February 2017 Newsletter
Funding Announcement
We’re delighted to announce that Sheffield City Council have agreed to continue funding the volunteer libraries for a further three years after our present agreement runs out in March 2017. Funding for 2017/2018 will remain at its present level, reducing to 80% and 70% in years 2 and 3 (although it is not clear how this reduction will be split across the libraries). Also, provision of the Library Management System, the “People’s Network” and other IT infrastructure will continue to be provided free of charge at least until 2019 when the council’s current contract with IT provider Capita expires. There’s also provision for a “grant pot” and money for buying new books.
This is obviously great news and a huge encouragement. It recognises the fantastic work that the volunteers at the 11 associate libraries across Sheffield have done over the last two years, and gives us real hope of building our own community presence and fundraising program to ensure our financial viability in the longer term.
Halting the decline
The blue line shows quarterly book issue figures for Greenhill Library. The regular seasonal variation (it peaks every summer) makes it hard to see the underlying trend. The red line is a 4-point moving average which smooths out the seasonal highs and lows. You’ll see that from early 2015 (a few months after the volunteers took over) the downward trend is halted, and even slightly reversed. These figures are for children’s books. Adult issues show less seasonal variation but the overall trend is the same. We must be doing something right!
(Thanks to Liz Coates for this)
Farmers Market 27 November
Our Farmers’ and Artisan market on 27 November 2016 raised £1100 towards Library funds. Thanks to all who took part, especially those hardy outdoor traders who braved a chilly (though bright) afternoon. Thanks also to The Beekeepers and The Gamebirds, who provided us with live music throughout. There are more photos on the gallery page. Our next market is on 2 April.
Survey Summary
Our thanks to Liz Coates for compiling a summary of the user survey done during Feb/March 2016. You can view the summary (PDF) here.
Interview with Mick Haigh
Ask volunteer Mick Haigh what his job title is, and he draws a blank. Ask him what he does, however, and it’s clear the library would be far less attractive without his work keeping the building exterior and surrounding areas spick and span. “I keep all the access areas clean and tidy”, he says, “the steps, the two access footpaths. I’ve started tidying up the courtyard, just half an hour a week because it’s a major job. There’s such a lot of weeds that haven’t been touched for years. The bike stands need constant attention because the weeds just grow and grow and grow.”
When he’s not waging war on weeds, Mick, who has always lived in the Greenhill and Bradway areas, is tackling take-away food and packaging dropped by people hanging around outside the library, along with disposable forks and cigarette ends. The most unpleasant thing he finds is dog mess, but thankfully, he adds, it’s not a common problem.
Retired high voltage engineer Mick says that he has always used the Library, admitting that he would sometimes grumble to then staff about the steps which were “always a mess”. When the volunteers took over, he says: “I thought the least I could do is the bit I complained about most!” Now he’s about to embark on the ‘hardest part of the job’ tackling the leaves which will fall between now and December. Last year, he recalls, he filled eight huge sacks.
However, while he spends his time picking up litter, he tells me that his role is far from rubbish:
“I get satisfaction from ‘doing a bit’. I think the whole concept is brilliant, and the it’s amazing the number of volunteers who have come forward to keep this place going, it’s a major achievement. It’s nice to be part of it.
Interview with Clive Opie
Popular reading group Chatterbooks has started a new chapter this autumn, with library volunteer Clive Opie now organising the club. Children and parents already attending the group for 8 – 11-year-olds, which meets on Mondays at Greenhill Library, will already be familiar with Clive, who has assisted with the mix of book-based activities since last year. Having taken over in mid-September, he’s exploring new ways to keep Chatterbooks lively.
Originally from Devon, Clive has lived in Sheffield since the 1970s when he was an undergraduate, and then PhD student in Chemistry at Sheffield University. Always intending to teach, Clive worked for eight years at Firth Park and King Ecgbert secondary schools, before taking a variety of teaching and management roles in further and higher education. He moved to Greenhill in 1985 where his children attended Greenhill Primary School. Now semi-retired, he’s bringing his experiences in education to Chatterbooks, as well as his fiddle playing. ‘I can get people dancing’, said Clive,’but I am still a novice and have still so much to learn.’ He is fortunate to sit in to play ceilidh music with the ‘exceptional’ Bash Street Band, and recalls how one Chatterbooks session turned tuneful. Future ideas include creating displays, inviting members to share special interests through mini-presentations, and reading a book together with each member given the chance to ‘tell’ part of the story.
Clive’s background means he values the importance of reading, which ‘fires the imagination’, he said. ‘Books can help people to widen their knowledge, improve their vocabulary, and enhance their creativity. There’s also a lot of fun to be had reading books, as the present Roald Dahl celebrations show.’ Although he was not an avid reader when he was younger, although J. R. R. Tolkien was a favourite, Clive enjoys murder mysteries and novels by Sebastian Faulks. Whatever you’re reading, he said, has the potential to act as a voyage of discovery.
And even as someone with a lifelong interest in computer technology, he believes reading is as important as ever. ‘Sadly, I think with computers and things, it’s the case that children aren’t getting the enjoyment of books,’ he reflected. ‘These days, with Kindles and things, we don’t need books, but I think there’s something about a book, being able to flick through the pages.’