All contributions welcome. Please email the editor at deadline@aukml.org.uk The opinions expressed in Deadline are not necessarily those of the AUKML.
NEWS:
As if we weren't already excited enough about the new occupant of the White House, check out Obama's glowing tribute to librarians:
"Guardians of truth and knowledge"?
Couldn't have put it better myself.
Hampstead Theatre in North London is reviving Michael Frayn's 1975 play about a regional newspaper library this spring. The details are here:
Alphabetical Order.
Remember the good old days, when newspapers ruled and the internet was for geeks? No?
Maybe this will job your memory:
FEATURE: WHY AUKML SHOULD CONSIDER BECOMING PART OF THE SLA
AUKML is a wonderful organisation, which I am proud to have been associated with since its inception
in the mid 1980s. However, it is currently facing a crisis that is typical of many small associations,
namely, how can it survive in the current economic climate. There was already a well-established trend
of media organisations downsizing or closing their library or information departments before the current
recession. The present economic climate, with an inevitable downturn in advertising and therefore
reduction of income in media organisations, is likely to hit library and information units harder still.
With declining membership numbers comes declining numbers of active committee members to organise
meetings and conferences, or to contribute to or edit Deadline. So maybe it is now time to
consider making AUKML a Special Interest Group within a larger organisation.
This is not a new idea; for many years, AUKML has vaguely flirted with the idea of becoming an SIG of CILIP
and, rightly in my view, has shied away from it. CILIP remains too public-library dominated, is slow in its
decision-making and has financial problems of its own. The alternative, therefore, is the Special Libraries Association.
This has a number of obvious advantages. Firstly, it already has a News SIG, with its own lively web site.
Secondly, it is an extremely successful and financially stable organisation. Thirdly, for the last few years it has been
making strenuous efforts to enhance its membership in the UK, and SLA (Europe) is a lively body that
organises several events a year in the UK already. So I have
little doubt that it would be delighted to welcome AUKML in as the UK arm of its News Group.
There are, of course, issues involved in such a merger; the Group would have to be subject to
SLA’s rules and procedures; the membership fee may be greater (especially if the £ continues
to fall against the $ as it has done in recent months). However, there is no reason not to
believe that AUKML's unique style and relationship with suppliers of news databases and services
will continue, and that its wonderful conferences will continue, but with additional members
from elsewhere in SLA attending. I also believe that the energy and enthusiasm of the AUKML
committee will ensure that we get SLA News, and SLA Europe aware of issues that affect us,
and willing to lobby on our behalf. Of course some detailed negotiations regarding all these
matters would have to take place with people from SLA, but in my view the effort will be well
worth while. In particular, I would wish to see the name AUKML retained even if the Association
were to end up as part of the SLA.
I believe the time is ripe for such talks and that they should be entered into by AUKML from a
position of financial strength and enthusiastic members.
I rest my case M'Lud
Charles Oppenheim
Loughborough University
FEATURE: Word clouds by Katy Stoddard
January 21st's souvenir issue of the Guardian was interesting for more than the
obvious reason (11 pages of Obama ephemera, what more could you want?): it was
the first time I'm aware of that the paper had used word clouds.
Word clouds are increasingly common on the web; basically, they count the number
of times each word is used in a given text, then map out the data into a nice
little graphic - the bigger and darker the word, the more times it appears.
The Guardian applied this to Obama's inaugural address
and to those of Abraham Lincoln
, Franklin D Roosevelt
and George Bush.
The results are interesting - Obama's most used words were nation, new, must, every, people,
less, today and America. It's not hard to recognise that Obama's message is one of renewal
and starting over (change, the major drive of his campaign, doesn't feature, perhaps reflecting
the reality he faces now he's in office). Peace and liberty also come much further down the list.
The comparisons with former presidents are also interesting - Lincoln's key words were war,
God and Union (it was delivered before the end of the civil war in 1865), whereas Roosevelt,
speaking at the peak of the New Deal era, focused on government, democracy, people and progress.
Perhaps surprisingly, Bush is the one who spoke of freedom and liberty (one flaw of word clouds
is that there's no context - in this case, Bush used American freedom to stand for waging war abroad).
So far, so good, but the Guardian's graphic has one major drawback. Word clouds really come
into their own when they are interactive, when each word is clickable so you can access
the full body of data behind the image. This isn't possible on the printed page, so the
full functionality, and context, of the graphic was sadly lost to readers.
You can read about
word clouds at Wikipedia,
watch an instructional video on YouTube,
or make your own
courtesy of Wordle, or see a
world cloud of this article.
Reviews: Online Exhibition and Conference: Manning the stall by Holly Bentley
Spending a day on a stall at Online teaches you a lot about the human condition . . .or, at least, about the librarian condition:
Firstly, we come in all shapes and sizes
And secondly, few of us can resist a free jelly bean.
OK, so maybe it doesn't teach you that much. But my time spent rearranging pamphlets and accosting unsuspecting passers-by did have another purpose, plugging AUKML. Perhaps unsurprisingly, very few people had heard of us (I didn't take it too personally - an astonishingly large number had never heard of CILIP either).
However a few informative pamphlets and a quick bit of spiel soon put that right.. . and a few visitors were sent on their way with application forms.
Our co-stall occupiers CLSIG were dazzlingly efficient and, courtesy of Sue Hill, provided a vast array of treats to draw in punters, including the aforementioned jelly beans and free massages.
We couldn't have been there without them (quite literally, I had to get one of their members to persuade security to let me in the building!).
Over the day I managed to squeeze in a couple of exhibition talks, of particular interest was a demonstration of Knol, Google's answer to Wikipedia. Their basic concept was to provide a space for experts to produce articles about their specialist subjects.
It's format varied in one key way from Wikipedia, all articles must be bylined, increasing the accountability of its authors.
I'm not convinced that it will catch on, but then I'm sure they said that about Wikipedia.
To judge for yourself, check out the site:
All in all, it was an interesting and worthwhile day, and a great opportunity to meet people from all aspects of the library profession.
AUKML's stall was also manned by: Katy Stoddard, Caroline White and Anna-Lena Kleinert
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Online Exhibition and Conference: Freebies by Katy Stoddard
Opportunities for networking and negotiating abound on the Online conference floor, but for those of us who don't control the departmental budget the most important aspect of Online's multiple stands are the freebies.
Who among you can honestly say they haven't been drawn to a stand with sweets placed enticingly close to the aisle? This year boiled sweets seemed to be the thing, although the Press Association's licorice allsorts provided a welcome change and LexisNexis must be commended for their boxes of chocolate buttons, which have kept the office going all morning.
(As an aside, AUKML's sweet of choice this year was the humble jelly bean, kindly sponsored by Sue Hill and very popular with delegates; not so humble as it turned out - one of the delegates
described them as "jelly beans on steroids".)
Branded pens also remain popular. The thinking here is that, back in the office, you will pick up said pen and, sighing nostalgically as you recall the witty banter you exchanged with the Online rep, head to the company's website and buy their product. I'm not sure that works when, in reality, you swiped the pen from the counter without stopping to chat, but it's obviously a successful enough ploy for Thomson Reuters to wheel out the pens again this year.
Here, for your delectation, are the best of Online 2008's gimmicks and freebies.
Best chocolate: LexisNexis, chocolate buttons Best sweets: mintbusinessinfo.com, box of mints Best drink: Thomson Reuters, alcoholic cocktails (although tfpl's bottled water was more fitting) Best costume: Supergirl (though we were so distracted by the costume we didn't notice which company she worked for) Best random giveaway: CLSIG, free sports massage Best prize draw: Fiat Panda, sponsored by Oracle
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Information Professionals' Christmas Party One Whitehall Place December 1 2008 by Richard Nelsson
Despite the daily news of job-losses, and rumours of recession, the great and good of the information profession kicked off the 2008 festive season in lavish style. The Information Professionals'
Christmas Party made no concession to these straightened times, being held in the opulent splendour of One Whitehall place, the former National Liberal Club. Over champagne and fine food, members of the leading information groups, vendors, recruitment agencies, and even a few librarians, chatted and partied like it was, well like it was before anyone have ever thought of putting the words credit and crunch together.
Of course, the event was probably planned way before the current crisis began and to cancel would have been costly. But that aside, why shouldn't the profession celebrate with a certain panache? The numbers didn't appear to be down on previous years and everyone seemed very upbeat. Bringing together people from many sectors of the information world is a good idea, particularly when so many are around for Online Information. There was plenty of lively discussion going on while the more energetic took to the dance floor. What William Gladstone and his 19th century Liberals would have thought of their grand building being used for doing their stuff to the sounds of Abba is anyone's guess.
Hopefully there will be a similar event this year as the 2008 was certainly a great success. However, whether anyone in the profession will be able to afford the £35-£50 price tag, let alone sponsor it, is another matter. Anyway, forget about that for a moment and
take a look at the happy party-goers:
Thanks to the sponsors: City Information Organisation
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AUKML Christmas party by Caroline White
Most people wait until New Year to come up with all kinds of resolutions about fitness / getting out more / drinking less ...
but some 20 or so members of AUKML brought many of these commendable goals forward to pre-Christmas, eschewing the traditional drink-as- much-as-you-can binge for the seasonal social, and instead gathering on a cold Blackfriars corner to sally forth on foot for a fascinating, informative, convivial and freezing-cold guided walk around the Fleet Street area that represents the spiritual roots of much of what we do.
Our excellent guide from Cityside Walks, was Gaye by name and by nature ~ she told us so many interesting facts and tales that only a fraction sank in, and all was accompanied by a natural friendliness and vivacity that indicated a love of her job and subject as well as knowledge and interest in the subject.
Over the 2 hours of the walk we weaved and wended round the back streets and discovered unknown delights on and around the main thoroughfares you walk every day, including numerous lovely Churches like St Bride's, and a rare glimpse at the inside foyer of the old Express building on Fleet Street, with curtains drawn back to show its art deco interior, gorgeous staircase decorations and frescoes. Slightly more off the beaten track of the Street, but still in ghoulish proximity, is Hen and Chicken Court, the yard where Sweeney Todd is said to have had his barber's shop with the trapdoor through which his victims were dropped, to be smuggled through tunnels to his lover Margery Lovett's pie shop.
Another gorgeous building passed that will merit exploration during its occasional opening hours, detailed at the City Of London,
is Prince Henry's Room, one of the few buildings of London to survive the Great Fire.
The evening's highlight for me was a statue of Samuel Johnson's cat HODGE (learn his story at Hodge the Cat),
in a tranquil courtyard which was his home for many years with his master, where he was fed oysters as being a commonly available and cheap food of the working classes. Unfortunately stopping too long to take his picture did mean a few of us got left behind and had to scrabble round the alleyways to catch up with the group!
Of course we are only human, so the inevitable culmination to all this erudition was of course a visit to the pub for an essential warm-up ~ but not before Gaye had opened up the marvels of the delightful Inner and Middle Temple, in its beautiful night-lit, tranquil glory. A complete and lovely revelation to most of us 'Londoners'. Though upon a couple of our rabble trying to get a peek into the gorgeous, private, Temple Church just as an event there was ending, we were turned back in no uncertain terms by some sniffy participants. The Inner Temple Library, which incidentally was a winner of Halsbury's Awards in 2007, provides a lot of
the institution's history on its site.
. . Same event, another perspective by Lindsey Sellors
This year rather than spend the night chatting in a pub the AUKML went on a guided walk around "the street of ink" aka Fleet Street.
So on a bitterly cold winter's night we met up with the guide at Blackfriars, opposite the site of Bridewell palace. We made our way up to Ludgate Circus and huddled together next to an old fashioned telephone box only to have someone fight their way through the group to use the phone. Next a couple of girls wanted to recruit us to take part in their treasure hunt but we moved on before the man had finished his call so we have no idea how many librarians you can fit in a phone box.
Next stop was St Bride's and having arrived in this peaceful corner of London the guide remarked how quiet it was when right on cue Quasimodo started ringing the church bell. We then dodged back across Fleet Street to peer into the Daily Express's art deco foyer as the curtains were opened. Imagine the surprise of the workman who turned round to find 20 noses pressed up against the glass of this jewel of a 1930's building.
Turning up the side of Ye Old Cheshire Cheese we turned again at the Gunpowder plot memorial gun and so into the square where Dr Jonson's house stands. Grouped round Hodge the cat we were regaled with the smells of Victorian sewers which were being replaced. It was at this point we lost Caroline. We all followed the guide out of the far corner of the square while Caroline was enthralled with the statue of the cat or maybe the odours had an effect, anyway she turned round and found herself alone.
Back in Fleet Street once more we re-grouped before going off to see the spot where Sweeney Todd had his barber shop and a fleeting visit to the medieval statues in St Dunstan's in the West before crossing into the Middle and InnerTemples. Though the Temple Church was open we were unable to have a look around and so, after wandering around the different Inns of Court, we ended up outside the Devereux Pub. Once in the warm of the bar we shed our hats and scarves to settle down for a drink, a chat and some very nice food.
Everyone there thought the whole event was a great success and despite the cold really enjoyed the walk round this part of the city of London. I am a Londoner and had family living only the other side of Kingsway, but I leant a lot about an area I have walked through many a time and thought I knew. I don't know how all the incidental events were laid on but they added to the general jollity of the evening. Well done Richard for thinking of it and a big thank you to Caroline for arranging it.
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SLA Winter Warmer Quiz by Katy Stoddard
January saw the annual SLA winter warmer quiz, at the City Tavern near Bank. AUKML's team came third last year, so I was feeling the pressure of being the newbie. Would I have anything to contribute other than, "Shall I get the beers in?" Our team, No News - Good News, also included Richard Nelsson and Caroline White (Guardian), Gavin Fuller (Telegraph), Anna-Lena Kleinert (ITN) and Kathryn Schopflin (no longer a news hound but an AUKML legend in her own right).
We did well on the news and film rounds, and displayed an impressive knowledge of the French in the picture round, but were shockingly bad at TV themes (I got Bargain Hunt, to my eternal shame - spot the part-timer). With two rounds to go we were trailing the Oliver Postgate Appreciation Society (I kid you not) by eleven points. Fortunately we aced the lyrics round so we knew we were in with a shot (I'm terrible at remembering song titles but ask me to sing When I'm 64 or anything from Mary Poppins and I'm your girl).
Faced with a list of 20 cocktails and tasked to identify the ten vodka-based ones (where was Linda MacDonald when we needed her?), our nerve faltered. What we needed was strong leadership; luckily Gav was there with a steady hand and a do or die attitude. "Sod it,"
he said (I might have made that up) so we gambled on the ten we hadn't eliminated and, remarkably, it paid off! When the final scores were revealed we had triumphed by one point. Bottles of Sue Hill champagne (and some delicious pizza) all round.
Pictures of the quiz available here:
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AUKML and CLSIG open day by Kelly Saunders, Rachael Keene and Matthew Ward
The AUKML and CLSIG open day commences with tea, biscuits and the opportunity to chat with library trainees from other institutions.
After a brief introduction and welcome, Professor Charles Oppenheim, Head of Information Science at the University of Loughborough offers an academic perspective on librarianship. He highlights the importance of the degree programme as a step on the path to a rewarding career as an information professional. However, he emphasizes that it is not all about writing essays and passing exams.
Of equal importance are the people that we will meet and the wealth of practical experience that can be gained while studying. He suggests that each of us will establish our own 'personal network'
when at university, mixing, rather excitingly, with what will become the next generation of information professionals. What comes across most powerfully during the talk is Oppenheim's enthusiasm for his subject. He identifies variety as a key feature of the information sector. It is an area in which we can achieve whatever we aspire to, working in turn as advisors, teachers, negotiators, researchers and counsellors. This is a theme that will continue to be echoed throughout the rest of the day, as we learn that terms such as 'librarian', 'information manager' and 'researcher' have a wealth of meanings that cannot be easily contained within one superficial job description.
The second talk of the morning comes from Jacky Berry of the British Medical Association Library. Opening her talk with a question, she asks, "Is there a career for information professionals anymore?" This is undoubtedly a rather disconcerting proposition to launch at a room full of trainee librarians. However, she goes on to prove that we are not embarking upon a defunct career path. It is indeed true that we may not work with dusty tomes, wear horn-rimmed spectacles, or even choose to call ourselves librarians in the future. Nevertheless, there will always be a place for us in a variety of different working environments. Having been employed by local councils, law firms, architectural practices and medical trusts, Jacky is an advertisement for the information professional's potential career diversity. Stereotypes need no longer abound, she asserts, gleefully listing a wealth of Hollywood films that have portrayed librarians in turn as intelligent, dynamic and heroic individuals.
Indeed, it is even believed that the eighteenth century's greatest lothario, Giacomo Casanova, had a stint of employment as an information professional. We are left to conclude that although information science is a specialist discipline, it frequently opens doors to a range of different occupations.
Awash with career ideas, we disbanded for the rest of the morning and sent for tours of different libraries.
The Guardian trainees head for the Wellcome Trust, where we are given the opportunity to learn about the workings of a medical library. With its comprehensive collection of up-to-date journals and books, the library is an excellent resource for undergraduate medical students. It also boasts a range of special collections, including a book bound in human skin. Sadly for the horror enthusiasts present, we are not treated to this particularly grisly spectacle. Most importantly, perhaps, this visit allows us to recognise the opportunities for specialisation that exist within the information world. The staff at this library have clearly developed a good working knowledge of the specialist materials that they are working with. With a growing awareness of the different sectors open to us, we start to consider our own careers and the subjects that we might choose to explore further when embarking upon Masters degree programmes.
On our arrival back at the Friends Meeting House, following the tour of the Wellcome Library, a delicious buffet lunch is provided, as is the opportunity to get to know our fellow media librarians.
After lunch, the speakers continue, beginning with Linda McDonald from the Hay Group, who is clearly very passionate about the direction her career as a "librarian" has taken. Linda speaks about the new internet technologies being deployed, particularly Web 2.0. For those who are still needing that term translated, despite being sure that they should know what it means (which included me until Linda’s insightful talk), Web 2.0 is the shorthand way of talking about the emerging trends on the internet like social networking and blogging. Linda explains how these tools can be utilised on company intranet sites by
using her own work at the Hay Group as an impressive example.
Linda's talk is a real eye-opener - who knew that working in the field of research and librarianship could be as varied as to include social networking?
Linda was followed by the Guardian’s Holly Bentley and Lauren Goodchild, who explain what their work as researchers for the newspaper involve and how this works varies from one day to the next. We are provided with old clippings files to have a brief look through, which Holly has rescued from the rubbish; many have been destroyed before the Guardian's upcoming move to Kings Place.
The pair then go on to explain what internet research tools would be utilised by researchers instead of referring to cuttings file and the benefits of using the internet over old newspaper clippings.
Jeremy Clarke from Sue Hill Recruitment is the third speaker in the afternoon session and he provides us with some excellent tips
and hints on recruitment issues such as CV writing and temporary work.
His talk, although not necessarily as library- or research-centric as the others, proves to be just as invaluable, because it provides us with an insight into how to get a "proper" job, perhaps the first on our career ladder, which many of the trainees present will be looking to do in the next 12-24 months.
Following on from Jeremy was Sonia Winifred, the Deputy Head of Libraries for Camden Borough Council. Sonia spoke of her less than auspicious beginnings in librarianship, working in Lambeth library during the somewhat less politically correct 1980s, when many enquiries stemmed from a certain type of gentleman enquiring as the whereabouts of "saucy books." Beyond fuelling the imaginations of Lambeth's dirty mac brigade, Sonia spoke eloquently and passionately of librarianship as public service and highlighted the amount of community outreach work public libraries conduct. Projects she is currently involved in include work with prisons, mental health groups, old people's homes as well as providing specialist materials for disability groups such as Braille collections.
Sonia also mentioned collaborations Camden libraries have undertaken with other public bodies, including projects with the British Library and British Museum during Black History Month, which involved providing children's workshops and adult learning seminars.
Sonia went on to discuss the future of public libraries mentioning the 2003 government white paper Framework for the Future which offers a rethink on the purpose of the public library in a world where people no longer borrow as many books as they used to. Options include diversifying to provide more children orientated services such
as: homework clubs, allowing for increased public computer access, as well as retaining and expanding the idea of the library as a community and social hub. Her closing line, "it's not as bad as it seems" filled us with a wary confidence.
Next up to the crease was Lindsey Sellors of the BBC. The BBC, we were informed houses the biggest media archive in the world, with
97 km of shelving at its main store, in addition to a further 37 km at Television Centre and another 27 km at Broadcasting House, holding everything from video recordings, sheet music, photographs and an inestimable number of letters to Jimmy Savile. Unsurprisingly,
161 km of archives requires some careful management and judging by Lindsey's knowledge and almost (it was a long day) infectious enthusiasm for her work, we can all rest easy knowing the BBC's effects are in very safe hands.
Lindsey's own career in information stretches back some 35 years to her beginnings as a filing clerk in the BBC's cuttings library, where she quickly learned the first rule of cuttings libraries, namely not to trust journalists. She took us through the major changes in her work, from the decline of cuttings libraries to the emergence of digital preservation and the inexorable rise of the internet, (including a subtle plug for her blog, Girl in the Archive) with good humour and provided an intriguing insight into the work of the BBC.
Lindsey also touched on the semantic changes that have swept through the information world in recent years, with fewer people holding the job title librarian anymore, with more cumbersome, and occasionally odd handles such as media manager and information architect taking over. This theme was reiterated by the final speaker, Liz Lewis, Archive Project Manager at Skillset, the industry body which supports skills and training for people and businesses in UK creative media industries. Indeed, Liz said that most of the jobs she has held since qualifying did not actually exist ten years ago and the only job she has ever held with the word library in the title was during her time as a library assistant at university. In those halcyon days, the world of libraries (or the Libriverse) was divided into three areas, public, academic and 'special', which covered all library work that was neither public nor academic. It has been in this rather obliquely termed 'special' sector that Liz has spent the majority of her career, working mainly in the area of audio-visual archives, including a stint at the BBC and her current role with Skillset.
Liz spoke of the drawbacks of a career in information, primarily the difficulty graduates can face finding permanent jobs and the less than spectacular salaries they can expect. Rather than dwell on these obstacles, Liz also spoke of the joy of working with diverse materials, with dedicated people and meeting the challenge of preserving the past for future generations. She also stressed the need to stretch oneself, and encouraged us to apply for jobs we couldn’t do, adding that growing into a job is the key to professional development.
Leaving with a wealth of ideas, invaluable advice, a smattering of inspiration and some stolen biscuits, we reflected on the wider benefits of the open day. We came away with a number of valuable insights into postgraduate study, the unexpected range of settings information professionals ply their trade and the diverse and invaluable nature of the work they perform. Heartened, we turned the corner with glints in our eyes and springs in our steps. Until we remembered we had to go back to work.
Please send news, reviews and letters to: deadline.
