepared with powerpoint presentations, flip charts and diagrams to give an hour long lecture? Probably not the last one. But you see my dilemma.
Oh the horror! There's a lovely sessions proposals page, where everyone is pitching potential ideas. All of them sound like they know what they're doing. There's another issue right there - if I did a session, would anyone gain anything from it? I don't know nearly half as much about the library world as some of the people attending. I'm not a qualified Librarian and I've only been in my current position of three months. Is it even worth contributing anything?
Idea's I'm potentially considering are as follows:
- Re-iterating the idea of the library as a communal asset. How do you prevent books being taken from a school library with no security system in place.
(Basically try and get some ideas. I work in a boarding school library, that the students can access 24/7. There's someone on the desk from 8:30am - 20:00pm Mon-Fri and 9am-12pm on a Saturday. However books go missing all the time. Students don't sign them out, wander off with them, then when we check the shelves they aren't there and we have no idea if they'll come back. Some do, some don't.)
- Libraries: Places for introverts and extroverts.
A discussion on the physical design of libraries. The open spaced, minimalistic approach, could be off-putting to introverted types, who studies show prefer 'nooks and crannies' (I know I do). There's some interesting work that's been done on office designs in this respect - it would be interesting to compare the findings relevant to what environments introverts and extroverts thrive best in, to library environments. How can we make spaces work for everyone? And can people over-generalise when considering what these two personality types 'need'.
And that's kind of all I've got. Apart from plan C, which is to turn up and wander vaguely around hoping to learn something from everyone else who is probably better at this that me.
Oh and lots of people bring food for the event. But that's another thing to panic over later.
Oh Knickers. Wish me luck.
Over and out.
Saturday 9 November 2013
Hot off the Shelf: What I'm reading - 'The Observations' Harris, Jane.
One spoiler, but nothing vital to the plot.
(Yes, I'm trying pictures now!)
I don't really know what to think about this.
I borrowed it from the library, as Goodreads had suggested it, based on the other things I had read. I can see why it flagged as a suggestion. It's the kind of thing I read when I'm looking for a novel that's not too demanding, not too heavy, but with enough of a plot to keep me interested. I seem to lean toward historical fiction for this sort of thing (which is weird, because that genre can often be very heavy going!), usually set in Victorian (ish) Britain. These novels I enjoy are often very well researched, which I like, and are almost more engrossing for me, as (I think I've mentioned before) my knowledge on historical matters amounts to very little. This novel in particular was shortlisted for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction in 2007, which reassured me it wouldn't be awful at least.
A lot of these books that I enjoy for 'light' reading seem to be based around a female protagonist, who is of a lower class. She moves to a city, or takes up a position somewhere and some kind of mystery or drama happens, to generalise somewhat. This is sort of the plot in 'The Observations'. What I liked most about this novel, is the narrator, Bessy Buckley. An Irish Girl with a sketchy past that's unfurled slowly throughout the novel, who moves to Scotland and takes a position as a maid at an old, ill-kept manor house. The historical slang she uses and her tone in general is really fun and keeps you well in her mind-set and the era of the novel. Her honesty and openness is what kept me moving through this at the rate I did. Usually with these books I like to read slowly, a bit at a time. But here I quite wanted to know what happened next, as Bessy's reaction to things often mirrored my own, especially her ponderings over the odd habits and directions displayed by her 'missus'.
The story is well paced, neither giving you everything right at the start, nor rushing everything at the end and the characters are well developed and believable. It concludes well, I felt satisfied by the ending. You don't notice, but Bessy's manner of speech alters somewhat by the end, it becomes slightly more refined - but she is still Bessy. Still using some of her slang and still devoted to her missus.
One bad point? I really didn't understand why Bessy had that brief...ahem...'moment', with Hector. It may have been put in to show Bessy's emotions, how low and flippant she was feeling. But she made her revulsion of him perfectly clear for the whole novel, both before and after the 'incident' and her past would have put her off boys such as him (one would assume). That's the only niggling I had. I just don't think she would have done it, should she have been real and had gone through what she did.
Overall probably about 3.5 out of five. A nice example of it's genre. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks I will be visiting some lovely bookshops and libraries to write about on here!
Over and out.
(Yes, I'm trying pictures now!)
I don't really know what to think about this.
I borrowed it from the library, as Goodreads had suggested it, based on the other things I had read. I can see why it flagged as a suggestion. It's the kind of thing I read when I'm looking for a novel that's not too demanding, not too heavy, but with enough of a plot to keep me interested. I seem to lean toward historical fiction for this sort of thing (which is weird, because that genre can often be very heavy going!), usually set in Victorian (ish) Britain. These novels I enjoy are often very well researched, which I like, and are almost more engrossing for me, as (I think I've mentioned before) my knowledge on historical matters amounts to very little. This novel in particular was shortlisted for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction in 2007, which reassured me it wouldn't be awful at least.
A lot of these books that I enjoy for 'light' reading seem to be based around a female protagonist, who is of a lower class. She moves to a city, or takes up a position somewhere and some kind of mystery or drama happens, to generalise somewhat. This is sort of the plot in 'The Observations'. What I liked most about this novel, is the narrator, Bessy Buckley. An Irish Girl with a sketchy past that's unfurled slowly throughout the novel, who moves to Scotland and takes a position as a maid at an old, ill-kept manor house. The historical slang she uses and her tone in general is really fun and keeps you well in her mind-set and the era of the novel. Her honesty and openness is what kept me moving through this at the rate I did. Usually with these books I like to read slowly, a bit at a time. But here I quite wanted to know what happened next, as Bessy's reaction to things often mirrored my own, especially her ponderings over the odd habits and directions displayed by her 'missus'.
The story is well paced, neither giving you everything right at the start, nor rushing everything at the end and the characters are well developed and believable. It concludes well, I felt satisfied by the ending. You don't notice, but Bessy's manner of speech alters somewhat by the end, it becomes slightly more refined - but she is still Bessy. Still using some of her slang and still devoted to her missus.
One bad point? I really didn't understand why Bessy had that brief...ahem...'moment', with Hector. It may have been put in to show Bessy's emotions, how low and flippant she was feeling. But she made her revulsion of him perfectly clear for the whole novel, both before and after the 'incident' and her past would have put her off boys such as him (one would assume). That's the only niggling I had. I just don't think she would have done it, should she have been real and had gone through what she did.
Overall probably about 3.5 out of five. A nice example of it's genre. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks I will be visiting some lovely bookshops and libraries to write about on here!
Over and out.
Thursday 7 November 2013
Is an MA in Library science a poor investment? My thoughts on an online article.
I found an interesting article on a website called Information Space, which was a response to an article in Forbes Magazine "The Best and Worst Masters degrees for Jobs". It's called "Is a Masters degree in Library Science a poor investment?" From what I can see, Library and Information degrees are not actually mentioned in the main body of the Forbes article, but in the picture section. They tie it with Counselling, in terms of Mid-Career median pay and projected employment increase. The article on Information Space makes some very good points to oppose the 'facts' put forward in the Forbes article. I thought I'd share the article, as it might be of interest to people out there, and also throw in my opinion on the matter. The article is only about a year old, so still fairly relevant.
Point number one: Obviously, I disagree with Forbes. I think a Masters degree in Library Science is a great investment...depending on a few things. I've seen a couple of people commenting on the article who think the same: you have to have some experience too. It's worth taking a couple of years working in assistant roles to develop your experience, then getting yourself enrolled onto a masters. A) You're more likely to get onto a masters course and B) you are more likely to get employed afterwards, because you'll have some real working knowledge of how libraries are run. Likewise, if you have years and years of experience, apparently it's often hard to get employed is you don't have the Master Degree. It's the first thing employers look for. Another reason it's a good investment.
Point number two: who said it was all about the money? I'm not necessarily (hopefully) going off to do my masters because it's going to get me a job that pays bucket-loads by the end of it. I'm going to do it because it's what I want to do. I love doing it and I think I'll be very happy doing it. I also want to do the job to the best of my ability - getting the masters will help me do that. Librarian's get payed more than Librarian Assistants, this much I know. But I haven't ever really looked at how much more. So long as I can keep a roof over my head I'm happy. Hopefully I can afford to do this.
Point number three: Yes, a masters degree is Library Science is a poor investment - but in my opinion, only if after you have got the qualification, you sit around and wait for the jobs to come to you. You have to be flexible. When you've got your degree, you start applying for Librarian positions, wherever they may be. Perhaps you'll be lucky and find something local. Most likely you won't. If you aren't willing to go to the jobs when you've got your degree, then it was perhaps a poor investment.
Last point. Rant almost over. I think the Forbes article only took into account 'Jobs in Libraries'. Yes, this is what I want to do, but there is more you can do with a degree in Information Science and Librarianship. This is one of the points made on the Information Space article that I really agree with.
Read and see what you think. Poor investment? Or is it only a poor investment if you think you'll become a millionaire. How much does money matter when you're doing what you love?
For now,
Over and out.
Point number one: Obviously, I disagree with Forbes. I think a Masters degree in Library Science is a great investment...depending on a few things. I've seen a couple of people commenting on the article who think the same: you have to have some experience too. It's worth taking a couple of years working in assistant roles to develop your experience, then getting yourself enrolled onto a masters. A) You're more likely to get onto a masters course and B) you are more likely to get employed afterwards, because you'll have some real working knowledge of how libraries are run. Likewise, if you have years and years of experience, apparently it's often hard to get employed is you don't have the Master Degree. It's the first thing employers look for. Another reason it's a good investment.
Point number two: who said it was all about the money? I'm not necessarily (hopefully) going off to do my masters because it's going to get me a job that pays bucket-loads by the end of it. I'm going to do it because it's what I want to do. I love doing it and I think I'll be very happy doing it. I also want to do the job to the best of my ability - getting the masters will help me do that. Librarian's get payed more than Librarian Assistants, this much I know. But I haven't ever really looked at how much more. So long as I can keep a roof over my head I'm happy. Hopefully I can afford to do this.
Point number three: Yes, a masters degree is Library Science is a poor investment - but in my opinion, only if after you have got the qualification, you sit around and wait for the jobs to come to you. You have to be flexible. When you've got your degree, you start applying for Librarian positions, wherever they may be. Perhaps you'll be lucky and find something local. Most likely you won't. If you aren't willing to go to the jobs when you've got your degree, then it was perhaps a poor investment.
Last point. Rant almost over. I think the Forbes article only took into account 'Jobs in Libraries'. Yes, this is what I want to do, but there is more you can do with a degree in Information Science and Librarianship. This is one of the points made on the Information Space article that I really agree with.
Read and see what you think. Poor investment? Or is it only a poor investment if you think you'll become a millionaire. How much does money matter when you're doing what you love?
For now,
Over and out.
Wednesday 6 November 2013
Hot off the Shelf: What I'm reading - ‘Persepolis’ Satrapi, Marjane.
Spoilers. Again. I’ll try to do the next one without them!
For a start…what is Persepolis? What does it mean? That was the first question
I had. Here’s a definition:
“Persepolis means "City of Pars" and it was the ceremonial
capital of the Persian Empire during the Achaemenid dynasty in its golden era.”
Here’s another one:
“Persepolis:
An ancient city of
Persia northeast of modern Shiraz in southwest Iran. It was the ceremonial
capital of Darius I and his successors. Its ruins include the palaces of Darius
and Xerxes and a citadel that contained the treasury looted by Alexander the
Great.
There you go.
GoodReads gives a fantastic summery of the
book:
“Persepolis
is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a
large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the
contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by
political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of
adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming--both sweet and terrible;
and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the
chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a
young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the
universal trials and joys of growing up.”
I will admit there is another reason I copied a summery from
GoodReads, instead of writing one myself. I am not at all a political person. Politics often washes over me,
and my history is just as bad. Therefore books that are particularly political
or require a decent understanding of certain eras of history, tend to muddle me
a bit. I often wonder how to summarise without making mistakes or sounding too
basic. So GoodReads, thank you for that neat, perfect summery. Now here’s what
I thought about it.
I’m trying to branch out with the types of novels I’m
reading. Persepolis is a memoir, written in comic strips. I found it funny,
heart-breaking and shocking all at once. It’s raw and very, very powerful. I’d
say it was like nothing I’d ever read on the subject – but what I have read on
the subject amounts to very little, so it’s not saying much. You believe
everything she writes, it’s not over done and the language develops as we see
Satrapi grow from a headstrong child, full of truth and ideas in to a beautiful
woman, still full of opinions and journeying from the lowest places a human can
be trapped (emotionally and physically) to the happy and comic moments that
adulthood brings. And I’ll tell you one thing:
It was the best history lesson I’ve ever received. Who said
books could teach you nothing?
Read this. It’s important. Because no-one tells history like
the people that have been through it. Satrapi went thought it.
Over and out.
Tuesday 29 October 2013
Personal Statements. We meet again. (For PostGrad)
In case you didn't realise, I'm hoping to go to University again next year. I would like to go to Manchester Metropolitan University. I would like to study Information Management and Librarianship. Full time. I would like to move back to the glorious north and I would like to become a real Librarian.
*Prays very hard to the Library spirits*
Please?
Of course all of this doesn't just come poof out of no-where. There's a big long application form, and you gotta delve right back into something you though you'd left behind forever.
Writing a personal statement.
Now having completed a Creative and Professional Writing degree, this should be fairly straight forward. And it was, sort of. It just takes me a fair bit of time getting everything down, remembering what sort of order it should go in and making it sound all crisp and professional, like I really know what I'm talking about.
But I don't! I've only been in my new job for less than I month and I have to start writing statements for people who decide whether I get to go study for my dream job. I don't know everything yet. Hell there are some days when I swear the alphabet goes right out of my head. So it takes something else. Here is a rough structure of how I wrote my personal statement. Perhaps it will help anyone else out there who feels in exactly the same rut I do.
First Paragraph: I talk about what I did at university and how I decided I wanted to begin a career in Librarianship. I talk about the various work experience placements I did to help decide this.
Second Paragraph: I talk about my current work situation. I talk about the types of things I'm doing and learning, being very specific. I talk about the Library Management System they use and the fact I'm keeping a blog to help track my progress. Then I talk about the things I hope to be able to do by the end of it all. Basically showing I understand the sort of things I should be able to do by the end of the year.
Third Paragraph: I talk about why I want to be a Librarian, rather than just remain in an assistant position. I natter about my main interests in the field, linking it to the modules MMU provides. I talk about elements of the course that excite me and how I could apply my existing skills.
Fourth Paragraph: Why I want to study at MMU, a little bit about how the course is credited by CILIP and why that's good and how I'm making good use of living near London - what kind of talks, bookshops and events I'm attending that are relevant to the field.
Fifth Paragraph: A conclusion, basically saying all of the above, reduced into like, four sentences.
DISCLAIMER: I haven't got into university yet. Don't follow my example, then come and kill me in my sleep when it doesn't work out for you. Kapeesh?
I'm just waiting on my referees to write (hopefully glowing) references, then I can email the whole load off and cross all my fingers until I get a reply.
I hope this helped anyone out there who felt daunted, like me, about writing a personal statement again. If anyone thinks I've missed something widely important, let me know!
Over and out.
*Prays very hard to the Library spirits*
Please?
Of course all of this doesn't just come poof out of no-where. There's a big long application form, and you gotta delve right back into something you though you'd left behind forever.
Writing a personal statement.
Now having completed a Creative and Professional Writing degree, this should be fairly straight forward. And it was, sort of. It just takes me a fair bit of time getting everything down, remembering what sort of order it should go in and making it sound all crisp and professional, like I really know what I'm talking about.
But I don't! I've only been in my new job for less than I month and I have to start writing statements for people who decide whether I get to go study for my dream job. I don't know everything yet. Hell there are some days when I swear the alphabet goes right out of my head. So it takes something else. Here is a rough structure of how I wrote my personal statement. Perhaps it will help anyone else out there who feels in exactly the same rut I do.
First Paragraph: I talk about what I did at university and how I decided I wanted to begin a career in Librarianship. I talk about the various work experience placements I did to help decide this.
Second Paragraph: I talk about my current work situation. I talk about the types of things I'm doing and learning, being very specific. I talk about the Library Management System they use and the fact I'm keeping a blog to help track my progress. Then I talk about the things I hope to be able to do by the end of it all. Basically showing I understand the sort of things I should be able to do by the end of the year.
Third Paragraph: I talk about why I want to be a Librarian, rather than just remain in an assistant position. I natter about my main interests in the field, linking it to the modules MMU provides. I talk about elements of the course that excite me and how I could apply my existing skills.
Fourth Paragraph: Why I want to study at MMU, a little bit about how the course is credited by CILIP and why that's good and how I'm making good use of living near London - what kind of talks, bookshops and events I'm attending that are relevant to the field.
Fifth Paragraph: A conclusion, basically saying all of the above, reduced into like, four sentences.
DISCLAIMER: I haven't got into university yet. Don't follow my example, then come and kill me in my sleep when it doesn't work out for you. Kapeesh?
I'm just waiting on my referees to write (hopefully glowing) references, then I can email the whole load off and cross all my fingers until I get a reply.
I hope this helped anyone out there who felt daunted, like me, about writing a personal statement again. If anyone thinks I've missed something widely important, let me know!
Over and out.
Hot off the shelf: What I'm reading - 'The Woman in Black' Hill, Susan.
I apologise for inundating this blog with the 'review' posts. I read fairly quickly, and working in a school library gives you access to lots of books right at your fingertips. You don't have to wait for your pay check to come in so you can go book shopping. There's no having to trudge into town to their library (although I do make use of my local library as well as the school one). I'll be shelving, or weeding and I'll come across something and think, "hmm...I should probably have read that". Because I have very little else, other than work, going on at the minute, a lot of my spare time is spend reading. I'll be grateful for it whilst it lasts.
Spoilers here! Spoilers everywhere! A good one in time for Halloween though...
So onto this review! This is another book I managed to finish whilst travelling over half term. My only past experience with Susan Hill was in high school. I had to read 'Strange Meeting' for AS Level English Literature. Not being a fan of the war genre, I was slightly put off, but did enjoy the language and style if I remember correctly (I can't believe that was about five years ago!). I decided to read The Woman in Black, as it was rather short - perfect for packing into my hand luggage for the plane, and yes...I watched the film adaptation they released fairly recently. *Hides head in shame* I must read books before watching the films!
Before I go on I'll admit...I am easily scared. And I think maybe your enjoyment of the book may vary depending on how easily creeped out you are. It's a great ghost story, in my opinion. She builds suspense very well and just at the end, when you think all is well, and Arthur is free from the torment of the Woman in Black - BAM. It's that chilling sense of heart-stopping fear. She's back, she was never finished with him. He pays his price and the story ends on an eerie note of awful realisation. It gives you shudders. The house, to which Arthur Kipps is sent to handle the affairs of the sole inhabitant who died there, is brilliantly portrayed. Having the location of the haunting across the marshes, cut off by the tide for much of the time gives us the real sense of being trapped, as Arthur is, in the situation. You can't escape it, because he can't.
I gave it four out of five stars on Goodreads. But why not give it five stars, is it did it's job - being a scary story - so brilliantly. Truth be told, I found Arthur Kipp, the protagonist, ever so slightly...not unbelievable...just a little frustrating at times. But perhaps that just shows how well Hill draws you into the story. I didn't want him to go back to Eel Marsh House after he had his first horrendous experience. No-one would. But he does. I suppose it was necessary for the plot to continue. It would have been very boring had he gone home and the story finish there. But his feelings about the house seem to be all over the place. First he's determined to go back, then he resolves never to go again, then he feels better when he has a dog for company...it's all a bit wishy washy. Make up your mind man!
Apart from this, I really enjoyed The Woman in Black. I don't think I'd read it alone at night, by candle light, but I was very happy reading it on a busy plane to distract me from the fact I was thousands of miles in the air (I'm not the biggest fan of flying). It kept my mind occupied, and now when I turn the light off to go to bed at night, I occasionally take a double glance at the shadows in my room, to make sure none of them are old woman shaped!
Over and out.
Spoilers here! Spoilers everywhere! A good one in time for Halloween though...
So onto this review! This is another book I managed to finish whilst travelling over half term. My only past experience with Susan Hill was in high school. I had to read 'Strange Meeting' for AS Level English Literature. Not being a fan of the war genre, I was slightly put off, but did enjoy the language and style if I remember correctly (I can't believe that was about five years ago!). I decided to read The Woman in Black, as it was rather short - perfect for packing into my hand luggage for the plane, and yes...I watched the film adaptation they released fairly recently. *Hides head in shame* I must read books before watching the films!
Before I go on I'll admit...I am easily scared. And I think maybe your enjoyment of the book may vary depending on how easily creeped out you are. It's a great ghost story, in my opinion. She builds suspense very well and just at the end, when you think all is well, and Arthur is free from the torment of the Woman in Black - BAM. It's that chilling sense of heart-stopping fear. She's back, she was never finished with him. He pays his price and the story ends on an eerie note of awful realisation. It gives you shudders. The house, to which Arthur Kipps is sent to handle the affairs of the sole inhabitant who died there, is brilliantly portrayed. Having the location of the haunting across the marshes, cut off by the tide for much of the time gives us the real sense of being trapped, as Arthur is, in the situation. You can't escape it, because he can't.
I gave it four out of five stars on Goodreads. But why not give it five stars, is it did it's job - being a scary story - so brilliantly. Truth be told, I found Arthur Kipp, the protagonist, ever so slightly...not unbelievable...just a little frustrating at times. But perhaps that just shows how well Hill draws you into the story. I didn't want him to go back to Eel Marsh House after he had his first horrendous experience. No-one would. But he does. I suppose it was necessary for the plot to continue. It would have been very boring had he gone home and the story finish there. But his feelings about the house seem to be all over the place. First he's determined to go back, then he resolves never to go again, then he feels better when he has a dog for company...it's all a bit wishy washy. Make up your mind man!
Apart from this, I really enjoyed The Woman in Black. I don't think I'd read it alone at night, by candle light, but I was very happy reading it on a busy plane to distract me from the fact I was thousands of miles in the air (I'm not the biggest fan of flying). It kept my mind occupied, and now when I turn the light off to go to bed at night, I occasionally take a double glance at the shadows in my room, to make sure none of them are old woman shaped!
Over and out.
Friday 25 October 2013
Hot off the Shelf: What I’m reading - 'Year of the Flood' Atwood, Margaret
No Spoilers
Wow.
But first, a short explanation.
I really like Margaret Atwood. I'm not sure, if a person already really likes an author, that that means they'll like everything ever written by them. But so far, I've loved all the MA books I've managed to read. Which is like...three. I'm working on this.
'Year of the Flood' is sort of a second book in sort of a trilogy. I say 'sort of', because you can read the books in the trilogy as stand alone books and they will still make sense and be lovely and make your emotions all zingy. They run kind of parallel to each other...you don't need to know one story to understand the other.
However.
The three books all feature overlapping characters, plots and time frames. So you could read them as a series and have a more magnificent overview of the whole situation that's going on in the 'trilogy'. Reading the first could enrich your reading of the second, lets say.
Here's the 'order' of the 'series' Maddadam Trilogy:
Oryx and Crake
The Year of the Flood
Maddadam
It's clever. And that's why I love it. As well as this it's one of those dystopian-y type books I do so love. A man-made 'flood' has swept the earth (for the details, read Oryx and Crake), and there's a few survivors. A good dose of female heroes, weird new/old religions and gene splicing all combine for a fabulous book that you need to read. Right now. There's themes that make you think. It maintains it's human elements whilst being unmistakably sci-fi. What I love so much about it is that IT COULD HAPPEN. I swear she's some kind of prophet. She can see the future! (On a serious note, I seriously hope note...her futures are never very optimistic).
I'll leave you with that. I realise it's not very detailed, but I actually finished the book a week-ish ago, I just haven't been able to blog about it yet because of my travels. I can't wait to read Maddadam. I may ask for it for Christmas. However my soul might collapse if I have to wait that long.
Over and out
Wow.
But first, a short explanation.
I really like Margaret Atwood. I'm not sure, if a person already really likes an author, that that means they'll like everything ever written by them. But so far, I've loved all the MA books I've managed to read. Which is like...three. I'm working on this.
'Year of the Flood' is sort of a second book in sort of a trilogy. I say 'sort of', because you can read the books in the trilogy as stand alone books and they will still make sense and be lovely and make your emotions all zingy. They run kind of parallel to each other...you don't need to know one story to understand the other.
However.
The three books all feature overlapping characters, plots and time frames. So you could read them as a series and have a more magnificent overview of the whole situation that's going on in the 'trilogy'. Reading the first could enrich your reading of the second, lets say.
Here's the 'order' of the 'series' Maddadam Trilogy:
Oryx and Crake
The Year of the Flood
Maddadam
It's clever. And that's why I love it. As well as this it's one of those dystopian-y type books I do so love. A man-made 'flood' has swept the earth (for the details, read Oryx and Crake), and there's a few survivors. A good dose of female heroes, weird new/old religions and gene splicing all combine for a fabulous book that you need to read. Right now. There's themes that make you think. It maintains it's human elements whilst being unmistakably sci-fi. What I love so much about it is that IT COULD HAPPEN. I swear she's some kind of prophet. She can see the future! (On a serious note, I seriously hope note...her futures are never very optimistic).
I'll leave you with that. I realise it's not very detailed, but I actually finished the book a week-ish ago, I just haven't been able to blog about it yet because of my travels. I can't wait to read Maddadam. I may ask for it for Christmas. However my soul might collapse if I have to wait that long.
Over and out
Tuesday 22 October 2013
A cool invention for book lovers
One last post about Berlin! I visited a market on Sunday and came across this beautiful stall selling things like homemade bags and phone holders. What caught my eye instantly, was this...
I'm not the worlds best photographer. But bear with me. It's not a little handbag. It's a book holder. Here it is from the back...
And here it is opened up:
The ribbon down the centre is a bookmark. The pockets on the left and right, hold the front and back cover pages of your book, and allow you to read, like this...
And this is what it looks like when it's closed:
It's perfect! They were all handmade, and there's even a zip pocket on the front of the 'book bag', where you could pop your phone, keys and a bit of money if you were just popping to your local cafe or something for a cozy hour of reading and eating (a good combination of things to be doing). It cost me 15 euros and there were so many designs to choose from. It took me a while to pick this one! The website, should you wish to order one, is in German unfortunately, and there are not so many designs to choose from. But the nice lady on the stall informed me that it would be best to email her, should I want to order another one, and so I guess she could tell you all of the designs and fabric choices available if you didn't like any on the site. She spoke perfect English, so if you emailed her in English I'm sure she would happily reply!
Here's the website, linked straight to the 'book bag' page: http://www.moneandme.de/epages/62382373.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/62382373/Categories/Buchertaschen
There's some better pictures on the website too! She also makes holders for e-readers, if that's how you prefer to read your books. The book bag I bought is a good size to fit a standard paperback in comfortably. You might struggle fitting anything overly fat or tall into one, but on the whole, a very practical and funky invention!
Over and out
I'm not the worlds best photographer. But bear with me. It's not a little handbag. It's a book holder. Here it is from the back...
And here it is opened up:
The ribbon down the centre is a bookmark. The pockets on the left and right, hold the front and back cover pages of your book, and allow you to read, like this...
And this is what it looks like when it's closed:
It's perfect! They were all handmade, and there's even a zip pocket on the front of the 'book bag', where you could pop your phone, keys and a bit of money if you were just popping to your local cafe or something for a cozy hour of reading and eating (a good combination of things to be doing). It cost me 15 euros and there were so many designs to choose from. It took me a while to pick this one! The website, should you wish to order one, is in German unfortunately, and there are not so many designs to choose from. But the nice lady on the stall informed me that it would be best to email her, should I want to order another one, and so I guess she could tell you all of the designs and fabric choices available if you didn't like any on the site. She spoke perfect English, so if you emailed her in English I'm sure she would happily reply!
Here's the website, linked straight to the 'book bag' page: http://www.moneandme.de/epages/62382373.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/62382373/Categories/Buchertaschen
There's some better pictures on the website too! She also makes holders for e-readers, if that's how you prefer to read your books. The book bag I bought is a good size to fit a standard paperback in comfortably. You might struggle fitting anything overly fat or tall into one, but on the whole, a very practical and funky invention!
Over and out
A Bookstore in Berlin - Dussmann das Kulturkaufhaus
JJ and I hopped across the sea this weekend, to Berlin! It was fabulous, in every respect. I got to see my beautiful best friend (and her boyfriend!) who is living there for the time being - and as such, we had the perfect tour guides to help us navigate Germany's capital (thanks guys, huge love to you!).
I won't ramble about my short but ever so sweet escape to the coolest capital in Europe too much. But there is one thing I wanted to do a post about - Dussmann das Kulturkaufhaus. The coolest bookshop ever. The UK could take some serious notes here. I'm a big bookstore lover, and this for me, was awesome. I did the tourist thing and took some snaps.
For one thing...it's huge. Massive. If you like pokey, small, maze-like bookshops (and I do too!), then this won't be your cup of tea. But seriously...check this out!
All those floors are filled with books! I know the picture doesn't show you very well, but there's even more to either side...it's wide as well as tall! Here's another view - straight down the middle towards the back is the main entrance.
If you walk in through the main entrance and continue straight down the middle walkway, you get to this...
A funky sort of chill-out area. See the big green wall at the back of the picture? This is what it looks like close up:
That, my friends, is a vertical garden. In a bookshop! The plants are real and beneath the balcony from which I was taking the picture is a cafe. I think all bookshops should have a cafe. It looked so tranquil down there.
In case you're wondering, no I don't speak German. Obviously, being a German bookshop, the majority of all these wonderful floors were filled with German books. But just to the side of the vertical garden was this:
Voila! English! How amazing is that? An English bookshop, right in the middle of a massive German one! In the UK you'd be lucky to find even a few shelves of books in other languages, let alone a whole dedicated section. This is what it looked like inside:
There was two floors to this mini-English bookshop and even a children's section. There was lots of sofas where you could sit and read the time away, the shelves were divided by genre and there was even a specific till you could pay at downstairs if you didn't want to face the huge crowds to find the other tills dotted around the larger bookshop.
Obviously being this size, it didn't sell just books. I'm not sure what Dussmann das Kulturkaufhaus translates to exactly, but I think it's something to do with culture. There was a couple of floors with DVD's, a large selection of CD's and other audio and I think they sell tickets to various music/art/book events too. But it wasn't the situation in which the books are shunned to one side to make way for all this other media. The number and selection of books far outweighed the other types of media for sale. I cannot rate this place enough, totally worth a visit if you're a book lover and in Berlin.
If you can read German, here is their website: http://www.kulturkaufhaus.de/
Oh take me back there! I hope to visit some bookshops in London whilst I'm living so close, so perhaps I'll find something close to this beauty. For the time being, I'll have to dream about it from back in soggy England. Seriously, the rain at the moment? Not fun. But perfect reading weather if you don't have to be anywhere!
Over and out
I won't ramble about my short but ever so sweet escape to the coolest capital in Europe too much. But there is one thing I wanted to do a post about - Dussmann das Kulturkaufhaus. The coolest bookshop ever. The UK could take some serious notes here. I'm a big bookstore lover, and this for me, was awesome. I did the tourist thing and took some snaps.
For one thing...it's huge. Massive. If you like pokey, small, maze-like bookshops (and I do too!), then this won't be your cup of tea. But seriously...check this out!
All those floors are filled with books! I know the picture doesn't show you very well, but there's even more to either side...it's wide as well as tall! Here's another view - straight down the middle towards the back is the main entrance.
If you walk in through the main entrance and continue straight down the middle walkway, you get to this...
A funky sort of chill-out area. See the big green wall at the back of the picture? This is what it looks like close up:
That, my friends, is a vertical garden. In a bookshop! The plants are real and beneath the balcony from which I was taking the picture is a cafe. I think all bookshops should have a cafe. It looked so tranquil down there.
In case you're wondering, no I don't speak German. Obviously, being a German bookshop, the majority of all these wonderful floors were filled with German books. But just to the side of the vertical garden was this:
Voila! English! How amazing is that? An English bookshop, right in the middle of a massive German one! In the UK you'd be lucky to find even a few shelves of books in other languages, let alone a whole dedicated section. This is what it looked like inside:
There was two floors to this mini-English bookshop and even a children's section. There was lots of sofas where you could sit and read the time away, the shelves were divided by genre and there was even a specific till you could pay at downstairs if you didn't want to face the huge crowds to find the other tills dotted around the larger bookshop.
Obviously being this size, it didn't sell just books. I'm not sure what Dussmann das Kulturkaufhaus translates to exactly, but I think it's something to do with culture. There was a couple of floors with DVD's, a large selection of CD's and other audio and I think they sell tickets to various music/art/book events too. But it wasn't the situation in which the books are shunned to one side to make way for all this other media. The number and selection of books far outweighed the other types of media for sale. I cannot rate this place enough, totally worth a visit if you're a book lover and in Berlin.
If you can read German, here is their website: http://www.kulturkaufhaus.de/
Oh take me back there! I hope to visit some bookshops in London whilst I'm living so close, so perhaps I'll find something close to this beauty. For the time being, I'll have to dream about it from back in soggy England. Seriously, the rain at the moment? Not fun. But perfect reading weather if you don't have to be anywhere!
Over and out
Monday 14 October 2013
ISBN. Not just a bunch of pretty numbers.
Which is what I assumed they were, up until recently. I
recognised that old books didn’t have them, and that most of them started with
978. That was about the range of knowledge I held on the matter. Here are five points, that I learnt about
ISBN’s this week.
·
‘ISBN’, stands for international Standard Book
Number.
·
They consist of 13 numbers (since 2007 anyway),
and these 13 numbers are separated into five chunks, each with a different
purpose.
-
The first chunk is always, (post 2007), 978. I
don’t know why. More research methinks.
-
The second chunk is a country identifier
-
The third is a publisher identifier
-
The fourth, a title identifier/edition
identifier
-
And lastly, there’s one lonely digit perched on
the end. This is called a Check Digit, and it validates the ISBN. – The one’s that end in an X? That just means
ten. Roman numerals suddenly come into play when you want to use 10, as 10 has
2 digits, as opposed to the 1 needed.
·
They were invented in 1965, by a guy called Gordon Foster. They had 9 digits
back then and were called a ‘Standard
Book Numbering’ code. He was good at maths.
·
A 10 digit version, developed by the
International Organization for Standardization (try saying that ten times fast)
replaced this in 1970. Apparently the UK clung onto the old 9 digit version
until 1974, when it decided to get with it and update to join the rest of the
world.
·
Then the lovely 13 digit version arrived in
January 2007, making superstitious people everywhere twitch, and it’s been that
way ever since.
There you go. A brief history, with huge gaps in it, of the
ISBN and what its role is.
Over and out.
Friday 11 October 2013
An ILIG informal talk by Book Aid International
(Note: Book Aid International are not to be confused with 'Book Aid', who I believe are a charity that provides Christian literature to areas of need).
I went to this talk mainly for two reasons:
1) I wanted to learn more about Book Aid International, as I'm really lacking knowledge on any book based charities and
2) It was held at the CILIP headquarters in London. I wanted to have a nosey at the building!
I was slightly disappointed by the latter, which was totally my fault - it looked like a nice, impressive building. But I was running very late, and the talk was held in one of the first rooms you come to when your walk through the entrance, so no chance to have a better look! That one room I did see was very nice, however!
The talk was insightful, and really well put together. I ran in five minutes late (thank goodness they'd delayed the start time for a few late-comers, myself included) and threw my sweating self into a chair near the back so no-one would have to hear me pant to death for a few minutes (it's time to hit the gym, sister). People milled around, drinking wine and having nibbles, chatting sociably. Being more on the introvert side of life, and someone not very good at talking to new people (especially after running from the nearest tube station), I extracted my notepad and pen and scribbled some notes down before the talk actually commenced. I scolded myself internally, and made a mental note to check travelling times before going to new places.
We sat in small rows of chairs facing a projector at the front of the room. It was a small, modest talk - which was a good thing. I could both see and hear the whole presentation. Book Aid International are approaching their 60th year as a charity, and as a celebration are planning some exciting new projects based around the children's libraries in some of the places they operate. But I'll talk more about that in a minute. First one of the two ladies giving the presentation, explained who Book Aid International were, and what they did. Here's a exert from their leaflet, 'An Introduction to Book Aid International':
Books Aid International works in partnership with libraries in Africa providing books, resources and training to support an environment in which reading for pleasure, study and lifelong learning can flourish.
They work primarily in Africa, in twelve different countries, but also do work in Palestine. Recent developments from around the 1990's onwards means that:
All the books sent to the libraries, schools, hospitals, universities, prisons and refugee camps are new or unused.
Publishers over print books, it's a known fact. What they don't sell often just gets pulped. Book Aid International attempts to work with publishing houses to salvage these books and send them to places that could really make use of them. But they don't just send them books willy-nilly and expect them to be grateful. They work with the individual libraries (and these can be anything from big, central library buildings to a shipping container in a slum) to choose the books that get sent out. Every year the staff working at these libraries fill in a form. It determines what books have been well used, which books not so much, and the sort of things they'd like more of. For the areas where it is possible, they're working on an online way of doing this, so the libraries can choose specific books online for BAI to send over.
They also work with some local publishers, getting material in local languages. These books are primarily for the children. In secondary school, the lessons are given in English, so the English language books are vital. But to help encourage reading in the first place, local language books are bought so that children can help progress onto the English books. To ensure the publishers that the stock given to Book Aid International won't be re-sold here in Britain, every book is stamped before it is shipped, so it is easy to identify which books are theirs and where they've gone. There's small group of volunteers in the London based packing centre who do this. They sent every 'level' of book, and make sure the necessary ones are up to date. They send books suitable for children, right through and up to textbooks for students and adult readers. They make sure any medical type books are up to date, because they don't just do library work. They've installed 'health hubs' in some libraries and have trained librarians to use the health resources. They have installed computer services for some communities where otherwise it would not be available. They train librarians, and provide training in managing the large amounts of children that visit these libraries. They hold writing workshops in some centres, and sports facilities in others. To summarise they're doing a fabulous job and receive no government funding to do it all.
I realise this is a long post. But bear with me.
Two third of their finding comes from individual donors. People doing fundraising etc. Book Aid International have made it their mission, for their 60 year anniversary, to create 60 more 'children's corners' in their libraries across Africa. 'Children's corners' are areas of the library that are brightly painted, have tables and chairs where they can sit and read (bearing in mind, there may not be much furniture at home), or do some work. They have the right height of shelves and are welcoming, safe areas for children to come to. As I mentioned before, librarians are trained to manage children right from babies to teens, to keep them all happy, so adult library users are not overly-disturbed. There's so many good things about these children's corners, and 60 more of them would be fantastic.
You can check out more of the work Book Aid International do on their...
Website: http://www.bookaid.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bookaid
and Youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/BookAidInternational
And I think they have a Twitter account too. You'll have to check that one out as Twitter is still a mystery to me!
I'm pretty sure if you wanted to donate, it's easily done via their website. Keep them sending of 500,000 books per year, to places that value them so much. I actually asked if they could come and do a talk at the school, as it could maybe teach the students here that a library is a communal place, where other people have to use the books - basically, it's not good when you wander off with a book and don't bring it back!
It's late. This post probably has big gaps in it, and a whole bunch of stuff I forgot to write. But it's cool. It's bedtime! Work tomorrow!
Over and out.
I went to this talk mainly for two reasons:
1) I wanted to learn more about Book Aid International, as I'm really lacking knowledge on any book based charities and
2) It was held at the CILIP headquarters in London. I wanted to have a nosey at the building!
I was slightly disappointed by the latter, which was totally my fault - it looked like a nice, impressive building. But I was running very late, and the talk was held in one of the first rooms you come to when your walk through the entrance, so no chance to have a better look! That one room I did see was very nice, however!
The talk was insightful, and really well put together. I ran in five minutes late (thank goodness they'd delayed the start time for a few late-comers, myself included) and threw my sweating self into a chair near the back so no-one would have to hear me pant to death for a few minutes (it's time to hit the gym, sister). People milled around, drinking wine and having nibbles, chatting sociably. Being more on the introvert side of life, and someone not very good at talking to new people (especially after running from the nearest tube station), I extracted my notepad and pen and scribbled some notes down before the talk actually commenced. I scolded myself internally, and made a mental note to check travelling times before going to new places.
We sat in small rows of chairs facing a projector at the front of the room. It was a small, modest talk - which was a good thing. I could both see and hear the whole presentation. Book Aid International are approaching their 60th year as a charity, and as a celebration are planning some exciting new projects based around the children's libraries in some of the places they operate. But I'll talk more about that in a minute. First one of the two ladies giving the presentation, explained who Book Aid International were, and what they did. Here's a exert from their leaflet, 'An Introduction to Book Aid International':
Books Aid International works in partnership with libraries in Africa providing books, resources and training to support an environment in which reading for pleasure, study and lifelong learning can flourish.
They work primarily in Africa, in twelve different countries, but also do work in Palestine. Recent developments from around the 1990's onwards means that:
All the books sent to the libraries, schools, hospitals, universities, prisons and refugee camps are new or unused.
Publishers over print books, it's a known fact. What they don't sell often just gets pulped. Book Aid International attempts to work with publishing houses to salvage these books and send them to places that could really make use of them. But they don't just send them books willy-nilly and expect them to be grateful. They work with the individual libraries (and these can be anything from big, central library buildings to a shipping container in a slum) to choose the books that get sent out. Every year the staff working at these libraries fill in a form. It determines what books have been well used, which books not so much, and the sort of things they'd like more of. For the areas where it is possible, they're working on an online way of doing this, so the libraries can choose specific books online for BAI to send over.
They also work with some local publishers, getting material in local languages. These books are primarily for the children. In secondary school, the lessons are given in English, so the English language books are vital. But to help encourage reading in the first place, local language books are bought so that children can help progress onto the English books. To ensure the publishers that the stock given to Book Aid International won't be re-sold here in Britain, every book is stamped before it is shipped, so it is easy to identify which books are theirs and where they've gone. There's small group of volunteers in the London based packing centre who do this. They sent every 'level' of book, and make sure the necessary ones are up to date. They send books suitable for children, right through and up to textbooks for students and adult readers. They make sure any medical type books are up to date, because they don't just do library work. They've installed 'health hubs' in some libraries and have trained librarians to use the health resources. They have installed computer services for some communities where otherwise it would not be available. They train librarians, and provide training in managing the large amounts of children that visit these libraries. They hold writing workshops in some centres, and sports facilities in others. To summarise they're doing a fabulous job and receive no government funding to do it all.
I realise this is a long post. But bear with me.
Two third of their finding comes from individual donors. People doing fundraising etc. Book Aid International have made it their mission, for their 60 year anniversary, to create 60 more 'children's corners' in their libraries across Africa. 'Children's corners' are areas of the library that are brightly painted, have tables and chairs where they can sit and read (bearing in mind, there may not be much furniture at home), or do some work. They have the right height of shelves and are welcoming, safe areas for children to come to. As I mentioned before, librarians are trained to manage children right from babies to teens, to keep them all happy, so adult library users are not overly-disturbed. There's so many good things about these children's corners, and 60 more of them would be fantastic.
You can check out more of the work Book Aid International do on their...
Website: http://www.bookaid.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bookaid
and Youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/BookAidInternational
And I think they have a Twitter account too. You'll have to check that one out as Twitter is still a mystery to me!
I'm pretty sure if you wanted to donate, it's easily done via their website. Keep them sending of 500,000 books per year, to places that value them so much. I actually asked if they could come and do a talk at the school, as it could maybe teach the students here that a library is a communal place, where other people have to use the books - basically, it's not good when you wander off with a book and don't bring it back!
It's late. This post probably has big gaps in it, and a whole bunch of stuff I forgot to write. But it's cool. It's bedtime! Work tomorrow!
Over and out.
Thursday 10 October 2013
Hot off the Shelf: What I’m reading – ‘Life of Pi’ Martel, Yann
Some spoilers. But nothing mega, especially if you’ve seen
the film/ a trailer for the film, and get what it’s about anyway.
I wish it was easier to be positive about some books. But I
agreed to see the good in all the books I read, so here we go.
The beginning was actually very enjoyable. The story about a
little Indian boy named Piscine, whose family own a zoo and who struggles with
the many religions he is presented with is very endearing, funny and moving. I
especially enjoyed the chapter in which his religious beliefs are questioned by
three followers of the three religions he is trying to be a part of all at the
same time. Can you be a Christian, Muslim and Hindu all at once? I myself
follow none of these religions, but Piscine thinks you can for sure. The
language is lovely, despite it being told through an adult’s perspective,
there’s something pleasantly boy-ish about the way it’s written in the
beginning. Then we get to the middle. Which is the bit I had a problem with.
He’s stuck in a lifeboat, out at sea. With a big, 450 pound
tiger. It’s an interesting plotline, but this bit, where he’s out at sea, take
up the majority of the book. It drags. I sometimes felt I was on the lifeboat
with him. Pi’s practicality and the description of what it’s like to be at sea
for so horribly long is fantastic…I just wished there was a little less of it.
After trawling through the big chunk of sea-faring based plot, there’s a random
bit at the end with a man-eating island and suddenly we’re at the end, being
presented with the finale of the book through Japanese interpreters who’ve come
to question him about the sinking of the ship. It’s very sudden and abrupt. I
understand the point it was trying to make about the relativity of truth, which
was one good bit about the end. I saw a review on
Goodreads that made me laugh: LITTLE INDIAN BOY GOES ON WEIRD BOAT RIDE WITH
MEAN CAT. To me that’s exactly what it was (though the cat wasn’t so mean in
the end). And I’m not a particularly religious person either, so most of the
religious enlightenment it was supposed to hold washed over me too.
So overall, I loved the beginning, the middle (in my
opinion) needed chopping down a bit, and the end was short, abrupt, but sort of
finished things off nicely with a message about ‘what you can and can’t
believe’.
That was a surprisingly mean review from me. I’ll keep it
nicer next time. Sorry Yann Martel!
Maybe I’ll try one of your other books…
Over and out
Hot off the Shelf: What I’m reading – ‘A Clockwork Orange’ Burgess, Anthony
No Spoilers.
Wow. I don’t want to sound corny, but this book actually
blew me away. Burgess’s own story is actually quite sad – in 1959 he was
diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour and decided to become a full time
writer. Despite only initially being given a year to live, he apparently wrote
the equivalent one book per year until he died in 1993. ‘A Clockwork Orange’ is
a dystopian tale, something I’m a fan of anyway, set in a future England that
harbours a culture of extreme youth violence where the teens speak in ‘nadsat’,
the slang of a not-too-distant-future.
I’ll give you an example:
“Our pockets were full
on deng, so there was no real need from the point of view of crasting any more
pretty polly to tolchock some old veck in an alley and viddy him swim in his
blood while we counted the takings and divided by four, nor to do the
ultra-violent on some shivering starry grey-haired ptitsa in a shop and go
smecking off with the till’s guts. But as they say, money isn’t everything.”
I promise, once you get used to it, it works. The long sentences
start to roll off your tongue too. The
language was part of why I liked it – once you’ve got it – you’re in. You
follow Alex’s story, a somewhat unreliable narration, with amazement. It’s
morally horrible and will tear you to pieces if you let it. You’re following
Alex’s story, in his language, and sort of sympathise with him because it’s him
telling it. Even though what he’s doing, on a nightly basis, is shocking and
horrific it’s complemented with all these sophisticated elements Alex
possesses. He listens to Beethoven, his
language is eloquent. And later on, in his reformation period, the manner in
which he is treaded by the system is just about as torturous as the crimes he
committed; you don’t know whose side you’re on in the end!
If you’re easily put off my strong violence,
rape, murder and emotional/moral confusion, don’t read it. Anyone else – read
it. I cannot rave on about this book enough. It’s a novella, it takes a couple of days to get through but it will stick
in your head forever. Literally. Over and out.
Quick note. Blogger got Blocked!
My blog has been a little inactive of late. The website
‘blogger’ was blocked at the school where I live and work, so I couldn’t post
anything until begging with the IT department to unblock it! Prepare for an
overflow of posts to make up for lost time, including a couple of ‘reviews’ and
a post about a talk by Book Aid International that I went to this Wednesday.
Saturday 28 September 2013
Do I have but any authority in the classroom?
Working in a school library is odd. The line of the level of
authority I have is somewhat blurry. I’m a member of staff, yes. However I’m
not a teacher. I personally struggle to know what to say when a pupil
misbehaves, as I’ve never had to tell anyone off in my life. I have no desire
to teach, but there are occasions when I’m supervising a library, or have been
called to supervise a prep session, and I just pray that everything will go
okay, because I’m genuinely not sure how the students see me, if they even know
who I am at all. For example, the students are not supposed to eat in the
library. They know this. However, as I was sat at the staff computer in the
younger year library, I heard the distinctive rustle of something wrap-ery
behind me. I didn’t turn round, as it can often just be folders, or papers
rustling. Then I heard this:
Student 1: “Ahh, you have Jelly beans! Can I have one?”
Student 3: “I’m allergic to Jelly beans”
Student 2: “How can you be allergic to jelly beans…?” Whilst
passing around her sweets.
It’s just blatant cockiness. They know it. What I thought
might be happening, was that they were testing me. I’m a new member of staff,
maybe I don’t know the rules. Or seeing how badly I would react if I did know
the rules. CC often throws out students who are eating. Do I do this? I was
slightly concerned they wouldn’t leave if I asked them to, so I settled with
turning round with raised eyebrows, and telling them firmly that yes, I can see
the jelly beans and could you please put them away. To be fair to them, they
put them away – not even up their jumpers to munch on ‘discretely’ and looked
at least a bit sheepish. It’s not the biggest problem in the world – and I know
I’m lucky in that the school I work at is not at all bad. I’d be more scared if
I was working at my old high school to be sure. The level of misbehaviour would
be way worse and happen far more often. But I just need to establish a level
with the students. Yes, you can come and ask me questions, I’d like to remain
approachable, but I’m not taking any of your cheek (and that’s exactly what it
mainly is. These student’s aren’t really misbehaviours, they’re just a bit
cocky sometimes) and I’m not a pushover. Like Neil Gaiman says: Don’t f*ck with
librarians. Maybe there’s a good book on the subject…
Four weeks and a bit.
That’s how long I’ve been here. At times it’s seemed like
it’s flown by. But it’s been hard at times. JJ came to see me last weekend,
which was amazing. We did typical tourist-y London things – Highgate Cemetery,
Chelsea Physic garden and Camden. I had the best weekend in a long time. As I
write this I’m on my way to see him, the weekend after. It will be rare we get
to see each other two weekends in a row, but it’s short leave at the school –
students have to go home for the weekend, so I’m taking full advantage of my
time off to get away from the boarding school ‘bubble’. Hopefully I’ll be a lot
healthier for it…I’ve been experiencing one of the perks of working in a school
environment – illness. So far I’ve had a mild version of a stomach bug that was
going around and been hit with a mega cold that subsided into a dry cough and
hoarse throat. All that’s left of my week of misery is a scabby nose and a
serious need for a full night sleep. Lie-in’s do not exist anymore. Welcome to
the real world.
I still love the job. Which is a good sign, as I’ve made the
executive decision to do my Post-Grad next year. I’d rather get it over and
done with whilst I can still afford to! It will mean I can hopefully graduate
and go into a professional Librarian role, getting settled as soon as possible
in one area for more than a year. I’m very tired of moving around the country
every twelve months! It has its perks, but I’ve got a craving to be boring and
get settled and have a secure job.
Things I’ve been learning/doing in the library of these past
few weeks:
·
Adding non-fiction books to the system – it
requires more thought then adding fiction books, as you need to classify the
book a) in a manner that fits the classification system you use and b) in a
manner that you think is relevant for the library you work in. Sometimes these
don’t match. Keywords need to be thought of, so people can find the book they
want. If you don’t know the subject very well, you need to scan the book
briefly, or look up some keywords that other libraries have used. We use
Buckinghamshire Libraries and the British Library often, to cross-reference. It
takes a bit of extra time, but is worth it when you know people will be able to
find what they’re looking for in the end.
·
Jacketing. I could probably jacket with my eyes
closed! Paper backs can usually be fitted with a pre-measured plastic book
jacket. Bigger books and hardbacks need to either be tacky-backed, or fitted
with this awkward, paper/plastic stuff that takes forever to get the hang of.
·
Answering peoples questions. A Librarian’s job
is to provide people with information. People have begun, slowly, to ask me,
rather than wander around the library vaguely if CC, the main librarian, isn’t
there. I have helped some people – all by myself! Given them the books they
need, and suggested websites they could use. The school is really good for
helping student’s find and use external resources. For example, we know that in
history they will be studying American Civil Rights this term. So we compile
what we call a ‘Topic Box’. We put all of the books we have on American Civil
Rights into the box, chase anyone who has loaned any remaining books, and put
it at the back of the library. There’s a big sign on the box (made by yours
truly) asking the students not to take the books out of the library. They
become, in effect, reference books. So that everyone can use them if they need
to. We’ve also trawled the internet for copies of a London based newspaper
printed during the American Civil Rights years for relevant articles. We’ve
printed them, numbered them in date order and placed them near the box for more
reference material. We’re going to do exactly the same for ‘History Today’ and
the ‘Times Online’. Both of these can be found by the students online – but if
it’s at the back, in the Topic box, ready to use, we’ve done our job –
providing them with relevant information from various sources so they can get
on with their studying. It feels very satisfying!
·
Display work. I did my first (very tiny)
display! A portrait of the last Head has gone up in one of the libraries –
she’s painted with two books, ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘Trash’. I’ve put the books on
stands near the portrait and done a small poster explaining why she picked
these books to be painted with, what the books are about, and why the students
should read them. I’m looking forward to doing more, bigger displays when the
new notice boards go up in the library, as it’s what I love about the
job…suggesting material and encouraging students to read for pleasure. I’m hoping
to see if I can do a ‘Book of the Month’ type display, as well as a large sign
reminding the students not to eat in the library (something they seem incapable
of managing).
·
I can also laminate now. Oh the excitement!
I’ve also learnt a little bit more about ISBNs…but I’ll
leave that for another blog post. I’ve also booked myself onto a talk at the
CILIP headquarters – something else I’ll do another post on. It’s on the 9th
October, about a work a book based charity is doing in Africa.
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