Customers can now use a built-in laptop bar when they pop in to use Shetland Library’s free wireless internet access. The introduction of Wi-fi, and the laptop bar on the library mezzanine are just two of the improvements introduced as a result of PLQIM funding.
The 1421 Project aims to make the Library more attractive to young people, and has been supported by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) through the allocation of GBP 28,000 from the Public Libraries Improvement Fund.
Other items purchased for the main library and the eight school branches include: new display furniture, information screens, beanbags, digital cameras, DVD players, health promotion materials, music CDs, graphic novels, Wii consoles and games.
Staff training was also funded, and the Library is liaising with Shetland Youth Services and NHS Shetland to plan and deliver the project.
Work will now begin to promote the new facilities at all the branches. The ultimate goal is to encourage more people in the 14 - 21 age group to make use of library services.
Kat Brack, School Librarian at the Anderson High School explained: “This is an exciting opportunity to promote the library in a fresh and unexpected way. Pupils can come to the library not only to study or to relax with a book, but also for games events, information on careers and university, to borrow CDs (for free!) or to listen to music.”
Councillor Gussie Angus said: “It is splendid news for the Library, splendid for our young folk and it’s good to see the Library is keeping up with new technology.” Added: 24 Feb
East Lothian Library Services are launching a new junior membership scheme Love your library running for a month from Valentine's Day. All new junior members (age 0-12) who join their local library will receive a free East Lothian Lennox Lion soft toy when they borrow their first book.
Cabinet member for Community Services, Cllr Paul McLennan, said: "There has been a lot of research undertaken which has shown that introducing children to books at the earliest ages can bring many benefits in later life.
"If pre-school children are regularly read to and encouraged to choose and borrow books they not only develop a love of books and storytelling but also gain the confidence to express themselves, use their imagination and be creative. It is young children's early experiences that lay the foundations for later success in learning to read and write."
All of East Lothian local libraries, including the mobile vans, are taking part in the junior membership initiative which runs until 12 March 2010.
Added: 17 Feb
Every four-year-old in an East Lothian Nursery setting will be receiving an Explorer Bookpack filled with goodies to encourage a love of reading. Adam Ingram MSP, Minister for Children and Early Years, launched the Explorer Backpack at a special event at North Berwick Community Centre, East Lothian on Wednesday 3 February 2010.
East Lothian Council, the library service, and the Scottish Book Trust have created a free Explorer Backpack filled with goodies for four-year-old children to help them to move from nursery to primary with skills and confidence. The packs are designed to encourage a love of reading in the children who receive them, and offer parents and carers lots of tips and advice about encouraging their children to read and learn at home. This is the first scheme of its kind anywhere in Scotland.
The project builds on the success of Bookstart packs and hopes to bridge the age gap between the Bookstart Treasure Chest pack for three-year-olds and the Bookstart Booktime packs for P1 children. 1,200 four-year-olds in East Lothian will receive an Explorer Backpack. They will also be enrolled in the Backpackers Club and invited to take up Backpackers Challenges at their local libraries.
Children at schools round the county selected one of the books for inclusion in the pack. In the end, they voted unanimously for Jill Murphy's On the Way Home. Susan Rennie's An Animal ABC is also included in the pack.
The backpacks include these books, and also a magazine offering advice and guidance to parents, a whiteboard set, and a Curriculum for Excellence leaflet.
Author Debi Gliori was also at the event and read from book I will always love you.
Adam Ingram MSP, Minister for Children and Early Years, said: "This initiative will help children discover the joys of reading and books at an early age - a love of reading which I hope will remain with them throughout their life and give them a strong head start in their education."
East Lothian Council Education and Children's Services Convener Peter MacKenzie said: "I'm really delighted that East Lothian Council is the first authority in Scotland to pilot such a scheme, because learning to love books and stories is such an important thing for any child."Added: 15 Feb
The last day for entries to the CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award will be Monday 15 February.
Libraries Change Lives is one of the leading accolades in the library and information world and CILIP welcomes entries from any sector. They can be reading projects, learning projects, or projects that promote information.
Applicants must demonstrate that their initiatives have changed people’s lives for the better, whoever those people might be.
The award ceremony will take place on Tuesday 6 July at a conference to celebrate the Award. Added: 10 Feb
Following a successful pilot project during summer 2009, Shetland Library will this Friday launch a new Mobile Library service.
The extended service will see the Mobile calling at the Staney Hill Hall from 2pm to 3pm every Friday afternoon.
The decision followed support from the North Staney Hill Community Association, who expressed interest in a regular Mobile Library service after the summer trial.
Shetland Library hopes that the new service will welcome both existing library members and bring in new members to the service. Added: 10 Feb
The Launch of the Tesco Bank Summer Read, which is supported by Scottish Government, will take place at the Aye Write Book Festival on 7th March 2010. An initiative by the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature, the judging panel for the shortlist included representatives from The Scottish Library and Information Council, Publishing Scotland, Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Herald, and Glasgow Libraries.
The shortlist of twenty books are all set in Scotland or written by Scottish authors and were published between 1st March 2009 and 31st March 2010.
The titles range from fiction and non-fiction, adults, teens, children's and Gaelic books across different reading tastes, levels and formats so there is sure to be a favourite for everyone!
Added: 8 Feb
A Moray councillor has spoken out about the new look Findochty library, which has recently re-opened after being relocated within the local primary school.
Buckie’s Independent ward councillor Anne McKay described the library as “dismal” and said it was a “warning call” to other authorities considering similar accommodation arrangements, according to the Press and Journal.
The relocation was part of a wider programme within Moray libraries that will see seven service points undergo major redevelopment through European Funding.
However, this funding was not applicable to Findochty Library as Alistair Campbell, Libraries & Museums Manager, explains: “Unlike the other libraries within the integration programme, Findochty Library cannot benefit from European Funding as public access is restricted for security reasons.”
Mr Campbell stressed that Moray Council has been quick to respond to negative feedback: "Given the community's understandable disappointment that the premises did not meet the Library Service’s customer standards, actions were immediately put in place by management to address these shortfalls.
"The other libraries, including a purpose built public/school and healthy living centre at Milnes High, Fochabers, are being developed as libraries, learning centres, community resource points and council and community planning partner service points, with access to the premises throughout the week and with significantly enhanced ICT and learning courses provision.
“The programme of seven European Funded Libraries/learning centres will be completed by October 2010 and will ensure that the current inadequate premises in these communities will be replaced by facilities and services meeting modern needs."
Photo of Findochty harbour by stusmith_uk from flickr. Added: 3 Feb
A visionary project is being funded as part of a joint initiative to explore future scenarios for academic libraries and information services.
Academic libraries of the future is an 18-month project that aims to help higher education institutions and organisations to develop strategies to ensure the future strength of the sector.
The project partners are the British Library, JISC, Research Information Network (RIN), Research Libraries UK (RLUK) and the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL).
Factors such as the digital revolution, the knowledge economy, students and researchers as ‘consumers’ and the global economic crisis, will all be considered.
A series of workshops will be held during 2010-2011 with the aim of imagining and describing possible futures for libraries. They will bring together a wide range of influential stakeholders, including institutional senior managers, librarians, funded, students, researchers, suppliers, technologists, legal specialists and others.
The first two workshops are taking place in February and March 2010 and will be followed by smaller focused workshops during the summer of 2010.
The consultants welcome input from all stakeholders, if you are interested in finding out more or being involved in the project, please contact Dr Claire Davies, email claire.davies@curtiscartwright.co.uk or telephone 01483 685022. Added: 3 Feb
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
