About Perkins
November 15, 2009
E books and print books.
Here is an important article by my friend Karen Christensen at Berkshire Publishing. Karen and Berkshire are the hosts of this blog and are leading publishers of reference works
Posted by Perkins at 3:41 PM | Comments (0)
November 14, 2009
Reading helps you write in a way that other people will understand
When I started at work and had to write reports for my company in response to questions asked by managers, my boss told us very strictly that the use of jargon was lazy and and attempt to appear clever. He required us to 'write so that your mother will understand what you mean: in that way you will avoid my wrath'
From Simon Hoggart in the Guardian today
"Your council tax at work. Reader John Richardson sends in a magnificent example of jargon, from a report by Camden council, north London, called "Growing Your Library" [sic]. This turns out to mean sacking lots of staff and replacing them with barcode scanners. It includes phrases such as "information plinths" and reads in part: "The People work stream sits alongside service visioning, ICT procurement, spatial strategy, pilot RFID (radio frequency identification), enabled library and communications work streams."
Why is it, when local councils are having more and more of their power taken by central government, they respond by distancing themselves so thoroughly from their voters?"
My mother would not have understood this report by officers of Camden Council but their work would have been the recipient of the firm and shaming marks of a red pen - as it should have been given by the highly paid directors and councillors. One's sorrow is augmented by the idea that the authors of this work claim to be professional librarians who 'promote reading'. I don't believe them- I never have. You couldn't read books and write English in this way.
Posted by Perkins at 5:22 PM | Comments (4)
Comments
Posted by: Tom Roper at November 14, 2009 6:35 PM
Tom, it's not in Hoggart's report. But chief librarians, I am afraid, who are mostly not only professional librarians, but also members of the Society of Chief Librarians, are not innocent. The Camden dealings have been well reported in both The Camden New Journal and the Ham and High.
In this case, it is certainly not the councillor.
Anyhow, whomever wrote it, it is definitely a document written by the collective of those responsible for public libraries. Professional senior librarians should not, I submit, attempt to wash their hands of 'atrocities' of this kind, as if they had no responsibilty. They take a weighty shilling, they have a part to play in making local government work properly.
Posted by: Perkins at November 15, 2009 8:48 AM
Perkins, The quotation in Simon Hoggart's article is taken from a Camden Council report on 'Libraries Organisational Change' - which makes quite interesting reading. It condemns the existing management structure as lacking logic, and for being 'top heavy and imbalanced' and criticises a 'lack of corporate engagement" - which I interpret as meaning that the managers and councillors are 'out of touch'. The recommendations include a reduction in 'middle management' and 'making more effective use of our stock of books'.
However welcome these sentiments are, the Review is still open to criticism on other grounds than the use of jargon: For example the Local Studies and Archives Service is facing a slight reduction in staffing in order to save just over £12,000 p.a.
Yet Consultants hired to redesign Camden's libraries were paid £2,000 per day earlier this year to visit the Apple Store and Jamie Oliver's cook shop in Clapham, but failed to visit successful libraries outside the Borough of Camden according to a report in Camden New Journal. The total bill for work by the consultants is reported to be £47,000 for 23 days work. Enough to have maintained the existing staffing levels in the Local Studies Department for nearly 4 years.
The Camden New Journal's article is here:
http://tinyurl.com/ygud6uc
The full text of Camden Council's report on Library reorganisation is here:
http://tinyurl.com/yk7srfa
Posted by: Martyn at November 16, 2009 11:48 AM
This is going to be a really rude one. Tim, please, please pass it! The Camden council quote epitomises the worst of the bull**** the library profession has been spewing out over the last fifteen years. There are occasions (and make no mistake, this is one of them) when I feel that civilised discourse is of no further use, and that we should fall upon the strange people whom we have allowed to deluge us with arcane writings so convoluted they would make more sense if they were in Aramaic or Vulgate Latin, and which deserve no better fate than being thrown in a midden by Vogons and then vomited copiously upon. To think I have wasted fifteen years of my adult life (fifteen seconds would be too long!) reading such tripe makes me feel like marching down from Scotland, putting the DCMS to fire and sword, and driving a tank through Camden council's HQ. What have we come to, when this is the only solution I can see? These people will never stop talking *****. All they're trying to do is save money, which won't work because they'll need even more people to take care of all this electronic ***** which they keep on rabbiting on about like blind acolytes. The truth I have come to realise is that none of it means anything, and we have thrown away our heritage under a pile of consultants' reports and audits, all of which are utterly useless.
Passed by Perkins, the cat
Posted by: James Christie at November 17, 2009 6:20 PM
November 7, 2009
Public Letter to Ed Vaizey and Boris Johnson
To Ed Vaizey and Boris Johnson : London Libraries Change Programme
Just once more and further to all our previous correspondence.... I am going to start making public statements about the London Libraries Change Programme
My view, and I suspect it will be widely understood and suppported, is this-- and it is probably best if you regard this as a public letter.
1. The Public library service in London is an essential part of the cultural fabric of one of the great learning centres of the world.
2. All the figures tell a simple story; the buildings have been allowed to decay and the facilities they offer have fallen behind the times; stocks of books and other reading material have degenerated to a terrible low standard; opening hours, in a 24 hour city, where people study night and day, are no reflection of people's lives nor their expectations; staff are sometimes good and knowledgeable, but not always, in a world where people expect good service
3. At over £200m per annum with further considerable annual capital expenditures in total amounting almost the cost of BBC TV licenses for London families-- the cost is huge but fails to deliver respectable value for money. There is obviously a significant wastage of money and therefore there should be no need to seek additional finance to do anything.
4. Users don't believe that those responsible understand their needs and therefore when making changes will probably do the wrong things. Public communication of the actions of the service is poor
5. The metropolis needs central libraries, good large libraries and a network of small community, or suburban libraries, the values of each of which are properly and clearly understood and appreciated by those responsible for them. People don't want to have to fight all the time to keep their libraries open or well stocked.
5. A London Libraries Change Programme (LLCP) should have addressed all these matters with urgency years ago. The service desperately needs improvement across the whole of its activities.
6. The current plans expressed in LLCP documents are deeply depressing to people of London and miles away from making immediate improvement. They need to be re-energised so that they bring beneficial change-- people need a promise of regeneration that is public, clear, credible and in the hands of people trusted to deliver it. They want to hear about longer hours, improved collections and smarter buildings designed for reading and study, funded out of the money they already pay and have paid. Savings should be possible, in these times, but only if the management of resources is properly directed and effective.
7 People don't want to be told about endless administative failings and confusions and about how one council won't listen to the advice of another or how reports have been ignored or technical changes in cataloguing and non standard cataloguing systems are debated at library conferences . Not do they want to hear half baked theories about how council services have to be delivered nor about the possible needs of libraries in future centuries. They want the attention of those responsible to concentrate on the public library service now- and improvements to be urgent.
8. In drawing up these plans, those responsible for the current LLCP appear to have made no attempt to hear, listen to or understand the public needs of the various and many groups and individuals who use, or would use libraries. That failing runs through almost every page of both the consultants' reports (which have already cost over £300k) and the summaries and directions being given by the LLCP Board. The factual basis of the consultants' work relies entirely on information from within the service and is largely a regurgitation of observations of management incompetence and obfuscation that has been reported time and again over the years. The reports totally lack any clarity of understanding or vision. The allocation of priorities and the management of the project has been put in the hands of those who failed to address these issues in the past decades.
9. So for all these reasons, the LLCP is a shambles and needs immediate political redirection. It is hard not to say that those who are charged by the public with the care of the service have not been naive, gullible, distracted and less than attentive in letting a project run for two years at such enormous expense without correction. That needs to change
10 The only place from which that redirection can come is from those in positions of political leadership upon whom the public depend. Because so many of the councils in London have Conservative administrations, that means you Ed Vaizey as shadow minister and aspirant minister and it means Boris Johnson as Mayor-- and I think you should work together and express a joint vision- to which you should insist that the administrators, officers and civil servants respond with more energy than they have so far.
11. I beg you both not to tolerate the secret schemings which have brought us to this position and not only to attend the meeting on 13th November at which those responsible are to discuss these issues with London Councils but also to make that a public meeting
12 I also call on you to dismiss from office the entire Board of the LLCP and replace it with a small effective body that will conduct the improvement work with appropriate expedition and urgency
In this way we will at last see some improvement in public libraries in London -- we should be ambitious and seek a world class public library service for our capital which it needs and deserves
I offer you my support in all this - and believe that a wider public understanding of this project will also give you the mandate for change and recognisable imrpovement-- it will be a good matter for you and a new government to tackle well
With kind regards
Tim Coates
Posted by Perkins at 7:18 PM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2009
How to get to the top of Google rankings
I was just reading a long complicated article about how to get to the top of the Google rankings on a particular topic.
'Be interesting' was the message-- so I googled 'Public Library Blogs' to find that the Good Library guide was number two on the Google list. That is number two in the world.
If you want to advertise here, please do, you are most welcome. That would be publishers, library suppliers, systems operators, designers, etc -- or even library operators needing staff.
Posted by Perkins at 8:07 PM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2009
The end of the MLA
Earlier this year I was mugged by the MLA in Swindon. At the time I was trying to explain that in order for a council to make rational and sensible decisions about the library budget, the figures have to be presented clearly so that councillors can see how money is spent on which parts of the service. I was saying that the presentation should show how much each library costs, how much the management structure costs, how much bibliographic and other 'behind the scenes' services, outreach, home delivery, etc cost, each figure separated, as best one can, and shown alongside how much those services are used and what the potential use might be. There also has to be a clear and understandable analysis of all the overhead costs of the service. This was the same explanation I had given in my report 'Who's in Charge?' five years ago and have always used when working in any council. I said that the role a councillor plays in applying common sense to setting priorities can only work if they are fully in the picture about what goes on.
The MLA told Swindon council that my case was not properly argued - when I had only got as far as asking the questions- and secretly, behind my back, advised Swindon not to listen to what I was saying. I complained to the DCMS about this and eventually, the MLA and DCMS agreed that the behaviour of the senior MLA officers, including the chief executive and chair, had been below standard and inappropriate and they apologised. The apology was to me, not to the people of Swindon, as it obviously should have been. And by subsequently refusing many many invitations to talk the matter over, I have no certainty at all that the MLA really realised what they had done, and cannot be certain that they will not do it again. The real shame was that this was a golden opportunity to help other councils if they are faced by budget pressure as so many of them now are. Open and wide discussion of how to prepare and assess the library budget is a really important matter. It still is
For the MLA it matters not. Both the Labour party (in the form of Lyn Brown's all party group report) and the Conservative Party (in a clear speech last week by Ed Vaizey, restating that which he has already said) have decided that the MLA is not the appropriate body to handle those aspects of the library service. After the election whoever wins, there will be some new body.
What does matter though is that there should be an understanding of why the MLA failed after 3 incarnations in only 7 years. There was Re:source created by Matthew Evans, there was the empire of Chris Batt and then we had the admiralty of Roy Clare.
The case for a non departmental body was argued to the Select Committee in 2001 and they agreed with it, but in 2005, much the same group of people heavily criticised both MLA and DCMS for the way they had treated libraries. Both bodies clearly and obviously decided to ignore that criticism and drove onwards down whichever path they thought they were on. In 2007, somebody decided that things were not right, because abruptly and without explanation or any reporting, Chris Batt left and Roy was appointed. There was no public analysis of the reason for this change and therefore no certainty that lessons were being learned, whatever they might be. The MLA has a board of commissioners, but the minutes of board meetings rarely talk about libraries or any of the issues that have seemed to matter, even though the public library service is by far the largest item in the MLA portfolio. It has always been an opaque organisation without clear purpose, objective or lines of accountability. Chairmen have come and gone but this has not changed. The scorn with which it appeared to feel able to treat the people of Swindon (who complained bitterly about the conduct of the MLA) implies that it does not seem to feel it has a responsibility to the public. The board members do not appear to scrutinise or challenge seriously the activities of the management but only ever to offer it support-- as if they could not be bothered to act in a public role. I think these people are open to huge criticism for their conduct. It is beyond belief that in all these years those board members have never asked and obtained a satisfactory explanation of why library lending has declined or book stocks have fallen.
All these things mean that before a new body is set up there is a lot of thinking to be done. This time the purpose and function must be clearly defined and someone has to say how such a body will perform a role to benefit the public directly and account for their work. It needs to obtain the information that can be used to monitor properly the performance and use of the public library service, in a way that the MLA has never attempted to do and, obviously it needs a small number of the right people to achieve the task it is set.
I have the bruises from the last attempt, but I do not think that just closing down the library (and archive) functions of the MLA and creating a new body, on its own will do the job that is needed. There has to be a more detailed plan- and it should be drawn up before an election
Posted by Perkins at 8:37 AM | Comments (0)
October 22, 2009
Delane's War
I am very grateful to all those public library authorities who have responded to my publisher about Delane's War
We seem to have a whole promotional programme based on talks in public libraries- and that is marvellous.. happy to do more if asked. It is a fascinating subject. I will come to a public library anywhere at all
Tim
Posted by Perkins at 4:59 PM | Comments (0)
Libraries in Essex
Thank you to Claire Lickman for this comment:
"I have used various branches of the libraries in Harlow, nearby, and I can only say that I have always had a very good and friendly service from the libraries there. I love their inter-library loan service online; I've been able to get MANY of my books that way and it has always been quick.
I would like to point out, though - when I have asked at Harlow's Staple Tye/Great Parndon library why they were selling off so many books, I was told that many are not old stock, they are donations that they cannot stock. Either they already have copies, the books are not in good enough condition, or they simply do not want them. I was also told that it costs them £5 a book to add it onto the library database, laminate the cover etc. It is better for them if they just sell them, even if they are only at 10p/book, or a bag for £1 - at least that makes them some money.
I agree that there could be improvements, including Sunday opening times for some of the smaller branches, but overall I am really pleased with the service offered."
Posted by Perkins at 9:11 AM | Comments (2)
Comments
As someone who has just moved to Essex I have to agree with Claire - I have found the staff in Saffron Walden so helpful and approachable. The online reservations are fantastic as well, and are processed so quickly. I'm finding that I can get what I need for my studies (librarianship by distance learning!) with no trouble at all, and the baby time group is excellent as well. Thank you to all there!
Posted by: Niamh Page at October 22, 2009 12:52 PM
I see this comment has travelled up from the earlier blog on Essex libraries. Good to hear more positive feedback and an explanation for some of the sales.
I visited Harlow central library recently and found the small childrens section a little depressing with a rather tired and limited selection of books.
Posted by: A Loughton Library User at October 29, 2009 2:02 PM
October 11, 2009
World Premiere
Here is a special treat for readers of the Good Library Guide blog. The World Premiere of Lullaby by Elspeth Brooke
Posted by Perkins at 12:23 PM | Comments (0)
October 4, 2009
London Libraries Change Programme
There have been a number of comments on a post first put up in August, so I have copied it again here. Paul Wycliffe has just asked 'where does Capital Amibition' fit in the democratic process?' It is a very good question. Perhaps someone will come on and tell us.
Continue reading "London Libraries Change Programme"
Posted by Perkins at 9:48 AM | Comments (1)
Comments
Arthur C. Clarke once wrote something along the lines of "here in Britain we bring down all our organisations by punitive taxation and bureaucracy, then prop them all up again with grants and subsidies." This quote, at least 50 years old and done from memory, is by no means an inaccurate reflection of today's dilemma. Libraries last redecorated in 1973 skulk in burnt-out neighbourhoods overrun by hoodies, drug-runners and failed X-factor contestants while monstrous EU-style bureaucracies (ie the DCMS) built on skyscrapers of paper tower to the heavens sucking up money like latter-day Babels. At some point (I sincerely hope, anyway), these towers will fall and we will all, like Ireland, have to go cap-in-hand to a fascist EU superstate for, guess what?, grants and subsidies. We would have been far better off just giving the money to the actual libraries in the first place and therefore avoiding the whole cluster-f***. But NO, that would have been too easy, simple and straightforward, wouldn't it? Can't we just march on London, please? It would be fun, and I need the exercise!
Posted by: James Christie at October 6, 2009 11:35 AM
October 1, 2009
New titles for your library
May I recommend the following new titles for your library. They are all available from Amazon (.com or .co.uk) and from book wholesalers.
Argonaut papers
978-184381-050-6 Dealing with Josef Stalin-- previously unpublished accounts of the 1939 Diplomacy between the Soviet, British and French Governments. This is an important new work. With an introduction by Professor Sidney Aster of Toronto University explaining why Chamberlain's Government prevented publication of these documents.
978-184381-046-9 Dealing with Adolf Hitler-- A twin new edition of this work which contains the British accounts of the final months of diplomatic discussion prior to war breaking out. Particularly fascinating for the extracts of Hitler's speeches that year.
978-184381-049-0 Peace in Tibet, with a Foreword by the Dalai Lama. This new collection of British Government papers describes the military mission to Tibet in 1904 and the farcical negotiation of a peace treaty at Llasa. British pomposity at its most extreme.
978-184381-040-7 The Theft of the Irish Crown Jewels. The official account of the inquiry into scandalous goings on in Dublin castle and the theft of the Irish Regalia, a mystery which has never been solved
978-184381-038-4 The story and genesis of the remarkable Londonderry Verbal Arts Centre, by Sam Burnside, its creator
978-184381-048-3 'Who's in Charge' - a copy of the report on the UK public library service compiled in 2004, now available again in hard copy edition.
Other publishers
978-184954-012-4 'Delane's War' by Tim Coates, published by Biteback, Oct 15
978-074756-081-4 'Patsy, the story of Mary Cornwallis West', (2004) by Tim Coates, published by Bloomsbury.
154381-006-9 The British War in Afghanistan 1842, Moments of History
Posted by Perkins at 8:37 AM | Comments (5)
Comments
Congratulations to all on the Wirral, particularly to our friends in Irby whose cause has been so close to the hearts of campaigners in Swindon. This is a marvellous result! We hope that all politicians of whatever political colour will ask councils to do all they can to make savings that protect front line library services (and acknowledge that an important precedent has been set). Crucially, we beg those who promote ideas that are anathema to library users to have a genuine rethink.
Posted by: Shirley Burnham at October 1, 2009 1:28 PM
No resting on your laurels Tim - they need you in Sutton Coldfield as this article makes clear:
"WHAT on earth has happened to Sutton Library?
Although I was a regular user of the library for many years it is a long time since I visited it. Last week, however, I needed a book and was shocked at the state of the place.
The wooden bookcases have been replaced by temporary bookcases on wheels which make it look like a portable room, the decoration is really shabby, the carpet is filthy and the whole place looks messy and unkept.
There also seems to be fewer books.
It saddens me so much as it used to be such a pleasant and vibrant place. How has it been allowed to deteriorate so much?"
The full article can be found here:
http://tinyurl.com/ybwujg3
Posted by: Martyn at October 3, 2009 9:48 PM
Is Sutton Coldfield within the library authority of Warwickshire? (by any chance!)
Posted by: Perkins at October 4, 2009 6:31 PM
Well done Wirral. But it's one victory in a much larger war. As part of the ongoing struggle, we'll be taking a show to the Ilkley Literature Festival Fringe on Thursday 15th October. It's called "Shhhh!:Love, Life and the Truth about Libraries" and uses poetry, history, humour and polemic to tell the story of life in our public libraries in the words of people who use them, work in them and play in them. Above all, it's a call to arms - use your library or lose it!!
"Shhhh!" is at the Ilkley Playhouse, Thursday 15th October, 9pm. Admission free. Stand up for libraries! The campaign goes on!
More info http://www.librarities.blogspot.com
Posted by: Simon B at October 5, 2009 4:24 PM
Perkins, I think it falls under Birmingham City Council's remit. Martyn
Posted by: Martyn at October 6, 2009 11:41 PM
I am open to correction, but I saw nothing in Hoggart's report to suggest that this atrocity was written by a professional librarian. I'd say it was much more likely to have come from the keyboard of a chief officer, one of the parasitic consultants who haunt local and national government, or a councillor.