Blogging against Disablism Day
Wednesday was Blogging against Disablism Day, and there are links to lots of interesting posts up at Diary of a Goldfish. Of especial interest to library folk is this post by Lounalune, which I think is a nice reminder about the importance of offering help (and remembering to ask for it).
Libraries@Cambridge 2013
I had a friend recently express surprise that I was thinking of doing a Masters in librarianship, because ‘all librarians need to know is the alphabet’.* This comment kept coming back to me at the libraries conference. I couldn’t help but be impressed by the sheer variety of work librarians do – from cataloguing to digitisation, designing exhibitions to teaching and even pastoral care.
However, that comment, coming as it did from a newly qualified teacher, does highlight the need for librarians as a profession to explain what it is they do, and why it is valuable. The two key note speeches addressed this issue. Liz Jolly of Teeside University discussed the idea of impact, and how it can be measured. I was especially struck by the importance aligning the library’s goals with those of the wider institution. Next came some very impressive graphs from the Library Impact Data Project, which put my rather simple spreadsheet of usage statistics to shame. It was really interesting seeing concrete date on different groups’ usage of library resources. I would love to see similar statistics for Cambridge, although that would be incredibly difficult, requiring consistent data collection from college and department libraries as well as the University Library, which have varied access and lending policies. I was also curious about how much of the difference between some of the categories, e.g. ethnicities, could be attributed to differences in subject choices.
For the morning break-out sessions I went to the talk on special collections and exhibitions. It was really fascinating to hear about the processes and decisions behind exhibitions. Although I think I am an oddity as I always want more words in exhibitions – I want to know where items originally came from and how the museum acquired them and what happened to them in the mean time.
The afternoon session on the future of cataloguing began on a slightly despondent note – along the lines of “If cataloguers do not change, you will drown.” Which is probably accurate, actually. One of the contributors from the panel was not a cataloguer, and I think that actually gave the most important insight into the future. The data produced by cataloguers will be increasingly used in different ways, different forms of digitisation and online projects.
The Pecha Kucha session sounded odd but actually worked really well. Ange Fitzpatrick‘s session, ‘Teach ALL th things!’, amused me greatly. (I recently watched Lord of the Rings for the first time and kept getting excited because of the bits I recognised from the Internet.) The talk on pastoral care in college libraries had me nodding along in agreement; library staff certainly have an important (if informal) role in looking after students.
This was my first library conference and it’s set a high bar – I shall forever expect Danish pastries in at tea breaks!
The official live blog is up a the Libraries@Cambridge blog, which I’m very glad of as it meant I could catch up on the sessions I missed! There are also round-ups at Librarian in Training and Library Wanderer.
*OK, she actually said ‘albaphet’, but the point stands.
Quote of the day.
“Libraries can get very stuck in their ways and hostile to new folk, especially when new folk breathe fire at the Special Collections.”
Catherynne Valente, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There (Corsair:2012)
I thoroughly recommend the two Fairyland books by Valente – and not just because there’s character who is part library and part wyvern. Tor.com has the first five chapters of the first book and a short story by the author.
Recent library blog reading
In Pursuit of History – Love Triangle – Libraries, Archives and Writing Fight It Out. (I’ve faced a very similar dilemma!)
Cup of Tea and Scone – My Future, My Profession
Twinset & Purls – a serious post on Applying to library school and amusing geekery on why Giles is not a very good librarian.
And lastly, from The Professional Book Nerd – How to catalog a live dog (I’d put a full stop after the cm in the 300 field, but then I’m picky like that.)
The value of a book beyond words
In my possession I have one family heirloom – a copy of of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. It was awarded to my great-great-grandfather as a prize for attendance at Sunday school in 1898.
Unfortunately it’s not in the best condition. Most of the pages are foxed (turning brown) and several of them are loose. It’s also rather large and heavy, so not the easiest thing to read.
Instead I’m reading the Oxford World Classics edition, with the back-up of my Kindle dictionary.
It’s a challenging read; it’s in an unfamiliar style and language as well as being packed with biblical references. I’m aware that although I’ve had more formal education than most of my ancestors, they were more well-versed in the Bible and Christian doctrine than me. Between my great-great-grandfather attending Sunday school and my grandmother’s plan to become a missionary, there’s a legacy of religious commmitment and knowlege that ended in the generation above me. I have a different kind of literacy, both in terms of technology and my academic training.
The book has a signature from 1934 by an M. Poole, probably my great-aunt Marion. I know my grandmother kept it and read it, even leaving a book mark in it when she died.
So my copy of The Pilgrim’s Progress isn’t great for reading, and almost certainly isn’t worth much money, but it has great value to me. This particular book is a connection to my family’s past, and its preservation is a symbol of what they valued.
Footnotes and folios 