This week and last I've been following the newspaper articles in defense of public libraries by Lauren Smith in the Guardian and in The Independent. And screaming inside at the amount of commenters pointing out that we don't need libraries as we have Google and that all librarians do is stamp books so surely volunteers can do that. Many of the Library Twitterati have posted succinctly replying to the comments so I shalln't waste my time engaging in this too much.
I do find it ironic that these comments have been made in the weeks of A'Level and GCSE results (and the usual 'standards are slipping' debates) and public outcry over the numbers of students unable to get university places. Public libraries are a place where you can learn for free. They are also a place that will help you with your resits, your job based learning, your job/uni applications, your gap year plans and so on. But then I guess you can do all that on Google. If you have a computer. And internet access. And the skills to find, use and evaluate web based sources. Anyway, I wasn't going to entertain this!
Tuesday 24 August 2010
Thursday 19 August 2010
Rebranding
As part of our refurbishment that I've spoken about over the last few weeks, we are rebranding the 'Library' into an 'LRC' with me being a 'LRC Manager' whereas my predecessor was the 'College Librarian'.
I've often felt somewhat cynical about this sort of exercise. As noted in Andy Priestner's blog this week, there is a cycle of changing from a Library to an Information Centre/Learning Resource Centre then back again, then back again again! I could see myself in 7-10 years doing a rebrand back to a library, if the HE sector is anything to go by.
On a practical level, there is plenty of work to do. All leaflets, stationery, intranet pages, policies, staff manuals, signs, posters and anything else that I've not thought of yet is being rebranded and rewritten.
In our case there is meaning behind the rebrand, as the space's purpose is changing massively. We are going to have Level 2 and 3 classes timetabled in to the LRC for much of the day, whereas previously the Library was solely a drop in space. The Library Assistants are now LRC Support Tutors and their job description is a hybrid between an LA role and a Learning Mentor with the emphasis on time with classes over traditional LA duties. We are also starting using self issue which is hoped to free up staff from being on the issue desk.
It's a good time for me to start working here during the rebrand as it means that changes can be introduced as part of an overall change which I hope will be easier for users.
I will still use both 'LRC' and 'Library' interchangeably in conversation but will only use LRC in written communication. And will always see myself as a librarian even though I am called an LRC Manager. Personally I see librarianship/information management as being the overarching profession (e.g. medicine) even though my specific role within it is as an LRC Manager (e.g. Consultant Paedeatric Surgeon).
I've often felt somewhat cynical about this sort of exercise. As noted in Andy Priestner's blog this week, there is a cycle of changing from a Library to an Information Centre/Learning Resource Centre then back again, then back again again! I could see myself in 7-10 years doing a rebrand back to a library, if the HE sector is anything to go by.
On a practical level, there is plenty of work to do. All leaflets, stationery, intranet pages, policies, staff manuals, signs, posters and anything else that I've not thought of yet is being rebranded and rewritten.
In our case there is meaning behind the rebrand, as the space's purpose is changing massively. We are going to have Level 2 and 3 classes timetabled in to the LRC for much of the day, whereas previously the Library was solely a drop in space. The Library Assistants are now LRC Support Tutors and their job description is a hybrid between an LA role and a Learning Mentor with the emphasis on time with classes over traditional LA duties. We are also starting using self issue which is hoped to free up staff from being on the issue desk.
It's a good time for me to start working here during the rebrand as it means that changes can be introduced as part of an overall change which I hope will be easier for users.
I will still use both 'LRC' and 'Library' interchangeably in conversation but will only use LRC in written communication. And will always see myself as a librarian even though I am called an LRC Manager. Personally I see librarianship/information management as being the overarching profession (e.g. medicine) even though my specific role within it is as an LRC Manager (e.g. Consultant Paedeatric Surgeon).
Friday 13 August 2010
Good progress.
That seems to have been my catchphrase this week, I've said it to my LRC Support Tutor (the term we are using for Library Assistants) as we left almost every day. A lot has been sorted out but I still have to do lists long enough to need indexes!
I started the week off meeting with the Finance team to learn their systems. I felt the weight of my new budget holding responsibilities. I spent the rest of the day cataloguing, completing the policy for Independent Learning Sessions (a new initiative where each Level 2 and 3 class will have an hour week in the LRC supported by LRC staff) and creating lists of recommended websites for leaflets.
Tuesday was a dark day. I spent much of it wading through spreadsheets to try to understand my budget codes, and wading through processes and piles of paperwork. I also put in my first book order. Due to the refurb we are installed in a classroom at the moment, so not only am I learning new processes but I'm learning them outside of their natural habitat. To be honest it all got a bit much. Although, I also had a long chat with my former boss/mentor which was lovely, I still went home with the hump.
Wednesday was a new day! To start the day the LRC team were trained on the new printer/photocopier (the same model is already used elsewhere in the college). In the process of this print services reiterated their concern that the new printer won't fit in the space allocated to it in the new LRC. Worrying. Later I got a call that the mobile shelving was completed, so went along to the LRC with the H&S manager, refurb project manager and Head of Estates to have a demo and sign it off. It was the first time I'd been in the LRC since starting work here and it looks fantastic! There was a bit of squealing via the Twitter! In fact other staff saw how excited I was and the words 'sad' and 'geeks' were used. But then they haven't seen the shelves. In the afternoon my predecessor came in to answer my queries on the handover notes and other paperwork which was great and alleviated much of what was troubling me on Tuesday.
On Thursday I got IT to start the process of rebranding the libr.. sorry I mean LRC intranet pages. One of my team is working on typing up the corrections and reformatting the leaflets that need to be ready for induction and for uploading on the webpages. I spent much of the morning sorting out odds and ends that came up out of meeting with my predecessor yesterday. In the afternoon I had my official welcome from The Principal, although she has called in to visit a few times already. She's a big library advocate and has been very involved in the refurb. I then did some more work on our induction material, it's really coming together.
This morning I started by nagging IT a bit about the webpages. met with Print Services to look at the proposed printer space, and we feel confident it should fit, phew! I then met with Health and Safety to discuss risk assessments and potential problems on the horizon with the new shelving. the H&S manager said that he was surprised when he met me as he thought I'd be an older lady! This was partly a librarian stereotype and partly because of the degrees after my name. I was wearing a cardi, what more do people want? This afternoon I finally met with the head of IT who answered my questions. However he did say that there was a potential problem with the new monitors arriving, but we still *should* have them in time for the start of the new term.
As you can see it's been a pretty quiet week! I think I'm starting to get used to the commute too. Next week is our last week before the LRC is put back together so I want to get all the induction materials and leaflets finalised and the intranet pages as complete as possible. I also need to think of names for the bays in the LRC. At the moment they are down as Green 1, Green 2, Grey 1 and Grey 2. As I tweeted, I've been thinking about authors, local birds, or perhaps local well known people, can I get away with a Syd Barrett Bay?!
I started the week off meeting with the Finance team to learn their systems. I felt the weight of my new budget holding responsibilities. I spent the rest of the day cataloguing, completing the policy for Independent Learning Sessions (a new initiative where each Level 2 and 3 class will have an hour week in the LRC supported by LRC staff) and creating lists of recommended websites for leaflets.
Tuesday was a dark day. I spent much of it wading through spreadsheets to try to understand my budget codes, and wading through processes and piles of paperwork. I also put in my first book order. Due to the refurb we are installed in a classroom at the moment, so not only am I learning new processes but I'm learning them outside of their natural habitat. To be honest it all got a bit much. Although, I also had a long chat with my former boss/mentor which was lovely, I still went home with the hump.
Wednesday was a new day! To start the day the LRC team were trained on the new printer/photocopier (the same model is already used elsewhere in the college). In the process of this print services reiterated their concern that the new printer won't fit in the space allocated to it in the new LRC. Worrying. Later I got a call that the mobile shelving was completed, so went along to the LRC with the H&S manager, refurb project manager and Head of Estates to have a demo and sign it off. It was the first time I'd been in the LRC since starting work here and it looks fantastic! There was a bit of squealing via the Twitter! In fact other staff saw how excited I was and the words 'sad' and 'geeks' were used. But then they haven't seen the shelves. In the afternoon my predecessor came in to answer my queries on the handover notes and other paperwork which was great and alleviated much of what was troubling me on Tuesday.
On Thursday I got IT to start the process of rebranding the libr.. sorry I mean LRC intranet pages. One of my team is working on typing up the corrections and reformatting the leaflets that need to be ready for induction and for uploading on the webpages. I spent much of the morning sorting out odds and ends that came up out of meeting with my predecessor yesterday. In the afternoon I had my official welcome from The Principal, although she has called in to visit a few times already. She's a big library advocate and has been very involved in the refurb. I then did some more work on our induction material, it's really coming together.
This morning I started by nagging IT a bit about the webpages. met with Print Services to look at the proposed printer space, and we feel confident it should fit, phew! I then met with Health and Safety to discuss risk assessments and potential problems on the horizon with the new shelving. the H&S manager said that he was surprised when he met me as he thought I'd be an older lady! This was partly a librarian stereotype and partly because of the degrees after my name. I was wearing a cardi, what more do people want? This afternoon I finally met with the head of IT who answered my questions. However he did say that there was a potential problem with the new monitors arriving, but we still *should* have them in time for the start of the new term.
As you can see it's been a pretty quiet week! I think I'm starting to get used to the commute too. Next week is our last week before the LRC is put back together so I want to get all the induction materials and leaflets finalised and the intranet pages as complete as possible. I also need to think of names for the bays in the LRC. At the moment they are down as Green 1, Green 2, Grey 1 and Grey 2. As I tweeted, I've been thinking about authors, local birds, or perhaps local well known people, can I get away with a Syd Barrett Bay?!
Friday 6 August 2010
First week in first qualified job!
After the long process of interviews and seemingly endless applications here I am in my first qualified job as the LRC manager of a regional college in Cambridgeshire.
The first week has gone well. I had a hand over session with my predecessor a few weeks before starting, so I had the chance to do (lots of prep) at home of an evening and weekend. I came in on my first day with many pages of to do lists and lists of questions that I've slowly worked my way through.
As well as grappling with the usual new job business of learning names, procedures, a new LMS (AutoLib) these are the major challenges I'm facing at the moment:
The first week has gone well. I had a hand over session with my predecessor a few weeks before starting, so I had the chance to do (lots of prep) at home of an evening and weekend. I came in on my first day with many pages of to do lists and lists of questions that I've slowly worked my way through.
As well as grappling with the usual new job business of learning names, procedures, a new LMS (AutoLib) these are the major challenges I'm facing at the moment:
- Refurbishment. We are half way through a refurbishment at the moment. I met with the project manager earlier this week and it's all looking good to get the LRC ready for the start of term. At the moment we are temporarily installed in a classroom.
- Change of use of LRC within the organisation. The library has been rebranded as an LRC, the major impact of which is that from September level 2 and 3 classes will be timetabled in for one session a fortnight of independent learning supervised by LRC staff. Therefore I need to get a procedure in place to make sure things run smoothly. This also means rebranding all leaflets, webpages etc. As part of this the Library Assistants were given redundancy notices and a new role of LRC Support Tutor was created which leads me to..
- New staff. I manage 3 LRC Support Tutors, 1 full time, 2 part time. Only 1 of the part timers are existing staff. In a way this is good as it means we can develop the new service together rather than having staff who are stuck in their ways. However, being told on my first day that I have to train new staff immediately when I wasn't expecting them for a month wasn't ideal. Especially when we aren't even in the LRC.
- Responsibility. I haven't been a budget holder before which is a little daunting, but I have a meeting on Monday to get fully up to speed on it.
- The commute. I now have a commute of 3 to 3 and a half hours a day round trip whereas my last job was 20 minutes up the road. I'm enjoying having time to get reading done and trying to see it positively. We plan to relocate soon so it's only a temporary situation.
- Inductions. My predecessor had been in post since 1976, and didn't leave any induction materials as she did it off the top of her head. This leaves me creating induction materials for an LRC that I haven't worked in yet and that is currently gutted.
Plenty to keep me out of trouble then! Exciting times ahead.
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