National Libraries Day 2014

Love your library!

Saturday 8th February is National Libraries Day. What's your library doing to celebrate the event on Saturday?

My library, which is part of the Libraries West consortium that runs over 100 libraries in Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire, is entering anyone who withdraws three physical items on Saturday into a prize draw to win a Samsung Galaxy Tablet. I plan to visit the library anyway on Saturday and will probably borrow more than three items, but I can't say that the prize sounds that exciting. Instead of offering a "must-have" piece of consumer tech as a prize can you imagine how thrilling it would be to have the chance to win an atlas like this or a dictionary and thesaurus that could grace anyone's home library for years?

In addition to "adult prizes" there are a number of events taking places, such as treasure hunts, that are suitable for children.

Tiny Library

My local library is absolutely tiny. It is approximately 10 m x 6 m and is furnished with just two PCs. Every available space is used with three walls lined from floor to ceiling with (mainly) brightly coloured paperbacks. Walking into such a small place with book-lined walls is really quite pleasant: it is warm (insulation from the books) and very cheerful with lots of primary-coloured book spines. Small libraries in historical stately homes with leather-bound, serious looking tomes have a completely different feel to this cheery public library.

Small, but warm and welcoming.

These days I use Bath Central Library. Bath is a small city, but, as the library in the centre is the main library for residents, I was expecting more. There is not much to say about the library's physical appearance and proportions, it is on the top floor of The Podium, a small, 1980s style shopping centre with a car park in the basement, a supermarket on the ground floor,  and a cafe, toilets and the library on the top floor. I have also been rather disappointed by the availability of the library's stock as when I search the catalogue the books I want are nearly always on loan (Bath and North East Somerset charge a £1 reservation fee). The reference collection is not particularly edifying either and this week I searched in vain for a Russian-English dictionary (Russian is not an obscure tongue: it is one of the six official languages of the United Nations and is the native language of over 144 million people), a member of staff checked the store for me, but it seems that they really do not have a dictionary for one of the world's major languages! Also, the behaviour of some of the other library users is a bit worrying: recently whilst choosing a book from the shelves I passed by a man sitting down with his socks off clipping his toenails, I admit that I felt quite disgusted.

Rant over.

Despite the number of failings mentioned above (I am trying to moderate my moaning, but I could easily continue), it is wonderful to see a library well-used with so many people using the local history service, browsing the shelves and actually borrowing books rather than just using the IT service.

Book Art at the Library

A couple of days ago, I stumbled across an interesting exhibition at Bath Central Library. For the second time the Library is holding its annual Recycle an Ex-Library Book Competition. Participating members of Bath and North East Somerset Libraries  were given an ex-library book, which was ear-marked for recycling, and tasked with turning the unwanted book into a work of art.

The entries are currently being displayed at the Central Library until 24th September. Visitors to the exhibition are encouraged to vote for their favourite piece from each category: under 12s, 12-17 years olds, over 18s and group entry. It was quite a challenge to pick my favourite as I didn't know whether to focus on the best piece as regards paper-crafting skill or original concept.

Maybe some book lovers shudder at the thought of cutting, pasting and excising book pages, but the books in the exhibition are books which did not sell at library book-sales and whose ultimate end would have been the pulping machine. A piece of art, whether created by a child at school or by a professional artist is usually treasured and, to me, it seems a fitting new life for a book which would otherwise be discarded.

What do you think about creating works of art from unused books?

Behind the Scenes at Plymouth Central Library

I haven't provided a general profile of Plymouth Central Library yet, but, yesterday, I was very fortunate to be able to attend a "behind the scenes" tour at the library. As the day of the tour approached I became increasingly excited, and I wasn't disappointed! The tour was fascinating, and I hope I can attend more of these events at other libraries in the future as they are incredibly thrilling for a library lover.

Plymouth got its first public library in 1876 which, until 1910, was housed in the Old Guildhall. The foundation stone for the new library (the current building) was laid in 1907 and officially opened in 1910.

Original bookplate from the Free Library.
It features the coat of arms of the Corporation of Plymouth.

William Wright, the first librarian of Plymouth's public library, wrote to the Carnegie Trust on a number occasions requesting financial help for the establishment of a dedicated library building for Plymouth. In 1906 Andrew Carnegie offered £15,000 pounds which, despite a measure of anti-capitalist discussion among the members of the Town Council, was subsequently accepted. This gift did not quite cover the costs of construction as per the architect's original plans which feature first floor windows in the facade of the building. The building was constructed without these windows which means that the first floor reference section gets rather hot on sunny days as it does not feature dual aspect windows. Almost from its inception the new, purpose built library was too small for the population of the city. When the library was planned, built and opened the population of Plymouth was 100,000, but in 1914, this figure doubled overnight when the towns of Devonport and Stonehouse merged with the city.

The tour started on the first floor and after a short talk on the history of the library we filed downstairs to the ground floor which took us past the impressive stained glass window. I will provide more pictures of this window when I return to the library for a profile of the public parts of the building.

Plymouth Central Library suffered badly in WWII. This stained glass window is the only window to survive the war thanks to the prescient actions of some public servant, who had the window removed and taken to Buckland Abbey for safety. In April 1941 the Library was hit by incendiary bombs causing the destruction of the library stock, some 85,000 volumes. All that remained after this raid was the facade and some internal walls.

The library service picked themselves up after this devastating blow and opened a temporary library service next door in the Museum. They started with several thousand volumes (all the books that had been out on loan at the time of the fire), but this number quickly increased thanks to generous donations. Reconstruction work started on the damaged Library in 1954 and by 1956 the Library was open for business again.

Our first look at the non-public areas of the Library took us down some narrow stairs, past a large store of toilet rolls, to the basement which houses moving stacks full of local and naval history volumes. We also got the chance to have a look at the vault, where valuable items are held including some of the more financially valuable volumes of the Moxon Collection.

"Let me out of here! I want to be read."

Charles Chapel

After looking around the basement we ascended the stairs and exited the Library from the back in order to cross the road to the Library Annexe. The Annexe houses library offices, the orchestral collection and the bulk of the fiction and non-fiction lending stock. 

Library Annexe on the left and the back of the main Library building on the right.

The day of the tour was lovely and sunny, but I can't imagine it is much fun for the library assistants to have to cross the road in the rain in order to look for books for library patrons.

As you can see from the picture, the Library Annexe is a disused church. Charles Chapel, later called St Luke's Church was opened for worship in 1829 and eventually closed for regular services in 1962. After that time, it was used occasionally for weddings and baptisms, but eventually it was deconsecrated and sold to the Town Council. The building became the library bindery in 1970 and after that took on its current role.

We entered the Annexe by a door at the far left of the building which brought us into the packing and storage area of the Library's large collection of orchestral sets. Plymouth holds the largest collection of orchestral sets in the South West and these can be borrowed by other libraries across the country, hence the packing area.

We walked through this area and then entered the main room of the building which is filled with stacks of fiction and non-fiction (now I know where some of the books I borrow are stored).

Despite the age of the building and lack of modern climate control systems, our tour guide said that there are no problems with damp and that temperature control doesn't prove that much of an issue. This section of the building does not give you the feeling of being in a church; however, the lucky "behind-the-sceners" were given the chance to explore the gallery, which apart from the false ceiling that separates the working section of the building, is pretty much untouched.

It was very dusty in the gallery, but all the furniture was in quite a good state of repair. The lead in the stained glass windows on the right hand side of the picture is weak, so they have been bricked up to help preserve them.

The iron ceiling rosettes would have contained gas lamps. The ceiling looks clean and shiny in the pictures as it was restored twenty years ago.

When we left the Annexe I noticed a wonderful carving on the outside of the building. The carving is of a book; I am sure it was originally carved to represent the Bible, but I liked the fact that it continues to reflect the purpose of the building.today.

There are books in here.

The Moxon Collection

We crossed back to the main library building and gathered in a meeting room on the first floor. This room holds the bulk of the Moxon Collection. 

Alfred Moxon was a naturalist and travel writer who bequeathed his book collection to the Library in 1932. This precious collection survived the war as it was also stored for safe keeping at Buckland Abbey. The books include the collection of his sister, Louise, who predeceased her brother and from whom he inherited. Alfred Moxon does not seem to have had any connection to Plymouth; I am sure the librarians were extremely grateful, but, perhaps a little bemused on being contacted by his solicitor. Recent research has shown that the Moxon family may well have been related to the Drake family which could explain his gift. The books are beautifully bound and many of the natural history tomes are quite valuable.

This was the final part of an intriguing and fascinating tour.

The Library User is King

I recently borrowed a book from the library which I had to request from the stacks. The book (Charles Lamb: Miscellaneous Essays), which was last borrowed decades ago, had a rather frightening label pasted in the front cover detailing the rules of library book borrowing.

How things have changed! Today I can borrow ten books (in other cities I have borrowed as many as 15 books at a time), no one tells me what genre of book I may, or may not check out and most libraries I use have self-service check out/in machines so, if I desired, I could borrow ten racy romances without anyone batting an eyelid.

Woman + Noteworthy = Actress

"Mummy, I don't want to be an actress or a singer!"

I came across this display for International Women's Day in one of the Newcastle branch libraries. I like displays in libraries -  it makes a change to see the front covers of books displayed prominently, and it's nice to use a collection of books to commemorate events of regional, national or international importance.

However, I was rather shocked by the books that had been chosen for the display as the majority of them were biographies of actresses, with two popular singers (Rihanna and Jessie J) and a royal. Where were the politicians, the explorers, the craftswomen, etc? As the library (which will remain nameless) is a branch library, I understand that they are limited in their choices by a small circulating stock. But, with a bit of imagination  it is possible to make a more fitting display from the titles readily available in that particular library. From the books I noticed on the shelves whilst browsing and from a subsequent search of the catalogue, I have made my own virtual display:

• Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France, Queen of England  - Ralph V. Turner
• Liberty Belles: Six Women and the French Revolution - Lucy Moore
• Off the Beaten Track: Three Centuries of Women Travellers - Dea Birkett
• Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived Without Men After the First World War - Virginia Nicholson
• Women of the War Years: Women in Britain 1939 to 1945 - Janice Anderson
• Ingrid: A Personal Biography - Charlotte Chandler
• The Catherine Cookson Companion - Cliff Goodwin
• Agatha Christie: The Finished Portrait - Andrew Norman
• Moral Disorder - Margaret Atwood
• Letter to my Daughter - Maya Angelou
• What Makes Women Happy - Fay Weldon
• Backwards in High Heels: The Impossible Art of Being Female - Sarah Vine and Tania Kindersley
• Tate Women Artists - Alicia Foster
• Open Secret: The Autobiography of the Former Director-General of MI5 - Stella Rimington

This is not my castaway choice of women's writing/ writing about women, as I could only choose titles that were available in that library. I tried to make the list varied and populist, and I think these titles would celebrate the spirit of International Women's Day much more than the current uninspiring display.

My First Library Card

I started using my local library at four years old and before I had my own card. In the beginning, I signed books out on my mother's card. By the age of eight I had my very own card and since then I have always had a library card or access to a library of some description.

I say a 'library of some description' and not 'access of some description' due to a brief sojourn in Ukraine where I only had access to a closed-stack university library. As a person who derives immense pleasure from the unexpected discoveries reaped from an hour's stroll between the stacks, it is very disconcerting to be physically separated from the books and have to submit a title request to a library assistant in a white coat then return hours later to collect said item which may, or may not, be suitable. Although, the white coat bestowed a unusual measure of gravity to the act of borrowing a book.

My first library card was a plain yellow card with my signature on the back and the county shield on the front (a swan with a crown and chain around its neck). The card looked the same as an adult borrower's card, and in comparison to today's creations festooned with child-friendly images, it was wholly utilitarian.

English counties trivia quiz.
 Do you  know  which county has this image as its shield?

I can't remember how I felt about my first card - library membership and regular visits were just a normal part of life for children BHC (before home computers). I am certain, however, that I did not beg my mother for my first card like this CUTIE did in Denver, Colorado.