Thing 20 Advocacy and Engagement

1.     Name three detrimental effects to a community when a public library is closed.
 

• Loss of direct access to free resources in the community e.g. books, multimedia, PCs, local information, visitor information, training opportunities, that may not be available elsewhere in the community for free. Will impact those on low incomes who can’t afford to buy these resources.
• The loss of the library as a social, activity and meeting space for groups in the community: older people, parents and toddlers attending story time, people attending evening talks etc. Possible increase in social isolation within these groups.
• Reduction in children’s reading opportunities and engagement in reading, and support available for children’s reading, with no summer reading challenges to engage children in reading or professional support with reading choices.

2.       Three ways a strategic library plan can advocate for the library service.

After some web searching I came across this document: ‘Read, Learn Explore: Cork City Council Library Development Plan 2015 – 19’. To me this is a very inspiring document with a clear vision and strategy for the library service in Cork. http://www.corkcitylibraries.ie/readlearnexplore.pdf

• Making Cork a Reading City for children, young people and adults. This is bold statement and placing literacy at the heart of the libraries role in the city.
• Developing Music and cultural expression in libraries. This highlights libraries role in using books and other resources to stimulate creativity and expression, while highlighting that the library is also a venue, a space for events to take place in within communities.
•  Reaching Out strategy, proactively engaging the community in a dialogue to better serve their needs and promote library services. With greater understanding of the library and its service the community may use the library service more and become advocates for it. Also reaching out to form new partnerships will also help imbed the library as a key player in the city and allow the partners to become advocates too for the library.
• Promoting the library service for lifelong learning, helping job seekers and entrepreneurs makes the library a clear player in the adult learning sphere, bringing more people into active contact with the library service and highlights the diverse nature of the modern library.

3.       Demonstrating impact and value in the library service I work in.

• Recording the number of patrons accessing the library outside of class time. I have queues every day of pupils waiting to get into the library before school starts, and at lunchtime I regularly get over 50 users choosing to come into the library. I share these numbers with senior management to show the value pupils place on the library
• I survey teachers after working on specific projects with their classes like research skills and referencing to see if the sessions have had an impact on their pupils work. This also allows me to discuss any alterations that may be needed to the session.
• Survey results from pupils is an excellent way to find out their views and thoughts about the library and service offered. They are always honest! And sharing the results with senior management helps reinforce the value pupils place on the library.

4.       People outside of the library who can help advance the development of the library service.

• Mr N. Johnston, Rector of Buckie Community High School. An essential colleague to keep in touch with and informed about library progress, future plans and ideas, events and costings.
• Ms A. Thomson, IT Technician. BCHS. Any future technical developments within the library will require the participation of the technician and her expertise from the planning stage onwards.
• Mrs R. Stephen, System Librarian, Elgin Library. With the transition planned of my libraries present LMS to the public library LMS, I will have to work closely with Rona and her staff to achieve this and maintain the system.

5.        Library Ireland Week idea

• Finding Your Folk. Free sessions in the local library showing people how to research their family history and tree using the libraries local heritage resources and another highlighting online family history resources. These sessions are suitable for those new to family history research, and will introduce you to key resources including Old Parish Records, local old maps, census returns, and monumental inscriptions, as well as a range of the most popular online family history website including Scotland’s People. Commonwealth War Grave Commission, Ancestry.co.uk and our local heritage database LIBINDX. Library staff will lead the sessions and representatives from the local family history society will be on hand to offer extra support, advice, and information on the local area. Spaces are limited to book your place now!

6.       My Library, by right campaign best features

• Organisers will make direct contact with local authorities as soon as they are away of proposed cuts. I like this very direct approach. No waiting around for someone to complain to them or wait for a petition to be handed in. The organisation moves quickly to establish the situation from the word go, then acts accordingly.
• Highlighting that the public library service is a legal right, not an optional extra which is sometimes forgotten.  People can expect a public library service in their local authority that meets the needs of its users. The more people know this (hopefully) the more they will feel empowered to advocate for their local service even before it is threatened.
• The ‘How Can I Take Action’ sections is brilliant. 5 clear and concise ways people can help, and my placing the time needed to action each one, even the most pressed for time individual will be able to find a minute to help. It gives people clear direction to how they can practically help – the thinking has been done for you.  A very clever approach.

7.       Promoting a new area of librarianship you are passionate about.

• Makerspaces in school libraries. While this idea is relatively new in Scotland, in America Makerspaces in some libraries very established and proving very popular. I think they are brilliant and a great way to reach out to new and non-library users. Basically a makerspace is an area in a school or library where making, learning, exploring and sharing can take place in some cases with little or no technology. Activities are available for the pupils to complete. In my library I would invite departments within the school to provide kits or activities for pupils to try, so linking the activities directly to the curriculum and helping promote different departments in the school. The real importance of makerspaces is not so much what is produced but the act of making and the critical thinking this engenders in pupils. There is little of no staff input needed other than monitoring, and this would be a great way to engage senior pupils in the library to monitor and help with student learning. Local businesses would be invited to donate an activity that ties into their sector, which may open up the opportunity to network and advocate outside of the school about the work of the library. With makerspaces being at such an early stage in Scotland there would be publicity to be had locally and in the professional library journals about our experiences too.