East Renfrewshire Library and Information Service are delighted to have gained Investors In People, the internationally recognised standard for excellence in training, developing and motivating staff to improve the performance of an organisation.
Claire Scott, the Library and Information Service Manager, outlines what gaining the award has meant for the service.
“Gaining IIP has given staff a great deal of satisfaction to have areas of strength and good practice recognised. The assessor was particularly impressed with our induction programme, our excellent communication and with the level of staff involvement. The IIP framework has made a significant difference to the way we plan, action, evaluate and continuously improve the service. All the learning and development undertaken by staff is focused on supporting our strategic plans and outcomes; staff welcome the opportunity to improve the quality of library services in our communities.”
In his final report, the external assessor praised the professionalism and commitment of staff at all levels and noted,
"It was clear throughout my time on site that continuous improvement is at the core of how East Renfrewshire Library and Information Service operates."
The process of self evaluation (and the hard work) will continue for East Renfrewshire Libraries as they look forward to undertaking PLQIM assessments and to retaining their Charter Mark Standard for Customer Service Excellence early in the New Year.
Added: 19 Nov
Authors Theresa Breslin, Val Thornton and Julia Donaldson joined Dr Jim Parker, CILIPS President Margaret Forrest and public library managers at a reception hosted by SLIC Director Elaine Fulton at Glasgow's Mitchell Library to celebrate 30 years of Public Lending Right in Scotland.
The UK scheme seeks to compensate authors registered with PLR for library loans rather than book sales. PLR is being rolled out in a range of European countries with the Irish scheme one of the latest to be established.
Added: 18 Nov
Aberdeen City Libraries concluded its Homecoming 2009 celebrations with the launch of the Enlightened Burns project and exhibition in the Central Library on Fri 30 Oct.
Guests included Fergus Ewing MSP, Minister for Community Safety and Elsie May Cooms, great, great , great grand-daughter of Robert Burns.
The exhibition features the private collection of Colin Hunter McQueen, well known artist and respected Burnsian, including his model of the Burns Mausoleum. The collection will be on display until Sat 19 Dec.
The project will also involve a series of talks beginning on Mon 16 Nov and lasting until Burns Night 2010. Topics for discussion include Burns in the North East, Burns and Enlightenment Ideas and Touched by Burns. Added: 12 Nov
Bards in the Bog, the Shetland project that has been displaying original poems in public toilets, is to be celebrated in print. A book of 24 of the best Bards in the Bog poems has been published by Shetland Library, and will be launched in the Library on World Toilet Day, Thu 19 Nov.
The project attracted entries from all over the world. The selection was made by Poet Partner, Jen Hadfield, and features six Shetland poems, including several in dialect. Some of the poets have previously published their own collections.
All profits from the book are to be donated to the World Toilet Organisation, an international campaigning body for worldwide sanitation.
Chair of Services Committee, Gussie Angus said: “This low-cost project has had far-reaching effects, with many people reading poetry for the first time in many years and hopefully being encouraged to visit the library and extend their interest. I am also delighted that others are going to benefit from the sale of the Bards in the Bog book”.
On Fri 20 Nov the launch of the book will be celebrated at a gala evening of poetry at Shetland Library. The poems will be read aloud and there will also be toilet-themed music, refreshments and a chance to buy the book, which costs GBP 5.00.
Added: 11 NovSLIC's Annual General Meeting was held at the AK Bell Library, Perth on Tue 3 Nov 2009. The 2008/9 Annual Report and Annual Accounts were approved. Director Elaine Fulton presented the Annual Operating Plan 2009-2010 which was accepted.
Jeanette Castle, West Lothian Council, and Catherine Nicholson, Glasgow School of Art, joined the SLIC Board for the next three years and Lorraine Forde, Cardonald College, was co-opted for one year to the Board. Christine May, Chair of SLIC Board thanked retiring members Sheila Cannell, Edinburgh University, Moira Methven, Dundee City Council and Carole Gray, Motherwell College. Added: 6 Nov
The launch of Improving Libraries for Learners will take place on Tues 1 Dec at Falkirk High School. This guide to self-evaluation and improvement builds upon the advice given in the publications Taking a Closer Look at the School Library Resource Centre (1999) and Libraries Supporting Learners (2005).
It has been produced in consultation with colleagues from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIe). The document will be circulated to local authorities following the launch and there will be additional supporting material downloadable on the Slainte website.Added: 6 Nov
West Lothian Libraries celebrated the 10th anniversary of their volunteer buddy service this year. Launched in 1999 to support the introduction of public access PCs, computer literate ‘buddies’ were recruited to offer one-to-one tuition to absolute beginners.
The early courses were very thorough, covering Windows, Word, Excel and the Internet, and buddies could be matched to one learner for up to 3 months. Each library would have two or three buddies who would work their way down an ever increasing list of customers eager for help.
Nowadays most learners just want to set up their email account and start surfing the net, although some are into twittering, photography, shopping and downloads, so library staff also deliver taster sessions on specific subjects. However the one-to-ones are still popular, especially with those who are less confident or who have learning needs, and the buddy service continues to thrive.
Over the past ten years the volunteer buddies have delivered over 3,000 sessions in libraries. Archie Dickson , who has been a West Lothian buddy since the inception of the service, taught 48 learners himself.
Anne Hunt, Support Services Manager, said: “It is thanks to the patience and expertise of volunteers like Archie that our libraries are able to run this service, and we are very grateful to him and all the other buddies for giving up so much of their own time to help others.” Added: 4 Nov
After months of intense activity, Strathclyde University Library has unveiled its latest technological advance. The introduction of SUPrimo means that users will see a completely new interface to the Library’s collections, both hard copy and electronic.
This new development will enable a Google-like cross-searching interface to the Library’s catalogue, digitised collections, and electronic journal titles. The first phase of the project will include items harvested from the Voyager database, the SFX electronic journal service, and the Digitool repository (including electronic exam papers and, later, theses).
In a second phase of the implementation, will introduce external, full text databases, including Strathprints, the University’s institutional repository. As well as providing a powerful new searching tool for all categories of Library users, it will also be possible for course tutors to use Primo to select stable URLs of specifically targeted searches which they can then embed into their VLEs and websites.
To introduce users to its new service, the Library will be launching an active publicity campaign, including weekly drop-in sessions.Added: 4 Nov
West Lothian Libraries organised three afternoon events at the Linlithgow Book Festival on Sunday 1 Nov.
A dramatic reading of extracts from various printed sources on Linlithgow was followed by a a very successful Poetry Showcase, featuring readings by five published poets currently at work in West Lothian.
The last event of the day was a storytime for under-fives led by West Lothian's Bookstart Co-ordinator, Ann McEwan, which included a lot of audience participation.
The afternoon was successful in raising the profile of West Lothian's libraries, as well as encouraging people to try out some local books and the work of local poets that they might not otherwise have known about. Added: 4 Nov
Information Scotland is the journal of CILIPS, which is published six times a year. The online version is usually made available around three weeks after the printed publication.
June edition now online.
Read the main features from the last edition of Information Scotland:
Coming soon: October 2009 edition
Information Scotland is published bi-monthly and distributed to over 2300 CILIPS members as well as an international subscription base. Download a copy of our media pack to find out more about advertising opportunities.
Scotland's Information
Research Collections Online
Scottish Library and Information Resources
Scottish Distributed Digital Library
Scottish Collections Network
Co-operative Information Retrieval Network for Scotland
© Send comments, suggestions and queries about SLAINTE to Gillian Hanlon. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 UK: Scotland License 01-Dec-2011
