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2017 in review - part two
- Phil Segall
- Dec 31, 2017
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 3, 2021
Flu update: grogginess subsiding, sinuses clearing + daring to dream of a phlegm-free start to 2018...
So back to the review and in July of this year the first issue of CILIP ILIG's Focus journal I've overseen as Editor was published. It became clear early on that there's much more involved in the role of Editor than I had first realised, including negotiating with our publishers, uploading online content and co-ordinating production of our annual printed edition. Seeing copy arriving from all over the world has definitely been the most rewarding part, though and it has also been great to get people involved who I've met through various international library activities.
In August I visited Northern Ireland, meaning Game of Thrones fun, an amble around Giant's Causeway...and yes, I suppose there were more libraries too. I mean always with the libraries, right?! Jeeeez. Anyway, pictured below are Linen Hall - the oldest library in Belfast (founded 1788) - and the entrance to the C S Lewis Reading Room at Queen's University:
Linen Hall Library includes relics telling the story of Northern Ireland's capital city
The C S Lewis Reading Room includes a replica of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe door
A quick hop over to Scotland next and the newly rebuilt Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries (DCL&G)...
It was impressive to see how the library was seamlessly integrated with the heritage function of the building, including historical artefacts dotted around the main reading room. Great café and garden too! Overall I give it 4 book piles out of 5 📚📚📚📚...and I don't usually even give libraries a rating. Two people who do regularly rate libraries though are Nordic Librarians Maija Berndtson and Mats Öström. I've been enjoying their blog Library Ranking Europe of late. They're mystery shopping their way around the continent and it's well worth a read!
The second half of the year also brought more success at work, with the Library and Archive Service completing a hat trick of awards; Customer Service Excellence, Archive Accreditation and the coveted Royal College of Nursing Team of the Year Award, which we received from Zebedee* himself - Sir Ian McKellen! (*I gather this guy has been in some other films too)
Reading some of the comments from those who kindly nominated us for the team award, I was encouraged to see just how much our members and staff clearly appreciate the work we do and our efforts to continually improve our services. This was a proud moment!
In December I took a voyage along the Danube, stopping off at Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna. It was a bit of a tight itinerary as I was only away for five days in total but I managed to squeeze in a few libraries along the way:
Vienna
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austria's National Library)
The Austrian National Library's State Hall - built in 1726 - also hosts exhibitions
Bratislava
Mestská knižnica v Bratislave (Bratislava City Library, Slovakia)
Univerzitná knižnica v Bratislave (University of Bratislava Library)
Budapest
Országgyűlési Könyvtár (The Library of the Hungarian Parliament)
The BME OMIKK Library in Budapest
BME OMIKK library fashioned their advent calendar out of an old card catalogue!
Other highlights included contributing to a forthcoming American Library Association (ALA) book chapter on International Librarianship, helping to organise some more great CILIP ILIG Informal events and finally completing the Library and Information Health Network NW (LIHNN) Literature Searching MOOC!
There have been low points of course too; I chose not to blog about that time I split my trousers on the cycle to work, as an example(!) but overall - to completely misquote Tori Amos - it's been a pretty good year!
🥂Happy New Year to all and very best wishes for 2018!! 🥂
(Disclaimer: all opinions expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.)
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