Library camp 2011, my first experience of an Unconference

Attracted to the event in Birmingham, by the fact that it was free, about libraries, something I had never done before and not far from my home in Derby, I was one of the early people to sign up. I also wanted to publicise my research, and where better than an event which attracted undelegates (if it is an unconference, they must be undelegates) from far and wide. The atmosphere was very supportive, enthusiastic and creative, with the first "Pitching" session inspiring many people to facilitate a discussion relevant to many groups in the room. I had gone along with the intention to lead a discussion on the way to make politicians realise that libraries enhance literacy, because of all the reports that I had read during this research journey that emphasised that libraries add to literacy and there is insufficient policy supporting this fact.

Here is a brief outline of the discussion, its outcomes and my thoughts after the discussion. I first asked everyone what their personal understanding was of the term "Literacy", so that everyone could come to a common understanding of what we were discussing. I was really shocked when one contribution was "surely its just reading and writing?" and chose to regard that as a "devil's advocate" answer because any trained and self respecting library or information professional should understand that literacy is so much more than that. Sure enough, the discussion wove around the concept of literacy being about words, the spoken word, comprehension, fluency, confidence, empathy, social skills, inspiration, visual skills, language, vocabulary, and a life long journey that constantly improves. The general feeling was that literacy was far more than decoding writing. I summed up the definition of literacy as the ability to understand symbolic events. Actually, I couldn't remember the exact words I used, but it was something like that. I posed the question "how can we teach literacy in libraries?" to get the response that we couldn't, that learning is a personal thing that comes from within, and actually libraries give people a chance to learn.

Unfortunately, no one easy answer of how to get Politicians to listen was found. We did find that there was problems in quantifying the work that libraries do, that reporting success is difficult in a public authority when staff are not allowed to talk to press, or talk about their work even though they want to boast about the positive things their service is achieving. There was also the comment that we know what is good and what is working, but there is not enough of it, for instance "rhyme time"s one day a week is not reaching all the children that it should. It was felt that maybe libraries are not giving out the right message to politicians, "Don't close us because we are great!" is not a powerful enough argument. Advocacy was suggested, libraries need a strong ally like a newspaper, money, or opinion leaders, such as certain bloggers with a reputation of leading thought. Although authors lend their voice to library campaigns, simple stating that they loved libraries as children and owed their writing career to a helpful librarian is not enough. Unions can speak their members voices, but librarians scattered as members of various unions. CILIP may have a role, and the National Literacy Trust. Political awareness is essential, knowing how to present the library case to fit in with political agendas. The policies to support public libraries need to be cross-governmental, not just in one department. Overall, libraries should

1. Clarify their message
2. Capitalise on research
3. Find powerful advocates  

 
My thoughts on all of this led me to give the group an idea to think about. Maybe  public  libraries should not be run by local authorities, maybe they should be run by a national library trust?

Afterwards, I took to thinking, Cilip as a professional body that is gradually waking up to its role to defend and support all librarians everywhere, and I think that with the upcoming president and vice president it will become more militant. It is not a trade union however, so should we start a Library and Information Worker Union, and if so how do you go about doing it?

I also think that the media should be used, not by running "visit your library" campaigns, but by featuring library and information workers in dramas and soaps. This will dispel myths and show us as hero's! We are real people with real lives that can be just as dramatic and interesting as doctors and nurses, market stall holders and pub landlords, police and con-men. Maybe spies are a little more exciting. Well, any budding dramatists out there?

The pressures of funding

This article from America is indicative of the problems we have here in Britain. Librarians and some councillors know that CMLs help children love reading, but can't get the money together to provided a service.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20110821/NEWS/110829965/1116

Thesis written

Well, the thesis is currently in University waiting for my supervisor to read and tell me what is wrong about it! My journey, I hope, is almost over, although I will write up more about my findings once the PhD has been passed. I particularly enjoyed doing the field work and feel very privileged to have met some interesting people with stories to tell about their experiences of children's mobile libraries. I was welcomed at each vehicle that I visited and I was quite enchanted by the actions of many of the children, I feel I saw some special moments in children's lives. More about that another time.

Overall, I found out that children's mobile libraries (CMLs) do pass on a love of books and reading to children, but not in the way that I thought they would. I thought that children's mobile library staff (I have been calling them operators) would need to have an in depth knowledge of literacy and working with children, and each vehicle would have to have lots of story times and active teaching, but that is far from the case. If you are a CML operator, you will scoff at me, you will say that you knew you were helping children's literacy and changing children's lives. Yes, many of you did tell me that. I can now prove that you do.

Children's mobile libraries work because they are a vehicle that comes and disappears again. that makes children (and staff) excited, which opens the brain to learning experiences. On the vehicle, there are books, books and more books, or posters about books, or toys of book characters, or recordings of books, or someone reading a book to you, with the occasional computer for children to play with. Basically, once you have entered the realm of a CML you cannot escape from words. This space of words is controlled by the operators, who tease you, cajole you, ask you about the book you have picked up, wants to know if you enjoyed a story, they make friends with you and talk about books. They let you choose what ever book you want, perhaps with a quick check in case you get in trouble at home for choosing a certain subject. Operators help children being literate by being enthusiastic and encouraging, not by being pedantic and disparaging. Children's mobile libraries work because they are fun ... and children like them.

I will leave this post with two photo's, a before and an after. The before, on the left, is a Children's Mobile Library. The after, on the right, is what it has become. I am sad about such a wasted opportunity.

Children protest against mobile library closure | Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries

The library that the children are supporting is a generic mobile library, not a specialised Children's mobile library. The three letters that they have written, however, show the depth of feeling that the children have for their regular visits to the mobile library. They say that they enjoy choosing the books themselves, and that act is very important in the child's social and psychological development. In a world that is so controlled for children, they have to wear school uniform, they can't go and play out side in the street, they can't go anywhere without an accompanying adult, children have to learn somewhere that they are allowed to make decisions, and the decisions can be right. That is what happens when they choose a library book.

Of course, you could say that these three children may have been put up to writing the letters by a parent, they may all be from the same family. They may have been bribed by promises of chocolate or more time on the Wii. Anyone who knows anything about children (especially precocious brats (I know, I had at least one) knows that co-orced children would not have phrased the letters in such a personal and interesting way. Precocious brats badger their parents to send the letters, or would send a letter anyway, then tell the parent about it. One of mine sent letters to the local paper, and had them published.

Children protest against mobile library closure | Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries

a bookmobile in Cuba

This bookmobile was donated to a cuban library by Americans, who also raised a campaign to donate all the books. Literacy is highly regarded by the Cuban regime, it is a way to empower the common person.

This bookmobile appears to be sucessfully capturing the interest of cuban children. Perhaps we could run a campaign in America to keep British library open and start up more Children's Mobile Libraries!




Impact of the Bookmobile Project on Library Outreach Services in Granma Province « Bookmobile to Cuba, from Gentry to Granma

A success story

It is good to know that even in these stringent times, somebody listens to the common man, sometimes. In Hampshire, a children's mobile library has been in service for nearly 28 years, known as "Maisy Mouse", but officially called the Family Library Link. I should have found about this vehicle years ago, and I heard vague mentions of the "One in Hampshire", but all I could find as I searched the Hampshire website was the School Library Service mobile, and that was not what I was after. I presume that I did not find it because I did not think of searching for the term "Family Library Link". I had not previously come across that phrase to describe a Children's Mobile Library.

Well, I found out about it in difficult circumstances, it came onto my feed reader from a newspaper link, protesting about its closure

Campaign to save 'Maisy Mouse' mobile library - East Hampshire - The News

Being rather full of myself I emailed the service, for two reasons, firstly to gather more information about the CML and secondly to offer my services to the library to talk to the council about how amazingly brilliant CMLs are at advancing literacy. I have the proof now! Anyway, I had an informative reply, and a gentle let down. As it turned out, my help wan not needed at all, due to a hefty public campaign and a school boy, it appears that the service has been saved.


Schoolboy Bobby rescues library from budget cuts - Politics - The News

Here is a section of the reply I had from Eileen Leigh, I felt it had to said in her own words.

Family Library Link is a special service for the Under 5’s and their parents/carers . There are 2 members of staff one full time and one part-time, working 25 hours a week term-time only. We make over 40 visits a month to pre-schools, nurseries , parent & toddler groups ,special needs groups and reception classes . The area we go to has expanded over the years to meet growing demands , as well as Leigh Park we travel to Wecock Farm (an overspill from Leigh Park) and Portchester . During visits the children and carers access the especially designed Library bus (Maisy)to choose books and share stories . The van is bright, colourful and well loved !Pre-schools have a large collection to support the home loans scheme in which we have encouraged them to participate .

Books play a major role in all areas of child development and Family Library Link’s aims are to promote the enjoyment of the best picture books through loans and storytelling . The van carries around 1,200 books with plenty of back up stock in the office. We maintain a high standard regarding the condition of the stock as there is a high turnover we are able to keep standards up with an annual budget for stock revision and new titles .There are board books for the babies and more complicated stories for the older children. We hold rhyme times at the parent and toddler group and read stories at most of the groups we visit.

Over the years we have held Book Fairs , Fun Days and had Fun months - promoting the library in a fun way. We have also been involved with Reading is Fundamental ( part of the National Literacy Trust) a fabulous project that provided free books each term to every child attending the Leigh Park groups. The project ran for 5 years and the books were presented at a different event each term . we were heavily involved in the selection of the books and the presentations many of which were held in Leigh Park Library . Parents and carers attended these really happy events. All were encouraged to join the branch library .

We are also involved with Book Start distributing packs and have co-ordinated a few very successful Book Crawls in Leigh Park and Portchester with presentations of certificates in the libraries with parents and children enjoying the fun events.

During the summer holidays term-time groups are closed or quieter.

The van is transformed into Book Bus . We have visited play schemes and country parks promoting the library through browsing and storytelling. Last Summer we were involved in the National Summer Reading Challenge.

I

Save our Libraries Day.

I have done my little bit for Save our Libraries day. I chose to do my own little library crawl to my nearest Libraries. I couldn't do all the ones that are closest to me, Melbourne library, which is part time and situated in a community centre, is closed on a Saturday. It is small and welcoming, however, with a good selection of local (very local) history books and very accommodating when the other half and I were searching for information to save out local village pub. (got the info, didn't manage to save the pub, now a pile of rubble). Borrowash library closes at 1pm on a Saturday, and as I didn't start the pub crawl until then, I missed that one.

So, 1pm I started out from Weston on Trent. 1.19 pm I was sitting behind a computer looking up stuff on Ancestry about one of my Ancestors, a George King, Head gamekeeper, who was shot by poachers, but I could write a whole book about him. One day I will. Not sure if I found out anything new because it took me little while to get to him, got a bit diverted by his son and family. the library was calm an quiet, I expected it to be busier on a Saturday, a few people on computers and the odd person browsing the shelves, a mum and child booking something out a t the desk. Still, mental note, they have a huge selection of local maps and copies of the town newspaper that goes back centuries and it is a good place to go to do more extensive ancestor searching.

2pm saw me at Alvaston Library where I rummaged through the DVD selection to borrow "Scott Pilgrim", a film that my son advised me to watch, but somehow missed it at the cinema (Cost £2, student rate). Had a chat with the library assistant, I know her because I previously worked as a relief assistant at the library, and did some other stuff there with mums and babies. She is also a relief assistant now, but her main job is a school librarian, and as I have done that as well, we talked about what a nice job it is, being your own boss and in total control of a library. I explained what I was doing today, and she said "Isn't it typical, library day, and our system is down", as she wrote my details down by hand, "that's why it is quiet here, we were really busy earlier". The computers are heavily used in Alvaston.

Next it was Allenton library, at around 2.30. Another little library in a converted primary school, the other half is a community centre. This was busy, a policeman sat in a corner looking wistful. I am not sure why, it could have been that three older children were sitting with a young woman doing craft activities. there was a lot of glue and glitter about. Two out three more young people were in the teenage section, generally chatting and browsing, while a group of little old ladies were gossiping in format of the "Romance" section "I said.... and he did... and she said...." that sort of stuff. There I borrowed a book on organic allotmenting and how to be a good grandparent. I recognised the library assistant there too, but she didn't recognise me. She is a relief assistant too.

On to Chellaston Library, in effect the closest. This library has only been open since last March, not quite a year. It was really bus there two, a lot of people browsing, and children in the children's section. I selected two local history books there that I though him indoors would like, and a bundle of leaflets about local history talks. I belong to a reading group at that library, (meeting on Monday) so I also collected the next book. The woman in the queue ahead of me said to the library assistant "I expected there to be people out side with petitions". "Ah, library day, we are not closing any libraries" said the assistant, "But hours are being cut, except for this library, we are getting more hours." "Good" said the customer "I have waited 25 years for this library, we love this library".

Then it was 3pm and on to Sinfin. I have also worked there in the past. It was not so busy there, no kids, but adults browsing and a man reading a newspaper. I borrowed a CD of Japanese music (50p) a book about edible wild plants and a Chinese cookbook from the children's section. I didn't think much of the cookery books in the adult section. Had another conversation with a library assistant that I knew (she belonged to that library), this time about whether or not the next Hooked on Reading conference will take place this year, and how my studies are progressing.

I am now going to cook a recipe that my daughter has chosen from the cookbook, and probably play the music in the background. The DVD will be watched some time over the weekend, if not this evening. the books will be rummaged through, and I will be posting tweets about today, trying to demonstrate the value of libraries and what they can offer.