A few thoughts on the book The Australian history industry

 

The Australian History Industry by Paul Ashton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an amazing book which would be great to re-read (even though I have just finished reading it). It is a pacy and entertaining exploration of researching history in Australia. It is a remarkable contemporary book with issues of the pandemic and other recent events part of the discussion of the work of history. The varied perspectives help to describe the complexity of historical research. This would be a helpful book for local studies library staff to read.

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A few thoughts on the book A modest living: memoirs of a Cockney Sikh

A Modest Living: Memoirs of a Cockney Sikh by Suresh Singh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a really interesting local studies publication which I found out about from Spitalfields Life. It is written about growing up in London, and spending time in India with very specific locations being described. The author provides a very strong picture of his father. It is also a very interesting account of being punk, and being the first in the family to obtain a university degree. It shows the importance of having information about culturally and linguistically diverse people included in local studies collections. This really is a charming book, and includes some family recipes as well.

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A few thoughts on the book: The troubles and beyond: curating conflict

The troubles and beyond: curating conflict by Karen Logan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is about how the National Museums in Northern Ireland changed their approach to collecting information about The troubles, and also changed their approach to how exhibitions about this time are shown. They aim to present a 'view of broader social, cultural and economic history as well as exploring the impact of conflict on everyday life, people and communities' p 18. They are seeking a critical discussion with the community who are coming to exhibitions, especially of recent history. They are looking at recent history including for 'accuracy, inclusiveness and balance' p24, and are also seeking to build stronger community connections to advise the museum.

The book explores past approaches to describing The troubles, and the new approach of greater diversity and inclusion as well as community projects which are bringing together people who have similarly tough experiences. There are comments from people who provided personal testimony to the museum because they were shot, they had a family member killed, they were present at a bombing, or they were a nurse who treated people from all sides.

I was interested in this book because of local studies, and reading it highlights that difficult and divisive topics can be dealt with well by museums (and presumably libraries) and that it is important to not sidestep the tension.

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A few thoughts on How to turn a place around: a handbook for creating successful public spaces - relevant to libraries

How to Turn a Place Around: A Handbook for Creating Successful Public Spaces by Project for Public Spaces
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a pacy and engaging read. This, unsurprisingly, is a book about public spaces, and generally outdoor space, however there are many elements which are applicable for public (and other) libraries as well. In a description of Discovery Park in Houston, TX, it says that it is 'not enough to have just one great destination on a great park - you need at least 10 of them to create a truly lively place' (p91). This is relevant for libraries as you need different kinds of spaces within the one building. It is also not a new idea that libraries need different kinds of spaces, for example see this produced by my work place.

I have been following Project For Public Spaces for a while, but it was watching a recent Victorian public library conference about library buildings which encouraged me to read this. There are place making principles including creating a place not a design, and the importance of community consultation, and evaluation. Place making is also continuous as communities change over time.

I found it was helpful reading this book, because of the different locations explored as I could then think about the implications for libraries. I will need to read it again, but that will be enjoyable.

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A few thoughts on Pivoting During the Pandemic: Ideas for Serving Your Community Anytime, Anywhere

Pivoting During the Pandemic: Ideas for Serving Your Community Anytime, Anywhere by Kathleen M. Hughes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an interesting publication for many reasons including the short, snappy chapters and the speed of the production. The range of topics covered include online story times, readers's advisory at a distance, and how to help connect people with a range of (mostly) online services. It is timely that I am writing this during the lockdown which includes Sydney (where I am) as well as coastal local government areas to the north and south. It highlights that the relevance is not just for pandemic experiences overseas. Important ideas are covered early on, including be patient, be flexible, use a growth mindset as well as the importance of assessment and reflection.

The chapters are written by public library staff, and show the need for continued learning, being willing to change, and the importance of thinking through organisational policies for example: do they make things easier for staff but harder for the community? It highlights the importance of continuing professional development, and that includes moving some training online (as we have also done in NSW). I would suggest reading this book - and keep in mind, if you don't like one chapter, you can quickly flick ahead to the next one. This ideas in this book while relevant for the pandemic are also relevant to how you think about your general library services.

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A few thoughts on the book Archives and special collections as sites of contestation

Archives and Special Collections as Sites of Contestation by Mary Kandiuk
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book focuses on the need to disrupt some archival and library practices, for example the need to have items catalogued in the language they are written in (for example Spanish or Japanese) and not only in English. It also has helpful examples of how to describe and provide access to archives with racist content in a way which provides a better understanding of their creator/s. This is not to change the past, but to improve the understanding of it.

This book shows the importance of building new collections which address the importance of social justice, to include those who have historically been excluded from collections, while being visible in the communities. Building new audiences for archives (both old and new) is shown as crucial, for sustainability and for understanding the historical context (recent or further in the past). Elizabeth Hobart reminds us that
Cataloguing is an ethical act, ensuring the discoverability of library resources regardless of content...Without a detailed, accurate record, items literally remain hidden . This applies to many collections in libraries.

There are many ideas of relevance to local studies collections in the different chapters in this book.

This is yet another excellent publication from Library Juice Press. My copy has lots of annotated post it notes sticking out, with notes on them for follow up.

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A few thoughts on How to create a relevant public space by Aat Vos

How to Create a Relevant Public Space by Aat Vos
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book reads like it is written as a provocation. It has many interesting ideas, and I don't agree with them all, but it is still interesting reading. Ideas to consider include, who are you excluding from your library. It may not be deliberate (or it may), but it could be in how the library is designed, and services are provided that some people feel unwelcome. The chapter by Diane Ghirardo is of particular interest for this.

One of the libraries discussed (in Gouda) was a chocolate factory before it was a library. The chapter by Jan David Hanrath and Rob Bruijnzeels highlights the importance of telling the stories of the buildings in a context like local studies. They also stress the importance of collections, and of connecting communities to these collections.
It is important that you remain true to yourself. The library's existence begins and ends with the collection. I mean a modern collection with, in addition to books, other forms of content such as music, art, tools, videos, course and activities, either physically or online. But that the collection is the core...the collection is what you inspire people with stories and information that is relevant to them...The library is going to ask questions, questions that are important for both individuals and community' (pp162-163, 165).

There are many lovely photographs of libraries in this book, but for some of these libraries access seems limited to those who are able bodied with stairs seeming sometimes as barriers not for access. When reading this book, think about whose voices are not included.

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A few thoughts on Cultivating civility: practical ways to improve a dysfunctional library by Jo Henry, Joe Eshleman, Richard Moniz

Cultivating Civility: Practical Ways to Improve a Dysfunctional Library by Jo Henry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a helpful follow up to The Dysfunctional Library: Challenges and Solutions to Workplace Relationships. The chapters in this book each have a different focus and include work place examples. At the end of most chapters are questions for discussion which could be helpful prompts for a reading group. This could be an interesting book for a work reading group, and would suggest that the focus is on chapters and not the whole book as there is much to explore chapter by chapter. While much of this information is not new, it is brought together in a helpful way, to help people improve communication and relationships at work. There are many references to explore for further reading including The Desegregation of Public Libraries in the Jim Crow South: Civil Rights and Local Activism (which I am yet to read), Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (which I probably should re-read) and Masked by Trust: Bias in Library Discovery (which I am currently reading). This is a book which encourages creative thinking to solve problems, but also encourages taking action against bullies (including passive aggressive ones). The references at the end of each chapter provide much additional reading to explore specific topics.

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A few thoughts on Incubating creativity at your library: a sourcebook for connecting with communities by Erinn Batykefer and Laura C Damon-Moore

Incubating Creativity at Your Library: A Sourcebook for Connecting with Communities by Erinn Batykefer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a pacy read with examples of these ideas being described from actual library experience. If you have read the Library as incubator project blog or The Artist's Library: A Field Guide you will have already seen much of the content in this book, however, this book is still well worth reading. While the premise of the book is how to incorporate more creativity in your library, the ideas would also be applicable for thinking about how to better connect with many groups and individuals in your community (and the authors suggest this). The chapter on evaluation has some useful ideas to consider to help people think more effectively about how to evaluate programs. The book looks at resources, partnerships, staff, evaluation, community and more. Sustainability is important as is looking at long running programs to see if they should continue, be changed or stopped.

I also enjoyed the shout out to BiblioCraft: The Modern Crafter's Guide to Using Library Resources to Jumpstart Creative Projects as I am a fan of this work and they way it shows different ways to think about collections.


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A few thoughts on The dysfunctional library: challenges and solutions to workplace relationships

The Dysfunctional Library: Challenges and Solutions to Workplace Relationships by Jo Henry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a useful book to help you describe how dysfunctional the library you work in is (if your library is dysfunctional). The authors provide ways of exploring this, and of working to decrease dysfunction. They start with the individual library worker providing advice about how to explore one's own level of disfunction. They encourage an outward looking focus, and highlight the importance of professional development.

They make effective use of research and highlight work being done in a range of libraries (and provide these references to follow up). This book is about encouraging library staff, and then libraries to be the best we can be, working well with each other, and for our communities. Being proactive and planning is important as is professional development for staff. Good leadership is important, but it must be the right style of leadership.

This may not be a book to read cover to cover, however, it has some very useful information as well as reference to follow up for further reading.

I am trying to increase my professional reading, which I usually do as commute reading, but have been working from home since late March.

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A few thoughts on The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a reading group you do not want to be a member of. While their true crime discussions are interesting (this is not the reason to avoid this group) the members face sexism at home, and do not think about their behaviour as potentially racist. A new man come to town and proves a disruptive force for families as the husbands befriend him. It is interesting seeing how the reading group changes over time - but keep in mind this is a tale of horror and is, at times, very disturbing reading. It is also a tale of readers bonding over books with implications for what is regarded as acceptable reading. I have also read Horrorstör which provides other interesting angles for horror.

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A few thoughts on Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey (and there are mobile libraries)

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This near future Western is pacy and punchy. There are Librarians, and the capital matters, but don’t make assumptions about them. Not making assumptions is key to much in this piece.

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A few thoughts on The Weeding Handbook: A Shelf-By-Shelf Guide

The Weeding Handbook: A Shelf-By-Shelf Guide by Rebecca Vnuk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a pacy and helpful book to read. When I worked in public libraries I always enjoyed weeding, and I think it has a key role in developing and maintaining library collections. Too often people are at extremes either weeding little or taking a slash and burn (or throw) approach with little regard to the actual statistics on use (or consideration of poor cataloguing or inadequate displays or even poorly managed selection). Vnuk also highlights the importance of informing the community so they are seeing you manage rather than pillage the collection.

This is a detailed booked looking at the different number classifications, however the most helpful sections are looking at the over all strategy of weeding, and references to other resources such as Crew and the examples from specific libraries mentioned within the book. While some of the material is slightly dated, the big picture information is still crucial. It also includes the need to manage your econtent selections.

I read this on Indyreads.

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A few thoughts on Palaces for the People: How To Build a More Equal and United Society by Eric Klinenberg

Palaces for the People: How To Build a More Equal and United Society by Eric Klinenberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a pacy an engaging read, and it still took a long time for me to read it. It highlights the value of social infrastructure including places like libraries for community health. Places like libraries can help connect people and these connections help lead to stronger communities. The examples are not all about libraries, but they show that the connections people have with others in their communities are crucial for community health (and in a key example in the book led to less deaths during a heatwave).

Key points in this book include connecting people of difference ages and backgrounds, and this will take work. Anyway, go and read this book, and think about how you can apply these ideas in your communty.

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a few thoughts on Conducting the Reference Interview: Third Edition by Catherine Sheldrick Ross, Kirsti Nilsen

Conducting the Reference Interview: Third Edition by Catherine Sheldrick Ross
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a pacy and engaging read. It is also a very useful reminder of the value of an effective reference interview. The authors bring together research which highlight the importance of a reference interview to finding out exactly what the person is seeking help to find. There are also sections on online or telephone reference interviews. This is a practical book which could also be used for training.

Some of the research which is described in this books shows how little some staff actually listen to the people seeking help, and this information helps show the value of a well done reference interview.

I really enjoyed reading this book.

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A few thoughts on Baking with Kim-Joy: Cute and Creative Bakes to Make You Smile

Baking with Kim-Joy: Cute and Creative Bakes to Make You Smile by Kim-Joy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is joyful. I am yet to make any of the recipes, but I keep borrowing this as an ebook, and reading it again. There is a halloween cake with meringues as ghosts and some spooky pears. I am sure that everyone needs a space turtle cake in their lives with the incredible colours it provides. There are pages of instructions for some cakes but this seems helpful rather than overwhelming. The recipe I want to make first are the Tangzhong Cat Buns (think a tin of bread rolls that look like sleeping cats), but first I need to add some food dye to my kitchen supplies. The Space Turtle Melonpan Buns also look joyful. Macarons are turned into many animals including cats and koalas. The lemon tarts with meringue cats also look lovely as do the Pigfiteroles in Mud (choux pigs in chocolate).

This would be an interest addition to reading group discussions.

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I am doing this as my #GLAMBlogClub post for January, because I am struggling for humour this year, so I thought this joyful book may help.  With the struggle for humour I have been exploring data instead. The NSW Department of Primary Industries has excellent data on the extent of the drought in NSW, and the Bureau of Meteorology has excellent climate data including for temperature and rainfall. The Fires near me site or app also provides useful data.  Apologies for not providing drought and fire map links for other states, but I am trying to not spend too long on this blog post. If this is all too grim, have a look at the Customer service wolf. 

Make sure you have a look at Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service Birdie stories which are written to help children through stressful events, and can be helpful for others to read as well. You could also contact an organisation like Beyond Blue for help.

A few thoughts on the book New top technologies every librarian needs to know

New Top Technologies Every Librarian Needs to Know by Kenneth J. Varnum
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book brings together many technologies being used in libraries, some of these have been around for a while, but sometimes with little implementation in libraries. Each chapter provides a solid basic introduction to a technology or a tool for example linked open data, data visualisation or digital publishing. There is usually a description of how the technology is used in a library as well as how it could be used in a library. There are helpful further references at the end of each chapter. This is a book to dip into, and come back to as it is episodic in style.

I read this as an ebook on the Indyreads platform which is provided by my workplace.

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a few thoughts on The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction: Third edition by Neal Wyatt and Joyce G Saricks

The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction: Third Edition by Neal Wyatt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an excellent guide to readers' advisory work and is a pacy and engaging read. I would suggest reading it in chunks as it is helpful to think about how this information can be applied in your library. Each genre has a section which provides a definition, the characteristics and appeal including frame, setting, story line, tone, characterisation, language, style and pacing. Subgenres are explored. Key authors are suggested with an interesting mix of new and older authors. Information about fans of each genre is included (as to how much assistance they are likely to be interested in), as are 'sure bets'. One of the most interesting sections in each chapter is the reading among genres (so other genres you can suggest to particular readers), and 'reading the whole collection' which brings in non-fiction including poetry, graphic novels (although they are included in other places as well), audio books, film, television and video games. I really like the approach of making the whole collection work for readers' advisory work as there are some implications for how other enquiries are dealt with as well. Each chapter ends with a section called 'hack this book' where you can write in local information.

I read this as an ebook, however, for maximum use in a public library it may be necessary to buy a print edition (even with the rather tough exchange rates at present). This books could be very helpful for staff training, including detailed genre discussions.

While I do not agree with all the descriptions of each genre, they are very helpful.

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A few thoughts on the book Pushing the Margins: Women of Color and Intersectionality in LIS by Rose L. Chou

Pushing the Margins: Women of Color and Intersectionality in LIS by Rose L. Chou
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is yet another interesting publication from Library Juice. The title of the book gives you a strong idea of what the content is. This is a book for many library staff to read, as it provides helpful information, and some strategies for making improvements in the library as work place and the library as library. This is a book about collections, services, maker spaces, readers' advisory work and much more. I have lots of notes in this book to follow up on. I keep deleting other sentences, because the most helpful thing I can say is, go and read this book.

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a few thoughts on the book Reference Librarianship & justice: history, practice & praxis

Reference Librarianship & Justice: History, Practice & Praxis by Kate Adler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is yet another impressive Library Juice publication. It explores reference and information services provided by libraries including public libraries using a social justice approach. Different theoretical frameworks are used for each chapter, but they all relate to how social justice is addressed by libraries. There is a focus on information for people who have been silenced, and who are powerless.

In the forward it says 'as described by this book, reference work advances the work of social justice through collecting and making accessible materials pertaining to groups who would normally be erased or dismissed, as well as through the people in doing such work, such as approaching reference work through a lens that seeks to humanize what is sometimes a dehumanizing process, the vulnerability of having a need and asking someone to meet that need.'

This book is important for highlighting that reference and information work can have a social justice role. With the many changes to reference and information services that role is by no means certain, and many of the service changes seem designed to remove that service for the community. This book reminds us of why the ability for someone to come to the library and ask a question, or the library to go out and about to help people with their questions is important, and can be literally life changing.

Reading this books challenges one to look at how reference and information services are provided at your own library, both in and outside the building. Whose enquiries are you privileging?

This book is not always easy reading, but it is well worth reading. I have many ideas I want to follow up on as a result of reading this book.

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