It felt a lot smaller than normal in turns of sessions but the verdict at the end was that it was a successful conference, although there was some disappointment that the recorded sessions would only be made available to conference attenders. All were remarkably open and honest about the pain of this year and the challenges ahead. Budget cuts are looming and small libraries are looking vulnerable, especially as so many have stayed closed so much of this year plus also users now expected an enhanced digital offer while at the same time no reduction in the physical at the same or reduced budget.
But, on the other hand, it was clear how wonderfully libraries had boosted what they do online, and also in their outreach to the public, to an extent that I think no-one had a right to expect before the crisis. Nick Poole said it best…. We need to stay proud, says NickPoole1 and especially points out the pivot that public libraries pulled off when faced with the lockdown. By the way, this was the only time — so far — that two dogs which were assisting me by demanding walks, food and hugs while I was sat on my sofa attending the conference got a mention in the introduction to the afternoon sessions.
The official Cilipconf20 schnausers, photographed in response to public demand. Happy to sit still for photos in return for dog kibble. But, away from the joys of dog ownership and the feel-good of the conference, the dark clouds are looming, with another serious cut announced in Bexley and outbreaks of Covid being reported in two public library services. So will the pivot of libraries in be enough to stave off bad news elsewhere? Stay tuned. Brick and mortar bookshops are a doorway into many worlds. Libraries are places where as we walk through the door we all become equal.
Booksellers and librarians are tour guides to the imaginations that make books.
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Buy from a bookshop, borrow from a library. With love.
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Will keep you updated as plan evolves…. Sad news from Calderdale as the council, which has cut a fair bit before , is aiming for more budget reductions to its libraries. In other news this week, Blaenau Gwent are merging library buildings with other services. Also in this post, Fiona Williams from Explore Walk talks about their plans. Fiona broke ranks at the start of the second lockdown to talk to her local newspaper and is currently aiming to partner with a mini golf company , so I thought it would be interesting.
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While there are cons as well as pros to having libraries run by independent trusts, being able to speak to the press or explore fundraising options are evidently not barriers for them. For a council by council breakdown of what services libraries are currently providing during these strange times, see this page. Is this something you have more freedom to do as Explore rather than when the library service was run by a council? I think it is, yes. Now, the reporter on the Press, who we have a close relationship with, rang me on Monday morning to ask what was happening. I was able to respond immediately with what we hoped.
To keep everyone open as normal would have been too risky I think and we wanted to ensure people are safe but can access PCs and books. For me, access to PCs is so important at no one else is providing this in lockdown and people not online are so disadvantaged.
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Explore is leading a city wide initiative to ensure everyone in York is online. We have 84 organisations signed up so far to work with us. We have redone our risk assessments and staff training so they feel safe in a covid secure space. So we are reaching those most in need. I am keeping in touch with all our staff to ensure everyone is up to date with what is happening.
Well we are talking to a mini golf organisation about setting up a course on library lawn , which is the space next to our main York Explore Centre. It should bring in lots of people, especially families — resident and visitors. We want to use digital tech to reinterpret the whole area.
We are in the original Roman fortress and the medieval hospital, so there are endless opportunities for activity and events.
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It will take a while to plan etc so this is long term planning, but very exciting. Really a place to come back to for information and inspiration. That was part of our strategic planning even before the lockdown in March. Something we then introduced very quickly with the lockdown was our free digital subscription with which patrons could gain access to all our digital materials.
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That was probably the most important reaction to having to shut down our physical branches. And we are very happy it was widely perceived, probably even by a new audience. E-books had already been quite a success at the Munich Public Library, but we saw a rise in digital usage and actually topped up our licences during shutdown. And we have no plans to cut down on our physical collection.
We had a couple of thousand events last year — and we are actively exploring ways of bringing those events or new formats into the digital space. Since our neighborhood libraries are open right now, we are also thinking about ways of using self-service technology beyond self-checks to expand our opening hours and do so in a safe and controlled way, maybe through open library technology.
We have been very active on various social media channels over the past years, so nothing has changed in our social media output this year — a lot has changed wrt. We can already see financial cuts on the horizon, and we know that we will have to put a lot of thought into how to prioritize new projects, especially IT projects, in the coming weeks and months. The US has many, many problems, but so far, insanely and shortsightedly closing public libraries is not one of them. Our county just voted an increase in library funding to build a new bigger library.
Well, that was nail-biting. Libraries finally knew what they were doing late on Tuesday for what they had to implement less than two days later, on Thursday. It turned out eventually that, like many things in this semi second lockdown, libraries will be far less closed this time than before. This has dismayed a few, such as Unison , who understandably worry for staff welfare.
There are plastic screens, hand gel, track and trace, stripped buildings, masks … the works. Indeed, the difference in safety levels between a highly risk-conscious library now and, well, any high street shop you can think of is stunning. Strategically too, a quasi-open library service makes a lot more sense this time round. As it stands, libraries are able to make the case that they are being useful, and not just digitally, during this time and that may bring dividends later on.
We can hope so anyway. For the full breakdown of what is happening in every library service in the country click here. Thank you to the Minister for the meeting and strongly praising the work of libraries throughout this crisis, and listening to our concerns about the funding position as we emerge from the pandemic. Hear that screaming sound? I mean the other one. How far into reverse gear though?
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The Government has specifically found time to mention vape shops though, which kind of puts us in our place. I have also heard the possibility of PC use being allowed. But no-one really knows at this moment. I will tweet as soon as I do publiclibnews. For more info, see this page. The published information on the new national restrictions to England does not make any reference to libraries. Happy Halloween from all of us at Enfield Libraries, may you have the spookiest of Saturdays!