SW Library Camp 2014

So I'm going to be honest. Despite booking my ticket weeks ago I wasn't really sure about library camp. After helping to organise the SW one last year I had found that I really hadn't enjoyed the event. Part of this could be put down to the stress of running the schedule on the day. However a lot of it was down to the lack of focus during sessions. Library Camp, by it's nature, is more like a conversation than a training session and for some reason I find this aspect slightly unsettling, and certainly unsatisfying. 

Couple this with the fact that, after recently going through the selection process for a new job, I am exhausted. And by this I mean achy in the morning, bone weary, struggling to string sentences together, tired. So the last thing I wanted to do on my first free Saturday for weeks was get up early and head into the depths of Devon. Especially carrying a bag full of CILIP portfolios for the professional qualifications session I had pitched. 

But I had pitched it, and therefore committed myself, at least in my mind. There was also the added incentive of seeing the Devon Fablab in operation along with a working 3d printer. If I'm honest, it was this which got me out of bed in the morning and nothing else. And this aspect at least was worth the trip. 

At the end of today I'm afraid I don't feel very different about Library Camps. I'm glad I went. I think those people who attended my session on CILIP Qualifications got something out of it and I enjoyed leading the session. I also sort of enjoyed the discussion around Libraries as Community Hubs. But it was all a bit...... unsatisfying. In some ways covering the same ground, with the same problems and sticking points raising their heads. Maybe I expect too much of these events but I always feel that we should be challenging the status quo a little more. Certainly I don't like the lack of direction or conclusion to the discussions..

What today felt like was a string of showcases, first for the library itself, and then for a series of ideas and projects being led by individuals. I also felt that some of the community aspect of the camp was lost, that it was little too organised, a little too formulaic. For example, I had pitched two ideas briefly on the wiki. I wasn't given the opportunity, as I had expected, to explain these brief descriptions or pitch them myself. And to be honest, I found this slightly odd. But Library Camp is like that, anything goes. And I know from experience that you can't please everyone and that logistically the day is a nightmare. So, you, know. Whatever works.  Just because it doesn't suit me doesn't mean that everyone else didn't have a great time. Or that it didn't have value. One thing I did enjoy was reconnecting with my Public Library roots and finding out about what is happening in that sector, beyond the dire situation around 'community' libraries and volunteers.

What was brilliant about the day was seeing the refurbished Exeter Library. And most of all the Fablab and the Raspberry Pi Jam that was happening in the adjourning meeting room in the morning. Because I'm pulling together information on Making in Libraries I nipped down and had a chat before the organised tours. It was lovely to be made welcome and taken into the fold. I had no doubt that had I decided to stay one of the guys there would have happily walked me through what was going on and let me have a try myself. This, more than anything is what stayed with me. That as a complete novice I felt welcome, and if I had had the time, the opportunity to give things a go. Later I was told that they would be running workshops that would take complete beginners through the process of working with the 3d printers. 

During the formal tour we learnt more about plans for the space, the ethos behind it, the plans to make it sustainable and efforts to tie it into the libraries' business development work. It's an exciting concept linking to the existing Makers and coders in the area as well as the college and university. There are even plans to get the local embroiderers guild involved to help use the high tech stitching machine they have bought.  

I should be clear, this will not be a totally free space, like many Makerspaces it will work on a gym like subscription service with prices dependent on the type and need of the user. Although funding has been provided to buy equipment it has to become self sustaining. 

To help run the space volunteers get time on machines in return for their contributions and there is a commitment to make the space available on an open access, pay as you go, basis at least one day per week.  A completely free Makerspace is probably not sustaiable in this climate and even if charging does seem against the grain in public libraries there certainly  seems to be a commitment to making the technology and tools as accessible as possible. 

Volunteers will also help run ongoing Raspberry Pi events and the planned coding events for kids - not replacing existing staff but sharing their knowledge and adding real value to the service. It's a form of volunteering that, given the often negative connotations in public libraries nowadays, should really be highlighted as good practice. Volunteering that allows the offer of a service that would not otherwise be possible and which  everyone, the volunteer, the user and the service, will benefit from in some way or another. 

I especially liked hearing about the basic 3d printer they have bought, as opposed to the larger Makerbots that made my bracelet.  This is easy to transport and set up and the aim is that it can be taken out and about - into schools and branch libraries, to do events and workshops. Exactly the sort of accessible and adaptable 'Making' that gets me excited.

So, if nothing else the Fablab made my trip to Devon worth it. Especially as I got a wee momentum in the form of a 3d printed bracelet (Pictured above) during my visit. I've also got a few more leads for my research and learnt a lot about the smaller events going on around coding and Raspberry Pi. So while it would have been nice to spend the day in bed, it was in fact a Saturday well spent. 

Spring Reflections

Since moving to Bath my blog has taken a decidedly non-professional turn. There are a few reasons for this, not least because I am still getting to grips with a new job and city. 

My job itself is still developing and I am still learning about the university and my team. I often joke to people that my job is the bins and bogs of the library but that really does it a disservice. Yes, it is very much focused on front line and customer services and yes I have spent quite a bit of timing discussing various aspects of toilets over the last few weeks. But I'm also involved in an exciting development of a learning commons space in our new build and I'm introducing a chat service that will be used across the service. I'm also pleased that my previous experience working with LMS's and websites is being used, even if Symphony is proving a vastly frustrating experience! Most of all I smile everyday when I turn into the (1/2 mile) drive up to the campus and while our listed buildings may offer me some logistical problems it means I get to work in a beautiful place. 

Work aside my Chartership progress stalled earlier this year after I lost contact with my mentor. Luckily Twitter came to the rescue and I'm hoping to have feedback on my completed portfolio in the next month or so. Once it has been submitted I'm going to complete the new CILIP PKSB and attempt to use it to move forward with a view to revalidation and volunteering as a Chartership Mentor. I enjoyed the chartership process so much I want to make sure I continue to be proactive in my CPD and continue to learn and develop. 

However just because I've not been blogging about it doesn't mean I've not been active. This week I made the trip to London (thanks to sponsored travel from ARLG SW) for the first ARLG members day at Regents University. The day, aptly enough after the recent merge of groups, was focused on partnerships and it was interesting to hear from a variety of organisations including Goldsmiths, Dundee College and The Hive. I'm going to do a full report for the ARLG SW newsletter but I did leave with one overwhelming thought which didn't sit entirely comfortably. With the exception of The Hive, where two partners work on a equal footing, many of the stories I heard were less about partnership and more about what the library can do for their wider organisations. What were presented as partnerships was more the library adapting to changing needs and marketing their strengths and benefits. This isn't to criticise, it was obvious that this is needed, that we need to change, to offer services that fall out of our traditional remit and to talk to  people outside of our normal library bubble. But a partnership should be two way, each party should bring something to the table and leave with their own benefits, having contributed to others. It is this aspect that I didn't see so much of and which I worry is all to often a common story on libraries. 

I'm also peripherally involved in the organisation of the next SW Library Camp and in addition will be attending a number of mentoring / coaching type training events in June with a view to becoming a CILIP mentor once I have completed Chartership. I have discovered that I love this aspect of management and development which means I was especially proud to see one of my former team appear in the last edition of Update writing about her experiences using Twitter. (May 2013, Article by Emma Suffield) I'm also attending Interlend 2013 thanks to a sponsored place, an event at which I will have a lot to learn being a relative novice when it comes to inter library loans and document supply. 

Most exciting for myself I'm attending the CILIP Ebook briefing next week, an event I regretted missing last time and which, for the first time, I will be entirely self funding. I just hope it proves to be worth the money although as I'm also combining it with a very exciting interview on Friday the trip will at least have a dual purpose. 

I will finish by saying that I could have been more proactive about writing up my experiences over the last few months and so I'm going to commit to using my Learning Logs on a more regular basis. The entire last two months has been one big learning journey and one I should have recorded better. Lessons learnt and all of that!

Chartership Progress - September 2012

I've been working on my chartership portfolio for over 8 months now and at last I feel like I am making some real progress. Over the last week I have made a list of the evidence I want to use, made notes on how each meet the criteria and started collating it all in a folder. I also have a near completed CV, my job description (haven't read that for a while) and an updated PPDP which sort of relates to the evidence I have decided upon. I am struggling to get hold of a organisational structure but that's just because the current restructure means it is constantly changing.

As someone who has worked professionally since completing my MA six (seven? - I should probably know that) years ago I could have backed dated my portfolio evidence. However I made the decision early on that I wanted to go through the full year of chartership and really commit to my CPD. Even though doing chartership has been difficult at times, especially with work and home life hectic, I haven't regretted that decision at all. 
Throughout I have enjoyed the process of chartering but recently it has dawned on me that my attitude to chartership itself has really changed in those eight months. When I first started I saw it as a box ticking exercise. I thought I would go through the year as I had gone through previous years with the only difference being that I would keep better records. 

This hasn't been the case at all, I am more reflective, I actively seek out opportunities to improve my knowledge and most of all I am more confident in myself and my skills as an information professional. I have started using learning logs, I make public commitments on this blog (not all of which I keep but I do try) and I engage actively with the profession through Twitter. Best of all I have met (both physically and virtually) people from other sectors who I might never have crossed paths with otherwise. I now see chartership and CPD not as an exercise to satisfy someone else's requirements, like an exam or a test, but as something much more personal and self rewarding.

Doing chartership has created a sort of momentum that has seen my professional development snowball over the last few months. I hope that once I complete in a few months I will be able to keep this momentum going. I like to think I will, it certainly helps that I'm in a stable job that I enjoy and that I have this blog to update regularly. I find it acts like a sort of virtual conscience nagging me to put something out there.

In the mean time I'm going to press on with the hope that I will be able to submit my portfolio before Christmas. I still have a bit to do, not least organising a NW Chartership meet up, but I hope I will get it done this year and that it will be good enough for the board. 

Response to CILIP E-Book Policy

I spent a very enjoyable hour yesterday eating lemon meringue ice cream while sitting in a field and reading CILIP's policy document on e-books and e-lending. Sometimes it's nice just to be outside in the sunshine and luckily I have plenty of fields to choose from.

I love the amount of press e-books are getting at the moment and the publishing of this document (two in fact, there are long and short versions) is a statement in itself that the subject is being taken seriously. However at the same time the policy  briefing (I read the full version) made me a bit cross. One page in and I started wishing I'd brought a red pen with me. However I'm going to be constructive, obviously CILIP has put the documentation out for comment for a reason.

I was disappointed that more wasn't made of the convergence of the academic and public  models. E-book delivery is developing rapidly. While it was once true that the academic models favored online reading and the public demanded downloads increasingly we are seeing hybrid systems that deliver both. Touched on briefly in the policy I believe that this convergence will eventually take us to a single model for all types of e-books regardless of sector. For current examples see Ebrary's Apps  and Overdrive's browser based READ Platform, both companies that while mainly associated with one sector/delivery method are increasingly working across both. 
In terms of the policy my point is that this convergence is happening now and while some aspects of academic and public e-lending will remain fundamentally different  the delivery platform will not. Increasingly suppliers are working with both academic and public sectors and it makes economic sense to develop platforms that can be used across both. Rather than looking back at what has always been done we need to make sure that we are looking  forward and paying attention to the cutting edge of e-book delivery. I don't believe the policy does this as it stands. 

As a user of Dawson Era I was also disappointed not to see it's purchase/subscription offer listed in the appendix. (Page 17, part 2) In fact I think more investigation needs to go into this list as it seems a bit incomplete. In terms of the Dawson model, books are purchased with a number of credits and each use (download or online) deducts a set amount of these credits. Once the credits run down to zero you have to buy another copy. While I'll admit to be being bias about Dawson Era I do believe that this credit system offers a more sustainable way of lending e-books for both libraries and the publisher/rights holder. It's more flexible than the 26 loans per copy license favored by some publishers and allows credit to be set individually for each book giving publishers a number of different options when it comes to setting prices.

In more general terms I agree with the policy and what it stands for. I have, as ever, my own comment on some subjects that I've outlined below but in general it provides a good overview of the current situation. It also outlines some developments I wasn't aware of, for example the EBLIDA e-book campaign. This in particular highlights that e-books are bigger than individual services, bigger really than individual countries. Their very nature means they have to be a global concern and as such need to be addressed at a global level. An EBLIDA campaign is a step towards this, as is the recent commitment from WLIC '12 that the IFLA will work together internationally on e-books. 

To round up my views on a few subjects without embarking on an essay:

• The rapid advances in technology over the past few decade means that legislations, such as PLR, copyright and the 1964 Act are no longer fit purpose. Amendments must be made (and enforced!)  to protect rights holders and allow libraries to continue with their business. To achieve this the government will have to be part of the conversation, however........
• short of creating a national depository of e-books there is little the government can bring to the table when it comes to finding a resolution between authors, publishers and libraries. You may say that I am naive but e-books are business, not politics. A solution must be determined by market forces and financial feasibility otherwise it won't be sustainable. 
• While libraries may have to compromise on some issues I believe strongly that a charge for e-books is a charge for a core library service and is not acceptable. However I also understand that there is precedent for charging in public libraries, for example audio books. Hard pressed public libraries need new sources of income and while I don't condone charging I would rather see it for e-books than services such as internet access. Of course in academic libraries charging shouldn't even be considered as students are already paying for the resources in the form of tuition fees. 
• Forcing patrons to physically visit libraries to borrow e-books is likely to be a deciding nail in the coffin for library e-book services. We might as well give up now. While there is precedent in some academic licenses the trend has been for libraries to move away from on site only access in favor of remote. Arguments of protecting footfall only demonstrates a blinkered and out dated view of what constitutes a library 'visit.' Ultimately there will be to many other, more convenient ways, to purchase or borrow e-books, either legally or illegally, that patrons will turn to if they are forced make a physical visit. I bought a Sony E-Reader because it allowed me to borrow books from my library. If I had to go to the library to do this I'd just buy a Kindle instead.

Lastly I would like to comment on something not raised in the policy but touched on in CILIP's Communities Information and Advice Blog. It raises the feasibility of regional, or even a single national, depositories of e-books for public library users. Although some might argue for a single system I can't help but think that we need a number of different ones to encourage innovative design and use. With library consortia already established across the country I would place my vote for regional catalogues of e-books, large enough to have significant spending power while still being able to tailor purchases to their communities. Many consortia are going down this route for their LMS and acquisition services so an extension to e-books would be natural.

To round up I'll say that the important bit is what comes next, how we use the policy and how we move forward. When it comes to future proofing our library services e-books are a big deal. What ever happens we need to make sure we get it right.

And in case anyone is interested the lemon meringue ice cream came from Fearnley's on Scout Road in Bolton. It's really very good if you are in the area.