Notes from #GLTU7

For the first GLTU of 2013, thirteen people came to the Mitchell last Wednesday for a lively discussion about future plans. We talked about the possibility of running a Library Camp in Scotland, for which there was definite enthusiasm, and discussed ideas for more GLTUs. A few suggestions were added to those already put forward in the previous post i.e. Cornton Vale, Scottish Parliament (SPICe) and Glasgow School of Art (Mackintosh Library) and most people said they found the current pattern of a late afternoon meeting followed by a social event easiest to attend. Watch this space for news on both these topics.

As it is coming up on 9th February, and therefore urgent, we spent most of the time on National Libraries Day. Again, some ideas had already been proposed and a library flash mob attracted interest and discussion, with some people enthusiastic and others not! However, it was agreed that there wasn’t time to organise one before NLD anyway, but we might pursue it for a future books / libraries celebration. Ken (@iusedtobealibra) suggested a collection of contemporary stories about Scottish libraries making a difference to people’s lives, both public and other e.g. academic / special. Similar things have been done elsewhere, e.g. Voices for the Library and Let’s Talk Libraries (Newcastle), which could serve as models, and we might also explore other online initiatives such as a week in the life of a library (see face Book for an example) or a Fifty people One Question video (multiple examples if you Google it). Again, it was agreed that we couldn’t do this in time for NLD and if we were to build up an online resource advocating for libraries we would need the support of CILIPS, plus people with relevant skills. (Cathy – @kearneycath – has since confirmed that CILIPS will be supportive, particularly as the President’s theme for 2013 is “Making a difference”.) On NLD itself, we can start by tweeting about the many activities going on in libraries, including photographs where possible, and if we set our own hashtag in addition to #NLD13 these can be preserved, e.g. as a Storify, and used to launch the wider idea. Catriona Stewart has written a supportive article about libraries in the Herald and might be willing give us some publicity. So how does this affect YOU? Well, if this is to succeed, we will need everyone to help, both by tweeting on the day (or the week running up to the 9th) and by spreading the word to colleagues, family and friends who could also tweet about their use of libraries. More information will follow very soon.

After all that talking, some of us had built up an appetite! Eight of us trooped off to the Koh-I-Noor and enjoyed an excellent curry to round off the evening.

Announcing #GLTU7

It’s 2013 and time for the next GLTU! This will take place on Wednesday, 16th January and a sign-up form is now available. The first part of the event is a planning meeting in the Stirling Room of the Mitchell Library at 4.30pm. We’re looking for ideas and suggestions for the 2013 programme of informal tweetups and National Libraries Day celebrations and to explore the idea of a Library Camp Scotland. The meeting should be over by 5.30pm, when we will again visit the Koh-I-Noor for a curry (5.45pm) – we had a very good meal there after GLTU6. As before the meeting is free but you pay for own meal, and please sign up for each part of the event separately – it’s perfectly fine to come to either or both. To make booking a table easier, it would be helpful to have sign-ups for the curry by Monday 14th at the latest.

In my last post, I posed some questions and outlined a few ideas already mooted. A reminder of what was said:

What sort of events would you like for future GLTUs? What could we do for National Libraries Day? Is a Library Camp Scotland feasible in 2013? Here are some ideas we already thought of  – can you do better?

Visits – behind the scenes at the Mitchell; the BBC; Glasgow Women’s Library (again) after it has moved to Bridgeton, combined with the new Bridgeton Public Library; the Panopticon.

NLD – a Twitter quiz; a library flash mob with fliers to hand out and (possibly) a sponsor; something charitable, e.g. raising money for the project in Peru that Michael Charlton (@sololibrarian) worked with.

If you think of anything before the meeting, please add a comment below or tweet me @anabelmarsh. It would also be helpful if you could tweet about the event (use the hashtag #GLTU7), or use any other means of publicity you can think of which might reach new people. See you on the 16th!

PS – a useful suggestion from Lynn Corrigan – if you have time, arrive early to see the George Wylie exhibition which is on in the Main Hall of the Mitchell. Stunning!

GLTU news

Happy Christmas

Christmas is almost upon us and I know GLTU is probably not uppermost in anyone’s mind. However, there is some news I would like to share. First of all, we have two GLTU babies! Clare Thompson (@Clareenough) is now Mum to Zoey and Shayna Conn (@ShaynaC1) to Adi Maple, born on 4th December. Congratulations to both.

Second, plans are afoot for #GLTU7 in January – thanks to discussions with Cathy (@catskearney), Gillian (@gillanhanlon) and Myra (@MyraCPaterson), it has been arranged for Wednesday, 16th January. The intention is to make this a planning meeting for the rest of the year, so please put the date in your diary and come to the Stirling Room at the Mitchell Library from 4.30-5.30pm. We’ll then move on, as before, to eat, drink and be merry (should have recovered from Christmas by then).

More details and a sign-up will follow in the New Year – however, in the meantime, you could give some thought to the following: What sort of events would you like for future GLTUs? What could we do for National Libraries Day? Is a Library Camp Scotland feasible in 2013? Here are some ideas we already thought of – can you do better?

Visits – behind the scenes at the Mitchell; the BBC; Glasgow Women’s Library (again) after it has moved to Bridgeton, combined with the new Bridgeton Public Library; the Panopticon.

NLD – a Twitter quiz; a library flash mob with fliers to hand out and (possibly) a sponsor; something charitable, e.g. raising money for the project in Peru that Michael Charlton (@sololibrarian) worked with.

Comments on the above and additional ideas are very welcome – you can leave a comment here, email me or tweet @AnabelMarsh. And of course, please do come along on the 16th. This time last year GLTU did not exist – in 2012 we had six events, so here’s to being bigger and better in 2013. All the best to everyone for the holiday season, and see you next year.