I have been getting out and about recently and I have to say I feel inspired!
I have been to two or three events and also the consultation for CILIPS' change of Rules and Regulations. It really is a very small community in libraries and especially in Scotland. I seem to have been bumping into the same people at each event.
The consultation on the change in rules and regulations was really interesting. Although I had read the papers beforehand, it was good to get some of my queries about the changes answered. The rules and regs are required to be changed in accordance with the rules of Trust status. There weren't many people at this first consultation but I urge you to go to the next planned events to find out more about these important changes.
The Mobilemeet was held in Brighton this year and I and the Mobile Library Officer travelled down by plane to see if there were any new developments in Mobile Library builds. Sadly there were not as many Mobile Libraries attending as had been on previous years.
Some of the sessions were really informative in the way libraries have been using their Mobile Libraries in the wider information networks of the communities in which they work. I came away from this day with a plan to look at our council objectives and see where our Mobile Libraries can fit in and make themselves vital to other services.
I also attended the CILIPS Autumn Gathering. Because of holidays and the Prison Library Conference (usually held around the same time in October), I have been unable to attend this. This was my first time. I really enjoyed it and thought there was a great mix of sectors and very relevant topics. The theme was Information Literacy so was relevant to absolutely everyone there . Keynote speech was by Biddy Fisher who was pretty inspirational and is legend in library world.
I attended the multiple speaker session in the morning which started with Margaret McKay, 'Supporting Literacy' (JISC RSC Scotland), which showed different ways to access technology if you had additional support needs. Plan to check out the resources back at work as we are always looking at accessible technology for our patrons and soon holding a Disability Awareness Course in-house. This Jisc Techdis Toolbox will be be very useful.
http://www.slideshare.net/rscscotland/supporting-literacy
Jude Boyd from Glasgow School of Art went through the Comic Book Communication programme they use for their induction with students. 11% of their students are dyslexic but ESOL students also benefit from this graphic approach.
Lesley Thomson and Jenny Foreman also have a novel way of engaging new users. Their user education programme uses Bingo and Gaming. 'Gaming Information Literacy' recommending Bibliobouts as something to look at.
And finally in this session Jennifer Stewart from Fife showed us how they work with their Adult Basic Education Team to engage with learners using family history amongst other methods.
The only thing I would say about these sessions were that they were very short - 15 minutes each and I would have liked to have heard more about each - fascinating!
A very tasty but useful networking lunch followed where we discussed e-books and Adobe Digital Editions on public access PCs, Mobile Libraries (four wheel variety) and Library Apps.
The afternoon sessions were all excellent! First up was Jennifer Jones with Gordon Hunt on all the different forms of social media and what they can be used for. Twitter, Facebook but also Audioboo for short snippets of video and YouTube for longer. These are great learning tools. Blogs were also discussed and issues around copyright, content ownership and what blogs should be used for. Blogging generates progress through a project, enables you to reflect on it. You can use Pinboard to bookmark pages and respond to blogs to make contact and create content - even interview colleagues to create content for blog posts! Blogroll is another tool which is lists of resources - a bit like scanning people's bookcases while they are out of the room!
It was fantastic seeing all these people I have been listening to on Twitter in the flesh! I felt as if I recognised everyone even though I'd never actually met them before! Serious discussion took place though, about the use of social media for work and whether to keep personal accounts separate from work accounts, which could get confusing. It only takes one single wrong tweet or post to ruin you and your career, so care is needed at all times. Dughall McCormick stated that basically he wouldn't put anything up there that he couldn't show his wife, children or mother! A good rule of thumb I would say.
Hannah Gore from the Open University took us through SocialLearn where everybody learns through somebody else. Twitter or Facebook IDs can be used to log in and use the Open University's new resource and there is no need to be doing an OU course to do so. It has a wonderful thing called backpack that layers other pages into your social learning site. To log on is easy, I used my twitter ID. You can join the learning community, browse or search YouTube sessions and look at what OU have to offer.
Aforementioned Dughall McCormick finished off proceedings with a lively, funny and really informative look at social media and how we should be passing on skills in using this communication tool to children in primary school. He started with the clip of the 1 year old who thinks 'a magazine is an iPad that doesn't work'. Every new technology creates fears of the loss of literacy and Dughall illustrated this by taking us back to when calculators were introduced and everyone thought that would be the end of us being able to count. Now they are part of everyday classroom life. Technology helps learning in so many ways and in life skills. Use of technology to help settle an argument? Tutorials to help you when you're feeling stupid? YouTube as an learning tool!
So by creating safe online spaces children can make mistakes and see the pitfalls of social media in a controlled and safe environment, so equipping them for life. Making children digitally literate and aware at an early stage reduces problems later in life. Firstly by learning that your Avatar is the first thing people see and says as much about you as your user name and interactions. You have to get that right. What goes online stays online and can come back and bite you in later life. I felt that we should have programmes like this in all our schools and get teachers on board at their in-service days.
And finally I attended an event at Scottish Government in Glasgow 'Digital Learning in Libraries; Developing the Library Learning Offer.'
Colin Cook, Head of Digital Strategy, Scottish Governement, set the scene for the day and some food for thought . The government want everyone online by 2015 and have funding to create the infrastructure and a fibre network to get everyone connected. The government also want a World Class Network by 2020 and everyone connected. They are forming a two prong attack to make this happen:
1 National campaign to help people get online
2 Get people in the digital world to create content and make reasons to go online This is already happening with theDepartment of Works and Pensions changes, where everyone will need to go online if they want to access benefits.
I believe libraries are at the core of these two activities.
Elaine Fulton, Director of SLIC/CILIPS, gave an overview for the day. While she was talking, I was transported back to 1997 to a similar event where Elaine was talking about the People's Network and the vital role libraries would play in this governemnt agenda. It was like deja vu!
We were there in 1997 for the People's Network and we are still here today as the friendly face helping people embrace technology. We have a trusted relationship with the public and we are creative within resource constraints. Funding now, as it was then, is key to our involvement as is partnership working to help deliver objectives because we are already cut to the bone as far as resources are concerned. So the scene was set for the day and the rest of the time filled in possible ways we could help and what we were doing already that could be replicated across the board.
Lindsay Hamilton from British Computer Society and The Chartered Institute for IT in Scotland showed us how to get ILA funding eligibility for our basic IT courses and Anne Owens backed this up with examples of how they offer IT classes in their libraries in Moray. They make enough money from the ILA funds to employ 2.5 tutors to deliver the classes. They start with basic IT but can take learners right through to ECDL. It was all fascinating!
John Fisher came along in the afternoon and told us that it was not just nice to go online - it was now imperative!
However figures show:
30% are willing and able
33% are willing but need support
37% are not literate in the use of computers and will require intermediaries.
Er!!! So we have a fair amount of work to do!
Case studies from libraries across Scotland and how they have been helping people of all all ages to connect online were very useful. These case studies were delivered in the form of Speed Surgeries.
From Aberdeen City showing us The Silver City Vault and how they used Ipads to engage with the elderly in Residential Homes to Digital Diamonds from West Dunbartonshire where they used cameras, Ipads, laptops, video and all sorts of media to engage with all ages.
East Dunbartonshire also go into Residential Homes and to the Housebound to get people using Ipads and other new technology. Inverclyde received funding from PLQIM to employ a tutor to help people get online and learn basic technology. Falkirk Libraries ran employment classes in partnershipo with the Jobcentre. The list is not exhaustive and I couldn't attend all sessions, but they all had a common thread and were certainly food for thought.
Getting to these events changes my perception of my working life. We get caught up in our own little housekeeping problems, the minutiae of everyday working life and forget about the whole picture. Yes these problems are important but it is also important and indeed beneficial to look outside our own little bubble, if only to see that we are not alone. Everyone in whichever sector of Information and Library work is facing challenges at this time. If we just sit and vegetate, ruminate over our problems, we won't come up with any solutions, we won't get any ideas and we may as well lay down and expire!
It is great to network and generate lots of good ideas that can be replicated and in some part enhanced upon. The only downside is - I often come away feeling slightly inadequate for not doing more!
