Welsh Librarian of the Year Award - shortlist announced.

The shortlist for the Welsh Librarian of the Year 2013 has been announced and includes three public sector and two academic & research sector information professional. The winner will be announced at the CILIP Cymru Wales Annual Conference in Cardiff on Thursday 16th May.

CILIP Cymru Wales is delighted to announce that the following nominees have been selected to form the shortlist for the inaugural Welsh Librarian of the Year Award.

Academic & Research Sector:

Lori Havard                                         Swansea University

Rebecca Mogg                                     Cardiff University 

Public Sector:

Bethan M Hughes                                 Denbighshire Libraries

Carole Morgans                                    Cardiff Libraries

Preeti Pathak                                      Cardiff Libraries

Congratulations to the five people who have made the shortlist, and commiserations to those who were long-listed but didn't quite make it this far. In this inaugural year, the competition for Welsh Librarian of the Year has been extremely strong.  With multiple applications in the categories for public sector and academic & research libraries there were always going to be some unsuccessful nominations.  Everyone who was nominated for the Award deserves congratulations. Being nominated shows a great deal of respect and admiration from your colleagues and service users, and is a strong indicator of your professional impact, innovation and achievement.

  

The judges all commented how pleasing it was to receive such inspiring nominations, but especially so for the number of new professionals with Wales. Speaking about the Award, Andrew Green, former National Librarian of Wales, and judging panel member said:

“It gives me enormous hope and encouragement to see so many exceptional people contributing to Welsh libraries and the interests of their users.  I do hope this becomes a regular event, and attracts even more nominees in future.”

Another judge said: “It has been a real pleasure and privilege to take part in the judging”.

The Welsh Librarian of the Year will be announced at the CILIP Cymru Wales Annual Conference Dinner on 16th May in Cardiff. The winner will receive a prize of £500 and a trophy, both of which have been kindly sponsored by Sirsi-Dynix.

Further information

Details about the Award are available from the CILIP Cymru Wales web pages. The long-list of nominees was announced here

Andrew Green, former National Librarian and Judging Panel Member has written about the Award in his  Blog [in Welsh]

SirsiDynix connects people with knowledge at more than 23,000 libraries around the world. Through library management technology and search and discovery tools, libraries using SirsiDynix technology bring relevant resources and the power of knowledge to their users and communities. SirsiDynix technology is architected to be open, scalable and robust, offering a complete solution out-of-the-box, and unparalleled flexibility through APIs and web services. Complemented by the most experienced training, consulting and support staff in the industry, SirsiDynix helps libraries create tomorrow’s libraries, today. www.sirsidynix.com

Final call for nominations

There is now just ONE WEEK left to submit your nomination for the Welsh Librarian of the Year Award.

Don't delay - ACT TODAY!

Relutance and reticence?

As a profession we are, perhaps, reluctant to shout-out about our successes, our hard-fought achievements and the valued differences that we make to the communities that we serve. We underplay our unique professional skills, knowledge and abilities; preferring to "do the job" rather than celebrate our achievements and worth.

As reluctant as we are to broadcast from the rooftops about the achievements of our services or profession, we are surely even more reticent in celebrating personal achievement and contribution.

In CILIP Cymru Wales we would like this to change.

"At a time when there are news reports of library service cuts it’s great that CILIP Cymru Wales shouts loudly in recognition of highly skilled, dedicated and innovative librarians and information professionals. Our colleagues are constantly pushing at boundaries, enabling library users access to the information that they need in formats that work for the user, tackling the digital information divide,  serving all equally, furthering knowledge and understanding, enabling greater engagement in society, adding and enabling pleasure and interest in so many peoples’ lives". Karen Gibbins, Chair of CILIP Cymru Wales, and Principal Librarian, Swansea Public Libraries.

We see service excellence and innovation on a daily basis. We see and hear of librarians and information professionals doing fatastic jobs, achieving so much, and changing peoples' lives for the better. We also know that service development, innovation and achievement is occuring despite of the environment of staffing constraints, organisational turmoil and budget reductions.

If we don't celebrate the achievements of our colleagues who will? That's easy to answer! No one will.

Call to action 

So, please, please THINK and ACT:

• Do I work alongside colleagues who deserve the accolade of Welsh Librarian of the Year? The answer is almost certainly YES!!
• Please spare 20 minutes to celebrate your colleague by nominating them for the Award. It's a very straightforward and easy process and nominations may be submitted in English or Welsh.

In shining a light of recognition and congratulations on your colleagues you will be achieving so much:

• saying "thank you and well done" to your colleagues, recognising their achievements
• promoting your service, raising the profile of what you do and what you excel in with people who matter
• valuing what we as librarians and information professionals bring to contemporary Wales
• sharing your successes, and in doing so, enabling others to learn and build from your achievements.

We don't wish to only celebrate the achievements of the really well-known and senior professionals in Wales. A great deal of excellence, service innovation and development occurs at the "coal face" of the library floor, the service counter, online enquiry service, bibliographic services department, etc. Any professional colleague - someone with a recognised library / information qualification, or working towards one, whether a CILIP member or not, can be nominated.

Thanks to kind sponsorship from Sirsi Dynix the overall winner will receive a £500 cash prize. The winner will be announced at the CILIP Cymru Wales Annual Conference Dinner on Thursday 16th May at the Radisson Blu Hotel Cardiff. Nominations should be submitted by Thursday 28th March 2013.

Further information about the Award is available in this press release.

Nominations can be made  in English or in Welsh.

Welsh Librarian of the Year Award Terms and conditions

News from WHELF

WHELF have recently issued a news update and this includes content  that will be of interest to colleagues not working in HE Libraries. Their email distribution list WHELF on www.jiscmail.ac.uk has recently been opened for all to join. 

WHELF: Wales Higher Education Libraries Forum
March 2013: an update  
 
WHELF actively promotes the work of higher education libraries in Wales and provides a focus for the development of new ideas and services.
 
At our recent meeting in February, these were some of the topics under discussion:

1. WHELF Strategy and Vision

A working group led by Sue Hodges is developing a new strategy and vision for WHELF. The purpose of this new strategy is to outline a clear vision for WHELF over the next two years and to set a new direction and culture following recent changes within Wales and within the HE sector generally. We are all working within an environment where there is a constant need to deliver innovative services within financial constraints.

This new strategy is an opportunity to reposition WHELF within Wales as a collaborative partnership: one which will help us meet the current political agenda and demands from our own institutions and one which will help us realise cost benefits via potential shared services and collaborative e-resource deals.

2. Welsh Higher Education Libraries Shared LMS Services 

The final report of the Library Systems Shared Services Feasibility Study (Wales) has been presented to WHELF. It explores the potential for a shared Library Management System across all higher education institutions and the NHS libraries in Wales.

It has recommended that setting up an All-Wales Consortium with formal governance is the best option for provision of a shared service. A cloud solution hosted by a vendor (or open source vendor) is the preferred option, because this will provide the most cost-effective resilient solution.  The report was accepted in its entirety and WHELF have agreed that they want to pursue the option of developing a shared LMS in line with the report's recommendations.

A summary of the report is available on the WHELF website. 

3. Walk-in Access Wales

WHELF’s project to enable walk-in access to electronic resources in Welsh HE libraries is almost complete.  A toolkit will be published shortly and a walk-in access solution has been implemented at the pilot site at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, as well as at Cardiff University and Cardiff Metropolitan University.

On 1st February over 30 librarians from public, further education, national and academic libraries and staff from JANET UK and CyMAL came together to discuss walk-in access to electronic resources. Following the excellent presentations there was a lively debate, followed by workshop sessions on advocacy and marketing together with technical solutions and access management. Presentations and detailed notes from the discussions and workshops can be viewed here.

4. Welsh Higher Education Electronic Library (WHEEL)

A new steering group has convened to look at further development of collaborative purchase of e-resources in Wales. Find out more.

5. The Welsh experience of World War One 1914-1918

The WHELF WW1 digitisation project, led by the National Library, is going well and is on schedule for completion in July. Most printed and paper archival material has been scanned. There are some very interesting stories and photos on the blog, including how the materials are being used for teaching students. The digital collection will be available online and People’s Collection Wales, a project partner, is currently inviting the public to become a part of the project by bringing their materials along to one of a series of events where staff will be on hand to scan letters, photographs, certificates, postcards, diaries and any other documents or memorabilia.
Find out more here

6. WHELF News

Members of WHELF past and present met at the National Library of Wales on 7th February. The occasion was to celebrate and mark Andrew Green’s forthcoming retirement from the National Library and his huge contribution to WHELF over the many years he has chaired the group. His energy, expertise and commitment to WHELF will be very sadly missed. Photo. 

In the interim it has been agreed that Janet Peters will take on the role of Chair, so WHELF is still in safe hands!

Thanks were also expressed to Rebecca Davies who has been looking after WHELF finances very ably for the past few years as Treasurer. We are grateful to Julie Hart who has now taken on the role of Treasurer.

Finally ... this is my last bulletin for WHELF as I am leaving in April to spend more time on our B&B and holiday cottage in Pembrokeshire. I have very much enjoyed working for WHELF, especially as it has given me a wonderful  opportunity to meet so many of you over the last few years. I will always be grateful for your friendship and support. If you would like to find out what I'm doing, please have a look at our Facebook page (all "likes" welcome!) or our website. 

Sue Mace

Development Officer

WHELF: Wales Higher Education Libraries Forum

http://whelf.wordpress.com/

https://twitter.com/WHELFed

Health Libraries Group Wales Study Day - rescheduled to Tuesday 23 April 2013

Health Libraries Group Wales Study Day - rescheduled to Tuesday 23 April 2013

The HLG Wales Study Day has been re-scheduled from 26th March to Tuesday 23 April. The event will still take place at the Royal College of Nursing in Cardiff. 

Apologies for any inconvenience caused, but I'm positive that this will be a day worth waiting for! 

The day will provide a fascinating insight into:

• using smartphones to provide access to key medical texts
• the open-access debate, and how Cardiff University are responding
• a video conferenced session with colleagues from the University of Sheffield School of Health and Related Research
• the virtual enquiry service provided for RCN members in Wales

This event will also provide lots of useful networking opportunities and time to find out more about HLGW. Please support this event! Further details are given below.

Health Libraries Group Wales (HLGW)

Spring Study Day & AGM - Tuesday 23rd April 2013

RCN Wales

Ty Maeth

King George V Drive East

Cardiff

CF14 4XZ 

10.00am to 4.00pm - including lunch – cost £15.00

 (Please make cheques payable to ‘Health Libraries Group Wales’)

Programme for the Day

10.00                    Coffee & Registration / Welcome & Introduction by Joint Chairs

10.30                           iDOC Team - Smartphones on the ward?

foundation doctors' experiences of using electronic texts to support workplace learning – Prof Alison Bullock and Dr Rebecca Dimond - Curemede, Cardiff University

11.30                          The Finch Report and Open Access Publishing 

                              Sonja Haerkoenen – Cardiff University

                                     

12.30                          Lunch

1.30                                       A Free Web Toolkit for the Modern Library

                                    Andy Tattersall & Claire Beecroft – SCHARR (School of Health & Related Research) University of Sheffield (presentation delivered remotely from Sheffield)

2.30                       Virtual Enquiries at the Royal College of Nursing 

                                    RCN Library, Archives and Information Services

                                     

3.00                             Coffee

3.30                         HLGW Annual General Meeting

4.00                             Close

I would like to attend the HLG Wales Spring Study Day

Name:

Job Title:

Organisation:

Work address:

Postcode:

Tel:                                                  Email:

I am/am not a member of the Health Libraries Group Wales

Please indicate whether you require a vegetarian/non-vegetarian meal 

Any other special requirements:

Please return booking form (with payment cheque) to:

Pat Duxbury

p/t Care Sciences Information Librarian

University of Glamorgan

Glyntaff Campus LRC

Treforest

CF37 1DL

Tel: 01443 483151

Email: pduxbury@glam.ac.uk

Event Announcement

Youth Library Group Wales Day School

THE NEWPORT CENTRE, NEWPORT.  APRIL 26TH 2013 

What makes teenagers tick? Working with young adults in libraries

Keynote speaker: Dr Mel Gibson, comics scholar & consultant

Also Technocamps, 'Inspiring Creative Fun' with ICT

£65.00 including refreshments throughout the day.

Non CILIP members welcome.

E mail angelanoble@monmouthshire.gov.uk for bookings

Programme

10:00  Coffee & registration

10:30  Welcome by the Chair

10:35  Dr Mel Gibson

           Comics scholar & consultant        

1:00    LUNCH

1:45    Technocamps

3:00    Closing remarks

3:30     Finish

Dr Mel Gibson

Dr Mel Gibson is a UK based comics scholar and consultant. She has run training and promotional events about comics and graphic novels for libraries, schools and other organizations for twenty years. Working extensively promoting and enthusing about comics, graphic novels and manga; working with young adults in libraries is something that Mel is passionate about. We are very pleased to welcome her to our day school.

Technocamps

Technocamps is an exciting project that provides free workshops to young people on programming, robotics, game design, app development and much more……

It is about getting young people (11-19 years) in Wales excited about Computer Science and STEM and challenging them to think about the world around them in a different way.  This is your chance to find out more.

Aims of the Day

• To better understand the needs of young adult service users as library professionals.
• To demonstrate how visual literacy can offer an exciting approach to reading & writing.
• To consider innovative ways of engaging young adults in a library environment: developing the core library offer.
• To share good practice. 

The Newport Centre

1 Kingsway, NEWPORT. South Wales. NP20 1UH. Telephone: (01633) 656 757

Travel by rail: Direct trains from Wrexham in under 2.5hrs. Direct trains from Swansea in under 1.5hrs.

The Newport Centre is less than a mile from Newport Train Station & can be reached easily on foot.

Day School Fees & Booking

The course will cost £65 including VAT and a buffet lunch.

Please inform us of any dietary requirements.                                                     

Please make cheques payable to Wales Youth Libraries Group.  Please reply no later than 19^th April 2013.

Please email the following information to angelanoble@monmouthshire.gov.uk

Delegate Name:

Address:

Invoice Address (if different)

Telephone number:

Email Address:

Dietary Requirements:

Published on behalf of the YLG Wales. YLG is a Special Interest Group of CILIP.

Charity No: 313014
VAT No: GB 233 1573 87

 

Health Libraries Group Wales event- Tuesday 26 March 2013

Great news! The recently reformed Health Libraries Group in Wales have announced the programme for their Spring Study Day  to be held on Tuesday 26th March 2013 at the Royal College of Nursing in Cardiff.

The day will provide a fascinating insight into:

• using smartphones to provide access to key medical texts
• the open-access debate, and how Cardiff University are responding
• a video conferenced session with colleagues from the University of Sheffield School of Health and Related Research
• the virtual enquiry service provided for RCN members in Wales

This event will also provide lots of useful networking opportunities and time to find out more about HLGW. Please support this event! Further details are given below.

Health Libraries Group Wales (HLGW)

Spring Study Day & AGM - Tuesday 26^th March 2013

RCN Wales

Ty Maeth

King George V Drive East

Cardiff

CF14 4XZ 

10.00am to 4.00pm - including lunch – cost £15.00

 (Please make cheques payable to ‘Health Libraries Group Wales’)

Programme for the Day

10.00                    Coffee & Registration / Welcome & Introduction by Joint Chairs

10.30                           iDOC Team - Smartphones on the ward?

foundation doctors' experiences of using electronic texts to support workplace learning – Prof Alison Bullock and Dr Rebecca Dimond - Curemede, Cardiff University

11.30                          The Finch Report and Open Access Publishing 

                              Sonja Haerkoenen – Cardiff University

                                     

12.30                          Lunch

1.30                                       A Free Web Toolkit for the Modern Library

                                    Andy Tattersall & Claire Beecroft – SCHARR (School of Health & Related Research) University of Sheffield (presentation delivered remotely from Sheffield)

2.30                       Virtual Enquiries at the Royal College of Nursing 

                                    RCN Library, Archives and Information Services

                                     

3.00                             Coffee

3.30                         HLGW Annual General Meeting

4.00                             Close

I would like to attend the HLG Wales Spring Study Day

Name:

Job Title:

Organisation:

Work address:

Postcode:

Tel:                                                  Email:

I am/am not a member of the Health Libraries Group Wales

Please indicate whether you require a vegetarian/non-vegetarian meal 

Any other special requirements:

Please return booking form (with payment cheque) to:

Pat Duxbury

p/t Care Sciences Information Librarian

University of Glamorgan

Glyntaff Campus LRC

Treforest

CF37 1DL

Tel: 01443 483151

Email: pduxbury@glam.ac.uk

Welsh Minister announces extra £150,000 for tackling child poverty through cultural institutions

Speaking in the National Assembly for Wales yesterday (5 February 2013) the Minister for Housing, Regeneration and Heritage, Huw Lewis AM, pledged an additional £150,000 to help museums, libraries and archives in Wales adopt and enhance initiatives to help eradicate child poverty. This additional funding is earmarked for work that will widen access and participation, providing a step-change in increased participation in museums, archives and libraries by the poorest families in Wales. Museums, archives and libraries open minds and open doors to previously closed areas of society.We must work to preserve library services in these very difficult financial times, but that we should simultaneously and pro-actively work to ensure that no one is excluded from using these services.

The Minister's statement is available via the attached Senedd.tv clip and runs for approximately 30 minutes including questions. Full transcript of the Senedd item will of course be available via the Record of Proceedings.  Below I have tried to summarise key points from the session for wider dissemination.





In brief overview the Minister noted [points in bold emphasised by me]:

• Museums, archives and libraries (MAL) do play an important role, along with other aspects of Civil Society and the Government in Wales, in working towards the eradication of child poverty. MAL provide gateways to knowledge, lifelong learning and increased understanding. They collectively work to reduce inequalities by being open to all, helping to improve life chances, developing skills and improving quality of life. The sector nurtures aspiration. These results arise not just because of financial resourcing for the sector, but result through the committed attitude of staff and volunteers.
• Commended the development of Child Poverty strategies by the National Museum for Wales and the National Library for Wales. By working in partnership with Communities First and Families First schemes both organisations have recently involved an additional 600 children and young people.
• Looking specifically at public libraries the Minister noted that they provide safe, welcoming environments with free access to resources - vital within the context of helping to eradicate child poverty. The Minister drew special attention to:
• the Incomplete field guide to wellbeing and libraries - recently launched (see this blog entry)
• improving literacy levels in Wales is central to the national strategy Libraries Inspire, emphasising the importance of sharing books and reading with children
• multi-agency approaches: delivering Book Start which now reaches 95% of families ; Flying Start now frequently use public libraries as venues for their activities and meetings.
• investment in children's public library services which can lead to increased number of children's visits to libraries of  an additional 50%.
• essential work in supporting adults - work that will have implications for eradicating child poverty. For example, assisting with job searches, improving and helping internet use - especially crucial where government services are increasingly only delivered online.

The additional £150k announced yesterday comes on top of the previously identified funding of £2.9M, and is specifically earmarked for work that will widen access and participation, working towards a step-change in increased participation in MAL by the poorest families. In this way MAL can enrich the lives of the poorest children and help them out of poverty. 

Museums, archives and libraries open minds and open doors to previously closed off areas of society.          Huw Lewis 5/2/13

Questions in the Chamber broadly supported and welcomed this statement, but there were some concerns and challenges:

• How will success be measured? How will this extra funding be directed - overcoming transport barriers, on broadband internet? Not directly answered by the Minister, but he noted:
•  the increasing thirst for accessing Welsh Culture, noting the free entry policy for national museum sites, and increasing availability of online access. 
• where investment has been made in children's library services then 50% increase in usage is seen. Wales is the only part of the UK where we still continue to see increasing numbers of public library visits.
• Given current public sector budget cuts how can we ensure viable public libraries, given the tendency to cut cultural services before other things? In response, the Minister said:
• In Wales cultural budgets certainly aren't the first targets for cuts. The Minister noted the situation in England where there is almost daily news of significant cuts to libraries, including reports of mass closures. The Minister is determined that this will not happen in Wales. Yes, these are times for imagination and investment; solutions such as co-location may work well.
•  his commitment to the public library service in Wales, again re-iterating that all powers will be used, and measures taken in order to ensure "comprehensive public library services" as required by the Museums and Public Libraries Act 1964.
• There was concern and doubt whether this additional money would need to be spent within the current financial year. If so, this may only give a couple of months for expenditure to occur.
• Jenny Rathbone AM (Cardiff Central) noted the recently announced cuts in Cardiff Public Libraries of £22M, but that no library will close. Libraries will be open on 5 days per week including Saturdays, instead of 6 days. The importance of story times, rhyme time, language and play sessions in deprived areas was noted, especially given that books aren't a central feature in many homes in of the poorest families. But how will the money be targeted?
• The Minister noted that the emphasis must not be on just preserving library services in very difficult financial times. The additional funding announced demonstrates the Welsh Government's desire to embark on an historic shift of who benefits from cultural organisations. We need to be pro-active in ensuring that no one is excluded.

Update

Welsh Government published the related news story on 7th February 2013 http://wales.gov.uk/newsroom/cultureandsport/2013/130207changingcultures/