Information Scotland

The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland

February 2004 Volume 2 (1)

President's perspective

Strong spirits in Dundee

Moira Methven starts her year as new CILIPS President in praise of her home city and other things to admire about libraries and reading.

Hello, I’m Moira Methven and I’m to be, well already am, your next President. It’s a post I take up with no small measure of trepidation. Not least because of this regular column which I am “privileged” to write. I was speaking to a colleague about this and he suggested I include lots of quotations, say about 800 words’ worth? (Our editor Debby Raven had told me she needs around 900 words).

Who am I and what do I do? I’m Senior Manager in the Communities Department of Dundee City Council. As well as being Head of Library and Information Services, my other responsibilities include adult learning, community centres and youth work. My mother worked in libraries too, so they have always been an important part of my life.

Call me biased, but Dundee is a pretty amazing place these days. It’s undergone huge cultural and social changes in recent years and in fact, not so long ago I heard someone from London refer to it as “vibrant”. A word you certainly wouldn’t have associated with Dundee until recently.

One thing Dundee has always been noted for is strong women. We named one of our libraries after one such woman, Mary Brooksbank, who was a jute worker, rebel, and poet, and the city was at the forefront of the women’s suffrage movement in Scotland. In fact, Dundee was the first city in Scotland to imprison suffragettes and these women were the first in Scotland to go on hunger strike for their beliefs. Ethel Moorhead was the first Dundee woman to be imprisoned in Holloway jail – she was sent there for taking a swing at Asquith. An interesting point about the suffrage movement in Dundee is that it was very much working-class based. The popular image of these women is that they came from well-educated, middle-class backgrounds but that wasn’t the case here, although some better-off women were also involved. Last year Dundee Central Library held an exhibition on the subject of the suffragettes and it created a huge amount of interest. Clearly the spirit of the movement is still strong here.

The suffrage movement was about communication; connecting with, and informing individuals and communities, and in our profession we are still in the business of doing all of these things as we go about our daily working lives. These days the lads are on board too of course. Well, most of them. I’ll just mention one more strong Dundee woman – Desperate Dan’s Aunt Aggie.

I referred to image a moment ago and I am often struck by the way in which image and perception change with time. Once the suffragette women were vilified and condemned – now they are admired. Image is a theme I’ll return to in a later column. I don’t mean the image of us as librarians and information workers, but the image and perception of the libraries and centres we work in. For the moment though I’ll just say how much I enjoy Laura Swaffield’s ‘Media Watching’ column at the back of Update. It’s usually the first page I turn to.

In this coming year I’m going to be meeting quite a number of you as I travel the country in the course of my presidential duties. I’m looking forward to hearing your news and views, whatever line of library and information work you are in. If the profession is to evolve successfully then the profession’s managers have to be aware of the issues and challenges facing the grass roots. That’s another theme I’ll return to in a later article.

The first event I attended as President was on 14 January at Edinburgh Castle. The occasion was a reception to celebrate 150 Years of Public Libraries in Scotland and was hosted by Frank McAveety, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport. The event took place in the Great Hall where the Minister was presented with a copy of Advocating Libraries: essays presented to Robert Craig. Robert himself was there as were a number of past presidents who all got together for what will be an interesting group photograph. I wonder how many years of services to libraries is represented in that picture. All in all a very enjoyable occasion.

I can’t end without thanking Alistair Campbell, my predecessor, not just for the excellent job he did during his term but also for the help and advice he gave me as my term as President approached. Thanks Alistair, you’ve been great.

Thanks also to Eileen Moran of our Local Studies Department for her help in gathering information on the suffragettes, and I must also acknowledge Mary Henderson’s book Dundee Women.

Finally, any recent visitor to a public library can’t have failed to notice the emphasis that’s now being placed on Reader Development. So for each issue I’m going to recommend one or two books which have the potential to engage a wide readership. First, Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books. These are just wonderful and I’m not surprised that they have sold over three million copies. Second, Ian Banks’ Raw Spirit. It’s always interesting to get an insight into the lives of contemporary authors and this provides just that. It’s hugely entertaining. Of course, it helps if you enjoy the occasional dram and also if you like driving (but not at the same time!), but even if you don’t it’s still a great read.

Information Scotland Vol. 2 (1) February 2004

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Last updated: 9 March 2004