The Bexley Children's Library

The Bexley Children's Mobile Library is managed by Jacqueline Luckhurst who has been involved with the service since it officially started seven years ago. During that time she has seen the development of her customers as they progress through school and move from "Where's Wally" books to the "Darren Shan" series. Jacqueline has two part-time driver assistants, although she can drive the vehicle herself. When it goes around schools and children's centres or in parks at holiday time, it is double staffed. This means that Jacqueline is able to spend a lot of time talking to the children and helping and advising them as they choose their books.

The children's mobile library only visits schools because that is the place to find children. The service is available for the individual child. The interior is decorated with children's work from all the schools it visits, created specially for the vehicle. On my visit they were displaying a dragon and St. George that was done as a celebration of St. Georges day.

I was there

The two links that follow are press reports about events at this year's Mobile Meet which was held on May 8th at Dewsbury. I found this year's particularly interesting and very useful from a research point of view. The day started with a talk from Baroness Boothroyd, one of my role models, a wonderfully strong minded woman who controlled the business of the house of commons like a powerful headmistress.

Baroness shares love of libraries - Dewsbury Reporter

Her talk showed her humour, warmth and no-nonsense approach to life. Part of her duties at the Mobile Meet was to present the awards for the new "Mobile library champion of the year awards", which was an idea that came to the Branch and Mobile Library Group of CILIP from an Australian visitor last year.

Mobile library champion of the year : Warwickshire News - Warwickshire Web

It was a good day for me because I met the staff of the two Powys Children's libraries that take books to children during school time during term times, then transform themselves into "The Book Runners" during holiday times. They consider that in that way they "Reach every child in the county". They had not brought their vehicles with them but that gives me a chance to visit them some time. I also saw the two Oxford children's mobiles. I will be visiting them on the first of June. Their latest vehicle is actually a mobile children's centre as well as a library and I will be very interested in visiting that.

One of the most surprising vehicles is the Bookstart story telling mobile from Sheffield. Unfortunately because they do not issue books and perform the functions of a library I can't count them in part of the research. The idea of a children's mobile library for Sheffield had been discussed, but it was considered impractical because Sheffield is such a large city more than one vehicle would have been needed. From my point of view, I consider that a worthwhile investment, but I think Sheffield libraries only had funding for one vehicle. It is remarkable, however, because it looks exactly like a zoo cage, or for those of us who remember such barbaric things, a travelling cage for a circus animal. The side lifts up completely to expose bars and a very inside which is stuffed full of animals, the soft toy variety. It's function is to go around distributing Bookstart packs and telling stories. It's aims are to reach the unreachable, promote literacy and tell parent s and children about the library service. If it cannot inspire children to read, then nothing will!



Here are some pictures of it!

The third vehicle that drew my attention was the North Tyneside children's mobile. This was a surprise because I did not know of that one. I think it is very unfair of authorities to start a new vehicle with telling me! However, this vehicle is staffed by a dynamic young woman, Rachel, who obviously loves her job. Like the West Sussex northern vehicle it is single staffed, but unlike the West Sussex vehicle it is BIG so I am filled with admiration of Rachel's ability to drive it. It visits children at schools and children's centres with the emphasis of providing a service to the individual child. It targets disadvantaged area's, hard to reach groups and schools that are not near a static library
.

It is unusual because the livery flows inside as well as outside.

A the end of the Mobile Meet prizes for best vehicles are awarded. This year the Oxford mobile children's centre won the innovation award, the Sheffield Bookstart promotional vehicle won best best small vehicle and North Tyneside won best livery and delegates' choice. A good day for children's mobile libraries.

BBC News - Mobile library marking 60 years in Leicestershire

It was my Husband's birthday, so as a special treat I took him to Snibston Discovery Park, a good educational day out for all the family. I had ulterior motives, I wanted to see the display of the history of mobile libraries in Leicestershire since its start in 1950. As it was at Snibston where I know they have a collection of historic vehicles, I hoped that an original Mobile library would be produced. Well, there were photographs. I suppose that any local authority vehicle has to be turned into hard cash at the end of their useful lives, it is the same now as always.

I don't know if was the effect of the football, there was some major match on or other, I don't know because I don't support the game, but crowds were thin on the ground. I had an interesting talk with the chair of Leicestershire County Council and a chat with Leicestershire Library staff. I visited the two mobile libraries that stopped outside the museum and discovered that there is another potential reserach project, reseraching and writing the history of Leicestershire mobile libraries. If only I wasn't so busy at the moment.

BBC News - Mobile library marking 60 years in Leicestershire

High-tech mobile library brings free broadband access - WTVM.com and WTVM News Leader 9, Columbus, GA |

High-tech mobile library brings free broadband access - WTVM.com and WTVM News Leader 9, Columbus, GA |

Leicester bookbus

I have now spent a morning and an extended afternoon on the Leicester bookbus. The promotional work at a primary school on Monday morning stirred up some interest with the children, because when it visited the school at home time on Tuesday (a regular, weekly stop) there were several new customers all keen to join and borrow books. The staff have developed a rapport with their regular customers out on the streets of Leicester. Many of the children I spoke to were very enthusiastic about the service and would not have borrowed books from anywhere else. Parents and children alike said that the chance to borrow books helped them with their reading skills.

Bangladeshi mobile libraries make books within common readers's reach - People's Daily Online

Bangladeshi mobile libraries make books within common readers's reach - People's Daily Online

St. Laurent unveils its mobile library for children

St. Laurent unveils its mobile library for children

Celebrate National Bookmobile Day at Warren County Library | - NJ.com

Celebrate National Bookmobile Day at Warren County Library | - NJ.com

The Edinburgh bookbus

I have spent three days with the staff of Edinburgh's Access Services, riding around on the book bus with them. I think I may have scared off some of their customers, because places that I was assured were usually busy did not choose to board the vehicle that day. Well, I am accustomed to that sort of erratic behaviour by customer groups, but it was a bit sad not to see the system in full swing. I met Edinburgh's Reading Champion, Colm Linnaer, and saw the excellent work that he is achieving with disaffected children. There are definitely some "readers" being made through his efforts on the bookbus. The bookbus visits family and children's centres, special schools and secure units, places where children do not have any other access to library facilities.

Vote for Literacy | National Literacy Trust

Vote for Literacy | National Literacy Trust

The West Sussex book buses

Last Week I was kindly hosted by West Sussex and spent two days touring sunny Worthing (yes, it was sunny) and one day in sunny Crawley (cold, but sunny). I also had the privileged to take part in two Word Book Day events at pre-schools. The book buses visit underfives settings on a three weekly schedule. The children come on in small groups listen to one "big" story together, then have to opportunity to browse the books, handling them, sharing them and being read to individually by library and setting staff. There is a great deal of partnership between the setting and the bookbus staff. This was demonstrated by the World Book Day activities. The activities were jointly planned, setting staff prepared each setting with craftwork by the children, and a story was read by bookbus staff, then acted out by staff, children and me.

The Southern bookbus is quite large and staffed by two specialist assistants. The Northern bookbus is small, staffed by one library outreach worker and only operates on Mondays and Fridays because it is shared with the Families and Children's service. This seems to work well.

I have recently had two training courses about being a reflective writer and a reflective researcher. I was even given a nice book to write a reflective diary! Well, I will use the diary, perhaps put daily notes in it, but I have a blog, so this is the perfect place to reflect on the week's research. This week I have finalised the plans for fieldwork in Edinburgh, which I feel really happy about. I have concerns that they are informing the settings in advance and getting the permission forms out for me, that the resulting observations will be biased. The children will be told to behave well, and then they won't, and school staff will use the service with unusual gusto, and vehicle staff will "Tow the Party Line". Still, being aware of the possibility and taking that into account when I do the observations is all part of grounded theory.

I have been gathering bits of paper, printouts and photocopies of the information I need to write the "Function of a Mobile Library" section of my literature review. It has horrified me that paper shuffling takes so long, but I have discovered that I am a very kinaesthetic learner and handling all these solid things helps my thinking. I just hope that it won't take too long. I am enjoying the creation of a "Scrapbook", however. I have also done a half day course on treating my Ph.D. as a project to manage, which was mildly interesting, and spent a morning turning my categorised piles of data into labelled lists. I did that on a computer although the urge to really cut and paste was strong.

Ford mobile library from Erith Council, 1933

Ford mobile library from Erith Council, 1933, originally uploaded by Science Museum London.

The outside is rather neglected too. Cime on Science museum, time for a bit of restoration.

Ford mobile library from Erith Council, 1933

Ford mobile library from Erith Council, 1933, originally uploaded by Science Museum London.

The inside of this mobile library cab looks rather bleak.

Leicester book buses

Well here are a pair of book buses! Today I went to see some very nice people from Leicester city libraries children's team, who manage the Leicester book buses. I managed to look over the vehicles while they were back in the depot for lunch. The under-fives BookBus tours settings in the city with a specific driver-library assistant and a children's team member, telling stories and issuing books. The children's BookBus focuses on area's of the city where the need to improve literacy is greatest. this means that although the timetable is fixed, it changes from time to time, when it has done its job in one area, most of their clients also going to a static library, and there is more need or no provision in another.

During the morning it does promotional visits to schools in those areas, to tell stories and talk about library membership. It rests in early afternoon to come out again between 3pm and 7pm to stop in the streets so that children can use it. They both stock mainly fiction, with just a little non fiction. It also attends community festivals and council events. The service has been continuous for the past 30 years, so as far as I can tell, it is the oldest continuous service in Britain. They have worn out three lots of vehicles in that time. Tell me, anyone, if their service has been going for longer!

Latest information

Things are going well on the field work front, I have dates for visiting West Sussex (both vehicles) and the Edinburgh bookbus and I have a meeting with Leicester City libraries ( they also have two vehicles). I have also been checking the original list, and seem to have lost Bexley (where are you Bexley?) and Backburn. However, I have just discovered Medway, which is silly really, because I have know about it since the Mobile meet, I took a photo of it but somehow didn't manage to find out if it was a public library children's mobile or a school's service vehicle. I decided that with five authorities actually signed up for observation, I should make the effort to see every vehicle once, even if it is for a short time or to interview the mobile vehicle staff. I may find more. Too many would make it harder to see everyone, but it would be good news for the research.

The comments I have already had from managers of the services confirm that the study is needed. they want to know what people think about their services as well. Different authorities tend to use the service for different sets of excluded groups. Manchester for instance visits traveller sites while Edinburgh encompasses special schools and secure units. This is interesting because it demonstrates the value of using vehicles to get to people. The argument could be, however, that deposit collections could be put into these places and rotated. That would still require a delivery van, and surely it is more that books that mobile libraries deliver, it is a library service.

I have just been writing up the definition (they have forced me to do a Literature Review) of a mobile library, and I know, I have just split an infinitive. Sujin Butdisuwan of a University in Thailand defined a mobile library as:

All travelling or movable library activities in any formats such as large enclosed trucks or vans or large motor vehicles equipped with shelves and a staff enclosure to visit rural districts or remote areas where there is no other library service at specific times on a certain day or days of the week.

Shelves are mentioned, but not books!! just a mental slip there, I am sure, but the interesting thing is that it is the library service part that is accentuated.

Thinking aloud

Over the past six months, instead of getting down to do proper work I have had to write up a "First Year Report", which is really not a report at all, but a "Literature Review", which I find really frustrating. I am a doer more than a thinker although I do think about what I do! The position in which I now find myself is that because of the reading, writing process, having to justify the reason for investigating children's mobile libraries, of fitting the research into government policies, of finding out one thing and suggesting another, I have been thinking around in circles and not really progressed.

I have done a deal with my supervisors, who wanted me and my "hippy, touchy-feely" methodology to produce a "Literature Review". There is nothing, by the way, about the way reading is promoted on a children's mobile library. I have compromised to do a set of headings outlining what the literature review will be when I do one at the end of the data gathering and analysis. In fact, I will do an annotated set of headings, saying what would be, or is likely to be, in that literature review. As I look at what I have done so far so much seems irrelevant , so much seems to have been imposed by suggestions form the supervisors, who have their pet ideas. I am sure that they are only trying to help, but I think I would have liked more input on the how to do it, rather than the what to do.

So, what happens on a children's mobile library, and why does it matter? It matters because they are a service to communities, they introduce children to literature, some who would not otherwise go into a library. They offer a service to nurseries and early years settings to increase the number of books available to children and staff. They offer a library service, free of charge, to schools where individual children can find books or other information about things that they like. They are a free source of reading material to children who read avidly. They offer fun and interest and freedom of choice. Library services that have children's mobile libraries claim all these things, but is that what happens? Could they be better? Can they do a better job?

Most of all the service matters to the children that use it. I have also thought of the research as producing a sort of handbook of "Best Practice". Will this be good enough justification for my supervisors?

Stuff about reading

Having the first year viva over and done with, I am now concentrating on books about reading, so that I can analyse the actions of people in Children's mobile libraries to work out if they are promoting reading. I have also discovered that I need to use page numbers in the citation, so that is why there will be odd numbers appearing in the text.

The first book is "Measuring reading abilities: concepts, sources and applications" by Peter D Pumfrey, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1977.

On page 2 he talks about the statistical measurement of reading ability. "Figures can be used as a smoke screen to obscure our lack of understanding and control of the reading process...... unless we are aware of the limitations both of mental measurement and of our conceptualisation of the reading process". I think this means that it is difficult to measure reading because it is conceptualised. It is such a complex act that it is like measuring an abstract notion. figures don't work, because it is the wrong scale. He also believes that reading is an activity through which the child's cognitive development can be furthered. A tool for increasing thinking. He also believes that it is a "common fallacy" that all children will have acquired the necessary basic competence in reading by the end of infant school. P7 A reading test is a sample of one aspect of a child's behaviour related to language and thinking.

p11 "Often, those children falling at the lower ends of the hypothesised normal distribution are catagorised as children with reading difficulties. To some extent, the difficulties in reading that a child experiences are generated by a social desire for a conformity that is possible at varience with the nature of human beings". In other words, some children take longer to learn to read, and will not necessarily do it as well as others. It is not expected that everyone will excel at sport, we do not measure each child's sprinting times, or how far they can kick a ball.

p162 Children can decode print correctly whether they know it or not, whether it is or is not a real word. This demonstrates that understanding is not necessary to decode. This is not reading.
However, p163, a childs experiential background contributes to the ability to decode a word becasue they will have the ability to guess the word from the context of the text, using cues.

OK so most of this is about reading and not about the passing of of reading knowledge. I think that these idea's show that there will be some children left behind by the education system and provide evidence for the argument of mopping up those children with the use of mobile libraries. that or teaching them to read at secondary school, but then they feel a failure, like me and running!

I have just found this in the latest DCMS report about libraries (Empower, Inform, Enrich) and I like it so much that I have to share it!

By Chris Meade
Director, if: Book

Once upon a time books were made of parchment and carried around in buckets. Then came the codex, designed by early Christians as a means to fix the canon and make sure no one glued extra bits onto the end of scrolls.The first books,hand written by teams of monks, cost a fortune. Gutenberg invented the printing press but went bankrupt when his invention failed to catch on. It took the Reformation to make publishing commercially viable, when every faction going was producing new tracts and pamphlets.The paperback provided cheap portable fiction for the troops and the workers.
The e-reader briefly bridged the gap between page and screen, but soon every laptop and mobile was a platform for prose. Far from killing literature, new devices led to a renaissance of artworks mixing text and images, sounds and conversations.The book was no longer defined as an object but as an experience, a unit of meaning, some of which were produced in beautiful, customised printed form, others in lavish online editions. But perhaps surprisingly the term remained—thanks to Macbooks and Facebook,Audiobooks, Digibooks, Skybooks, ifbooks etc, but the term was used to include events, performances, recordings, websites which demanded a certain level of attention. And all books were also communities, though mostly quiet ones, like library users silently sharing the same virtual space.
Libraries used to contain copies of works that were otherwise inaccessible to people without parting with their cash. Books were chained to desks, then loaned out for short periods, then after culture went up to the cloud, their role became really important, providing a safe local space in which to meet real people with the expertise and ideas to help us each explore our particular interest.
Where once people had been intimidated but uplifted in places of culture such as theatres and libraries, now all content emanated from the same devices. There was no longer any need to differentiate much between movies, books, ifbooks, pop music and opera. Whereas once these commodities were sold and performed in completely different places for different prices, now all was stuff, funded from the licence.
So we needed to create new means to uplift the spirit and encourage deeper attention and focus. Unlibraries flourished—designed to inspire and intrigue through displays, events and atmospheres which helped minds to expand; they sold and loaned out souvenirs of intellectual journeys undertaken there, were havens for debate and the simple, basic pleasures of social networking.
The modernisation review of public libraries

Cultural services putting "every child matters" into policy

I have unearthed two documents form different parts of the country that analyse the way to integrate Every Child Matters into their systems. One is from the East Midlands, called "Unlocking the Potential" by Dixon and Roberts. The other is "Review of Museum, Library and Archive Activity with Children and Young People" by Naylor and other authors for the North West. This is what they say.

Dixon and Roberts

• Museums and Galleries do not work with children's services at a strategic level, but libraries are doing some.
• Children's services would prefer to have strategic relationships with libraries, museums and galleries than to commission their services.
• Libraries have a greater awareness of children's service priorities and are more willing to reflect them in the library services.
• young people should expect libraries to offer participation in library development, Volunteering opportunity
  
• a place to develop citizenship
• free, safe welcoming spaces IN THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITY
• Formal and informal learning support
• Inspiring books, reading materials, activities
• information of education, training and careers

Naylor, et al

• Hard for libraries, museums and archives to be strategically involved with other partners at government level, but there is an opportunity at local authority level.
• Libraries are better at doing this than museums and archives. Their strategic plans are closer to Every Child Matters. "Public Libraries have a longer track record in this area having always a more clearly defined pedagogic and social purpose than museums and galleries"
  
• there is not a lot of literature about the impact of the cultural sector on academic attainment because of a lack of longitudinal research. Apart from Libraries, that work with PEEP, EPPE and bookstart. These have had studies published about them and many studies are ongoing.
• There is no baseline on which to judge the impact.
  
• There needs to be research to capture in impact and output of working with children, research with control groups and ethnographic analysis of the nature of the learning that goes on.
• Youth Matters is also another notional programme that fits with every child matters. There is a youth capital fund. (or was, depending on forthcoming government cuts). It is mandatory for young people to be involved in the design of services.
  
• Generic Learning Outcomes are are good idea
• Nearly all public libraries do rhyme-times and story times, but their benefits are unknown.
• Local Authorities are meant to deliver partnership programmes and embed them in the community, partnership working is the key.
• libraries are actively increasing literacy work across the board
• There is not much in depth ethnographic work to analyse the nature of learning.
  
• Difficult to work out what influences in a child's life leads them to economic success or failure.
• Libraries need to support the school curriculum (Mobile libraries do)