CILIP’s Library & Information History Group and London Member Network invite you to an evening talk by Zurab Elzarov on the ‘Library of Peace in Darfur’. Zurab will talk about his involvement in this project which promoted peace and non-violence at the grass-roots level in conflict-affected areas through the revitalization of public libraries and improved access to education, cultural heritage and knowledge development in Darfur.

An article about the library appeared in the February issue of Update magazine. Mr. Elzarov is Acting Head of Protection of Civilians/Humanitarian Liaison Section in the United Nations - African Union Mission in Darfar (UNAMID).

Light refreshments will be provided and there will be time for questions and networking after the talk.

This is a free event but it is necessary to reserve a place. Click HERE to book your place.  

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has recently confirmed that after around four years of debate, agreement has been reached to reform and modernise data protection laws. The institutions of the European Union – the Commission, the Council, and the Parliament – have agreed the new rules that will be put in place across the EU: the General Data Protection Regulation. The GDPR will replace the current Directive and will be directly applicable in all Member States without the need for implementing national legislation. 

The new GDPR will extend to data controllers and processors outside the EU whose processing activities relate to the offering of goods or services (even if for free) to, or monitoring the behaviour (within the EU) of, EU data subjects. It also places heavy obligations on data controllers to demonstrate compliance. These are said to include requiring them to: (i) maintain certain documentation, (ii) conduct a data protection impact assessment for more risky processing, and (iii) implement data protection by design and by default, so for example, by minimisating the data that is held. Another key change in the GDPR is that data processors have direct obligations. This includes implementing technical and organisational measures, and notifying the controller without undue delay of data breaches. It appears that the GDPR will also include the so-called 'Right to be Forgotten' allowing individuals to require the erasure of their personal data without undue delay by the data controller in certain situations.

These new rules will eventually replace the UK’s Data Protection Act 1998. The final outline of the new rules will begin to take shape early this year and there is expected to be a two year transition period. The ICO will be helping with the introduction of the new rules by publishing advice and guidance for data controllers and data subjects alike and will work with the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport who are the Whitehall Department leading on the digital economy.

An overview - from which most of this information comes - has been published by Allen & Overy, and is recommended reading (PDF). It inlcudes eight steps that organisations should be taking now in preparation for the GDPR.

The Rare Books and Special Collections Group are pleased to announce that we are offering a bursary to attend The CILIP Conference 2016 to be held in Brighton, July 12-13th. More information can be found here: http://cilipconference.org.uk/

 The bursary includes a place at the conference, one nights' accommodation at the Ibis hotel on the Tuesday night and attendance at the evening reception on Brighton Pier. The RBSCG will also cover standard class travel costs of up to £200. 

 This bursary place is open to students and new professionals who are members of the RBSCG.

 To apply, please quote your CILIP membership number and provide a short outline (under 300 words) of the ways in which attendance at the conference will  benefit your career. The place will be awarded to the applicant who in the view of the Group committee make the best case for their attendance.

 Please send you application to the committee secretary: Lucy Evans : lucy.grace.evans@gmail.com or by post to: Lucy Evans, Department of Rare Books, Weston Library: Bodleian Library, Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3BG by Monday 29th February.

Information Today invites you to submit your presentation ideas for this year’s Internet Librarian International (ILI) - The Library Innovation Conference. The conference is seeking fresh new case studies, great stories, personal experiences and lessons learned from the ideas, strategies and practical implementations that have been put in place to make a difference to your organisation, clients and communities.

And, as always, contributions are welcomed from all types of libraries and info pros – public, academic, government, national or corporate libraries – as well as those working outside a traditional library setting. Send your ideas on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to:

• Innovative technologies and the innovative use of tech
• Cutting edge services – new strategies, new structures, new roles
• Transforming engagement – user experience, understanding users and usage, new ways to influence and engage
• Innovations in content – creation, collaboration, copyright and co-operation
• Latest developments in search and discovery
• PLUS Workshops

The full call for speakers can be found on the Conference Web Site, here. The submissions deadline is 15 April 2016.

The Library and Information History Group is offering bursaries to the summer school on the 'History of Libraries' at Lincoln College, Oxford and to its annual conference, 'Information History: Perspectives and Prospects'. 

Visit our Awards page for more details.

Cilip ARLG East Midlands' are pleased to invite you to attend their forthcoming one day workshop on developing skills and your career. The event is aimed particularly at professionals working at all levels in FE, HE & Research libraries, although individuals from other library sectors are also very welcome to attend.

We've collected together some of the interesting, contentious and important library and information stories that were discussed around the world last month. There were lots of interesting discussions in January, including: 

1. My Library By Right
2. Community engagement
3. One Librarian, One reference
4. Privacy
5. New York Public Library
6. Reviews of 2015

Let us know what you think or if you have any other important issues that we missed in the comments section below.

1. My Library By Right

We launched the My Library By Right campaign in December to campaign to ensure the Government meet their legal responsibility to provide you with a quality library service that meets your needs.

The campaign received fantastic support throughout January. We reached 12,000 signatures on the petition and received fantastic support from authors Neil Gaiman, Joanna Trollope, Andrew Motion and Ali Smith and organisations including the Society of Authors and The Reading Agency.

There was also fantastic coverage in the press, including:

• The loss of libraries is another surefire way to entrench inequality – The Guardian
• Joanna Trollope: 'UK cannot afford to close one single public library' – The Guardian
• Tory cuts mean two libraries close for good every WEEK - with hundreds more under threat – The Sunday Mirror
• Councils see libraries as 'easy targets' for cuts – The Bookseller

2. Community engagement

Frances Tout, winner of the CILIP Travelling Librarian Award 2015, wrote a fantastic blog on the CILIP website about some of the fantastic ways US public libraries are engaging communities. The main insight from the blog is the great emphasis put on library programmes with “many of the libraries I visited there is now a greater emphasis on programming than anything else.”

Coincidentally, the American Library Association released a report on libraries building digitally inclusive communities towards the end of last year. Also, in the US, the Aspen Institute released a guide for “re-envisioning your public library”, the key goal of which is to “help public libraries to engage more deeply with their communities and inspire action to re-envision public libraries as key partners in all aspects of community life in the digital age”.

In the UK, the Society of Chief Librarians released an interesting report looking at an approach to “building a single digital presence for libraries”.

3. One Librarian, One reference

#1Lib1Ref (One Librarian, One Reference) was a campaign run by The Wikipedia Library in January to encourage every librarian in the world to add just one reference to Wikipedia. 

The rationale behind this is that librarians have the information literacy skills and knowledge to correctly reference articles and citations support verifiablity and, therefore, accuracy.

Andy Mabbett wrote a great blog post for us about how librarians can get involved. And the Wikpedia Library's Storify sums of some of the key events during the week.

4. Privacy

Search engines cannot compete with librarians, search engines with a heart, nor are they a substitute for knowledge, as Nicky Morgan pointed out last month. However, they can, nonetheless be quite useful tools, particularly with some knowledge of basic search operators, for users and also for surveillance. 

This is possibly why libraries in the UK, with their own search and digital systems, may find themselves coming under increasing pressure to store user data. Last month saw some examples from the US about how libraries can help to protect user privacy by deleting sensitive information. 

Coming at the problem from a slightly different angle, Roger C. Schonfeld wrote an interesting article looking at how changing research information architecture can help deal with the perceived problem "that many licensed e-resources, including content platforms, do not meet the privacy standards that libraries have established for themselves."

January also saw the launch of a new search engine, Oscobo, that is offering a UK-specific search engine based on a fairly standard-looking paid-search advertiser model but whilst protecting privacy by not storing user data in the first place.

5. New York Public Library

In January the New York Public Library uploaded nearly 200,000 images that you can use for free. As Rick Anderson, writing in the Scholarly Journal, points out, what is remarkable about this is not necessarily the scale of the release but the fact that:

"the NYPL has decided that it is going to treat these public-domain images like what they actually are: public intellectual property that can be reused by members of the public in any way they want."

They’ve also added a pretty cool Pac-Man style game that allows you to explore the floor plans of some of the cities plusher residences.

6. Reviews of 2015

Here’s a round-up of some of the round-ups of 2015:

• 10 most popular CILIP blogs of 2015
• 2015 Year In Review: Tech, Science And Video Games – Forbes
• A look back at the stories that affected libraries – American Libraries Magazine
• Top 10 Library Stories of 2015 - Publishers Weekly

Venue: The Mitchell Library, Glasgow

This event is for anyone undertaking Certification, Chartership or Fellowship. The event will look at building portfolios, the CILIP VLE, a candidate's perspective, the role of the mentor and an overview from a CILIP Assessor.

April 19th - 9.30am-4.30pm

Sandeman Room, AK Bell Library, Perth

The purpose of this course is to provide participants with a background to mentoring, a basic framework for conducting mentoring both long and short term.  The focus of the event is to enable participants to develop effectively as mentors in the context of the CILIP professional development scheme.

Mentor Training is a requisite for becoming a CILIP Mentor and this course is suitable for all CILIP members who have recently registered as CILIP mentors or are thinking of registering. Do come along and find out more about the mentoring scheme. 

By the end of the day participants will:

Have an awareness of the function of mentoring in the CILIP CPD process

Have had the opportunity to explore and experience mentoring

Be able to make an assessment of their capability as mentors and identify their development needs in this area

The morning session will focus on generic mentoring skills whilst the afternoon will focus on the CILIP regulations.  

Members who have previously attended a course on mentoring skills may attend the afternoon only (14.00-16.30) to join in the elements relating to the CILIP scheme.

April 18th 1.30-4pm

National Library of Scotland - George IV Bridge

Are you a Mentor for CILIP, or considering becoming a Mentor?

Would you like to meet other Mentors and potential Mentors?

An opportunity to discuss issues, problems and potential solutions arising from mentoring Certification, Chartership and Fellowship Candidates. Topics will be raised by attenders, but sample topics could include:

• Regulations for Professional Registration/sharing hints and tips/evaluating own performance and that of service/VLE/PKSB
• what are wider professional issues/what should be in the portfolio?
• moving from ACLIP to Chartership/ mentoring long distance/reasons for failure

There will be an optional 16.00- 16.30 session on the CILIP VLE

A number of young writers have spoken out in support of school libraries in an article published by the Sunday Times (paywall may apply).

The Scottish Parliament is currently considering a petition, backed by many national bodies such as the Scottish Book Trust and the Literature Alliance Scotland, asking for a national strategy for school libraries and some writers aged 14-17 have described how pivotal they feel school libraries are to education.

Ribh O’Neill, 14, from Cove Bay, Aberdeenshire, who specialises in travelogue and fiction writing, said: “School libraries are vital because literacy is so important in our world and especially important for the future generation. They provide free access in an educational environment, and the fact that they are free to all means that everyone has an equal shot at life as everyone has the chance to use library resources.”

Erin Morrissey Gillman, 17, an aspiring poet from Newport-on-Tay in Fife, said that for her a library was “a wonderful place to discover and broaden my tastes” and played a vital role in achieving her Advanced Higher English”.

She added: “The freedom to pick and choose the literature I borrow is a brilliant and undervalued joy. I am so grateful to have free and easy access to such a wealth of positive influence, as a former student, a reader, and as a writer. It is disheartening to think that young people across Scotland may not have a chance to reap the benefits of a library in their school.”

The writers are part of the What’s Your Story project, run by the Scottish Book Trust, that is supporting 10 youngsters selected from an application process, who over eight months are exploring Scotland’s literary and creative scene with the help of a professional mentor.

CILIP in Scotland will be campaigning on a number of library issues across all sectors in the lead up to the Scottish Parliament elections in May, full details will be announced in early February.

The imminent changes to disabled student allowances (DSA) will shift the responsibility for provision of accessible learning resources to the individual’s institution. The key changes are the removal of funding for support and enhanced support assistants – those who might previously have provided practical support in the library or supported print impaired students in reading, scribing or notetaking. The justification is that the barriers which the majority of Non Medical Helper bands 1 and 2 provision is designed to overcome could be addressed by the Higher Education (HE) provider through reasonable adjustments.

And this makes me think of George, an ex-student. We were chatting at the end of a lesson. It was dark, wintry and raining outside. He was slow to leave - he had an hour to wait till Dad picked him up; then a 45 minute journey home.

“So what attracted you here?” I asked, knowing there were five colleges closer to him than ours. 

“The subjects I wanted were well supported with resources on the intranet,” he replied. “I knew I could be more independent; my dyslexia wouldn’t be such an issue.”

It was a lightbulb moment. I realised that my passion for putting resources online had benefits I hadn’t anticipated. 

That incident - from 17 years ago - is relevant to the current changes to DSA. It highlights how important digital resources are to learners with print impairments.With the changes impacting dyslexic learners more than most other disabilities, these individuals will need to rely on more inclusive mainstream provision coming from their institution, including the library, instead of using DSA allowances.This onus is on the organisation actively providing information in accessible formats so that problems needn’t exist in the first place. It’s a good aim – but will it work?

Let’s look at what is essential for achieving this purpose. Accessibility is seamless if you have:

1. an institution with an accessible 
   • virtual learning environment (VLE) and content, 
   • library catalogue and e-book platform, 
   • prospectus and 
   • website. 
2. an informed, resourceful user, confident in finding/using inbuilt accessibility options and proactively using plug-ins, apps and software to support their needs.

The changes will only apply to England so already inequalities muddy the water. Universities in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland will have indigenous disabled students receiving DSA funding, but many disabled students from England won’t. Further, some university libraries source hundreds of textbooks a year in alternative format; others hardly any. Even within the same institution, some departments have accessible handouts on the VLE or reading lists optimising accessible formats. Others do neither.

But achieving this end goal of an environment where “reasonable adjustments” become mainstream good practice is beneficial not only for dyslexic learners,but for institutions as well. The equality challenge unit (Figure 1) outlinesa range of benefits for the institution, but often the first question is a pragmatic: “Where do we begin?” 

Figure 1 ‘Managing reasonable adjustments in higher education’ Equality Challenge Unit (2010) p8.  http://www.ecu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/external/managing-reasonable-adj...

Getting started

Jisc has worked with many library services and accessibility specialists to identify issues relating to DSA changes where technology could ease the transition. This is an ongoing process (see our accessibility blog for updates) but these are the areas we’ve identified as good starting points for librarians from a strategy perspective. 

1. Procurement

E-book and e-journal suppliers vary in the accessibility of their platforms. Subscribing to an inaccessible platform is subscribing to unnecessary additional support costs. The government state “Specialist Transcription Services should generally be met by an HE provider... the barrier which this service is designed to overcome can, in many circumstances, be addressed through improved provision of alternative format materials” (Government response to Consultation on targeting funding for disabled students in Higher Education from 2016/17 onwards).

If you are negotiating a licence for e-resources use this e-book accessibility checklist. Not all suppliers will be able to provide an adequate level of accessibility in their products so be prepared to negotiate reduced costs to offset the additional support implications. Equally, be prepared to pay for quality - a supplier who has invested in accessibility improvements might be more expensive but they save you money and reduce your risks under the Equality Act.

2. Staff development. 

Raising accessibility awareness of your library staff is a good starting point and there are lots of resources available for library staff to help develop their knowledge and use of accessible digital technologies. Staff should have enough familiarity with such tools that they can demonstrate them to students in a way that inspires confidence. Every learner who gains confidence to service their own needs is a success for the library; educationally, ethically and financially. Not all learners can ‘self serve’ the formats they need – our accessibility blog offers a workflow for creating alternative formats. It’s also important for IT teams to be on board because they have a significant influence on the technology tools available in the library. Make sure you engage them in your conversations.

3. Collaboration. 

Changes to copyright legislation have opened up significant new opportunities for library services,allowing ’intermediate copies’ of digital texts made for disabled learners to be stored and shared with other institutions– saving significant time and money by not having to produce new versions each time. However, many library staff lack the confidence to use their new rights. To rectify this we’ve worked on the following:

1. A shared definition of intermediate copies to reduce uncertainty.
2. A review of the licences supplied to HEIs from some academic publishers.Many contain unenforceable conditions – for example forbidding the institution to share accessible intermediate versions with other organisations. The law expressly states that licence conditions that undermine the provisions of the copyright exemptions are unenforceable, which means you can ignore them. Better still, send back the signed agreement with the appropriate sections crossed out and a margin note added to the effect "please update this to take account of changes to copyright law".
3. Supporting a central alternative format repository,such as Load2Learn

As an accessible repository Load2Learn is only part of the solution. It deals with whole books (rather than extracts) and has limited capacity to provide advice on specific systems or issues. An excellent supplement to Load2Learn is the LIS-Accessibility Jiscmail list, where requests for accessible book extracts can be shared, as well as advice on assistive technologies, technical or procedural issues. There are excellent disability focused library groups like CLAUD in the south west, the Open Rose and Northern Collaboration Enabling group in the north of England and the recently formed Library Champions for Disability Access group,which has a mail list, a blog and a ScoopIt resource, Disability Issues for UK Libraries and Librarians. 

4. Developing learner independence

Technology alone is rarely the solution to accessibility problems;it’s also about how the tools are promoted, where (and to whom) they are available and how easily the students can become confident users. Semantics are also important… a focus on tools for productivity is more likely to engage disabled learners, who may resist being identified with the deficit model implicit in ‘assistive technologies’.

There are a range of ways to support learner independence for example:

1. The University of Kent has licenced the Robobraille service to provide a self-service alternative format portal embedded in the library website – giving guidance on copyright and fair use for learners using the service. 
2. The University of Oxford provides disabled students with optical character recognition software so their needs can be self-served using simple (and quick) image-only PDF scans provided by the disability service.
3. The Open University provides guidance for learners on e-book accessibility features for many different platforms.
4. The Jisc accessibility blog links to a range of user friendly resources for learners - for example supporting reading efficiency or writing productivity; you may learn tricks to help your own practice too. 

Changes to DSA mean everyone in the organisation takes responsibility for good accessibility practices so that learners can be truly independent. Seventeen years ago George helped me understand that good mainstream practice with technology transforms opportunities for dyslexic learners. I hope he feels his teacher learned his lessons well.

How are you meeting DSA challenges? Have your students given you any insights worth sharing? Let us know in the comments below.

A training day looking at some examples of best practice of running book groups.
 

“Information will increasingly become the currency of healthcare in the future, and our ability to access, understand and interpret it at individual and population level will be a key determinant in the future success of our healthcare system.” (Knowledge for Healthcare Framework 15 p.98)

Library & Knowledge Services staff are vital to healthcare and underpin clinical and management decision making. The services you provide enable staff, patients and their carers to access the right knowledge and evidence to achieve high quality healthcare and health improvement.

Health Library and Information professionals need to stay a step ahead, and right now the need has never been greater. So what can you do to ensure your role stays vital and relevant? Attending the CILIP Health Libraries Group Conference will give you the extra skills you need at your fingertips in just two information-packed days.

• Find out how you can get involved and deliver Knowledge for Healthcare within your organisation (Keynote speaker confirmed: Louise Goswami, National Programme Lead for H4K)
• Uncover the latest technologies and innovations available to help you do your job more smartly
• Form career-long relationships and connect with other like-minded professionals from across the health service, the academic sector, the independent sector, government departments, professional associations, charities and public libraries

The biennial CILIP HLG Conference has become the place that 350+ health librarians from across the UK convene to exchange ideas, discover the latest innovations and make long-lasting professional connections. 2014’s event sold out with months to go. Last year’s delegates will testify how important it is to be there:

“The conference was excellent, very well organised, and the information and contacts I took away from the 2 days are invaluable. Thank you for a great event.” – Librarian, Barnet Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust

“Informative, thought provoking, excellent for networking.” – Trust Librarian, Western Health & Social Care Trust

The conference dinner will take place on the evening of the 15th September. Enjoy breathtaking views across the sea as the sun goes down, with a sumptuous three-course meal and drinks reception. And of course, you’ll be entertained as only Scarborough knows how!

To get involved:

• As an attendee: Register as an attendee before 29th April for 20% early bird discount.
• As a speaker: Submit a session proposal for consideration visit:
• As a sponsor or exhibitor: We have a number of opportunities for you to be involved and packages to suit all budgets. Email contact@novusmem.co.uk for further details

Join the CILIP Yorkshire & Humberside Member Network for a tour of The Diamond at the University of Sheffield.

The Diamond opened in September 2015, and represents the University of Sheffield's largest single investment in learning and teaching facilities, at a cost of £81 million. The six-storey building houses a range of lecture theatres, seminar rooms, computer suites, specialist engineering teaching labs, a recording studio, and a café. The Diamond itself, and most of the facilities, are available to university students and staff 24/7.

Building on the experiences of the Information Commons (which opened in 2007), The Diamond offers a unique integrated learning environment, with library and learning spaces throughout the building. This gives staff and students the opportunity to move between formal and informal learning situations in new and exciting ways.

Registering
The event is free to all, but please book tickets via Eventbrite.

So that an appropriate number of tour guides can be arranged, we kindly ask that you register by Tuesday 23rd February.

Accessibility
If you have any particular accessibility requirements, please contact cilipyh@gmail.com before the visit.

​CPD
For those doing professional registration, this visit will support the following PKSB areas:
10.10 Change Management
11.4 Service Innovation, Development and Design
Wider Library, Information and Knowledge Sector context

UKeiG member? Want to go to the CILIP Conference but finding it too expensive? Tell us which speaker is most likely to influence you and why and you could win an award that covers the conference place and one night’s accommodation, as well as the chance to meet a UKeiG Committee Member who will host your visit to the Conference. The Bursary place is open to all members of UKeiG and includes a complimentary place on both days of the conference, as well as one nights’ accommodation at ibis Hotel on Tuesday 12 July and attendance to the drinks reception at Brighton Pier. The winner will be expected to be active at the conference (i.e. Tweet so that any members that cannot attend can follow the proceedings) and to write a summary after the event for eLucidate. The place could be awarded to someone who may not normally be able attend the conference, perhaps for financial reasons, or who may not have heard about conference before.

Full details on the UKeiG Bursary page. See CILIP Conference for event details.

As the political parties campaign for our vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections this May, we have a unique opportunity as a professional community and as individuals to raise our profile and demonstrate our value as a sector.

During the election campaign CILIP Ireland will be working to raise awareness of library and information issues. We would like to know what key areas you would like to see CILIP Ireland raise with our local politicians. Please contact the CILIP Ireland Development Officer Gerardine Blee by email Gerardine.blee@cilip.org.uk with your views before Wednesday 10th February and include electionwatch in the subject line. From responses received we will identify three key questions which we will put to each of the political parties and thereafter publish their responses.

This campaign is about engaging in dialogue with political candidates and key party spokespersons to encourage greater understanding of the relevance and opportunity our sector presents and to show them that libraries and information matter to many voters. Equally, it's about empowering CILIP Ireland members to carry out  campaigning on their own, or shared, issues.

CILIP Ireland invites both members and non-members to attend a free training event entitled “How the Assembly Works”. The training will provide you with a brief overview of the Assembly, how it works and how you can engage more effectively with it.

For more information on this training event click here.

Hallward Library is considered to be one of the UK’s finest library buildings; its four floors house the arts, humanities, law and social sciences collections.

Denis Arnold Music Library in the Lakeside Arts Centre has an extensive collection of musical scores and sound recordings covering classical, ethnic and 20th century classical music.

This visit has been organised by the East Midlands MN with the following aims in mind:

• To support candidates for Chartership and Certification
• To help those who for are looking for another post, or are currently not working, to keep up to date with developments across various sectors of libraries
• To give broader knowledge to those who have worked only in one sector

To book please e-mail Mary Bryceland by 15th February 2016

Please include your name, e-mail address, place of work & job title (if appropriate) and phone number

There is no cost to participants

Follow the link for directions to University Park

https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/a...

CILIP Ireland invites both members and non-members to attend a free training event entitled “How the Assembly Works”. The training will provide you with a brief overview of the Assembly, how it works and how you can engage more effectively with it.

As the political parties campaign for our vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections this May, we have a unique opportunity as a professional community and as individuals to raise our profile and demonstrate our value as a sector.

Electionwatch is about engaging in dialogue with political candidates and key party spokespersons to encourage greater understanding of the relevance and opportunity our sector presents and to show them that libraries and information matter to many voters. Equally, it's about empowering CILIP Ireland members to carry out  campaigning on their own, or shared, issues.

The Academic and Research Libraries Group (London&SE) have arranged a tour of the Conway Hall Library on Wednesday 16th March at 3:30 pm.

Top crime writer Ann Cleeves, children’s publisher Andersen Press and a host of writers and artists will join local library communities for a week of special activities to mark National Libraries Day, Saturday 6 February and the week leading up to it. Now in its fifth year, the annual celebration highlights the importance of libraries as vitally important public services which are loved by individuals and communities everywhere.

National Libraries Day ambassador for 2016, award-winning crime writer and creator of hit TV series Shetland and Vera, Ann Cleeves, said:

“Libraries matter. If we believe in equality of opportunity we must fight not just for the buildings but for the range of books inside and the skilled staff who can promote reading in all its forms. Not only do libraries encourage us to be more tolerant and better informed, they contribute enormously to the wealth of the nation.

If you're not a member join on National Libraries Day. It's easy and it's free. If you are, go along and choose a title that you might not otherwise have picked. Share the excitement of everyone who's greedy for reading. Help us to celebrate this wonderful institution.”

Special events taking place in libraries include talks by authors Erwin James, Bruce Fogle, Nicola Cornick, Tom McCarthy, Paul Gill, Simon Brett OBE; poet Roger McGough and prominent children’s author and illustrator Nick Sharratt; and a library residency by the artist Jackie Morris. Themed events covering topics from comics, art, history and local film to coding clubs, digital drop-ins and craft-making sessions are taking place up and down the country.

Celebrating four decades of working with libraries in its fortieth anniversary year, leading children’s publisher Andersen Press will open a special competition for public and school libraries on 6 February, based on David McKee’s much loved children’s book character, Elmer the patchwork elephant.

Elmer creator and National Libraries Day supporter David McKee said:

“From when she could first read until her death at 95, my mother was a passionate reader. She could never have afforded to buy even a small part of what she read. She depended on the library for advice and choice of book. There is a rich mass of literature that is our heritage. Thanks to the library, my mother was able to tap into that heritage and receive enormous pleasure and knowledge. That same possibility has to be available to everyone. Long live the libraries.”

Andersen Press founder and publisher Klaus Flugge said:

“Andersen Press has a long history of working closely with libraries and we value the important work done by our dear librarians. We want to continue to support the libraries in our 40th anniversary year and beyond!”

There are over 400 events published on the National Libraries Day map to date and last year nearly 700 events were held across the UK. Children and adults are invited to visit their local library and take part in celebratory events and to share pictures and messages on social media to illustrate the many ways that libraries are used, loved and valued in their communities.

-ends-

Notes to editors

Ann is available for media interviews.
High res photography can be supplied on request.

Press contact

Cat Cooper
Communications and Campaigns Manager, CILIP
Email: cat.cooper@cilip.org.uk
Tel: 020 7255 0653
Mobile: 07867 455070

About Ann Cleeves

As well as being Ambassador for National Libraries Day, Cleeves has written a GALAXY® Quick Reads title, Too Good To Be True, which will be published 4th February and has been selected as one of the 2016 World Book Night titles.

With over a million copies sold worldwide and 29 novels published so far, Cleeves is one of Britain’s most successful crime fiction novelists. Her bestselling books are loved in print and on screen: both the Vera Stanhope and Shetland series are now major TV adaptations on ITV and BBC One respectively.

Series six of ITV’s drama series, Vera, starring Brenda Blethyn, is due to hit screens in February 2016 and episode three is an adaptation of The Moth Catcher. The Moth Catcher features the much-loved DCI Vera Stanhope, who has proved a refreshing change from the British tradition of male detectives and, in Vera, Cleeves has created a strong, female central character that continues to rival the likes of Sherlock and Morse.

Ann Cleeves was the chair of the 2015 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, during which Vera was voted the UK's favourite fictional detective.

In 2015, Thin Air, was nominated for the Scottish Crime Novel of the Year and Cleeves was shortlisted for the prestigious Crime Writers Association Dagger in the Library award. In 2006, Cleeves' novel, Raven Black, was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger (CWA Gold Dagger) for Best Crime Novel, and in 2012, she was inducted into the CWA Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame.

About National Libraries Day

Saturday 6 February 2016 is National Libraries Day. It rounds off a week of special events and celebrations held in libraries up and down the country. Libraries in the UK are loved, valued and were visited an astonishing 265 million times last year! Show your support for libraries this National Libraries Day.

National Libraries Day is led by the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals (CILIP), the Reading Agency, the Society of Chief Librarians and the School Library Association together with partners including Arts Council England, the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce and library supporters. It was originally called for by Alan Gibbons, children’s author and campaigner.

About the Andersen Press National Libraries Day competition

To celebrate National Libraries Day and the 40th anniversary of Andersen Press, the children’s publisher has teamed up with CILIP and The Reading Agency to invite libraries across the country to join in the #40years libraries competition!

Launching on National Libraries Day on 6 February, simply tweet a picture that you feel represents 40 years of loving books using the hashtags #40years and #librariesday to be in with a chance of winning one of five sets of furniture and books for your library worth over £1,500 each.

Each of the five winning libraries will win a complete set of Elmer furniture; set of stackable cushions, kinderbox, beancube, large rug, 2 x beanpods; plus the entire Andersen Press 2016 publishing list.

The competition will open on 6 February and close on 6 May and the five winners will be announced on Elmer Day, the 28 May.

Join us for our next e-forum on Friday 12th February 2016 when the theme will be Project management.  Our e-forums are a free online event open to all which provide a platform to ask questions, share experiences and advice.
 
Our co-moderators on the day will be Lynne Dyer (Bibliographic Services Team Manager at De Montfort University Leicester), Dunia Garcia-Ontiveros (Head of Bibliographic Services at The London Library) and Alan Hughes (Head of Access and Public Programmes at National Library of Wales).
 
The topics will include (but are not confined to):

• different methodologies of project management
• dos and don'ts
• project organisation and communication
• specifics of library and metadata projects
• pros & cons of different formal training routes
• exit strategies

 
Instructions on how to sign up and how our e-forums are run, can be found here: http://www.cilip.org.uk/cataloguing-indexing-group/e-forums.
 
We're looking forward to discussing with you!

CIG is pleased to announce the next e-forum: We'll discuss project management on Friday 12 February 2016 on our e-forum mailing list, cig-e-forum@jiscmail.ac.uk.
 
The topics will include (but are not confined to):

• different methodologies of project management
• dos and don'ts
• project organisation and communication
• specifics of library and metadata projects
• pros & cons of different formal training routes
• exit strategies

 
Our co-moderators on the day will be Lynne Dyer (Bibliographic Services Team Manager at De Montfort University Leicester), Dunia Garcia-Ontiveros (Head of Bibliographic Services at The London Library) and Alan Hughes (Head of Access and Public Programmes at National Library of Wales).
 
This is a free online event. Instructions on how to sign up and how an e-forum is run, can be found here: http://www.cilip.org.uk/cataloguing-indexing-group/e-forums.

We're looking forward to discussing with you!

Meet Fiona Laing, Curator of Official Publications at the National Library at 13:45-14:00 at reception. There will be an opportunity for a behind the scenes tour of the Library and hear about the challenges facing legal deposits in collecting digital publications and websites. In particular Fiona will give a presentation on the work that has been undertaken on digitising the House of Lords papers, in partnership with Proquest. She will also cover the work involved in archiving all Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government publications, now produced only in digital format, for legal deposit and unrestricted access.

The Official Publications collection contains around 2 million items from the UK and Scottish Parliaments, the Devolved Assemblies and their respective government departments. The National Library is a United Nations and OECD Depository Library as well as having a significant collection of material from India and the other commonwealth countries.

There will be an opportunity afterwards to network in the visitor centre  café

Places available: 14