Library Workshop

Picture Accreditation: Monika Bargmann

I went on an all day Library workshop yesterday at Grantham library. I was one of just three men there! The idea was to teach us librarians about the new RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system that is going to be installed throughout Lincolnshire Libraries later this year. The lady who held the seminar was raving about it as the system has already been tried and tested in libraries across the country and in Australia. RFID is basically a self issuing system so that people can take out books without having to stand in a queue at a counter. Apparently this will revolutionise our libraries and will get more people using them. Fiona (that was the lady's name) also talked about what we can do now to get more people borrowing. At the moment, libraries in Lincolnshire take on a very 1950s feel and they often have a stigma attached to them. People are put off going to libraries because they feel that they have to be quiet and must choose their books and get out. We are now trying to break this image. More of our shelves will be arranged in square shapes to create a living room type atmosphere. Bean bags and sofas will be strategically placed to make it more comfortable for readers to sit and read through books. All the notices such as 'No food and drink', 'No mobile phones' and 'Always stir your drink before drinking' (yes, that was up at one library in the county!) will be taken down, unwanted posters will be removed and leaflets will be given a thorough clear out. All of this should add up to a more spacious, more friendly feel when entering a library. these places are no longer the uptight, rule-crazy places they once were. The plan is to make the library the social hub of every community. However, there were some women on the course who were old fashioned librarians. They couldn't stand all the talk of change and would challenge Fiona about it at every opportunity. Fiona set them all straight though with one quote - 'If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always had.' With book issues being at an all time low in Lincolnshire (here the average library issues 10,000 books a month, in Australia its 80,000) and talk of the 1964 Libraries Act being revoked, now is the time for change. The old librarians are just going to have to get used to it!