Education, Salvation and Damnation

Well, dear readers, the two events which I mentioned yesterday turned out to be really lovely as I knew they would. Despite torrential rain and thunderstorms in the Stirling area yesterday, the reopening of Bridge of Allan Library was a fantastic occasion with lots of people turning out. I am very grateful to Elizabeth Farr for inviting me to this. I really do like the whole look and feel of Bridge of Allan library and I particularly like the quotations around the walls, especially the RLS one about the Allan Water. How apt.

 

It was lovely to be able to catch up with people and have a blether and it was particularly good to see Robert Ruthven back for the event. Poor man, he has to deal with academics now he's University Librarian at Glasgow Caledonian and we all know what they are like. Robert's legacy in Stirling is brilliant. What a great team the staff in Stirling Council Libraries are. They are always so motivated and positive and committed to giving a first-class service. There are so many people in that service that I count as friends and not just professional colleagues. Robert is, of course, always characteristically modest about his role but I'll pay tribute to him and say what a sterling (every pun intended) job he did in giving leadership and vision as well as creating and fostering a first-class team of highly professional staff. Robert, Elizabeth and Sheila are all librarians I hold in seriously high regard; their commitment and dedication shines through the service in Stirling along with that from all their other colleagues. So, yes, Bridge of Allan library's reopening was a great occasion and I wish it every success.

Today, I was at a birthday party - the 120th birthday party for Aberdeen Central Library. Many of you will know this building well. For those of you who don't, it is located on Rosemount Viaduct in the city centre. Next to it is St Mark's Church and beyond that is His Majesty's Theatre. This venerable troika is known affectionately in the city as "Education, Salvation and Damnation". Hence the title of this posting.

 

The party was very well attended by staff past and present, members of the public and civic leaders including the Lord Provost who opened proceedings and made three long service presentations to staff. He launched the publication of a lovely little book celebrating the anniversary. Then, I'm afraid, the proceedings went down hill for yours truly was invited to speak. On such occasions I am reminded of something the curator at Chatsworth House once said to me; he described the late Duke of Devonshire's talks to groups visiting the house as "His Grace's twenty minutes of inaccuracies". Well, I hope I wasn't that bad today. Anyway, here is a summary of what I said. Some of it you may have heard before!

 

The 1890s was, of course, a felicitous time to be considering a new public library building because of the keen interest of the millionaire philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie had been born in Dunfermline in 1835. His family emigrated to the United States in 1848 and his first job was in a bobbin factory; later he became a telegraph messenger and steadily rose through the ranks of that company. Eventually, he went into the steel industry and ultimately created, after a series of mergers and takeovers, US Steel, one of the biggest and most successful companies the world has ever know. His wealth at its peak has been estimated at around $300 billion in contemporary values.

Carnegie had some very fixed views about wealth and philanthropy and famously declaring in his book The Gospel of Wealth that a man who dies rich dies disgraced. As a consequence, he was determined to use his enormous wealth for the greater good of society. He had a strong attachment to learning, self-improvement and education and these formed a cornerstone of his philanthropy. Libraries played a key part because of the affection and gratitude he had for the libraries he himself had been able to use in his formative years. He had an underlying philosophy to life which explains much about the man. He said that a man should:

 

■Spend the first third of his life getting all the education one can;

■Spend the next third making all the money one can;

■And spend the last third giving it all away for worthwhile causes.

 

Carnegie was clearly no soft-and-cuddly philanthropist. The acumen he had shown in building up his business empire was more than matched by his approach to funding libraries. Virtually all of 2,509 Carnegie Libraries built across the English-speaking world were built using a tried and tested methodology, called the Carnegie Formula. This required recipient towns to make a contribution matching that of the donation. Additionally, he required the town to:

■Clearly demonstrate the need for a public library
■Provide the site for the building
■Provide annually ten percent of the cost of the library’s construction to support its running costs; and
■Provide a free service for all

 

It was Carnegie’s staunch belief that the recipient towns had to show an ongoing commitment to maintain and enhance the library. Without that, he would walk away and, indeed, on some occasions, did just that. Aberdeen, however, embraced Carnegie’s ideals and committed itself to his formula because there was, amongst our Victorian forefathers, a real sense of the worth and value of a free public library. So, on Tuesday, 5 July 1892, the great man himself attending by the worthies of Aberdeen came to the official opening ceremony.

At our CILIPS Annual Conference in Dundee last month, I invoked the memory of Carnegie. It was, by coincidence, the day on which the Olympic Torch Relay arrived in Dundee and I reminded our delegates that Carnegie had used the symbol of a torch for his libraries. Indeed, a torch was often carved in the stonework above the entrance or incorporated in the decorative scheme internally, although interestingly not here. Carnegie, however, saw the analogy clearly: libraries were to be beacons of learning and education and hope for the community.

And, in the intervening one-hundred and twenty years this library has continued to carry that torch brightly, now supported by branches throughout the city and, in many cases, sharing services with schools and being integrated into the heart of the cultural well-being of this city. Some great characters have presided over this institution and they have seen it change and flourish.

Alexander Robertson was, in 1899, succeeded by the redoubtable GM Fraser who was to preside as City Librarian until 1938, an extraordinarily long and fruitful tenure. There a wonderful photograph of him in the local studies collection, looking every bit the urbane sophisticate with a pair of lorgnettes perched on his not inconsiderable nose. Fraser was succeeded by an equally remarkable character with an equally long tenure. Many of you know the high regard that I hold Marcus Kelly Milne in. His reign as City Librarian took us to the end of the nineteen-sixties. As an aside, it is remarkable that in its first seventy-five years, there were only three City Librarians. During Milne’s time, the torch shone very brightly in spite of the inevitable challenges of the Second World War and its aftermath. I have previously written about how Milne saw a time of crisis as an opportunity to innovate not least in the introduction of his Books you can borrow a current awareness bulletin he started in October 1941. Truly necessity was the mother of invention.

And since Marcus Milne, the service has continued to evolve and adapt. Technologies not even dreamt of one-hundred and twenty years ago are now central to all that we do and Carnegie would have been bemused by the notion of using the library from the comfort of one’s own home down a telephone wire or on the move using something called Wi Fi. That’s said, there is much which he would still recognise and approve heartily of. Not least that the City of Aberdeen has continued in its steadfast commitment to his formula of supporting the building he gave.

Today, Carnegie library buildings are not without their challenges but this one remains a beacon in our city. Libraries are, as Carnegie intended them to be, transformational spaces, places of hopes and dreams, expectations and reality, help, support, education, fun, learning, enjoyment and so much more. They are amongst the most trusted public spaces in the community with some studies showing as many as 85% of people saying that the library is their most trusted public service. Aberdeen Central Library is all of these things and so much more.

There are two final things I would like to say. Firstly, I have dwelt on some of the people who have had an impact on this place and I’d like to say a little more about that. Those inspiring characters from the past who did so much to establish this place in the hearts of Aberdonians are more than matched by today’s team led by Fiona Clark. They are continuing the process of development and enhancement to ensure a library service that meets the demands of the twenty-first century whilst remaining true to Carnegie’s fundamental beliefs.

The torch is in the safe hands of a superb library team. But, there are other people to mention too. And they are, of course, the users for whom, over the generations, this place has come to mean so much. This is a focal point for our city in architectural terms of course, but for the countless thousands who use it this place is also a focal point in their lives and the impact that this building, its services and its staff has had is truly incalculable.

Finally, I am going to return to Marcus Milne for some closing words. In his Public Library Annual Report for 1941-42, he began his introduction with some words of Vladimir Ilych Lenin; a most unlikely bedfellow for Mr Milne but the quote is apposite:

"Let us see the pride and glory of a public library....in the magnitude of book circulation among the people, in the number of new readers enrolled, in the speed with which enquiry for any book is satisfied, in the quality of books lent for home reading and in the number of children led to good reading and the use of the library"

Indeed, the Pride and Glory of this public library is clear for all to see. Thank you Mr Carnegie. Thank you Aberdeen. Thank you all who have worked and used this place. Long may education, salvation and damnation dominate Rosemount Viaduct. Happy Birthday Aberdeen Central Library.

Ok, so I know you've heard about my esteem for Marcus Milne before and, yes, I've used the Lenin quote before too but both were very right and fitting for today. So, these last two days, have given me more reasons to Love Scottish Libraries (as if I needed more).

Pastoral idyll Aberdeen style

I am sitting in my office looking out at what can only be described as a very dreich Aberdeen morning; the fog which seems to have enveloped the north-east for the last three weeks is as thick as ever and it is drizzling persistently. Added to this, I have diggers, drills and lorries making a noise below my window as building contractors do work on our car park. Altogether, therefore, it is a pastoral idyll that I am looking out at. Not.

It has been a while since I last posted mostly because I've been caught up in the day-job and it has been a hectic two weeks and I see time slipping through my hands ahead of my holidays at the end of next week. Normally, I'd be saying roll-on the holidays but this year I'm wondering how I can fit in a couple of extra days to get various things done ahead of my leave.

I have, amidst this frenetic fortnight, managed to achieve something immeasurably satisfying, namely a major clear-out of the office with stacks of stuff put into recylcing and a good tidy-up. My office now looks respectable again (but I fear it won't last once I come back from holidays). I am rather delighted to have fallen heir to a complete run of the Library Association yearbooks which are now very neatly arranged in my office (I know, I am showing how sad I am).

One other thing that I did during this fortnight was have lunch with two people that many readers of this blog will recall with great affection, Douglas Anderson and Mike Head. Doug and Mike were, for quarter of century and more, the backbone of the library school at RGIT and many of you were doubtless taught by them and, of course, Mike was President of the Scottish Library Association in 1984. What we all describe as "the old gang" Mike, Doug, Dorothy Williams, Robert Newton, Rita Marcella, Liz Davidson (our school administrator in the 1990s) meet up a couple of times a year to reminisce over lunch about Dewey Decimal, Ranganathan, AACR2 and other such cerebral matters. I should add that is not "old" as in age.

In about an hour, I am heading off down to Bridge of Allan for the official reopening of the library there and I am very much looking forward to it. Avid readers will recall that I was down there in April for the Central Branch "Meet the President" which I much enjoyed and I am looking forward again to seeing all my friends in Stirling Libraries. And, then, after that I have an evening meeting in Stirling itself at which the Immediate Past President His Excellency Mr Alan Reid will be present. I know Alan is having a tour of the new library in Dunbar and the John Gray Centre in Haddington today and, as you know, I was so impressed by these the other week. I look forward to hearing Alan's take on them this evening.

Tomorrow is also a busy day. Not only do we have a visitor to the Department from Austria but then, at lunchtime, it is the celebration of 120 years of Aberdeen Central Library and I am looking forward to this very much and I have my speech all prepared. I do fear, however, that as in Dundee, the Lord Provost's chain will out-do my one. I really think CILIPS should get something more like the Order of the Garter ;o) for the President. Funny how this job turns every president into a connoisseur of regalia.

I will be posting up details of both the Bridge of Allan visit and the Aberdeen Central Library event towards the end of the week.

The President's Progress

This has been a busy but incredibly enjoyable and rewarding week for the President. On Tuesday evening, I was down in Bridge of Allan doing a "Meet the President" event with members of Central Branch who have been so wonderful in their themed costumes at Branch and Group Day over recent years. Sheila Miller, the Chair of our CILIPS Council, very kindly took me for a bite to eat first and it was a real pleasure to be in Bridge of Allan as my father lived there in the 1950s and was very active at the golf club so I always have felt a real connection with the town.

The Meet the President was in the newly-refurbished Bridge of Allan library and stunning it looks too with great decor and furnishings, turning the library into light, bright space with huge flexibility. I was delighted to see friends old and new at the event and Yvonne Manning welcomed me on behalf of the branch. It was also really great to be welcomed to Bridge of Allan library by Victoria McAra, one of our super talented former distance learning students. I spoke for a while about what it is like to be a library school academic and how important it is for us in the teaching side of the profession to keep abreast of what's happening and to have really strong links with practitioners. I touched on one aspect that I also mentioned at the Irish conference, namely my profound belief that library schools should play a role right throughout a professional's career, not just at the start of it for a professionally-accredited course. I really believe in the importance of the library schools providing all levels and all types of education, training and continuous professional development from bite-sized chunks of learning through to higher degrees and research activities.

What a fabulous group Central Branch are and it was great to be able to speak to them and then have a really good discussion about some current issues and challenges. Thanks to everyone for making me feel so welcome and congratulations to the brilliant team at Stirling Libraries for making Bridge of Allan library such a lovely and inviting venue.

From Bridge of Allan, I drove on down to Irvine in North Ayrshire. Now, I have to declare an interest here folks. I really love North Ayrshire for many reasons: the coastline, the landscape, the friendliness of the people and also, of course, for Dr Audrey Sutton who is someone I admire (read adore) enormously. I've got strong links with the library service there anyway because I've been known to do local history talks in that neck of the woods and I was really keen to see the full range of things that North Ayrshire Libraries do, so I asked to visit.

On Wednesday, I spent a wonderful day seeing some really fascinating, innovative and pretty inspiring things. I must thank Paul Cowan for having organized such a varied and interesting programme for me. I spent time at Library Headquarters and met the team there and saw planned developments for online provision. Then I went out to Irvine Royal Academy where I met the librarian, the head teacher and some pupils including David and Colt who have been involved in taking pictures of the town to help record local buildings and landmarks. What a great feel the library had and these two lads were so engaging about and engaged with their project. Next it was of to Irvine Public Library which, like Bridge of Allan, is a great physical space and the essence of what a modern library should look like. I always think that if you walk into a library and think it could be in one of the Nordic countries (where they really have got a handle on library design) then it is doing its job and Irvine library is one such building. Here I met Tom, a retired electrician, who has been through a number of the library's computer courses and was in for a chat about iPads. What's all that about lifelong learning? Haven't us librarians been doing that stuff for years? Yes, of course we have, and Tom's a brilliant advert for it.

Then I saw round the Harbour Arts Centre or HAC (of which more later) before Paul took me to lunch in Saltcoats. We then visited Saltcoats Public Library and I had one of the most inspirational meetings I've had in a long time. The library has teamed up with Macmillan and there is a Cancer Information and Support Service facility within the library staffed two days a week by Macmillan volunteers. I met Mary and Helen, both survivors, both lovely, both passionate about their work, both inspiring and both now are fantastic ambassadors for libraries, just like Tom. What a terrific partnership between North Ayrshire Libraries and Macmillan. Then my last stop was the Heritage Centre, a place I know well and it was a great delight to end the tour with Norma Cullen, one of my former students and a good friend. I had a brilliant time there as you might imagine.

Norma was showing me some albums that she had acquired only last week at the auction of the contents of Blair Castle (the Ayrshire one that is). We were flicking through one photograph album of the great and the good in the mid-nineteenth century and a face jumped out at me. It was Elizabeth Duchess of Gordon who built my church up in Fochabers, Gordon Chapel. Elizabeth Gordon is an ever-present part of our life as a much poorer copy of the same photograph hangs in the church. So it was a real thrill to see a much better one and, of course, an incredible coincidence.

In the evening, Audrey and Harry Sutton, Audrey's brother John his partner Mel and Marie from HAC took me for a meal at the Harbour Arts Centre. What a cool venue that is and the current photography exhibitions is well worth seeing. Then, we all went to a performance by Woody Pines, a mix of rural stringband meets blues meets ragtime. Four young American guys who are incredibly talented and very, very good.

So, I had a wonderful time this week meeting friends old and new, visiting wonderful libraries, meeting superb, dedicated, innovative members of staff who are doing all the things we should be doing and so much more besides. The adjectives I could use to describe this week could go on and on and they would contain a lot of words like dynamic, creative, inspiring, fantastic etc etc. But, hey folks, that's what libraries and librarians are. So thank you Stirling Libraries, Central Branch and North Ayrshire. You are all enriching society and proving just how damned good our libraries are.