Inspire - eNewsletter
January 2014
Inspire supports libraries from all sectors in working together to enable members of
communities across the UK engaged in lifelong learning or research to find and access their
information needs.
Library Exhibitions
The British Library
Hidden history of the British in India
Previously only accessible as original documents or on microfilm at the British Library’s
Reading Rooms at St. Pancras, the British in India collection can now be explored online at
findmypast.co.uk anywhere at any time.
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2.5 million records chronicling the lives of early expats from all walks of life now
online for the first time
India Office Records spanning over two centuries of the British In India from the
East India Company to the Raj through to Indian Independence now scanned
and fully searchable
Available online for the first time at www.findmypast.co.uk
More here.
National Library of Scotland
Wha's like us?: A nation of dreams and ideas': What do Dolly the sheep, the decimal point,
golf, penicillin and Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter all have in common?
The answer is that they feature as some of the many successes of Scotland and Scots in a
new exhibition at the National Library of Scotland, 'Wha's like us?: A nation of dreams and
ideas'. This exhibition presents a selection of material from the Library's collections: serious
topics, including mathematics and philosophy, appear alongside lighter items, red hair, for
instance, and Scottish biscuits. The exhibition is free and runs until 18 May. More in the
exhibition press release.
The exhibition also includes a rare edition of the first novel about Harry Potter that has more
than 40 pages of notes and drawings by author J K Rowling. This is available as part of the
exhibition for one week only, from Thursday 30 January.
National Library of Wales
Celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Horse: The National Library of Wales welcomes the
New Year of the Horse with an exhibition of rare material from its excellent collection of
historical Chinese texts. Assembled by Professor David Hawkes, who taught at the University
of Peking in the 1940s and early 1950s, it includes items ranging from the ancient Dynasties
to the Republic and the early years of New China under Mao Zhedong. David Hawkes was a
world-famous scholar of Chinese literature and history, a Professor of Chinese at Oxford
University, and the most celebrated translator into English of the Chinese classic The Story of
the Stone (石头记). His entire library is held by the National Library. More details here:
Celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Horse
The Exhibition may be seen in the Summers Room at the National Library of Wales from 30
January to 15 February 2014. All welcome!
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January 2014
News
Scotland
Why Dundee Central Library is Scotland’s busiest library and award winning library
Having been awarded The Bookseller’s UK Library of the Year award last year, Dundee
Central Library now has the accolade of being recognised as Scotland’s busiest library for the
second year running. Judy Dobbie, Head of Dundee Library and Information Services: ‘We
have embraced the challenges of welfare reform, meaning we can assist those who are on
benefits or job seeking to make sure they get the help they need. We play a key role in the
public’s health and well-being, supporting and signposting them to the right services. We
encourage children to start coming to the library from a young age — we all know how
important reading is, how it helps with literacy skills. Families are welcome at all our
community libraries, to take part in book events and story time.
This has not protected the library service against potential cuts. Dundee is now facing the
need to make £935,000 in savings and Leisure and Culture Dundee, which runs sports
facilities, libraries and culture services, will lose £211,000 in funding.
Midlothian – Spreading the love of books in a Speed Book share
Midlothian Libraries (press release). "Book lovers in Midlothian are being given the chance
to take part in a unique ‘speed book share’ event. The concept is based on ‘speed dating’ but
participants talk to strangers about their favourite book and not themselves. And there’s
still a chance you may meet your perfect partner as it’s all part of Midlothian’s Love Your
Library Day 2014. Speed book share is open to everyone, particularly those who have read
something great recently and want to share it with others. Over the course of an hour,
those taking part will have a chance to convince others during a series of short conversations
on why they should read their choice of book. " ... For full listings of all the free activities on
offer for Midlothian’s Love your Library Day are here.
Wales
The WHELF (Wales Higher Education Libraries Forum) Annual Report for 2012–2013
WHELF is a collaborative group of all the higher education libraries in Wales, plus the
National Library of Wales and the Open University. WHELF’s mission is to promote
collaboration in library and information services, seek cost benefits for shared and consortial
services, encourage the exchange of ideas, provide a forum for mutual support and help to
facilitate new initiatives in library, archives and information service provision. The WHELF
Annual Report includes many examples of collaborative work over the past year :
Benefits of WHELF
 Raises the profile and value of services and developments in Welsh HE library, archives
and information services in our own institutions, in Wales and beyond;
 Influences policy makers and funders on matters of shared interest;
 Provides cost benefits with regard to shared services, collaborative deals and service
developments;
 Implements collaborative services and developments for the mutual benefit of member
institutions and their users;
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
Works with other organisations, sectors and domains in support of the development of
a cooperative library network in Wales and the UK;
 Builds on the collaboration, partnership and advocacy role that WHELF has within
Wales and produces guidance and strategic documents around student experience,
research, globalisation and the importance of promoting reading and lifelong learning
The report is available here: http://whelf.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/whelf-2012_2013final.pdf
New Town Library for Caerphilly which includes a museum section and a customer
service centre
The new library which was built on the old site of the town centre’s Post Office was officially
opened on Friday January 10. The three storey library also houses a Council Customer
Service Centre and spaces for a range of activities such as adult reading groups, Welsh
reading groups, IT and adult education classes. The top floor of the library hosts a Museum
area for themed exhibitions from the Winding House Museum in New Tredegar.
More here .
England
£2m to be cut from Birmingham Libraries
Libraries across Birmingham face closure as the city plans to cut £2m from its library budget,
with even the flagship Library of Birmingham facing heavy cuts.
A white paper issued by Birmingham City Council outlining more than £87m of cuts needed
across its budget in 2014/15 shows that £1.65m will be cut from the central library service
and from the Library of Birmingham. The book fund will be reduced by £50,000, the mobile
library service will have its number of stops cut by a third, and the Library Service at Home
will be reduced by a fifth. The council will also stop providing funding for events and
exhibitions at the Library of Birmingham, saving £150,000. The white paper said that
"further changes to the Library's operating arrangements" may be necessary in future. It
said: "It will be necessary to keep progress under review and consider contingency plans,
including reducing the opening hours or further reducing the services yet provided." More
here
St Helen’s Library helps others by accepting foodbank donations in lieu of fines
During a trial period in November and December people whose books were overdue were
able to pay their fines by giving food parcels instead. Library staff subtracted £1 off every
fine for each item donated. If the fine was less than £1, a donation would clear it. This
scheme has proved such a success that many library goers visited their local branches to pay
off fines with cash as well as make food donations – and the scheme is now to be extended
for a few more months as the food bank continues to grapple with unprecedented demand
for its services. More here .
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January 2014
Bury St Edmunds Library is offering a free online music service
The library in Sergeants Walk, off St Andrew’s Street North, went live last week and is now
able to offer Freegal, a live streaming service Suffolk Libraries launched in November.
It offers access to an online catalogue of more than three million tracks, with customers able
to download three free MP3 tracks a week and play up to three hours of music online every
day. The new streaming facility is advert free and can be accessed on computers, smart
phones and tablet devices. All members of Suffolk Libraries need is their card number,
accessible via the eLibrary section of www.suffolklibraries.co.uk.
Suffolk Libraries are one of only a handful of library services in the UK to provide access to
Freegal, so called because it is completely free and legal.
Other News
Model Programme for Public Libraries web site
The Danish Agency for Culture’s Designing Libraries website includes this Model Programme
which:
“… offers an interactive, web-based inspiration catalogue and tools that are to communicate
new knowledge, best practice and inspiration for brand new space/function interplay for
library developers.” The thought-provoking resources on the website challenge library
designers to look at the impact of current and future patterns of library use and the
changing needs of the public. As stated on the website, it is of international relevance:
“The challenges are international, and the development is reflected in slogans such as ‘from
collection to connection’, ‘from book container to community centre’ and ‘from transaction
to relation’.
The website is not just theory though. The toolkit provides plenty of practical case studies
and articles around central themes such as the library as a learning, inspiration, meeting and
performing space. 'Nothing new', some of you may say? Alyson Tyler and her Welsh Libraries
Blog says: Please visit the website and meander around the rich pickings before you decide.
Thanks for this link to Alyson. SC
Knowledge Unlatched to preserve e-books with Portico
Knowledge Unlatched and Portico have entered into an agreement to preserve Knowledge
Unlatched’s Pilot Collection of Open Access e-books in the Portico Archive.
“We want to ensure libraries this content will be available to researchers and students for
the long term,” stated Frances Pinter, executive director, Knowledge Unlatched. “To that
end, we are delighted to offer preservation of these books in Portico.”
The Knowledge Unlatched Pilot Collection includes 28 new books from 13 recognized
scholarly publishers: Amsterdam University Press, Bloomsbury Academic, Brill, Cambridge
University Press, De Gruyter, Duke University Press, Edinburgh University Press, Liverpool
University Press, Manchester University Press, Purdue University Press, Rutgers University
Press, Temple University Press University of Michigan Press. More here.
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Inspire - eNewsletter
January 2014
What are you going to do on National Libraries Day 2014?
National Libraries Day (Feb 8th) is for libraries in all sectors.
CILIP has a list of good ideas many of which could be used by libraries from any sector:
 If you’re a university or commercial library why not go ‘open access’ for the day and
show people what you do? You could even invite the decision makers in your
organisation to the library for a personal tour?
 Library Treasures: organise a ‘treasure hunt’ by hiding clues around your library – the
first one to solve the final clue wins a prize.
 Give a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of your organisation – show your library users all those
areas of the library that you normally keep to yourself.
 Put on a special event that gets people through the door – an author talk, a creative
session with an illustrator, a party?
 Anticipate the day by asking users to write on a piece of paper or post-it note why they
love their library or librarian and then create a display. If you have old photographs of
your library, make a mini exhibition to act as a talking point and provoke nostalgic
reminiscences.
 If you’re running an event make sure you contact the local press and invite them along.
Think about setting up a photo opportunity.
 Does a local celebrity support your library? Why not get them involved, set up a signing,
photo opportunity or talk/reading. Get them to tweet why your library is the best of the
rest!
 Contact your local MP and invite them to the library, perhaps they could run their
surgery session in the library that week?
National Libraries Day Logo for anyone to use: http://ow.ly/i/4fyZN
2014 is the 50th anniversary of the Public Libraries Act 1964
This act not only stipulates the existence of public libraries, but also a ‘duty’ to ‘superintend
and promote the improvement of the public library service provided by local authorities in
England and Wales’: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1964/75
Key advice on www.gov.uk about setting up community managed libraries is
flawed and does not appear to have ministerial sign-off
Freedom of Information requests submitted by the Chartered Institute of Library and
Information Professionals (CILIP) revealed that the advice, to encourage volunteers to take
over the running of local libraries, was approved by officials from the Department for Media,
Culture and Sports (DCMS), the Cabinet Office and the Department for Communities and
Local Government.
Barbara Band, CILIP president, said: "It is hard to believe that the minister is happy that
official government advice seems to suggest volunteer-run libraries are in any way a suitable
alternative to a professionally managed service delivered by the local authority.
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"Not only does it go against the 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act, which clearly states
local authorities have a duty to provide public libraries, it also dismisses the role of librarians
and library staff. The fact that the 'advice' does not appear to have had ministerial sign-off
and is not put in context is deeply worrying."
In October CILIP expressed concern that gov.uk advice promoted volunteer-managed
community libraries ahead of those delivered by local authorities, staffed by professionals,
and sought clarification from the culture minister, Ed Vaizey, to explain why the government
appears to be promoting volunteer-run libraries and whether this a change of government
policy. CILIP says that any change in government policy towards favouring volunteers over
professionals needs to be held up to proper scrutiny.
http://www.ukauthority.com/tabid/64/Default.aspx?id=4526
EU favours licensing over copyright reform for libraries in latest international
negotiations
The 26th meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright & Related Rights (SCCR) closed
just before midnight on Friday 20th December, following five days of discussion of copyright
protections for broadcasting, exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives, and for
education.
IFLA reports: The major disappointment for libraries at SCCR 26 has been the refusal of the
EU and Central Eastern European and Baltic States to engage substantively in discussion of
exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives, or entertain the possibility of an
instrument in this area. While the European Commission invites views at the regional level
on the adequacy of copyright exceptions in the digital environment, at SCCR the EU has
already made up its mind: only licensing solutions will be palatable. This position wilfully
disregards the failures of the recent Licences for Europe consultation, which demonstrated
emphatically that a solely license-based approach to new uses and technologies is not the
way forward. Libraries and archives in the EU must work together to push for a more flexible
EU position at WIPO.
More details here
Database of 1.75 million Chinese e-books now at Columbia University
Columbia University Libraries/Information Services is pleased to announce the opening of
the CADAL (China Academic Digital Associative Library) database of 1.75 million Chinese ebooks to Columbia University.
The CADAL, which originated from the China-US Million Book Digital Library Project, is one of
the two major consortia academic libraries in China with partnership ties to more than 70
Chinese university libraries, including the top 10. Its database is recognized as the largest
and most significant repository for e-book resources of material published during the
Chinese Republican Period from 1911-1949. As a result of this global collaboration scholars
in China will have access to materials no longer readily available in Chinese libraries and
scholars throughout the world will be able to deepen their knowledge of the full range of
published sources produced and preserved in China. More here
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US: Ebooks up slightly in 2013, Hardcovers up Double-Digits
In a reversal of trends in recent years, ebook growth is basically flat in the U.S. while
hardcover books are selling much better this year than last. According to the latest numbers
from the Association of American publishers, adult ebook sales are up 4.8% through August
to $647.7 million. Meanwhile, sales of hardcover books are up 11.5% to $778.6 million over
the same period. More here
New ProQuest Service Enhances Discovery of University Multimedia Collections
Libraries and universities with proprietary audio and video collections can now preserve and
provide access to these information resources through ProQuest Video Preservation and
Discovery Service. VPDS is a full service offering that includes digital conversion,
transcription, metadata creation, and optional hosting and streaming. It also creates
transcriptions and indexes A/V content stored on tapes, hard drives, and other media. All
formats of video - even those that are obsolete -- are eligible for the service. More here
CCC and ALPSP launch a joint Open Access Centre
Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), a not-for-profit organization creating global licensing
and content solutions that make copyright work for everyone, has launched an Open Access
Resource Center in partnership with the Association of Learned and Professional Society
Publishers (ALPSP). The resource centre includes links to the latest open access news,
reports, whitepapers, webinars and websites. Users can complete the feedback survey to
add suggestions for what they would like to see included in the future. More here
What are the five most frequently used English words in titles of books, movies
and other media?
The top five English title words by number of appearances according to WorldCat are:
1. new
2. report
3. study
4. development
5. analysis
OCLC Research Senior Program Officer Roy Tennant used WorldCat, the world's largest
online database for discovery of library resources, to identify the most common English
words in titles of books, movies and other media. The results were published in The Atlantic
article, "In Books, Movies, and Media, the Most Popular Title Word Is 'New'", on 8 January
2014.
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Events
Teachmeet at Sheffield Hallam University
When: Monday 3rd March 2014, 2-4.30pm
Where: Adsetts Learning Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield
Cost: Free event. 14 places are available.
This is a chance for librarians from across the region to meet up, share their experiences of
teaching information skills and help each other out. Please bring along a success you would
like to share, a resource to talk about, or an issue or problem you have encountered in your
teaching with which you would like help.
The teachmeet will be preceded by the ARLG: Yorkshire & Humbershire committee AGM
1.15-1.45pm. You are welcome to attend if you wish: if you would like to come to the AGM,
please email Jennifer Rowland<mailto:J.Rowland2@bradford.ac.uk> so we can make sure
we have enough free sandwiches for everyone. We particularly welcome people who are
interested in joining the committee.
Please go to our Eventbrite<http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/librarian-teachmeet-tickets10097208021?utm_campaign=new_eventv2&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eb_email&
utm_term=eventurl_text> to book a place.
CoLRiC Events 2014
Where are we now? FE Libraries/Learning Resource Services at the crossroads
In the current climate, College library and learning resource services are becoming more
creative and finding new and innovative ways to support the demand from students whilst
proving their worth to managers. The 2014 events below aim to explore some of the ways
services are demonstrating best practice, hearing from practitioners in the field who are
making a difference.
When and where
 Friday 21st March - Taunton Conference Centre, Somerset College
 Friday 16th May - New College Durham
 Friday 6th June - Friends Meeting House, Euston, London NW1
Each event will run from 10.00am until 3.30pm.
The programme will include:
 HE in FE
 CoLRiC's information literacy project
 Six Book Challenge - new directions
 CoLRiC Beacon and Best Practice Award winners
 Developing online multi-media tutorials (Taunton)
 Additional Library services for the College community (Taunton)
 Positives of College mergers (Durham)
 Learning hubs (Durham)
 Conversation cafe (London)
Further details and a booking form are available on the CoLRiC website at:
http://www.colric.org.uk/events.php.
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Please contact Sue Woolmer, CoLRiC Administrator if you have any queries:
colric@colric.org.uk Web: http://www.colric.org.uk
State of play - Open Access: extending access to the research literature
2014 UHMLG Spring Forum
When: Friday 28th February 2014
Where: Royal Society of Medicine, http://www.rsm.ac.uk/welcom/map.php
Cost: £60 for UHMLG members and £80 for non-members.
The University Health and Medical Librarians' Group invite you to their Spring Forum for a
day that intends to take a 360 degree look at all aspects of OA, hearing from librarians,
publishers, researchers and funders. We welcome you to join us.
Registration will begin at 9am and the estimated finish time will be 4.00pm.
Speakers confirmed to date are:
 Dr Paul Ayris, Director of Library Services and Copyright Officer, UCL - An institutional
approach to Open Access: Developments at UCL
 Professor Stephen Curry, Professor of Structural Biology, Imperial College London - an
academic's perspective
 Dr Alicia Wise, Director of Universal Access, Elsevier - a publisher's perspective
 Dr Catriona MacCallum, PLOS Advocacy Projects Manager and Consulting Editor, PLOS
ONE - Open Access and emerging networks of Open Research
 Mr Mark Thorley, Data Management Co-ordinator and Head of Science Information,
NERC - a funder's perspective
* more speakers awaiting confirmation*
We will be joined by sponsors who are active in the health and medical library world. There
will also be an opportunity to have a tour of the Royal Society of Medicine at the end of the
day. Please indicate in the booking form if you would like to take part.
To book, please return the form below, before 12th February, to:
Erika Gavillet, Medical Librarian, Walton Library, Medical School, Newcastle University,
Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH or
erika.gavillet@ncl.ac.uk<mailto:erika.gavillet@ncl.ac.uk
___________________________________________________
Name:
Institution:
Address:
Email:
Any other dietary requirements:
I do/do not wish to book for a tour of RSM - (please delete as appropriate)
I do/do not require vegetarian meals Enclose a cheque made payable to UHMLG/ Please
invoice me for : £60 - member/£80 non-member (please delete as appropriate) PO number
if available:
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End Notes
How Berwick’s MP persuaded the country to declare war in August 1914
In the light of the coming deluge on WW1 this is a fascinating and very readable article from
a NE local newspaper. http://www.berwick-advertiser.co.uk/news/features/how-berwick-smp-persuaded-country-to-declare-war-in-1914-1-3254902
A Quick Guide to Library Cats
There are currently over 300 living resident library cats throughout the world today, 200+ of
which reside in the US according to the Library Cat Map. Library cats have been welcomed
as rodent-killers since the early 19th century in Europe and even dating back to ancient
times in Egypt in the libraries of temples. It includes link toall of the library cars know, living
or dead in the UK.
How Technology Killed the Future
How the ‘must do’ list is almost inevitably overtaken by the next problem to be resolved…
Reminder: this newsletter is about collaborative activities, ideas and proposals throughout the
UK – and beyond. If you would like to contribute information on events or developments in your
area, whether they are large or small, or offer any other items which might be of interest to
Inspire members –please send them to me at inspire2011@hotmail.co.uk. Any other
comments or feedback on the Inspire e-newsletter also welcome. Thank you
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