I continue on my mission to gather UK library blogs into a list. I’m sure somebody’s going to pop up at some point and tell me such a thing already exists, but until then, I’ll keep going.
Of course Roddy Macleod guest blogged on this same topic on UK Web Focus almost a year ago. Since then, there’s been a growth in the number of library blogs. I intend to eventually gather these into one list, reorganise the categories, and maybe put it on my website (anyone got an easy tool to build one, for a girl that knows not of the mysteries of HTML, and doesn’t think she could ever get to grips with it anyway?). I will also probably post about what I’ve learned about UK library blogs in the process.
I haven’t been able to explore every blog linked to on these blogs, but I’ve made a good stab at it…I’ve discounted any blog not updated for a reasonably large amount of time, restricted the list to only UK people, and only people who state they are librarians, or work in the library sphere.
Institutional Blogs
Not one but 4 separate blogs from University College London – Anthropology, Communication, First Reading (currently on hold), and Library News for Artists. Each blog gives regular information on library and departmental news, relevant upcoming events, and new stock.
John Gale at Bethlem Library produces “easy to understand summaries of research articles, all the latest information from the Department of Health and news stories from specialist journals.” Multiple regular posts with good summaries of relevant research and news.
Engineering Info @ Imperial College London Library
Regular posts of topical news and press releases from relevant Government departments for users of the Library.
Glasgow School of Art Library: Fine Art and Design News Updates
News for students of Glasgow School of Art, with postings about library services, print and electronic resources, and links to relevant news articles.
Library news for users in Perth College, with posts about new acquisitions, IT information, and also custom sub blogs created by the library for specific student projects.
Open University Arts Library
Open University Maths and Computing Library
Open University Library News for Science
Multiple blogs from the Open University Library, catering to their dispersed users through regular blog posts on topic specific blogs, about library services, training, and online resources.
From the Chief Executive’s Desk
Regular, personal postings from CILIPS Chief Executive Bob McKie on library topics. This may be a personal viewpoint, but as it’s hosted by CILIP, I’ve placed it in the Institutional Blogs category.
Group Library blogs
What’s New On the CyberLibrary
Infrequent (2 to 3 monthly) posting on news relevant to public libraries and their users in the South West of England.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Library Land
A group blog for members of CILIP South East’s Hampshire and Isle of Wight Sub Branch. Not updated since September 2007 and may be defunct.
There’s a Google Group for British librarian bloggers! Unfortunately it looks to be pretty much unused at the moment.
Perth College Library Webspots
A blog for the staff of Perth College Library, where they can share weblinks and information relating to CPD, initiatives and new resources.
A blog on library and information management issues for members of SINTO – the information partnership, a consortium of library and information services in South Yorkshire and the surrounding area. Regular in depth posts, and covering a wide range of library topics.
Individual Blogs
The blog of the Learning Resources and Information Services Manager at Nicholas Chamberlaine Technology College in Bedworth. Posts cover developments and musings about the future of school libraries.
A librarian in a South Yorkshire FE College, blogging his reads, reviewing them as he goes along, and musing on the thoughts that these books trigger
Silversprite – the librarian at the end of the world
Prime contender for Most Remote UK Blogger, John Kirriemuir blogs about his business interests of digital libraries, digital gaming and online economics.
Blog of Kara Jones, Research Publications Librarian at the University of Bath. The blog covers institutional repositories, self-archiving, open access and libraries, charting the progress of the development of the repository.
Also blogging institutionally at University of Bath Library: Science News
025.04: Michael’s blog – fighting library apathy, one Dewey Hundred at a time
Lots of posts on library issues (and an interesting recent visit to Bulgarian libraries!) by Michael, an E-Resources Librarian in Bolton.
He also blogs as part of a group for Signpost Libraries Blog, “Signposting you to book and DVD reviews, and online resources for your community. Brought to you by Bolton and Wigan libraries.”, although this seems to have been abandoned since August 2007.
Information Literacy meets Web 2.0
Blog of Peter Godwin, a librarian in St. Albans. He posts regularly on information literacy and Web 2.0 topics.
John Wright: research support librarian
John Wright blogs about life as a Research Support Librarian within the library service of the University of Wales, Bangor.
Chartership Blogs
A blog recording the Chartership progress of a librarian in a Glasgow Further Education college, with discussions of staff visits, developments in the library service, and what constitutes good practice.
Musings of a Chartering Librarian
The blog of an Assistant Librarian in the Reader Services team in a UK university library, going through the Chartership process and using the blog as a record of this.
Dumpling in a Hanky 