Steps West Newsletter of the Career Development Group, West Country Division No. 6 – Summer 2010
In this issue issue Editorial ― Forthcoming Events ― Course Report “Pushing the Boundaries”
Editorial Welcome to the Summer 2010 issue of Steps West! The committee is currently busy organising and finalising dates for courses and visits and we are looking forward to seeing you at one of our events over the rest of the year. In this issue we give one professional the chance to write about a course she attended. If you would ever like to share something interesting with everybody and publish an article, please do get in touch with the Editor.
Forthcoming events Summer Visit to NHS Southmead Library & Information Service - plus brief talks on International Librarianship from three librarians who have recently worked in Kenya and Malawi Bristol Repeat of the popular course: Social Networking: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace Weston-super-Mare
Autumn Portfolio Building and Reflective Practice Bath Visit to the Met Office - joint event with the Devon & Cornwall Division Exeter Visit to English Heritage Swindon These events are currently in planning status and will be advertised widely once we know exact details. If you are interested in any events already or would like to suggest any others, please do get in touch with us.
details,, ideas, sugge suggestions Contact details stions Please send any comments about the newsletter or your ideas and suggestions to the Editor Katrin Flemming (k.flemming@bath.ac.uk). If you want to find out more about the group, please contact our Secretary Nicola Healey (cdgwestcountry@googlemail.com) or check our website (http://www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/special-interest-groups/careerdevelopment/divisions/westcountry/pages/default.aspx).
If you require a large-print copy, please contact the Editor Katrin Flemming (k.flemming@bath.ac.uk).
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No. 6 – Summer 2010
Pushing the Boundaries: Extending the Library Service with Volunteers 14th April April 2010 by Katie Hanks, Poole Museum Service John Vincent of The Network (http://www.seapn.org.uk) led this thought-provoking seminar held at the University of the West of England. He began by setting the context surrounding working with volunteers. This is a pertinent topic as The Department for Culture, Media and Sport recently highlighted the issue in the Modernisation Review of Libraries: "‌ all libraries should consider how best to attract, nurture and utilise volunteers, to complement their workforce." (p. 37, proposal 26). Additionally at the time of the seminar the three major political parties had all emphasised the importance of volunteers in their election manifestos, demonstrating that volunteering is rising up the political agenda. Two presentations were given to explain how libraries are currently engaging with volunteers. Amanda Whitlock of WRVS (http://www.wrvs.org.uk) told us about co-ordinating Somerset Home Library Service volunteers and Wendy Nicholls, the Children and Young Person's Librarian from South Gloucestershire, described how she used volunteers with the Summer Reading Challenge. Both speakers were passionate about their work; they conveyed the pleasure and benefits of using volunteers alongside admitting potential problems.
Simon Parker of Leicester Libraries talked about how to target different groups to use as volunteers, particularly new arrivals to the UK. Simon spoke about many different issues surrounding his projects, which highlighted the richness and variety of volunteering opportunities at Leicester Libraries. Go to http://www.cfe.org.uk/uploaded /files/CFE%20CV%20case%2 0study%20citizens%20eye.pdf for an example. Simon emphasised the importance of training for library staff to enable them to link potential volunteer roles to national, regional and local strategies. He concluded by stating how in Leicester the use of volunteers has changed the perception of libraries. A final brainstorm session before lunch identified issues facing libraries wanting to use volunteers. For example: staff time, volunteering becoming a key priority and the need to offer volunteers clearly defined roles. The afternoon was divided into two workshops. In the first we discussed using socially excluded people as volunteers. We identified potential socially excluded groups and spoke about how different libraries use these groups. We discussed the need for people to see the library as relevant to them, which could be facilitated by employing a
diverse staff and remaining engaging. The second workshop was about managing volunteers and was led by Jenny Idle from Volunteering Bristol (http://www.bristolvolunteers. org.uk). Jenny offered practical advice about working with volunteers and if anyone wants to explore this option the website offers information concerning recruitment, retention and legal issues. In the final session of the day John Vincent outlined the key issues from the workshops. Points had been raised about using travellers and seasonal workers as volunteers, using volunteers by building on their own interest, how to deal with existing staff prejudice and making sure volunteer roles are clearly defined. A major issue from the day was the difference between using volunteers to ENHANCE the service and the use of volunteers to RUN services as in the current climate there are examples of volunteers running core services (http://www.guardian. co.uk/society/2010/mar/17/libr aries-closures-volunteers-pub lic-services). Despite this the seminar ended on a positive note concluding that by introducing effectively managed volunteer roles the Library Service can be associated with key strategic policies and engage the wider community.
A group of CILIP, The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals Registered Charity No. 313014 Debating issues – developing awareness