Wednesday, 6 August 2014
Dutch Library - Nieuwe Bibliotheek
Dutch Library - Nieuwe Bibliotheek
http://www.shareable.net/blog/how-a-new-dutch-library-smashed-attendance-records
http://www.denieuwebibliotheek.nl
Saturday, 2 August 2014
Holiday reading #books
Last week I had a weeks holiday - a week off work and a week without technology. Once a year I have a week without emails and social media which means chilling out and reading.
During the week I read 5 books:
Miss Webster and Cherif by Patricia Duncker - I bought this from a second hand book shop in Robin Hoods Bay. A good read, intelligent and moving - a quick and easy read.
During the week I read 5 books:
What the **** Is Normal?! by Francesca Martinez - we are reading this for Book Club and I enjoyed it a lot. Funny and poignant and interesting. I'm going to try and get a ticket to see her stand up comedy show at Edinburgh Fringe.
Miss Webster and Cherif by Patricia Duncker - I bought this from a second hand book shop in Robin Hoods Bay. A good read, intelligent and moving - a quick and easy read.
The Connoisseur by Magda Sweetland - this has been on my book shelf for ages and I first read it years ago. I enjoyed rereading it as it is set in Edinburgh and North Berwick - it was good but the ending was a bit flat.
Suicide Excepted by Cyril Hare
My Name Is Michael Sibley
These two are typical old Penguin Crime - 1930's to 1950's. I like a good 'whodunit' / classic crime - nothing gruesome, get the murder over at the beginning then a complex plot to solve.
Saturday, 8 February 2014
National Libraries Day 2014 #NLD14
Another National Libraries Day - is this the 3rd or 4th? - I can't remember but it's definitely something to look forward to.
NLD13 blog post http://donlanlibraries.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/my-library-visits-for-national-library.html
NLD12 blog post http://donlanlibraries.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/national-libraries-day-nld12.html
#savelibraries blogpost Feb11 http://donlanlibraries.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/my-library-tour-for-savelibraries.html
An excuse, if any is ever needed, to visit libraries, to persuade others to visit libraries and to promote libraries especially via social media.
This year the library where I work, Heriot-Watt University library, is open to visitors on a National Libraries Day. The library is usually open on Saturdays but we have promoted the fact that it is open and also organised a display and some leaflets.
I was undecided whether to stay in Edinburgh this weekend or come back to Durham but decided to come home as it was Book Club meeting at my friends house and I wanted to catch up.
I made a slower start than usual today due to other family commitments ie visiting my mum and the cat then picking up T2 from station but this afternoon we set off to visit a library I've not been to before. The one I'd picked is Washington (Tyne & Wear) town centre one. Washington is in between Durham, Sunderland and Newcastle and is a new town and has a big shopping centre called the Galleries. (There is Washington Old Hall which is a National Trust place). The library is situated in the shopping centre and we managed to negotiate our way through the Saturday afternoon crowds to find it.
It is a very nice library - typical town centre public library with lots of fiction books but bright and cheerful and appealing.
They did have a sign in the entrance about National Libraries Day which is an improvement on a couple of years ago when I visited about 6 libraries and none had anything about it.
There were lots of children's books including information books. The displays were cheerful and there was a good selection available.
I liked the teenage section with the groovy chairs and writing on the wall.
They also had some books for sale which were too difficult to resist.
All in all, a cool place.
Next on the list was Gateshead library which I have visited before. I googled to see if it was open and it was but I should have checked the actual Gateshead libraries website because when we got there it was closed.
Luckily the Shipley Art Gallery is practically next door and it was open. The Shipley Art Gallery is fantastic and one of our regular places we visit. It has great exhibitions and is a beautiful building. There is always something of interest and useful things in the shop. We sometimes go there after we have visited the Baltic Art Gallery and it is a good antidote.....
So onto Durham and to the Clayport library in the city centre. This is one of my regular libraries as it is in County Durham the same as a Sedgefield where I live. It's in a big modern building opposite the Gala theatre. Again lots of fiction books, great selection.
A good young children's area which is always full of noisy small children and conscientious parents......
I don't know the difference between novels and fiction but that matters not. Again, a sign and display for National Libraries Day but not as wow or exciting as I would have thought. But in the current climate maybe that's all that's available or wanted / needed. I can never quite discern the vibe or atmosphere at Clayport library - it's slightly different but I'm not sure why. Downstairs is the digital media stuff - computers, DVDs, music, graphic novels - quite good and well used.
Upstairs is the reference library which I've never used but has computers and some book stacks. On the stairs was a picture I liked of the Miners Gala.
So a good afternoon visiting libraries. It's inconvenient that lots of public libraries are not open Saturday afternoons and Sundays. Personally I think that if they were they would be used more as a space and resource by a wider audience. Lots of people who work or have other commitments like reading and like going yo interesting buildings to read and sit and drink tea and coffee and eat cake - why can't libraries be those places??
NLD13 blog post http://donlanlibraries.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/my-library-visits-for-national-library.html
NLD12 blog post http://donlanlibraries.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/national-libraries-day-nld12.html
#savelibraries blogpost Feb11 http://donlanlibraries.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/my-library-tour-for-savelibraries.html
An excuse, if any is ever needed, to visit libraries, to persuade others to visit libraries and to promote libraries especially via social media.
This year the library where I work, Heriot-Watt University library, is open to visitors on a National Libraries Day. The library is usually open on Saturdays but we have promoted the fact that it is open and also organised a display and some leaflets.
I was undecided whether to stay in Edinburgh this weekend or come back to Durham but decided to come home as it was Book Club meeting at my friends house and I wanted to catch up.
I made a slower start than usual today due to other family commitments ie visiting my mum and the cat then picking up T2 from station but this afternoon we set off to visit a library I've not been to before. The one I'd picked is Washington (Tyne & Wear) town centre one. Washington is in between Durham, Sunderland and Newcastle and is a new town and has a big shopping centre called the Galleries. (There is Washington Old Hall which is a National Trust place). The library is situated in the shopping centre and we managed to negotiate our way through the Saturday afternoon crowds to find it.
It is a very nice library - typical town centre public library with lots of fiction books but bright and cheerful and appealing.
They did have a sign in the entrance about National Libraries Day which is an improvement on a couple of years ago when I visited about 6 libraries and none had anything about it.
There were lots of children's books including information books. The displays were cheerful and there was a good selection available.
I liked the teenage section with the groovy chairs and writing on the wall.
They also had some books for sale which were too difficult to resist.
All in all, a cool place.
Next on the list was Gateshead library which I have visited before. I googled to see if it was open and it was but I should have checked the actual Gateshead libraries website because when we got there it was closed.
Luckily the Shipley Art Gallery is practically next door and it was open. The Shipley Art Gallery is fantastic and one of our regular places we visit. It has great exhibitions and is a beautiful building. There is always something of interest and useful things in the shop. We sometimes go there after we have visited the Baltic Art Gallery and it is a good antidote.....
So onto Durham and to the Clayport library in the city centre. This is one of my regular libraries as it is in County Durham the same as a Sedgefield where I live. It's in a big modern building opposite the Gala theatre. Again lots of fiction books, great selection.
A good young children's area which is always full of noisy small children and conscientious parents......
I don't know the difference between novels and fiction but that matters not. Again, a sign and display for National Libraries Day but not as wow or exciting as I would have thought. But in the current climate maybe that's all that's available or wanted / needed. I can never quite discern the vibe or atmosphere at Clayport library - it's slightly different but I'm not sure why. Downstairs is the digital media stuff - computers, DVDs, music, graphic novels - quite good and well used.
Upstairs is the reference library which I've never used but has computers and some book stacks. On the stairs was a picture I liked of the Miners Gala.
So a good afternoon visiting libraries. It's inconvenient that lots of public libraries are not open Saturday afternoons and Sundays. Personally I think that if they were they would be used more as a space and resource by a wider audience. Lots of people who work or have other commitments like reading and like going yo interesting buildings to read and sit and drink tea and coffee and eat cake - why can't libraries be those places??
Monday, 3 February 2014
Library of Birmingham
I visited the Library of Birmingham last year when I was in Birmingham for an Association for Learning Technology meeting at Aston Business School.
The library is an impressive building from the outside, a great landmark for the city.
The entrance foyer is spacious with plenty of room for people to gather and to wander around and enjoy the space. There are lots of colourful displays and appealing things to look at. There are books on each floor but the overwhelming impression is of space and places to explore and find out information. There were a lot of people about but it didn't seem crowded and it wasn't noisy.
On the ground floor / lower ground floor there was a great space to look at books and sit and read. These red chairs pictured below were very popular and perfect for relaxing and escaping.
The groovy blue escalators give the library a wow factor and I explored each floor. At first I was a bit disappointed that the first floor didn't have many books but it was a good space to wander around and to sit and read or chat with groups of people and friends.
As you make your way up the floors there are more books although some of the subject areas were not obvious to me but I assume this would be easier if i had been looking for something specific. Also I was expecting to find the layout familiar on my first visit which wasn't the case.
The library has definitely got the wow factor and is a very positive space with lots of users.
From my point of view I do think the space is important - a library space or a learning space or a being safe space - sometimes more important than the contents.
The library is an impressive building from the outside, a great landmark for the city.
The entrance foyer is spacious with plenty of room for people to gather and to wander around and enjoy the space. There are lots of colourful displays and appealing things to look at. There are books on each floor but the overwhelming impression is of space and places to explore and find out information. There were a lot of people about but it didn't seem crowded and it wasn't noisy.
On the ground floor / lower ground floor there was a great space to look at books and sit and read. These red chairs pictured below were very popular and perfect for relaxing and escaping.
The groovy blue escalators give the library a wow factor and I explored each floor. At first I was a bit disappointed that the first floor didn't have many books but it was a good space to wander around and to sit and read or chat with groups of people and friends.
As you make your way up the floors there are more books although some of the subject areas were not obvious to me but I assume this would be easier if i had been looking for something specific. Also I was expecting to find the layout familiar on my first visit which wasn't the case.
The library has definitely got the wow factor and is a very positive space with lots of users.
From my point of view I do think the space is important - a library space or a learning space or a being safe space - sometimes more important than the contents.
Friday, 8 November 2013
Seven Years of Book Clubbing
This evening we had a Book Club meeting and as ever it was a very good time. At my house, with tea and cake and chocolate and most importantly lots of talking and catching up. Our book club is not particularly high brow or intellectual and we read a mix of books including popular fiction and classics. The group is a sub-set of a larger friendship group and so we all know each other well and enjoy each others company. We spend time chatting and discussing a variety of topics including the books.
Tonight we discussed the two books we had read which were:
Stalin Ate My Homework by Alexei Sayle (v interesting especially about the strange visits to eastern bloc countries, communists in Liverpool and eccentric mothers)
The Last Runaway by Tracey Chevalier ( a good read, interesting about the Quakers and Runaways, main character a bit selfish mainly due to be young and naive).
Our books for next time are The Blackhouse by Peter May and May We Be Forgiven by A. M. Homes.
I have just sent round the email to everyone with the titles for next time and also included a list of all the books we have read so far. It is fascinating to look back at what we have read and to realise that we have been Book Clubbing for nearly seven years - it has been a great experience.
(I've included the list below)
December 2013 The Blackhouse by Peter May
May We Be Forgiven by A. M. Homes
November 2013 Stalin Ate My Homework by Alexei Sayle
The Last Runaway by Tracey Chevalier
September 2013 Dr Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
The Universe versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
July 2013 The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri Murari
A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
Short Stories by Somerset Maugham
June 2013 The unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
The picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
April 2013 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
March 2013 The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
November 2012 The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
The Hundred Year Old Man ..........by Jonas Jonasson
September 2012 The Thread by Victoria Hislop
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
July 2012 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
June 2012 The Moment by Douglas Kennedy
Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson
April 2012 Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Pigeon English Stephen Kelman
Feb 2012 A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
November 2011 Singing in the Shrouds by Ngaio Marsh
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
October 2011 We need to talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver
Battle hymn of the Tiger Mother - Amy Chua
The End of the Affair - Graham Greene
July 2011 Money - Martin Amis
The Tent, the Bucket and Me - Emma Kennedy
May 2011 The Darling Buds of May - H E Bates
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
March 2011 Room - Emma Donoghue,
Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
Operation Mincemeat - Ben Macintyre
January 2011 Guernica - Dave Boling
The Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper
Nov 2010 The Diary of a Nobody - George & Weedon Grossmith
Going Gently - David Nobbs
September 2010 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
June 2010 The Daughter of Time - Josephine Tey
The Bean Tree - Barbara Kingsolver
April 2010 Ethan Frome - Edith Wharton
White Tiger - Aravind Adiga
March 2010 Girls of Riyadh - Rajaa Alsamea
The Pirate's Daughter - Margaret Cezair-Thompson
Jan 2010 Desert Ascent - Simon park
New Europe - Michael Palin
Family Life - Elizabeth Luard
November 2009 The Elegance of the Hedgehog – Marie Barbey
Dreams from my Father – Barack Obamah
St Agnes Stand – Thomas Eidson
Sept 2009 Lady Chatterley – DH Lawrence
The Almost Moon – Alice Sebbold
Cider with Rosie – Laurie Lee
April 2009 Bel Canto – Ann Patchett
Gentleman Players – Joanne Harris
March 2009 Under Milk Wood – Dylan Thomas
When will there be good news? – Kate Atkinson
Jan 2009 Rabbit Run – John Updike
Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen
Nov 2008 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
Cloning of Joanna May – Fay Weldon
19 Minutes – Jodi Piccoult
Sept 2008 Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
Notes from an Exhibition – Patrick Gale
June 2008 Blood River – Tim Butcher
Join Me – Danny Wallace
Master & Margarita – Mikhail Bulgakov
April 2008 Mitford Girls – Mary Lovell
Jekyll & Hyde
March 2008 Jane and Prudence – Barbara Pym
What Ho Jeeves – PG Wodehouse
Jan 2008 Bitter Sweets – Roopa Farooki
Suite Française – Irène Nemirovsky
Nov 2007 The Two of Us – John Thaw – Sheila Hancock
Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
Sept 2007 Knots and Crosses – Ian Rankin
Day of the Triffids – John Wyndham
June 2007 Purple Hibiscus
Handful Of Dust – Evelyn Waugh
Matricide at St Martha’s – Ruth Dudley Edwards
History of Love
Feb 2007 Promise of Happiness – Justin Cartwright
Tales of the City – Armistead Maupin
January 2007 Picklehead by Rohan Candappa
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Most interesting libraries and bookstores website
Most Interesting Libraries
http://www.miragebookmark.ch/most-interesting-libraries.htm
Most Interesting Bookstores
http://www.miragebookmark.ch/most-interesting-libraries.htm
http://www.miragebookmark.ch/most-interesting-libraries.htm
Most Interesting Bookstores
http://www.miragebookmark.ch/most-interesting-libraries.htm
Sunday, 27 October 2013
Library Camp Glasgow #libcampgla
Yesterday, Sat 26th Oct, I went to Library Camp in Glasgow at the Mitchell Library. It's an impressive building with an interesting history. I hadn't been there before and don't know much at all about Glasgow. Coincidentally I went in through the entrance to the old part then walked through to the more modern part.
I didn't take any notes or tweet very much at the time which is unusual for me. So this is just a brief summary of the day from my point of view and from memory.
The event was well organised with instructions on eventbrite and a wiki.
Nice goodie bag on arrival and brief outline of the day. As it was an unconference the content of sessions was not decided until people had pitched for the sessions.
The icebreaker was the bingo game when you have a sheet filled in with various attributes or experiences and you have to go round finding people who do or have done that thing. It's a tried and tested activity and works well to get people to circulate and introduce themselves.
There was an introduction by the organisers - Anabel Marsh, Myra Paterson, Lesley Thomson and Lynn Corrigan.
Then pitches for the sessions and some soapbox rants.
During the day I went to 3 sessions plus the tour of the Mitchell Library.
Sean McNamara (Cilips) led a session about what to do for National Libraries Day in February. Various ideas were discussed from collecting interesting stories from individuals about how libraries had made a difference to their lives to children's events and sleepovers to flash mobs?!?
There needs to be widespread awareness of the day and events in a joined up high profile way. It is difficult because you're probably either speaking to the converted ie people will visit libraries who already visit them or treading carefully as there are library closures. I think the important thing is to have a series of appealing events happening in order to attract people in and also make it easy and accessible.
Another session was led by Isabel Hood about End User Education. The discussion covered various points including the usual ones about how difficult it is to get students (& staff) to engage in inductions and information skills sessions and indeed staff to engage with training and CPD. If it's not mandatory, there has to be 'something in it for me' otherwise some people just won't participate. For students it's finding ways of making it relevant and available at the point of need. Building up relationships with students is important and getting recommendations and testimonials from staff and students.
After lunch I went on the tour of the library led by Myra Paterson. It was very interesting and I could have listened to her all day talking about the building and working there and how things have changed and developed over the years.
At the end of the tour we caught the end of a session led by Andrew McDougall (NLS) about youth employment in libraries and how to manage the staff demographic. I'll be interested to read write ups of this session and to find out what people think about it. It's important to get young people involved in working in libraries but there are only a limited amount of jobs and people tend to stay in the jobs they've got. My take on it is to get skills, qualifications and experience in related fields such as education and IT and move in and out of library related posts as and when the opportunities arise - but that's a personal view and for another post.
Finally there was a session led by Graeme Arnott and Ally Crockford about Wikimedia and being a wikimedian and the events that are happening to encourage people to take part. It was very interesting and I'm going to find out more about it and why and how etc. I usually just think of Wikipedia and that's it and people can edit it but nothing more than that really.
At the end of the day there was a brief summary if the sessions and prizes for the best rant and best badges. It was a great day and I enjoyed it.
I'll reflect over the next few days about unconferences, networking, libraries, CPD, sharing and collaborating etc. etc. and what it means to me.
I didn't take any notes or tweet very much at the time which is unusual for me. So this is just a brief summary of the day from my point of view and from memory.
The event was well organised with instructions on eventbrite and a wiki.
Nice goodie bag on arrival and brief outline of the day. As it was an unconference the content of sessions was not decided until people had pitched for the sessions.
The icebreaker was the bingo game when you have a sheet filled in with various attributes or experiences and you have to go round finding people who do or have done that thing. It's a tried and tested activity and works well to get people to circulate and introduce themselves.
There was an introduction by the organisers - Anabel Marsh, Myra Paterson, Lesley Thomson and Lynn Corrigan.
Then pitches for the sessions and some soapbox rants.
During the day I went to 3 sessions plus the tour of the Mitchell Library.
Sean McNamara (Cilips) led a session about what to do for National Libraries Day in February. Various ideas were discussed from collecting interesting stories from individuals about how libraries had made a difference to their lives to children's events and sleepovers to flash mobs?!?
There needs to be widespread awareness of the day and events in a joined up high profile way. It is difficult because you're probably either speaking to the converted ie people will visit libraries who already visit them or treading carefully as there are library closures. I think the important thing is to have a series of appealing events happening in order to attract people in and also make it easy and accessible.
Another session was led by Isabel Hood about End User Education. The discussion covered various points including the usual ones about how difficult it is to get students (& staff) to engage in inductions and information skills sessions and indeed staff to engage with training and CPD. If it's not mandatory, there has to be 'something in it for me' otherwise some people just won't participate. For students it's finding ways of making it relevant and available at the point of need. Building up relationships with students is important and getting recommendations and testimonials from staff and students.
After lunch I went on the tour of the library led by Myra Paterson. It was very interesting and I could have listened to her all day talking about the building and working there and how things have changed and developed over the years.
At the end of the tour we caught the end of a session led by Andrew McDougall (NLS) about youth employment in libraries and how to manage the staff demographic. I'll be interested to read write ups of this session and to find out what people think about it. It's important to get young people involved in working in libraries but there are only a limited amount of jobs and people tend to stay in the jobs they've got. My take on it is to get skills, qualifications and experience in related fields such as education and IT and move in and out of library related posts as and when the opportunities arise - but that's a personal view and for another post.
Finally there was a session led by Graeme Arnott and Ally Crockford about Wikimedia and being a wikimedian and the events that are happening to encourage people to take part. It was very interesting and I'm going to find out more about it and why and how etc. I usually just think of Wikipedia and that's it and people can edit it but nothing more than that really.
At the end of the day there was a brief summary if the sessions and prizes for the best rant and best badges. It was a great day and I enjoyed it.
I'll reflect over the next few days about unconferences, networking, libraries, CPD, sharing and collaborating etc. etc. and what it means to me.
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