Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal August 2006 Volume 4(4)

Special collections: focus

Moving history

Glasgow Women’s Library is a unique resource in Scotland and has been delivering services and projects to women since 1991, when it developed from a grassroots, arts-based project called Women in Profile. Since the library started, thousands of women have contributed to its growth and success by offering their time and skills, donating items to the collection, and supporting its fund-raising efforts.

Now is a particularly exciting period in the library’s history. After 12 years at 109 Trongate, the library is moving to temporary, decant premises in Parnie Street, and in 2007 will be relocating to its new permanent home at the Mitchell library.

More than just books
The library has a great collection of resources that are of both local and national significance. As well as books and journals on a broad range of issues of relevance to women, we also hold newspaper cuttings, photographs and ephemera such as badges, banners, postcards and flyers. However, there’s a lot more to the library than just books and materials! We also offer an array of diverse and exciting learning opportunities that are open to all women, free of charge.

The innovative lifelong learning programme is developed by Adele Patrick, the library’s Lifelong Learning Coordinator, who is also one of the founding members of the library. Recently the lifelong learning programme has included Mandarin Chinese, ‘Between the leaves’ bookmaking course, recycling and gardening at the library’s garden, and the ever-popular Stitch ‘n’ Bitch knitting group.

The library recently held an exhibition of work by learners at the RaPal (Research and Practice in Adult Literacies) conference, which took place at the University of Glasgow. The exhibition included work by video-makers and photographers from the Women! Camera! Action! programme, a video testimony of one learner’s personal journey, and a beautiful ‘security blanket’ knitted by the Stitch n’ Bitch group. The exhibition was very well received and it was great for our learners to see their hard work and achievements on display.

Since 2003, the library has also been running an accessible and learner-centred Adult Literacy and Numeracy (ALN) programme. We are also lucky to have Raman Mundair, a Cultural Diversity Writing Fellow, based at the library. She is able to offer learners the chance to develop their creative writing skills in a supportive environment. The library is also home to the national Lesbian Archive and Information Centre, which has grown its own programmes including the pioneering LiPS (Lesbians in Peer Support) project.

Relocation, relocation, relocation
When I started my post as librarian at Glasgow Women’s Library, I knew I was coming on board at a transitional time, but I don’t think I really appreciated how much work a major relocation would involve for all the staff. There have been so many things to think about, besides the huge task of packing up all the thousands of items that have been lovingly donated to the library.

One of the main things I did in preparation for the packing up stage was to weed out all the library’s unwanted stock. This turned out to be a huge job, particularly since the library doesn’t have a library management system or a catalogue of any kind, so I was unable to check if an item was already in stock, when it was last borrowed, or if it was superseded by a newer edition. In addition, much of the library’s stock was boxed up and not actually on the library shelves due to space restrictions, so this was a further complication. However, weeding did prove to be a really valuable exercise. As well as giving the library a real ‘spring clean’ and providing lots of stock for a huge book sale which raised over £700, it’s really helped me to get to know the library’s stock better.

Working out a logical packing system for the huge amount of stock we have (which is spread over three floors) took a real team effort. A large part of the library collection will remain boxed up during our time in the decant space, but I’m hoping to get at least part of the collection classified and catalogued.

We’re been really lucky and had lots of volunteers helping us with the move, which has made the whole thing much more manageable. Volunteers have also been helping us to capture the move and all that it entails on film as it’s happening. The move from Trongate is a major part of the library’s history, and we want to make sure we have photographs and video footage to look back on in the future.

A new home at the Mitchell
It’s been great for staff morale to look at the proposed plans for our new space in the Mitchell. We’ll be moving into the space that will be vacated by the Anderston library, and we’re hoping to make some changes to that space. Sue John, the library’s Strategic Development Manager, who is responsible for overseeing the move, has been working closely with a local architects firm to develop a vision for the future.
The architects have recently completed a feasibility study for the new space. This involved them finding out more about our services and what we do, and asking us what we’d like the new space to look like. After this consultation phase, they came up with a vision for our new space, which included gorgeous features such as a mezzanine floor, feature lighting, and glass partitions. Since we’re currently surrounded by boxes and literally watching the library being dismantled before our eyes, it’s a real boost to look at what the Glasgow Women’s Library of the future might look like. As much as we’ll miss some aspects of the Trongate space, such as the much-loved wood burning stove, there are certainly things we won’t be sad to say goodbye to (leaking roofs being top of the list).

We’re also keen to build new working relationships with the Mitchell library, and we’ve already been in touch with staff there who have all been very helpful and welcoming. In addition, many of the lifelong learning courses and ALN tutoring sessions are currently being held there whilst we’re in our transitional phase, which is a great help to staff and learners alike.

During our time in the decant space, lifelong learning and ALN tutoring will continue to run. We’re also planning to do some consultation work with users past, present and future to find out what they’d like the library to offer them in the coming years. IS

Wendy Kirk is Librarian at Glasgow Women’s Library, t: 0141 552 8345.

Information Scotland Vol. 4(4) August 2006

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