Island Life: St Mary’s Library, Isles of Scilly. By Linda Thomas, Librarian.

St Mary’s Library has moved around over the past 40 years. When I worked in it previously it was sited at the old school just out of town, then downsized to the Wesleyan Chapel in the town, then downsized again to the old ‘Job Centre’ room, then moved to another site at the new school. Then nine years ago, it finally came here to this wonderful modernised old building by Porthcressa beach with glorious views out of the window.   

  

Like many libraries we have had to embrace change to survive and with the closure of the main reception area for our Unitary Council, the Library has now taken on the role of ‘One Stop Shop’/ Council reception.  Because of this our opening hours and staffing have had to change and adapt. We have gone from 10-12.30 & 2.30-4.30 each weekday, to 9-4.30 hence additional staff needed to cover. My role has remained as Librarian and I work solely in the library unlike the other ‘Hub’ staff who share their time between library and the other council reception site. So my working day can include anything from taking money for council things (like tax, rent, licences, planning, waste site, selling waste sacks), booking visits to the dump, booking classes for the swimming pool, and adult learning and dealing with incoming post. Then there is the library work, issuing and discharging books, printing, signing up temporary members (we allow visitors to borrow books), organising any school visits or other events, exchanging books with Cornwall (generally about nine crates of assorted books every eight weeks) to keep our stock rolling. Organising events to launch such as The Reading Challenge, plus like most other libraries in holiday destinations you become the visitor information desk and are asked weird and wonderful things.  We are the only public library for our five inhabited Islands. We pay a service charge to Cornwall Council Libraries to enable our library members to access all the online services they offer, such as eBooks/eAudio plus the exchanging of 200+ books every eight weeks and staffing costs. 

Like most other Libraries, we were affected by Covid and haven’t yet returned to a full ‘pre-Covid’ service. We are still quarantining books (we use wheelie bins outside the door for this), we are still requesting masks be worn, we have a limit on visiting time and numbers allowed in at one time. We are still working behind a plastic screen which has worked wonderfully well. During lockdown we were coming into work but working behind closed doors. We were on reduced hours like many others. We answered the phones and scanned mail to Council workers and offered an Argos type of service for members (select books and collect) and offered home delivery.        

Pre lockdown our previous year had gone well. We were working with Island Partnership (tourism) to accommodate visiting authors (Kate Rhodes was the most recent), troubadours, children’s craft sessions.  As well as regular visits from children’s services holding story times, school class visits, Brownies, whist and bridge sessions, monthly book group meetings. We had a Telling Tales / Reading Aloud fortnightly session for adults, where anyone comes along and reads anything they like (poetry, a short anecdote, short paragraph from a book) out loud and finish with a cuppa. The library also offers weekly Computer support with a tutor in attendance for two hours. We also had a Christmas event: Santa in his Grotto at the Library!    I have been very lucky so far in having arty, creative, mums giving up their time to help with our displays (we discuss my ideas and they bring them to life) and the local Brownie group who create displays for us.  

We have a Facebook page and a blog which we put readers reviews on. Again, something else I have to do but unfortunately I am not very techie so am always reaching out for help. For the future, I would like to see our members being able to video link up with other libraries and their members, perhaps sharing things like the Telling Tales, or an online book group or just a social chat. So if any libraries out there have ideas how we could link I would love to hear from them. We are also looking to link more closely with the school and start a volunteer scheme for the summer. Do you have volunteers in your library, if so what jobs do they do?  I’d love to hear from you about what worked and what didn’t. 

Also, I’d love to hear from other libraries about any innovative fun events they may be running or new clubs.  Maybe we could set up a forum for this? 

Linda Thomas linda.thomas@scilly.gov.uk 

Five top book recommendations

The nights are long and the days are short, frosty and busy in the run up to the winter holidays. Now is a great time to snuggle up warm with a good book and a hot drink (and maybe the odd snack).

Here are some book recommendations from library and information professionals in the South West!

1. Gullible’s Travels: Experiences Amongst a Strange Tribe in a Not-Very-Remote Country

My recommended recent release on Kindle is “Gullible’s Travels: Experiences Amongst a Strange Tribe in a Not-Very-Remote Country” by Adam Brate.  Thoroughly enjoyed this tongue-in-cheek recounting of life as a university administrator; as I suspect anyone who has contact with education, universities & REF will do.  Particularly those who negotiate the waters between academics & support staff.  Fellow librarians might be horrified (but not unduly surprised) at the disconnect between all those involved and the library staff.  PS; worth reading the end notes as they appear in the text for an additional giggle.

Image from Amazon

2. The Dark is Rising Sequence

Favourite Re-read at this time of the year: Susan Cooper’s “The Dark is Rising Sequence”.  Officially a children’s series (I’m a great reader of children’s books) this has some of the best atmospheric descriptions of books for any age, IMO (in my opinion).  Far more than a classic good against evil tale, one minute the characters are immersed in a fantasy world of swirling myth & legend and the next they are late for tea. But some sections will raise the hairs on the back of your neck and some I still can’t read on my own at night.  Not because they are that dark, but because they are that real.  The 5 novels to indulge in, in order are : Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark is Rising; Grrenwitch; The Grey King; Silver on the Tree.

Image from Wiki

If you only have time to read one, then The Dark is Rising can be read out of order & is particularly appropriate at this time of the year as it starts on Mid Winter’s Eve and timeline covers Christmas Eve & Christmas Day; complete with snow.

“Ahead of him, the sun was going down, visible for the first time since his birthday morning.  It blazes out fat and gold-orange through a gap in the clouds, and all around the snow-silver world glittered with small flashes of light …. nobody had been along the path since the snow began; down there it lay untrodden, smooth and white and inviting, marked only by the picture-writing of birds’ footsteps.  Unexplored territory.  Will found it irresistible.”

3. The Chimes

“We seem to do dreadful things; we seem to give a great deal of trouble; we are always being complained of and guarded against. One way or another, we fill the papers. Talk of a New Year!” (Toby Veck in The Chimes)

I am a huge fan of Charles Dickens and re-read A Christmas Carol (1843) most winters. It was the first of five Christmas Books he wrote and was followed the next year with The Chimes that has its focus on New Year’s Eve rather than Christmas Eve. The story centres on a poor London street-porter named Toby Veck (nicknamed Trotty) and sees Dickens attack prevalent theories and mindsets held by the middle and upper classes who saw the poor as a superfluous irritant and at worst ‘born bad’ and naturally evil. Similar to A Christmas Carol, the book demonstrates a benevolence for the poor and appeals to the charitable sensibilities of the reader. The Chimes likewise includes elements of the supernatural as revealed in its subtitle: A Goblin Story. Church bells seem to call to Trotty on New Year’s Eve. He climbs a church tower and sees “phantoms, spirits, elfin creatures of the Bells” (see image below) who show Trotty what the future holds when mankind is crushed and repressed beyond bearing. Whether the story has a happy ending is debateable, I’ll let you decide. The story does however continue Dickens’ penchant for unusual names; a local shopkeeper is called Mrs Chickenstalker!

Charles Dickens has associations with the south west, particularly Devon. In the first chapter of Nicholas Nickleby the eponymous hero grows up on a small farm near Dawlish. At the same time as the novel was being published in monthly parts, Dickens was searching for a house for his parents as John Dickens had, not for the first time, fallen heavily into debt. Charles rented Mile End Cottage in Alphington (a mile outside Exeter) in 1839 where his parents lived for three and a half years.

Image from Wiki

4. The Expanse series

Perhaps among the greatest sci-fi book series I have ever come across, The Expanse is set in the not-really-that-distant-future. Humanity has reached beyond the boundaries of Earth and have made new societies and colonies in the solar system. Numerous factions have sprung up; the hard-working and downtrodden Belters, people who live their lives in space, often in mining colonies or makeshift ships. The richer classes own much of the wealth and live lavish lifestyles beyond our wildest dreams, while political classes bicker and attempt to out-maneuver each other for power and money. The colonised planet of Mars holds a fragile peace with Earth, an over-populated, polluted planet with dwindling resources. Earth however is still very much the greatest powerhouse in the solar system, but Mars, with its superior technologies and growing army, creates an uncertain balance of power.

In the centre of political turmoil and new, dangerous discoveries threatening humanity, a small crew of people with very different backgrounds band together, hopping from one nail-biting adventure to the next.

Definitely worth a read!

Image from Wiki

5. Affinity

Sarah Water’s second novel is a chilling Victorian tale of a troubled young woman, Margaret Prior, who visits and befriends women at Millbank prison. She hopes to escape her bleak situation and bring new meaning to her life, and help others in the process.

Margaret meets an incarcerated woman called Selina Dawes, a medium. She learns more about the mysterious spiritual world, and in the process, learns more about herself. But all is not as it seems, and Selina Dawes has motives of her own…

Affinity is a spooky books which touches on the supernatural. A great read for a long, cold winter night.

In The Frame: Putting Young Readers in the Picture – The CILIP YLG Conference

The CILIP YLG 2020 took place online due to the ongoing measures in place to protect against the spread of Covid 19.  A special microsite was created to host the sessions, which were available to watch live or on demand at a later time, right up to the 31^st December 2020.  I must say, receiving the link to access the microsite was like receiving the password to Aladdin’s cave!  There were sessions spread out throughout the week beginning 16^th November and two full days on Friday and Saturday.  I really appreciated the option to watch sessions on catch up so that I could still benefit from all the amazing content, but continue with my work and family responsibilities.

Sessions covered such varied topics as “Picturing the Past”, “Punching the Air”, “It’s a Mystery”, “Beyond the Secret Garden”, “The Art of Comic Absurdity” and the “Long Lost Library of the Memory”.  I loved the emphasis on the relationship between illustration and words for all ages – particularly enjoying the “Pictures Mean Business” session with Guy Bass, Pete Williamson and A F Harrold as they discussed the collaboration between authors and illustrators and the campaign to have illustrators’ names given joint billing with the authors on covers, in reviews and when cataloguing.  Seeing the process of the “Rising Stars” illustrators as they took us on a journey through their character development in their sketch books was fascinating. 

There was a plenty of opportunity to discuss the vital importance of representation throughout all areas of children’s literature, from Rose Robbins taking us through how her life experiences and work with Inclusive Minds informed her picture book “Talking is Not My Thing” which is from the point of view of a non-verbal neuro divergent character, to “Exploring Fatherhood in Picture Books” and the absolutely fantastic “Including Everyone in the Picture”.

Of course, I enjoyed all the author talks – what book lover wouldn’t with such a huge roster of top children’s authors? But as a first-time conference attendee, I was surprised by the number of opportunities to have fun and celebrate in a less traditional way.  This included a quiz by Britannica to tie in with the new Children’s Encyclopaedia; illustration workshops with Britta Teckentrup and Ross Collins; the celebration of award winners including the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway winners Anthony McGowan and Shaun Tan; and of course, the Gala celebration of the phenomenal Tiger, Tiger complete with readings and even more prizes!

I am very new to school librarianship, having only started working in a school a couple of days before the UK went into its first lockdown in March 2020.  The conference certainly opened my eyes and gave me lots of inspiration for ways I can use the library as a tool to improve their well-being, particularly the “Schools as Sanctuary” session where we thought about the reading journey and the “Top Tips to Build Kid’s Resilience” session with Matthew Syed.

It may sound silly, but taking part really helped me see authors are just normal people who are dedicated to bringing their work alive for their audiences.  This coupled with seeing first-hand the ease of using the technology has spurred me on to arrange online author visits for my pupils where before I had felt a bit hesitant in doing so.

I also benefitted from the online publishers exhibition area – I signed up for as many giveaways and competitions as I could for the age group I work with and received an extraordinary number of proofs and promotional materials as a result.  This has really informed my book buying this term and I have used some of the lovely tote bags, badges, pencils and postcards as prizes for World Book Day events.

The YLG’s support for children and families is more important than ever.  We all know that research shows that reading for pleasure not only improve life chances, but also supports mental health and well-being which is crucial in these uncertain times.  For me, attending the conference will definitely help me with “enriching the reading experience and firing the imaginations of children and young people”.  I was extremely lucky to receive a bursary from SW YLG to enable me to attend the conference and for that I am very grateful.

Five Independent Libraries in the South West, by Darren Bevin

The independent Libraries Association [ https://www.independentlibraries.co.uk/ ] was founded over thirty years ago in 1989 and since then has aimed to “further the conservation, restoration and public awareness of a little known but significant section of our cultural heritage”.  There are currently thirty-six libraries who subscribe to the ILA and all are listed on their website. Many of them are subscription libraries and some provide other facilities such as a museum space, catering and adult education. They cover the United Kingdom and Ireland, and, together, possess over two million books inside many listed buildings.

The Financial Times has described them as “havens of books, conversation and cultural events with histories stretching back centuries”. As libraries are now slowly striving to return to some form of normality, here are five independent libraries that subscribe to the ILA and are situated in our south west region.

• Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution [ https://www.brlsi.org/ ]

The BRLSI was founded in 1824 and opened to members the following year. It provided a museum, library and reading room, lecture hall and botanical garden. The BRLSI moved to its present building in 1932 but fell rapidly into decline following the requisition of its’ building during World War Two. It was successfully relaunched in 1993.

The BRLSI’s antiquarian library contains over 7,000 volumes, notably the Jenyns and Broome natural history libraries. Other collections include local history, theology, travel and government. The Institution’s archives contain bound volumes of letters from eminent naturalists and scientists including Charles Darwin, Sir Joseph Hooker and Professor J.S. Henslow.

• Devon and Exeter Institution [ https://devonandexeterinstitution.org/ ]

The Institution occupies a medieval building, originally owned by Exeter Cathedral. In 1814 the Institution’s founding members took ownership and adapted the double-courtyard layout to create two Georgian rooms, each with a gallery and cupola. The building remains unchanged except for the installation of electric lights and gas-fired central heating.

The collection includes bound newspapers and periodicals, books, maps, prints, drawings, paintings, pamphlets and other ephemera from the early 19^th century. Other collections relate to the history and topography of the West Country from the 16^th century to the present day.

• Morrab Library [ https://morrablibrary.org.uk/ ]

The Morrab Library is the only independent library in Cornwall. It was built in 1841 as Morrab House and stands in three-and-a-half acres of the Morrab Gardens overlooking the sea. Since 1889 the house has been occupied by the Library as the tenant of the local authority.

The Library has more than 70,000 volumes including literature, history, biography, antiquities, religion, topography and travel. It has a Cornish collection including 3,000 books printed in the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th centuries, and a photographic archive. It also holds the Dawson Collection of bound volumes of prints and engravings of Napoleon and his times.

• Plymouth Proprietary Library [ http://www.theppl.org.uk/ ]

The Proprietary Library is one of Plymouth’s oldest historic institutions, founded in 1810. It was originally situated in the centre of the city but suffered severe bomb damage in World War Two. It moved to a mid-Victorian house on North Hill after the war before relocating to the old church in St Barnabas Terrace in 2018. 

The collection consists of 20,000 volumes ranging from 18^th century literature to contemporary fiction and non-fiction. It also houses biographies, diaries and letters, travel, maps, local history and the Windham Collection of Royal Naval historical papers.

• Tavistock Subscription Library [ https://tavistocksubscriptionlibrary.co.uk/ ]

The Tavistock Subscription Library was founded in 1799 and settled permanently in the 1830s into rooms alongside and above the Court Gate, the entry point into the court of Tavistock Abbey. In the 1960s the Library was threatened with closure and sold off many of its’ books but the remaining collection was saved and housed in a small reading room alongside Court Gate. Here the Library remains.

The holding is restricted to works by local authors or those pertaining to the town and Dartmoor. The collection includes poetry from the 17^th Century poet William Browne to the contemporary fifteen volumes of Gerry Woodcock’s Tavistock’s Yesterdays. 

Books and Beachfronts: Jane Austen on Vacation in the South West, by Darren Bevin

I am not sensible of any Blunders about Dawlish. The Library was particularly pitiful & wretched 12 years ago, & not likely to have anybody’s publication.

Jane Austen – August 1814.

For such an enthusiastic reader as Jane Austen, this shortcoming in the library at Dawlish, a seaside town on the south coast of Devon, would have been particularly disappointing. Seaside libraries during this period often diversified and catered for an assorted clientele. They did not just stock books but would sell souvenirs, gifts and toys, and were a place where people would meet and socialise, particularly if new to the area. In Sanditon, Jane Austen’s last unfinished novel set in a fictional seaside resort, the library sells “Drawers of rings and Broches [sic]” and “all the useless things in the World that could not be done without”. A new arrival to the resort is more concerned with the list of subscribers to the Library than the stock and “could not but feel that the List was not only without Distinction, but less numerous than he had hoped.” (chapter six). 

Returning to the initial remark regarding Dawlish library, Jane Austen is replying to a letter from her novel-writing niece Anna who seeks advice and guidance about her current work. This reference to Dawlish is the only indication of a visit, presumably in 1802, although as far back as November 1800 Jane refers in a letter to “the Dawlish scheme” indicating possible plans to holiday there. In a further letter two months later however, she writes that “Sidmouth is now talked of as our summer abode” indicating a possible stay there in 1801.

Today, the coastal regions of the south west look like becoming a very popular holiday venue as the challenges of a summer holiday abroad will see many taking vacations closer to home. In the opening years of the nineteenth century, the south west coast appealed to the Austen family at a time of significant upheaval. They moved to Bath in 1801 and Jane left the house in Steventon, Hampshire where she had lived nearly all her life.

Sadly, there are no surviving letters by Jane for over three years from May 1801 until September 1804. When they recommence, she is in Lyme Regis and writing to her sister Cassandra of the warm and dry weather that has continued into September allowing her to indulge accordingly: “The Bathing was so delightful this morning … that I believe I staid in rather too long, as since the middle of the day I have felt unreasonably tired.” In the same letter she writes of walking “for an hour on the Cobb” and would later draw upon its open and exposed situation for a pivotal scene in her final completed novel, Persuasion:

There was too much wind to make the high part of the new Cobb pleasant for the ladies, and they agreed to get down the steps to the lower, and all were contented to pass quietly and carefully down the steep flight, excepting Louisa; she must be jumped down them by Captain Wentworth. In all their walks, he had had to jump her from the stiles; the sensation was delightful to her. The hardness of the pavement for her feet, made him less willing upon the present occasion; he did it, however; she was safely down, and instantly, to show her enjoyment, ran up the steps to be jumped down again. He advised her against it, thought the jar too great; but no, he reasoned and talked in vain; she smiled and said, ‘I am determined I will’: he put out his hands; she was too precipitate by half a second, she fell on the pavement on the Lower Cobb, and was taken up lifeless!

(Persuasion, chapter twelve).

Persuasion is the only completed novel by Austen where we travel with the characters to the seaside to witness key events as they take place. In other works, they are distant places but still sites that are important to the stories. In Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Bennet is permitted to follow the militia to Brighton and subsequently elopes with George Wickham who, not long before on a visit to Ramsgate, had nearly succeeded in seducing Georgiana Darcy. In Sense and Sensibility, Robert Ferras and Lucy Steele honeymoon in Dawlish following an unexpected wedding that paves the way for a union between Edward Ferras and Elinor Dashwood.  In Emma, Frank Churchill is discovered to have entered into a secret engagement with Jane Fairfax in Weymouth. The seaside is portrayed as both perilous and exhilarating.   The fretful Mr Woodhouse in Emma is convinced the sea once nearly killed him and, desperate to change the subject, Emma interjects: “I must beg you not to talk of the sea. It makes me envious and miserable; – I who have never seen it!” (Emma, chapter twelve). At the very end of the novel, this is remedied by a fortnight’s honeymoon on the coast following her marriage to Mr Knightley.

Despite these references, Austen’s only true seaside novel was Sanditon, abandoned unfinished after only twelve chapters in March 1817, four months before her death. It is set in a fictional fishing village on the Sussex coast and examines its’ transition from a quiet sleepy residence into a popular holiday resort, allowing Austen to exploit the comic potential: “The Sea air and Sea Bathing together were nearly infallible, one or the other of them being a match for every Disorder, of the Stomach, the Lungs or the Blood; They were anti-spasmodic, anti-pulmonary, anti-sceptic [sic], anti-bilious and anti-rheumatic.” (chapter two). Many critics believe Sanditon would have been a masterpiece.  

The library is at the heart of Sanditon with many references over these opening twelve chapters including Mrs Whitby who is in there “reading one of her own Novels, for want of Employment” (chapter six).  As we saw at the start of this blog, Jane Austen may not have been pleased with the ‘pitiful & wretched’ library at Dawlish, but the one she frequented in Godmersham Park, in Kent, on six occasions did not disappoint. This fine Palladium building was the home of her brother, Edward, who had been adopted by a rich childless couple and inherited great wealth and property. Jane Austen’s visits included both the year that preceded and followed her trip to Lyme Regis in 1804. Her letters show her immersion in the library. On one occasion she writes to her sister Cassandra that “we live in the Library except at Meals & have a fire every Even.” whilst another time she delights in being “alone in the library, Mistress of all I survey”. You can explore the books she had access to in the virtual library that was recently put together; for more information and to browse the books, go to www.readingwithausten.com. Although the letters indicate a contentment with the environs of Godmersham Park, some believe Jane travelled from here to Ramsgate in 1803 to visit her brother Francis, a Royal Navy officer, who was headquartered there at the time.

Jane Austen made several lengthy visits to the coast in the very early years of the nineteenth century. When her father died unexpectedly in January 1805, these lengthy holidays died with him. The Austen family continued to live in Bath and then Southampton before moving to the more favourable surrounds of Chawton cottage in 1809, Jane’s last home. Here she wrote, revised and had published all her novels, including Persuasion with its praise of Lyme Regis and the surrounding area:

• 

 … the Cobb itself, its old wonders and new improvements, with the very beautiful line of cliffs stretching out to the east of the town, are what the stranger’s eye will seek; … The scenes in its neighbourhood, Charmouth, with its high grounds and extensive sweeps of country, and still more its sweet retired bay, backed by dark cliffs, where fragments of low rock among the sands make it the happiest spot for watching the flow of the tide, for sitting in unwearied contemplation; – the woody varieties of the cheerful village of Up Lyme, and, above all, Pinny, with its green chasms between romantic rocks, where the scattered forest trees and orchards of luxuriant growth declare that many a generation must have passed away since the first partial falling of the cliff prepared the ground for such a state, where a scene so wonderful and so lovely is exhibited, as may more than equal any of the resembling scenes of the far-famed Isle of Wight : these places must be visited, and visited again, to make the worth of Lyme understood.

(Persuasion, chapter eleven).

The Austen scholar Deirdre le Faye in Jane Austen’s Country Life believed that nowhere in her novels does Jane describe scenery with such enthusiasm and passion, and I tend to agree.

Dedicated to Deirdre Le Faye

All quotations from letters taken from Jane Austen’s Letters. Fourth edition. Collected and edited by Deirdre Le Faye. Oxford: OUP, 2011.

A Training Day with Nicola Morgan

By Gareth Evans, School Librarian based in Chippenham.

On Friday 29 March the CILIP Youth Libraries Group South West of England hosted a one-day training event run by internationally acclaimed author Nicola Morgan, author of around 100 books. In 2005 Nicola wrote her award-winning book, Blame My Brain, which explains to teenagers, teachers and parents what goes on inside a teenager’s head during adolescence. Since then Nicola has written several wellbeing books for teenagers, covering a range of topics like stress, friendships, bullying, social media and life online. The theme for the day was young people, mental health and reading. The event was attended by 80 professionals from school, university, health and public libraries.

The day was divided into three sessions. In the first session, Nicola discussed the development of a teenager’s brain, how this explains the behaviour and emotional problems teenagers have during adolescence. Nicola then went on to explain how we as adults get stressed and how this can relate to teenagers as well. Finally, she discussed the side effects of over-using screens & social media, and the impact on our concentration, self-esteem, mental health and lifestyle.

In the second session, Nicola went on to explaining her 6 strategies for supporting teens’ wellbeing. Some of these strategies we can adopt into our daily lives as well. Nicola’s first strategy touched on how to deal with stress management. She discussed the importance of understanding the biology of stress, and shared breathing tactics and empowering daily relaxation by doing activities that help you to relax or take your mind off your worries. The second strategy is building resilience, by being able to accept failure and setbacks, manage stress, to compartmentalise bad things and dare to try again. The third strategy was to support and value introverted people through understanding and discussions – giving introverts the time and place to be alone, but also encouraging them to practice extroverted skills and value their personality. The fourth strategy was about educating ourselves and teenagers about sleeping better. Nicola highlighted that sleep is important for our health, wellbeing and learning. She recommends that we improve our sleep hygiene by creating a routine every day that will wind down our heart rate and switch off any screen devices before going to bed. The fifth strategy is managing our screen time when using our computers, tablets or mobiles. She suggests that we switch off our phones or block social media messages when doing any major task. Removing the temptation of checking our phones means we can focus our energy into the task we are doing. In addition to this, for teenagers who feel bad about themselves, Nicola suggests switching off from using social media. Another great tip for teenagers is to remind them that not everything online is true. We should all balance our time on screen by spending more time on sleep, exercise, reading and doing other activities such as making friends and supporting each other.

The final strategy was covered in the last session of the day, which was to encourage people to read for pleasure (R4P). The Reading Agency has done loads of research looking at benefits of R4P. It has been highlighted that R4P involves people’s self-esteem, increase life expectancy, increases empathy, stress, academic results and much more. To encourage teenagers to enjoy R4P, let them choose their own books to read and not judge them for what they are reading. Create a positive reading culture in school, for example whole class reading (including adults), have book boxes in each class and share and discuss books as a class or in groups.

The three main things I have learned from the training day with Nicola:

• I now have a better understanding of how the teenager’s mind works and the issues teenagers face with their well-being in their daily lives. I would highly recommend that all teenagers, parents, teacher, school support staff and health workers read Nicola’s book “Blame My Brain”.
• How to introduce and develop a R4P culture in school and speak to your school senior team about the benefits of R4P.
• How to promote and build a collection of reading materials around wellbeing for teenagers to have access to.

Finally, here are some websites and books with useful information about teenagers’ wellbeing and Reading for Pleasure:

Websites

• Nicola Morgan’s Website – https://www.nicolamorgan.com/
• Young Minds – https://youngminds.org.uk/
• Reading Well – https://reading-well.org.uk/resources/young-people
• OU Reading For Pleasure – https://researchrichpedagogies.org/research/reading-for-pleasure
• National Literacy Trust – https://literacytrust.org.uk/
• Charlie Waller Memorial Trust – https://www.cwmt.org.uk/

Books

• Creating Readers: A Reflective Guide for School Librarians and Teachers by Prue Goodwin
• Positively Teenage – A Positively Brilliant Guide To teenage Well-Being by Nicola Morgan
• The Teenage Guide to Life Online by Nicola Morgan
• The Teenage Guide to Stress by Nicola Morgan
• Blame By Brain by Nicola Morgan
• Read To Succeed – Strategies to Engage Children and Young People In Reading For Pleasure Edited By Joy Court
• Reading by Right – Successful Strategies To Ensure Every Child Can Read To Succeed
• Getting The Buggers To Read: 2^nd Edition by Claire Senior

 

 

 

Beginning Cataloguing: an Itinerary

Friday 5 April 2019

University of the West of England, Bristol

 

Following their successful “Introduction to Cataloguing” training day in Exeter in 2017, Anne Welsh and Kate Whaite return to CILIP South West with another day for those brand new to cataloguing (or those whose cataloguing training is so far in the dim and distant past that they don’t mind starting from scratch again).

The focus is on core principles and on analysing a wide range of examples to identify the key fields we would create, including author(s), title, publisher details, physical description, notes and a little bit of subject analysis. You don’t need computer skills, or to know MARC coding, but you will leave knowing how to navigate RDA, MARC and some basic Library of Congress Subject Headings, and with handouts giving you crib sheets for the main fields, the main jargon, and where to go to keep your new skills up-to-date.

 

Programme:

10:00 Welcome

10:10 Introductions: If you can, please ask someone (a cataloguer, or your manager, or a colleague who has been there longer than you have) at your work which Library Management System you use to catalogue, which standards (e.g. AACR2, RDA) you use, and if you download from and / or contribute to any consortia. Don’t worry if you can’t find out – it will just help you to orientate your learning on the day with the practices in your home institution if you can find out.

10:30 Beginning Cataloguing – physical description and publisher details

11:15 Tea break

11:45 Title, author, other access points

12:30 Lunch

13:30 What do we do about ‘aboutness’? Subject analysis; notes; local practices

15:00 Tea

15:30 More practice

16:00 Close