So I’m a bit stubborn…

I was pointed a while ago to this discussion on JISCmail a while ago, which I’m not a member of, so I couldn’t respond to the discussion about library blogs (and to be honest, I couldn’t be bothered joining to explain why the UK Library Bloggers wiki came from, and why it is as it is -it’s all done in my free time).

The point I took from it was that the UK Library Bloggers wiki wasn’t regarded as comprehensive, and was seen to be inconsistent. As it’s always a work in progress, I took that on board…and spent 30+ hours over the last few months going through each of the 800+ liblogs listed on the Hotstuff 2.0 list discussed in the JISCmail thread, and determining which were in the UK, and if they were missing from the liblogger list.
From that, I found 37 new liblogs (and a lot which I would classify as dead, as they haven’t had any posts in 2009, so I ignored), some of which were debateable whether they fell into the liblog definition (automated library news areas, rather than actual blogs etc), and I’ve spent a few spare hours when I’ve found them to visit each blog, classify it, and add it to the list. Meanwhile, Jo Alcock and Phil Bradley have also been adding to the list as they find more blogs in their online wanderings. One of the fab benefits of having people involved who work in different professional areas, and are able to pick up blogs from their professional links!
I’ve also expanded the categories to include information professionals: those who are working with libraries / librarians, who would otherwise fall outside the boundaries of the list, but contribute a lot of useful information to librarians and the information profession. Hopefully this is a good plan – to include people who don’t claim to be librarians on a list of…erm…librarians!
*And yes, I do know there’s a lot more to life, but like I said, I’m stubborn, and since it was pointed out that the wiki was lacking, I decided to sort that out…*

Fancy a change of career?

Fed up with lending books (librarians), interpreting the law in them (lawyers), or just feeling a burning desire to get more fun out of working with books?


This could be the job for you:

The Job:

The Children’s Bookshop in Edinburgh is expanding and opening a new bookshop for grown-up fiction and non-fiction. The manager will need to develop core stock, as well as undertake daily stock replenishment and new stock ordering. She or he will also be responsible for event organisation, cashing up, maintaining the customer mailing list, customer orders and managing any additional staff. The manager will contribute to overall business development. Work days will be Tuesday-Saturday.


The person:

The candidate will have a proven track record in bookselling as well as experience of managing staff and budgets. Good IT skills and excellent interpersonal skills are a must. She or he must be self-motivated, but also work well in a team with other staff and with The Children’s Bookshop. Reliability is vital.


Those nice people at Fidra books are expanding into the world of grown-up books, and need a manager for this new venture. Wouldn’t it be nice to actually work with books you’d like to read, and recommend to others to read? (I would strongly advise against reading law books for pleasure, unless your definition of pleasure also includes pulling out your own fingernails, and watching the growth of mould in damp areas). The bookshop will open on the 5th September 2009, and I’m hoing to take a trip over.


Prior to the opening of the bookshop for grown-ups (apparently, calling it an “adult bookshop” might attract the wrong type of customers 😉 ), they’re using the space as a gallery for illustrations by some wonderful childrens book artists.during a period which also encompasses the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The Fidra Gallery will be open from the 11th July – 29th August…think I might make it over to that side of town to have a look. And if I’m feeling too lazy, it’s got a website too.


They’re also on Twitter as @FidraBooks


It’s so nice to have such a friendly, fun and communicative independant bookshop in town, instead of just the Big Beasts of Waterstone’s and the supermarket ‘reading for the lowest common denominator’ options! Through their blog and their Twitter posts, I feel like I know the staff already, without ever having met them!

I love the smell of musty books in the morning…

Ohhh, there’s just nothing like the scent of old, mouldering books to make you feel at home in a library, so when you’re feeling lost while sitting at your desk, paging through the latest electronic information source, why not blast a spray of this around, and think back to happy times spent researching obscure points, buried in ancient texts…

Other varieties available…maybe 😉

Open University course for librarians

As mentioned in CILIP Gazette…or Update (my memory sucks!) the Open University has launched a new course for “information professionals”: “The Evolving Information Professional: challenges in a digital world” is an online course,. available to begin studying at any time.

The blurb says:

This course is for information professionals – librarians, archivists, information and knowledge managers – looking to keep up to date with modern technologies, sources of information and today’s users.

It is for those in the profession who wish to stay relevant in this fast-changing world of information, find out how other information services are facing the challenge and consider ways of proving their worth in the Google age. Among all the issues that the course covers, you will be given the opportunity to reflect on the possible consequences for your service of a new generation of ‘Homo zappien’ users, try out games developed for library users and archivists and consider the implications of the 7 Ps for marketing your service.

All looks very interesting…but in general terms. And I can’t really see myself paying almost £500 for that level of general interest. It may be more useful for public /academic librarians, or anyone who has to deal with a regularly changing group of users.

When they invent a course that includes dealing with lawyers and their….’foibles’, then I’ll be there in a flash! 🙂