Visit to University of Reading Special Collections Library

On Thursday 28th April, CILIP TV ran a visit to the Special Collections Department at the University of Reading. The following account of the trip has been very kindly supplied by Sophie Dorman:

 Our trip to the special collections at the University of Reading began with some of us having an informal chat while we waited for everybody to arrive. The different people in the tour group came from a wide variety of backgrounds and careers so it was really interesting listening to everyone’s different experiences.

Our guide for the event was Erika Delbecque, one of the librarians for the University Museums and Special Collections Services. The event began with a quick introduction and a tour of the building. The special collections service shares a building with the Museum of English Rural Life (which was unfortunately closed during our visit), and the building was originally a hall of residence for the students at the university. As such, it was not at all purpose built for a library, and it was very interesting to see how the staff had made the most of the space they had available. Our tour took us to the Reading Room and into a room which housed the Samuel Beckett collection. There were several other rooms which contained other collections as well. After the tour we sat down for a short talk about the service and the collections which can be found there.

The collection has many strengths, including children’s books, the history of publishing, and rare books about science and medicine. Erika explained that their collection development policy generally focussed on building on existing strengths rather than developing new ones. However, since the existing strengths already cover an extremely wide range of subjects the librarians find that very academically diverse groups of students and researchers make use of the service, and users are not limited to one or two areas of study. We also found out more about the acquisitions process, with many books being donated to the collection but others being especially picked out and purchased by the library. It was interesting hearing about the compromises that had to be made in order to house the special collections in the building, including how a separate area needed to be built in order to provide things like climate control for the preservation of rare books.

Photo courtesy of
Jeff Howarth TUC Library Collections

 

The highlight of the event for me was the showcase of some of the items in the collection. These included a 15^th century printed book still with its original binding (and with contemporary notes written in the back!), one of the Orlando (The Marmalade Cat) books by University of Reading alumna Kathleen Hale, and a souvenir from the Great Exhibition. We had plenty of time to examine and ask questions about these items, and were even allowed to take photographs. Once the event had finished we also had the opportunity to have a look around the special collections’ Ex Libris exhibition, which concerned marks of ownership in rare books.

 

All in all it was a very rewarding trip, and I found it especially interesting as I have an interest in special collections but currently work in an environment which is very far removed from what we saw on the trip. A big thank you to Erika for being our guide and to Sonja for organising the event.

A day in the life of a librarian: Nora Khayi, St Hugh’s College Library, University of Oxford

This month's posting in the "day in the life" series is from Nora- our fantastic Secretary for CILIP in Thames Valley, and who is also Publicity Officer, for the South East Member Network- so a very busy lady indeed! Here is her account of a typical day:

I am the Librarian at St Hugh’s College Library in Oxford: The Howard Piper Library. The College has about 700 students (undergraduates and graduates) and is situated in beautiful grounds in north Oxford. The view from my office window looks out on our renowned garden and always surprises me by its splendour.

The Howard Piper Library is one of biggest college libraries in Oxford. This is notably due to its historical heritage: founded in 1886, the College was for woman only and, as they were not allowed into the central library until the early 1920s, Women's College libraries tend to have been built up larger collections to respond to that issue. St Hugh’s has about 80,000 books held mainly on open access. We also do have a small Special Collection with such wonders as a 1st edition of Hobbe’s Leviathan. I am responsible for the management and development of the collection as well as for providing information, resources and services to members of the College. Managing the library collection includes managing risks, opportunities, challenges and value of the collection. So let me talk you through a typical day in the library…

I arrive in College between 8:30 and 9:00 and the first thing I do is to have a coffee while checking my emails. The Senior Library Assistant goes through the morning daily tasks and there are always unexpected tasks for me such as emailing our students regarding food in the library, or our security alarm. Going through my emails I respond to queries from students and Fellows, as well as dealing with emails regarding overdue books, meetings, or training. At any time, I like walking around the library – students then have the opportunity to catch me and ask questions, or just have a chat, and I have the opportunity to remind them that no cans of coke or other liquids as well as no chocolate bars are allowed in the library.

This morning I have a meeting with the management team of College. The team constitutes Head of Departments in College in a roundtable where we discuss particular topics, events of the week and share good practices. This usually could take up quite a bit of time depending on what is happening in College. There are also a lot of emails that are circulated from this team which requires time.
One of my primary tasks is acquisition of new and relevant materials for the students. We do not specialise in any subject and I work very closely with our College Fellows who in the best scenarios are very willing and proactive at providing reading lists and emailing me every time there is a new publication of a relevant book in their subject.

I also liaise with subject librarians in the different faculties to obtain new reading lists. I spend a fair amount of my time liaising with academics and librarians and ordering books. Moreover, we also have a book suggestion form that students use to recommend books from their core course reading lists. This is rather popular among our students and on a daily basis I look into their recommendations and correspond with them. If their request is successful, I’ll order the book and let them know.

Most days, I’ll have a small pile of books that the Senior Library Assistant leaves on my desk which requires cataloguing, I also have regular meetings with the team, the archivist, the bursar, and I write policies and proposals for our library committee to discuss and approve. While term is going ever so fast, I am thinking ahead and planning projects for the vacation periods – the most recent ones have been to write an in-house classification scheme for our English section to follow the curriculum and to reclassify over 7000 books over the summer. All of this is happening while we cover the enquiries of students walking into the office because they couldn't find a book, or who need a book from the stack, or can’t find an article, or just need a stapler!

At some point in the day I have lunch, probably sat next to one of our Fellows, where discussion on the library continues, and as a result, books will be bought, Fellows will come to the library to look at their section, reading lists will be sent…or in some cases a discussion goes on and nothing will happen. I have to say that I feel very lucky at St Hugh’s, Fellows really value and appreciate the Library and are ready to get involved.

While I am writing this note, I’m looking through the office door, the lobby area is full of students working away, my emails have grown since the last time I checked and I have a pile of books on my desk waiting for me…the day is not over yet

A day in the life of a librarian: Anna Richards, University of Reading

A version of this post was first published on the LISNPN (lisnpn.co.uk) website

Following on from Vicky's 'day in the life' post here is the experience of another liaison librarian, this time at the University of Reading. Unfortunately I kept forgetting to write down exactly what I was doing on one set day so my post is more like a description of typical tasks I may do from one day to the next.

My job title is Trainee Liaison Librarian and there are three of us at Reading. These posts aim to give you a range of experiences within an academic library and to support you through Chartership, giving you a solid start within the profession. My liaison responsibilities include Classics and Philosophy and I also work with Library User Services (LUS), which handles registration and circulation of stock.

A typical day starts with an hours' stint on the Ground Floor Information Desk with my LUS hat on. My role here is to be the first port of call for any questions about using the Library, to handle any new registrations, and to help with any account queries. I often also complete my other daily LUS tasks whilst on the Information Desk which are to help with SCONUL Access and External Borrower registrations and to answer emails that come through to the general library email account.

I then may move on to ordering new items, particularly at the beginning and end of terms as we get new reading lists through. Most of the reading list checking is done by other members of staff but I decide how many new copies of an item we need and place the order with the Acquisitions department. It's been very interesting for me to learn the different ways my subjects use Library resources and research material – Classics is much more book heavy than Philosophy, for example. As well as ordering new items from reading lists I also liaise with the departments regarding new journal subscriptions and new e-resources, as well as any other orders they may have.

At the moment I am planning and preparing for some teaching sessions I have coming up and this is another big part of my liaison role. As a liaison librarian you have to prepare and present teaching sessions of varying sizes, from lectures to small group workshops. At first it can be quite daunting but there's a lot of support in the Library and I find it very rewarding to know I'm helping students in their studies. You are also expected to volunteer to help with general Library sessions, such as the Inductions for first years or Endnote training sessions. Personally I prefer smaller workshops as I feel that you are better able to teach students how to use Library resources effectively, but it's a good challenge to think of how to make lectures more engaging. I've recently completed the University's Academic Practice Programme, which is primarily aimed at new academics. This gave me a good grounding in teaching practice and made me really think about new ways of teaching students.

As well as having liaison and LUS roles I am the Shelving Supervisor for the Arts and Humanities floor and the supervisor of the students who work in the Library as part of our shelving operations. As the Shelving Supervisor I have regular meetings with my shelving team to discuss any issues that I or they may have noticed or to discuss any changes we might want to make to our processes. The Library has recently undergone refurbishment so this was a busy time for shelving moves! The students who work in the Library also help with our shelving operations and as their supervisor I am in charge of recruitment and training as well as creating their weekly rota. This has been a challenging but very rewarding role.

Other activities I may have include staffing the Information Desk on the Arts and Humanities floor, updating the Library website for LUS or for the Arts and Humanities team, holding drop-in sessions in Classics and Philosophy, subject cataloguing of new books in my subjects, creating the termly newsletter for the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, attending meetings in my departments or within the Library and, of course, sending and answering many emails!

So the role of a Trainee Liaison Librarian here at the University of Reading is very varied but that allows you to experience many different aspects of working in an academic library and gives you a wide range of skills and experience to draw on. It has definitely been a very rewarding experience.

Anna Richards

Visiting Oxford Brookes’ new library

This blog post was kindly written by Helen Matthews, Assistant Librarian (Periodicals) Nuffield College Library. She is also responsible for the rather fab photos. You can contact Helen via Twitter @helen_281.

Wednesday 2nd July saw an eager group arrive at Oxford Brookes University’s new library in Headington. The library opened in February 2014 and is located inside the university’s new John Henry building. Taking up 6,500m², the library holds a dominant place on campus. We were led to the library’s large staff room for tea and (delicious) cakes whilst we were given an introduction by Helen Workman (Director of Learning Resources & University Librarian).

We learnt that plans for the new building started as far back as 2007 when architects were appointed. The library’s brief for their place in the new building was:

• to be an inspirational space for study, learning, and research
• for it to be easy for users to access information
• to facilitate improvement of library services
• to be IT enabled
• to be easy to navigate
• to have a range of working spaces
• to have self-service machines

The creation of the new library wasn’t without its issues. Because of neighbours living next door to the campus, the building lost a floor but gained a basement in return. The building was supposed to be ready to open in September 2013 in time for the new academic year but eventually opened in February. Opening in term-time meant that the old library had to be closed on a Friday as material was moved to the new library. Impressively, this was achieved in four days and the new library opened the following Wednesday.

Once we had finished devouring cake, the group was split into two and we were given tours by Jan Haynes (Head of Service Development and Delivery) and Dave Nolan (Head of Buildings Development). The immediate impression was of a large, light, airy, and open space with an atrium, called the Forum, which the library wraps around. Heading up to the fourth floor offers an excellent view of the Forum on the ground floor where there is a café and casual seating area. Here people were working independently and in groups, and using their laptops whilst consuming their purchases from the café.

The library houses 300,000 books, a collection that was weeded before being moved from the old library, and has 1,000 study spaces. There are student presentation rooms and group work spaces where the furniture is moveable to adapt to peoples’ needs. There are also coaching areas for taster sessions, a help zone for one-to-one assistance, training rooms, carrel-type desks for more independent study, a special collections reading room (which is still under construction), and an assistive technology suite. During the planning period, focus groups were held to find out what people wanted from the library space, which included testing furniture, as well as a wider consultation that included everybody in the university.

Although the library is complete (except for the special collections reading room), staff are still reviewing and making amendments. Because the space is so open and (some) of the furniture is moveable, they are able to change the layout of working spaces and adapt them to what people need. Similarly, the different noise zones are monitored and considered for change.

Visiting Oxford Brookes’ new library gave a sense of what a modern library should be. Returning to the library’s brief, they have been successful in creating an inspirational space. The architecture itself lends to this with the suspended lecture theatre and pink windows that bathe corridors in a soft light. The library has excellent facilities that meet the needs of the modern student and makes their experience rewarding. Attention to detail, like the frosted windows with microscopic cellular images, is a subtle touch that makes you feel like you are in a place that has been carefully constructed with the users’ in mind through every step of the building’s creation. Although signage is being revised and working areas monitored with the potential for change, this simply shows how library staff seek to continually improve the users’ experience and meet their requirements.

We were interested to learn that the library is open to anybody with no restrictions on who can walk in and consult its material, which helps to fulfil the library’s aim to provide easy access to information. Head counts reveal that use of the library is increasing, which shows that libraries are able to adapt to the modern world and that people still appreciate them.

This was an excellent trip with informative tour guides and I would encourage people to visit this new library.

Library Camp 2012: 13th October, Birmingham

This guest post comes from Charlie Lythgoe (@maniccharlie), Assistant Information Specialist, NHS Blood and Transplant, Oxford, about her experience of the runaway success that is Library Camp UK, which took place last month.  All the more welcome as we had to cancel our November event. Over to Charlie...

On Saturday 13th October, I attended Library Camp 2012 in Birmingham. This is the second year a UK-wide Library Camp has been held, and there have also been smaller regional spin-off events. Library Camp is described as an “unconference”, which their website defines as an event where “participants decide on the programme at the beginning of the event, working on the principle that the sum of the knowledge, experience and expertise of the people in the room is likely to be greater than that of those on the stage at traditional conferences.”

This democratic, participatory approach was also evident during the planning stages, as a wiki was set up where participants could suggest ideas for sessions they would either like to present or to attend. Oh, and suggestions for cake too! Apparently, library camps are renowned for their cakes. Unfortunately, I didn’t have to time to bake anything but many people were more organised than me and turned up with an astonishing amount of whoopee pies, tiffin, brownies, cupcakes etc etc ...

The day began with people pitching ideas for sessions they’d like to lead. These were placed on post-it notes and a rough-and-ready programme was quickly assembled on a flipchart.

The first session I attended was on mental health in libraries, led by Penny Bronchia. This examined the language and attitudes we use in libraries to deal with mental illness in library users and colleagues. We discussed the way that mental health is still a taboo topic that unsettles many people, in a way that other issues (e.g. sexuality and race) largely do not. Should people with a mental health condition be “out” at work? While this may initially cause awkwardness, it can help raise awareness and tolerance among colleagues. Also, by not disclosing a mental health condition, it can be harder to access any support or assistance that the organisation can provide. We discussed how managers can best support employees with mental health conditions and we heard about schemes and reading groups some public library services run for their users.

For my second session, I chose to hear about free and open-source software from Liz Jolly and Andrew Preater. Andrew has already written a comprehensive blog post about this session, so I won’t write at length about it. We talked specifically about what OS software is and what roles it can play. But we also placed it in context by discussing why organisations may be resistant to OS software, how the collaborative mindset present in OS development can trickle in to other areas of work and what skills are necessary in the OS workplace.  I was struck in this session, as in many of the others, at the incredible depth of knowledge and expertise possessed and shared by those who weren’t leading the sessions. If this were a “normal” conference rather than an unconference, then these views would largely remain unheard.

Next, I went to a talk about classification. This session wasn’t as lively as the first two ... perhaps we’d all gone too long without a trip to the cake tables. We shared experiences of classification successes and failures, the pros and cons of in-house versus standard (e.g. LC or Dewey) systems, and the tendency for classification decisions to reflect the need of library staff rather than the need of the user. We wondered how libraries could go about systematically measuring the success of different classification schemes, in terms of how quickly users could find what they needed. We mused on how relevant traditional concepts of classification are for e-resources, especially since there isn’t the “I can only put this book in one place, even if it addresses two topics equally” mindset. E-resources can be “located” in as many locations as the user needs them to be (I recommend the book Everything is Miscellaneous for a good discussion of categorisation in the digital world).

Some participants felt there was a lack of sessions focused on academic libraries, so Christina Harbour squeezed a general academic libraries forum on to the flipchart. I feared that this was too big a topic to generate any meaningful dialogue, but we all had a very good attempt! I’ll just list some of the questions that were thrown in to the mix:

• What impact will the rise in tuition fees have?
• (How) should libraries ‘brand’ their e-resources, to demonstrate the link to the physical library?
• How can we involve academics in the work of the library?
• How do we demonstrate or quantify the value that libraries have?
• Are converged library and IT services a good idea?
• Does outsourcing work? If so, what services can be outsourced?
• Should members of the public be allowed to use academic libraries?
• How do libraries contribute to the employability agenda of universities?

Whew! I feel like we covered as much ground as I did in a whole term of the Academic Libraries module of my MSc, mainly because of the wide range of experiences and backgrounds that were shared.

I then went to a session about the logistics of lending out iPads to library users. Personally, I’d be concerned about the chances of loss or damage, but those sharing their experiences said that this was minimal. We discussed whether users should be allowed to use the iPads outside the library or off the premises, and what state they should be returned in (i.e. delete all photos and log out of Facebook and Twitter). The range of educational apps (for students, medical professionals, scientists etc) is growing all the time, but it can be hard to evaluate the quality of these, and whether they represent value for money. It seemed to me that any library wishing to start lending iPads or other tablets to their users could learn an awful lot from other libraries who’ve already taken the same step.

For the final session of the day, I intended to go to a session on open access. Due to my muddling up the rooms, I ended up in a session on Roaming Libraries. By the time I’d realised my mistake, I’d already got into conversation with the people sat next to me, so thought it would be easier to stay put. A fortuitous mistake! The speaker, whose name I didn’t catch, runs The Itinerant Poetry Library. The name is fairly self-explanatory - she travels all around the world with a poetry library, which opens up for a time (this time can vary) in bars, cafes etc. Depending on how long the library is in a city, readers may be able to take books away with them. They can then check on Twitter to see where the library will be over the next few days so that they know where to return the book.

 I learnt about Radical Reference, who are a group of professional volunteers working with political activists in the USA. Any questions that can’t be answered on the ground can be relayed back to a back-up team who will use their resources to find the answer. And then there’s the Mile High Reference Desk, who provide an information service to passengers on planes! Unlike in many other sessions, this was an area that very few of us had experience in. But it was the last session of the day, and I liked how everyone shared related experiences and anecdotes from earlier sessions they had intended. For instance, there was an earlier session about living libraries, so someone fed back their experiences from this and wondered whether a roaming library of people would be feasible. Once again, if this were a “normal” conference, this opportunity to share and synthesise ideas from other sessions may not have been possible. So, while I don’t know what I missed in the open access session, I do now know some of the amazing ways that librarians are challenging our ideas of what and where a “library” is.

There was a tremendous amount of energy and passion on display at Library Camp 2012, which was particularly impressive since everyone had given up a day of their weekend and many of us had travelled a long way early in the morning.  The conversations that started at Library Camp have continued on Twitter and blogs, and will hopefully generate some great new ideas and good practice.