Fit a rare efterneen

Es efterneen, I maun hae gaun throuw tae Aiberdeen. E day wis e "Meet the President" we e North East Branch. A pucklie o ye will hae jaloost thit a cos it wis Aiberdeen n e North-East branch thit I'm claikin awa in e Doric. Es for e rest o ye, ye'll aa hae thocht thit I jist hiv haen an affa mishanter we ma keyboard n the wirdies maun be comin oot in a richt sotter.

That, dear readers, is what we call Doric and that's the way many of us born and brought up in the North-East were fortunate enough to speak at home or in the playground and some of us still do, of which more anon.

What that opening paragraph says is this afternoon I was meeting the North-East Branch at Aberdeen Central Library. As I noted the other day, it was full of friends, many of whom were former students. I spoke about the role of President, some of the things I've been up to and some of the things that I've found really inspiring during the visits that I've been making. We then had a really lively discussion about some of the current issues for our sector. Michael Charlton asked what I thought about the use of volunteers in libraries. A really interesting issue. My answer? Well, they can have a role to play and many libraries use them effectively as, for example, mentors in basic IT training or in local studies projects but they are not and they can not be a substititute for real staff. Apart from anything else who will manage the volunteers and, for example, sort out the problems when a volunteer simply decides they have something better?

We also discussed the co-location of services and, that familiar subject of other agencies being keen to work with us because our brand is so trusted and valued. There was also some discussion about continuing professional development and the mix of skills and personal attributes that the successful librarian or information professional needs. A good, lively debate and the future of our profession is very much in safe hands judging by the people who gave up their Saturday afternoon to come and meet the president. Unfortunately, the President has had a rotten cold all week and was still croaking, coughing and sniffing today.

One of the most distinctive features of life in the North-East of Scotland is Doric, that wonderful, lyrical form of Lowland Scots that is spoken up here in various forms. For many unfamiliar with it, the dialect, vocabulary and accent can often seem inpenetrable. For those of us brought up with it, the Doric is a cherished part of our cultural inheritance. But, my word, how it has declined since I was a child and I often hear local students going about the campus who just speak what I would describe as a sort of non-descript "standard" Scottish. I was fortunate to be brought up in a household that encouraged its use without that ever prejudicing the importance of speaking correct English (spikkin proper).

There are, however, many great champions of the Doric not least people like the incomparable Sheena Blackhall and Norman Harper whose columns regularly capture the distinctive essence of the north-east. And, my own favour piece of Doric literature? Well, I think you have to go a long way to beat the poetry of Charles Murray (1864-1941) and, in particular, The Whistle.