Category: Networking

Round up of the year 2022

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Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here we are saying goodbye to another year.  The last few months have been very busy as usual after the lull of the late summer holidays.  I usually have a good memory for what was done in what year, but my photos on my smartphone give me a better picture – pardon the pun – on what was going on and what I was doing…where. So here is a whistlestop tour of my year.

I recently have been thinking a lot of the meaning of life since the passing of my mother in 2021, and my mother-in-law in January 2022.  They were two great strong role models for women who went the extra mile for their children, hardworking, and both had immense kindness for their close loved ones, family, neighbours and wider community.  Despite their kindness – they were both determined and followed through on their commitments and promises.  I know I was blessed to have them in my life and I certainly had abundance of respect and love for them.  It is very sad that they are both no longer here and I will cherish my memories of them forever. 

Therefore, I have been wondering a little bit more than usual on …the meaning of life?  I know some of the answers and I am aware that it is a process of loss and acceptance that I am experiencing now.  I know that I will be more upbeat again but I certainly won’t waste my time on Earth, or take it for granted.  I kinda hope there is somewhere else in the universe that is better than this troubled world. 

We were still in the heart of winter, and it was shocking and disturbing when the Ukraine-Russia conflict started in February.  It was absolutely worrying if we were on the brink of World War III – and it was heart-breaking to see the destruction and loss of lives.  I still remember the profoundly sad image of a child crying as he walked in the freezing cold to refuge in a neighbouring country.  There is always conflict in parts of this Earth (I know – depressing), but this felt different as it was all so close to Europe, images were vividly shown on the news and digital channels.  The response to support refugees and displaced people were heart-warming, and my community responded positively, as expected.  It is sad that we have now gone back to a presumably Cold War era with Russia.  I remember the Cold War in the 1980s, and the ideological differences in pop culture such as film and music [e.g. Living in America for Rocky IV, Russians (love their Children too) by Sting].  But this is not fiction – it is so very devastatingly real and wasteful.  I just wish life could be better for all those suffering and not like this.  Plus power-mad people and countries should just… relax and live peacefully. Yes – peace out.

Spring brought new blossoms and hope with nature reminding us that somethings are beyond our control, and the planet is here for the giving. It is a time of year where I do feel positive with plants and getting my garden ready for summer.  I always end up buying plants and this year I made sure I was able to visit the Beth Chatto Garden in Essex, which I have been meaning to visit for years. It didn’t take long to get there and I am thinking of going again in the future.

My first big trip since the start of the pandemic was to go to Trinidad, where I haven’t been to for five years.  On reflection, it has been challenging as my mother was unwell during the lockdowns, and I was unable to visit and to go to her funeral.  Going to Trinidad was our last official duty for her death rites.  It was good to see my close family again and to visit Trinidad.  I was able to visit the Pitch Lake – which I have never been to before.  I will always have strong connections with Trinidad and still keep abreast of some of the news that I see on social media – so it is a lot virtually closer than 15 years ago! It is an end of era with my mother’s passing…but Trinidad (and Tobago) will remain special to me for always.

Back in England, I visited the seaside, some parts of town and went to the Love Supreme festival. I am certainly not back to my full-on ‘out and about’ as I was before the pandemic.  I am less incline to book tickets way in advance for social events, but the only gig I booked was to see Lady Blackbird at the Barbican in November. 

I know the reasons for my disengagement – things are expensive, I am not always in town as I am working part of the week, and I have some added work and volunteering, which will be more intense on 2023.  However, I am quite happy to listen to music on my smartphone with my headphones, or catch a film on Netflix at the weekend.  I don’t expect there will be a magic wand for me to be as socially active for at least another 20 months, when I am likely to have less volunteering responsibility.

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.

William E. Vaughan

I only had a few busy weeks at work and some summer activities on my return to London when I had to get ready for my first official in-person SLA Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.  The SLA Conference was a highlight of my year as I had always imagined what it would be like.  It was less busy than previous years due to Covid refrains, travel bans etc – but for me it was great to be fully there meeting people that I had only seen online or met virtually.  I had a ‘pinch myself’ moment – as I realised that I was socialising with these amazing people but as President-Elect…which comes with immense responsibility and commitment.  I was so proud to be there! The keynote speeches were inspiring, and it was great to recognise all the work achieved by various individuals and communities.  I have a lot of appreciation for the incumbent leaders and Board of Directors – plus it was also great fun! I came away feeling much clearer on what is SLA’s core offering of education and networking to members, partners and stakeholders. I left motivated for my own professional development and our goals for SLA. 

As you may recall, I also had my first trip to Florida whilst I was in the USA.  I could have gone years earlier but never came round to arranging it.  It was great to see the beautiful beaches, architecture and bus tour of Miami.  I also was so grateful to spend time with family and meet a few that I have only seen in photographs.  I know my mother would have been pleased that I was able to make contact with relatives, and it also made me feel closer to her as she was well-loved by them.  I certainly had a great time in Miami and can visit again in the future.  I am also hoping we can revive SLA’s Florida and Caribbean chapter – as it is within my remit and there is a gap on professional networking in that area.

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

This year I seem to be busy on all fronts – at work, with volunteering and at home. I am getting even better at time management but I am up late into the early hours. I am not normally a morning person – so this pattern works for me and it certainly has not hindered my performance in my day job in any way. There needs to be some changes in the coming months as there has been a lot of movement and changes on the work front with less persons around to do the work. My way to get around this is to keep my high standards with as little compromise as possible – otherwise things do fall apart. I learnt this from experience! I am hoping to update you more next year when I will be having a once-in-a-lifetime role as SLA President 2023.

The last few months, and year, have really shown a sharp rise in the cost of living – just getting through Christmas recently I noticed a lot of items are at least a third more than they cost a few years ago. I still have a youngish family that is dependent on me, and it seems we are not making any gains as things go up, and up. The last two years we had some home decorating and this costs a small fortune – I would dread to think what financial position I would be in if I was a single parent! I know it is tough for a lot of people and I hope in some way we can continue to help and support others. I honestly wish I had more to give!

As I say goodbye to 2023, I am reflecting on the positives to make sure that I can leave behind any negative energy. I will remember the heatwave in summer and the snowy December we just had (thinking on those in the Blizzards in America recently). I know I will be busy the next year but I will build in time for my own well being. So too, as we turn the page to a new year…do look after yourself and my best wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2023!

Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day.

Michael Josephson

Reimagined – looking ahead with optimism

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We are continuing to get more in person events and this month I was able to go to some social events too.  The EIU invited guests to a Breakfast Briefing with their Chief Economist on ‘The Global Economy’.  This is the third time I attended one of their Breakfast Briefings, where I tend to come away feeling much more informed of the economic situation that we have to face.  The last time I attended an EIU event was a few weeks before the pandemic with a warning of the impact of the coronavirus – but then no one could have predicted the scale of it! Now we are living in more uncertain times with a cost-of-living crisis, inflation, slow-down in economic growth, power shifts and more conflict in the world.  It seems we really have to imagine a way out of this mess once more and therefore innovation, positive change and optimism are still in our tool kit. Some of the disruptions and adjustments require us to understand the dynamics we are in now, and how we can make things better. 

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination”.

– Albert Einstein

One of the best aspects of the breakfast meeting was making my way across London early in the morning, and it was amazing to see the city waking up in the beautiful autumn sunshine.  The skyline is truly changing all the time and you can see old merge with the new.  It was a bit surreal for me as I walked from St Pauls with the World Reimagined project sculptures dotted around my walk to the Tate Modern.  I was aware of the Imagine Project as my friend Vashti Harrison came over earlier this year to prepare her sculpture. The first one I saw is placed in St Pancras Station (which I mentioned last month). However, in the heart of the city, right next to St Paul’s Cathedral, are several sculptures expressing the truth of Capitalism and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.  It is a ground level project to showcase the role that the city of London played in this brutal history.  It would be great if this is taught in British school in detailed – then we can see “the place the UK can hold in the world when it acknowledges its past and we are when we can give full dignity to all”.  It was great to see the World Imagined physical sculptures in Black History Month – and do look at their great website design too. 

Despite the amazing view over the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern, the briefing provided the facts and analysis which quickly brought me down to the contemporary world.  It was interesting to hear the challenges we will be facing now, and some of the long-term predictions for the world for 2050.  There has been a lot of uncertainties and shocks that have impacted on the world on recent years – there is hardship and some difficulties that we are experiencing due to geopolitical changes, costs, production and supply chains. It is good to hear about the positive impact that a country can have with immigration too, as people help growth as an economy and society grows.  It interesting to hear that some countries are also using Covid control to maintain a sense of order, propaganda and power.  The measures and mechanics used to stimulate growth is interesting to hear about as we navigate these difficult times. Perhaps knowing that the economic landscape can be fragile, we can then use more sustainable and shock-resistant measures. Hopefully we can prosper again as we develop, provide and benefit from fair and sensible economic strategies and activities.

Whilst at the Tate Modern, I also had a quick whiz around the main exhibition which was a very large art installation from the Chilean artist Cecilia Vicuna called Brian Forest Quipu. It was great to hear how stories and pieces of traditional significance were woven into fabrics.  The narrative, storytelling and poems on the wall were great at highlighting knowledge systems from indigenous cultures. The installation was accompanied with sound and movement – it was truly immersive to get into the zone that the piece has created.  It made me think of cultural knowledge systems and forms – from oral history, stories on sculptures, manuscripts, various print and non-print formats. It doesn’t matter where we come from in the world – it seems that there is a natural instinct for the human condition to provide a heritage for our people in the present, and for the future. We must continue to recognise and respect other peoples’ cultures.

Diwali was last weekend. I was invited to visit a Hindu temple in North London for Diwali celebrations last weekend.  I also invited friends to my home for dinner to celebrate Diwali with my family.  It is different to what I was used to growing up. Here deeyas are contained inside homes or buildings due to the weather.  Whilst in the tropics, deeyas can be left lit for hours in the still of the dark night. 

It was reassuring to visit the temple with mainly Guyanese diaspora and second generation migrants running and maintaining the programme for the temple. It was good to listen to the teachings and to hear the music and songs (bhajans) from the group.  We also were treated to lunch and sweets (Prasad).  I like that the temple community now also communicate by digital media to inform each other of upcoming events.  There was also a focus on youth lessons and sessions to ensure that the mainly older congregation will have trained or influence the next generation to carry on these religious practices and traditions.  Hopefully their imagination will be as vivid as mine, even though years has passed since the elaborate Diwali celebrations I experienced as a child.

At work, I attended a Diwali event hosted at the Alan Turing Institute with the new Caribbean Curator at the British Library giving a talk on her career thus far. It was great to experience this diversity in what is now a multicultural city.

Don’t reinvent. Reimagine.

I am slowly getting more social since the pandemic, and one event which was totally new is a cooking lesson that was a present for my husband.  We took a while to book the lesson due to time constraints, but it was great to finally make a night of the lesson.  There were various types of world cuisine classes to choose from but it really depended on how many spaces were available and if you can make the dates.  The first time I had fresh gnocchi and pesto, it was made by my husband’s cousin in 1995 in Rome, since then it has been one of my favourite dishes.  The tutor made us prepare an aubergine and mozzarella starter, homemade gnocchi and zabaglione.  For someone who has been around Italians for almost thirty years – it was great to learn about some of the food science of the aubergine, potatoes, eggs, garlic, onions etc – therefore, heard some real wives’ tales from the chef about cooking techniques and structure.  At the class, other attendees, tutors and the facility were really good, and I would recommend it. It is just a little far to go more often, and the price is a little more than your average three course meal for two in town.  But it really is a great way to learn and hone your creativity – now I can imagine doing a class like this in the heart of Tuscany. 

I haven’t been doing many local community events recently apart from looking after some garden plots.  I have been busy with my library volunteering most of the time when I am not working.  It is still great to walk around my neighbourhood and it always surprises me when I see new shops, creative displays and inspiration activism in my community walkabouts. There is definitely a new feel as there are several new multi-story homes being built in what was considered the outskirts of London only a few of years ago.  There seems to be a lot more young professionals around as affordable homes are clumped together near the underground stations, repurposed car parks or any free land.  I know we need more homes.  It just hope we do not lose the close knit and community feel we had the last 15-20 years, when I became more actively involved in where I live.  It is reassuring that even though we are growing in numbers as a place to live in the city – there are still some who believe that we have to look out for each other, and maintain the essence of fellowship and camaradie as we go about our daily normal lives.

Creativity grows out of two things: curiosity & imagination.

Benny Goodman

Summer work and rest in the United States

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A few weeks ago I went to my first SLA Conference Sourced Forward in Charlotte North Carolina.  I was due to go in 2020 but due to the pandemic, the conference was postponed until this summer.  I certainly was happy to finally be in Charlotte and I certainly didn’t envision that I would be attending in 2022 as their President-Elect 2022-2024.  As the saying goes, with ‘great power, comes greater responsibility’ – this was no less the case as we had a very full schedule with meetings and membership engagement.  It was great for leaders to meet and speak directly to attendees, as well as to attend the awards ceremony to very deserving winners for their achievements.

I am unable to comment in depth on the conference programme sessions (which I can still catch up on the virtual components) as I had other matters in hand with the board.  Obviously, I was blown away by few that I did attended, such as the opening keynote speakers, general and closing sessions. The opening keynote on ‘ReSourced Leveraging Library Infrastructure in Community Centred Projects’ by historian Dr Jennifer Garcon extolled the need for community group for finding the stories that are hidden in archives that may have been traditionally inaccessible from everyone due to barriers or power struggles.  She gave examples of building partnerships and leveraging resources to gain access for the benefit of the user ReSourced communities. Her talk also highlighted the need for digital preservation for local documents, personal stories and items. It truly was inspiring for the diversity and engagement levels of the projects mentioned.

The second general session called ‘Tell me Sweet little lies: racism as a persistent form of malinformaiton’ by Dr Nicole Cooke was great for exploring the multiple ways that information is used as a power tool for misinformation, disinformation and malinformation. This is a topic I have been interested in for a long time but look at the examples and some of the multi-layered ways that information is manipulated is very insightful as well as educational on how to prevent this happening – especially if it causes harm such as in medical or racial scenarios.  The final session By Dr Travis Wagner was great at highlighting the opportunities for understanding ‘The role of information professionals in crafting a gender inclusive future’.  As library and information professional, we have a responsibility to all our customers and I certain didn’t understand all the negative aspects of collection management and access that affects genders – I was shocked but also sadden by some of the practices that library patrons encountered as well as some of the discrimination in the content held in library and archives.  These larger sessions as well as the small education ones I was able to attend really reenergised me to return to the world with reinvigorated purpose and pride.

I also have a great time at some of the social events in the evening in Charlotte to going around some of the close blocks near the Charlotte Convention Centre.  I hadn’t realised that I would have so little time to explore and really didn’t go to the some of the local tourist attractions such as the Nascar Hall of Fame or the Mint Museum.  Perhaps if I make it back to North Carolina one day – I can get a chance to seem more of Charlotte.  In all, it was a great experience and I was so pleased to see so many SLA colleagues, members, our industry partners, supporters and friends.

After Charlotte I wanted to make sure I made the most of being in the USA, and therefore took an internal flight to Florida to spend time in Fort Lauderdale and Miami.  I was truly impressed with the beaches, the weather and the amazing architecture! You also see lots of different types of vehicles that you just do not see here in the UK.  There are local business and trains but I mainly stayed in local areas or went out with family. 

One of the recommended tourist sights of natural beauty and ecological interest was the Florida Everglades.  I was pleased that my hotel was able to arrange a pick up from the hotel and I was able to directly to one of the areas with facilities for tourist.  It was my first drive along Fort Lauderdale area and then on the Everglades.  I do love the holiday feel and look of this part of Florida and that the beaches were endless (apparently 600 miles of beaches).  Once we got the Everglades, it was a very hot day and the humidity was unbelievable.  The Everglades is one of the world’s largest wetlands and therefore was real delight going on the airboat long the lanes of the everglades.  It was interesting hearing about the indigenous tribes Seminoles, and how they lived around the Everglades.  The grasses, lilies, pond apples, mangrove and other plant life thrives in this wet and subtropical climate. And everybody hopes to see an alligator in the Everglades and lucky for us in the trip – we saw three alligators in the water! There was also an alligator taming show and you can actually hold a baby alligator. It was a great experience of a natural beauty and I recalled the 1970’s US TV series Gentle Ben, which had great scenes of a game warden family, his son and a tame bear who frequently went on an airboat. 

I was able to spend time with some of Caribbean diaspora at one of their local Caribbean restaurants where they were selling food, drinks, music and lots of Caribbean cheer on a very hot Sunday.  I totally get that these communities where there celebrating there Sunday with their Caribbean people, especially just after a cricket game with India.  There was music, a rhythm section and also a visit from world renown cricketer, Brian Lara. I also have some experience of the local night life by going to a Latin bar on in the Las Olas area and also in downtown Fort Lauderdale to an Italian bar.  It was great to see these areas and the night life that is famous in Miami.

The next interesting aspect of my holiday was taking a city bus tour around downtown Miami.  Miami got its’ name from the river that run through it by the indigenous tribes to the region.  Later on, Miami is the only American city that has been founded by a woman – she was Julia Tuttle known as the ‘Mother of Miami’.  The region is definitely very cosmopolitan and had a large Latinx community.  Very frequently I hear Spanish and a lot of the local shops had Latinx food or signs.  On the bus tour to the city we saw several of the Art Deco buildings that is in abundance in Miami.  The reason for the high concentration of this type of architecture is that there was a hurricane in the 1920’s which destroyed all the buildings and it seems the Art Deco style was popular at this time.  It really is amazing to see.

Cubans also exiled to Miami with the 1960s and the area Little Havana still has a large Cuban community with tobacco and coffee shops, with cool looking restaurants and musical venues.  The area is known for its cultural and Cuban community significance as well as it being a place for new South and Central American immigrants. One of the most famous and beloved Cuban-American superstars are the Miami Sound Machine.  It was great hearing one of their songs on the Hotel PA system when I was there.  The tour bus also showed us the recording studio to the Miami Sound Machine, and their funky colourful building.  I do recommend the bus tour to see all the sights without the hassle of driving and the waterways were great to see how the islands of Miami are linked up by bridges etc.  There was a misunderstanding with timings, and I was unable to go on my boat tour around the Miami islands – hopefully I can go another time. 

And while much of the diaspora has moved onto greater pastures around Miami, Little Havana continues to be a vital launch point for immigrants from South and Central America who bring their flavours, rhythm and hardworking spirit to this vibrant community.

Time Out

https://www.timeout.com/miami/little-havana

I particular liked my hotel in Miami for the ambience, the beautiful pool area, architecture and garden.  I really felt like I can visit there again someday and loved that the beach was only about 200 metres away.  The water was clean and fun to splash around in but I was not brave enough to go on any adventurous water sports or out further. It was the Atlantic Ocean and it was awesome seeing so much beautiful kilometres of beaches. 

More than anything, I was happy to finally visiting Miami after hearing about it for so long on another TV series such as Miami Vice.  It is also not far from Trinidad so lots of Trinidadians go there on holiday and have said that is a good place to visit.  I thank my family for their hospitality and for showing me around their amazing Miami and Fort Lauderdale. I certain would like to visit again and explore the region a bit more – event a far down as Key West.

Mission Possible – Libraries & Information Pros Collaborating

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It seems like a long time coming but libraries collaborating is happening…again. At least for me. This month has been busy just with my work which has been great for giving me a purpose and mission. I seem to have been fighting for the last 15 plus years.  I suppose I still haven’t gotten use to just relaxing as it has never been easy for me.

We get visits from lots of people who wants to visit the British Library, which is always a pleasure to do. This month I had two visitors from the library profession from Canada and Aotorea (native name for New Zealand). It is good to go around the library with fresh eyes. The building is impressive but also the different subject areas and physical layout. It seems like people and professionals are travelling again like Te Paea and Cellia who were travelling to Dublin for IFLA’s conference. It was nice to see other professionals like Loida from USA and Kevin from the Philippines there too showing there connections and activities on Twitter.

There are times when we meet people who are similar to us even though we have not met them before.  This is also when I used the word recently to describe library and I formation work, I said mission. The same word was used by Safy Al Ashqar, Head of the University of Mosul library, Iraq. Safy was a speaker for CILIP’s conference and I was introduced to Safy by a friend from SLA Europe and lucky for me, I was able to attend a staff talk at the library. Safy described the horrors of war and destruction on the building and collection as it was burnt and bombed. It was deeply sad to hear the stories of death and devastation. The resilience and tenacity of Safy and his staff is amazing and heartwarming. His presentation spoke of the bargaining for funds and equipment with creativity and design with new ideas he picked up from his studies in Malaysia. Out of 150 staff, Safy now has about 93 with 70 of them women. He understands the need for libraries for heritage, education, creativity, community and knowledge sharing. He was totally inspired for the connections and networking opportunities that physical spaces bring. He was offered ebooks for rebuilding a digital library but he elaborated on the need for physical spaces to meet, and to store physical collections. We all know that the first casualty of war is the truth and knowledge – from the burnt building and collection, there is new hope and regeneration all driven by a man and his community and staff on a Misson to make it possible! What an inspiration!

Last Friday I also went with my colleagues to the National Archives in Kew. It was great to visit the building although I have used their digital archive and often refer people to their enquiry service for registered designs and other intellectual property. It was great to be welcomed and shown around by their staff. We were shown original patents and trade marks, maps, storage areas for records, very large maps, library and reference areas, and the 1970s Brutalist purpose built building of course. As we walked around, you can actually smell come of the collection in the temperature and light controlled rooms. There were some great displays for the 1920s and parts of the reading room was aesthetically pleasing. I would visit again it is in my part of town but I am grateful to get the tour from the lovely staff. Mark Dunton has even written a book on British Prime Ministers of the 20th Century.

I wanted to remind you that the National Archives does have an amazing collection and we can use these items to create new stories and innovative ideas from what we research. It is also a great reminder that we are here to conserve and preserve for now but also for future generations.

Last week I also spent time in filming a new video for the Business and IP Centre where I work and the UK network of libraries offering support for Business and other creative use of libraries and their services. East Ham Library was nice and bright with great use of space for studying, resources, cafe and meeting spaces. It even has Salsa Classes on a evening! There has been a few libraries that have survived the cuts from the last 15 years, and it warms my heart they are thriving as spaces for those who need them for study, work, research, learning, meetings and creativity. There was also a definite community and civic engagement feel about East Ham Library.

I was also invited to meet delegates from the British Library’s International Library Leaders Programme, which was an intensive five-day residential course bringing together emerging and established librarians from participants from countries including Australia, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Slovakia, South Africa, Ukraine and the US. I lead a tour of about 8 librarians to some of the reading rooms with various subject areas, and as expected, they were impressed with the spaces and items in collection that were displayed (there are millions we can’t see). It was great to meet socially other British Library staff working on the Oceania collection, Living Knowledge, Higher Education and the newly appointed Caribbean Curator. I met again Nick Poole, CEO of CILIP, who is one of the best advocates for libraries, librarians, information profession, policy makers, civil engagement and for the profession in general. I also met with a Ukrainian librarian who has recently fled the troubles in Ukraine and it was great to here briefly what she is working on. I did pass on my concern and best wishes to her fellow Ukrainians in this difficult time.

A couple of weekends ago, I was able to participate on the request of the community engagement team in the Somers Town Festival, which is the close neighbourhood in Camden near the library. We were showing visitors on how they can use the library to start their businesses but also about the fabulous collections and spaces. It was nice to see some of the entertainment from spoken work, humanist choir, to Asian Classical dancing from an ex-staff, which I loved seeing LIVE in Trinidad or in film.

Breaking the News exhibition is also on until the end of August and I was excited to see this. I had the benefit of a group tour with a Curator who gives you the insights and stories of the items on display. I still like to let people know that information comes in various formats, and we have to still use and…preserve these for the future.

I wanted to also wish my colleagues in SLA Europe a Happy 50th Anniversary and we recently celebrated careers which my own newly retired colleague Neil Infield. I knew Neil before I started working at the British Library because of SLA but since working at the British Library he was a great popular, capable and kind colleague who became a friend. I will miss him, and the four other colleagues who have retired in my department in the last two years.

This is a big month for SLA for their Sourced Forward Conference and the associations future, as I write this in my hotel room in Charlotte, North Carolina. I will share more next month or on my social media channels. There is great responsibility in representing the profession, our members, our stakeholders and partners. I am also giving this my best shot and much gusto! Stay for the ride as we find our destination.

Five Ps – reasons to be cheerful

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In a time of great change, there are a few things that we can do to keep us grounded.  These usually entail a lot of thought and consciousness to remind us that change is natural, and sometimes necessary so that we all can evolve and develop. I have been quite busy with work and in my role at SLA, therefore have not had much time to spend on other things but I am due to have a more relaxing time soon and look forward to some time to reflect and re-energise.  Here are some thoughts on how I have maintained my positivity in the past few weeks.

  1. Elevator Pitching – The month started off great with the Dragon’s Den style pitching for start-up businesses for Project Remake which I mentioned in my last blog post.  It was a great evening hearing about business ideas, and I was truly impressed with the level of research and preparation that was presented to the panel of ‘Dragons’ and the audience at Linklater’s office in London.  I even learnt a few tips about how to do a great elevator pitch and some tips on business information presenting for when you have to cross examine an idea.  It was fascinating to hear the insights and advice offered from the panel and it goes to show that an effective network and support system are some of the basic ingredients for success.  

2. New Perspectives – I have been living in London for most of my life and sometime get visitors from abroad who I have to show around.  I am now at the point where I have a love-hate relationship with London, and therefore I can apply a critical eye when I see fit.  I am still forever picking up rubbish and reporting anti-social behaviour in my neighbourhood. The local elections were also on but this time I didn’t vote as I was busy with the above.  However, when I have a visitor from abroad – I try to show the city and my neighbourhood in a positive light.  There is history and old buildings here – it is good to see tourist sights and the city with these fresh eyes.  I know it is the same when I visit family and friends in other parts of the world.  I am getting to the stage where I have seen several tourist sites but there are new area to discover…even if I have been before – such as recent revisits to the Tower of London (considering it used to be opposite to my office for four years and I used to see it often) and Brick Lane. 

Reminding myself of my own enthusiasm for the city is great too.  This was the case when I went on a walking tour of the Georgian Mayfair area of London.  I remember the early days spending time around those parts and yet there is so much more to discover after hearing about the area in the guided tour.  I hope to take the Tube (underground train) again one day and have a walk around the area to admire the architecture again.  It is refreshing to see things in a new light with added context and a fresh perspective.  

3. Perennial Renewal – Just like the blossoms and bloom that come out at Springtime, I always feel quite positive at Spring as the flowers and more daylight hours allow us to enjoy more time and warmer outdoors.  I also love buying new plants for the containers that did not last the pervious winter and get some new herbs for us in the summer months.  I always have a wish list of plants that I no longer have, but sometimes even though I go to several garden centres, they still don’t have what I want. Therefore I have to look for them online or wait another year to try to source the plants.  

I didn’t get a chance to make it to Beth Chatto’s Garden last year but I would definitely like to go to see it this year.  I have also come to realised that we are still very lucky to have green spaces in such a built-up area. However I am getting to the point where I do want to be in a quiet countryside or near a beach to relax sometimes.  

For the time being though, I still love looking at all the flowers in my local area and enjoy looking at all the beautiful plants and flowers in garden and local parks.  The best things about spring are being enthuse by other gardeners and new plant knowledge, and therefore it is the perennial problem.

4. Perseverance – In times when there are too many changes or you just need to stay on the roller coast of life – it is hard to do everything to the best of your ability and that is what I am feeling at present with trying to tie up loose ends as I prefer for my first trips overseas since the pandemic.  I am having to make sure that I am really organised, as well as trying to maintain high standards for all the things I need to get through in a short space of time.  

I guess what is keeping me going is my tenacity as well as perseverance to complete the task in hand.  I can easily decide that I can give up on some of my commitments but I have only let a few slip in the last few weeks – such as not attending my book club as it is clashing with my work or volunteering.  I know that one day in the next couple of years I will have more time and therefore I would like pick up where I left off.  I miss chatting with the other members of the book club.  I am also learning new things in my leisure time and have been tempted to drop them too but I decide to continue with them for our wellbeing and fitness and trying to fit them into my work and family life is something I literally have to persevere with to ensure that I have a work-life balance.  I am fortunate that can do this.

5. Personal Development for me – It is true to say that I am being challenged on many aspects, as nothing ever stays the same.  I have recently been looking at all the areas of information and library management to ensure that I am keep abreast of all the new thoughts leadership pieces as well as the ability to set the agenda and look at new trends in my field.  I have been very pro-active with my development and do find that I am now at the stage that I do know a lot with my experience, as well as with my active life.  I do find that I am happy to take on new challenges and learn these new experiences.  I am at a stage where I am able to take these opportunities as they are presented and make them work for the best outcome on a case-by-case basis.  I probably would have been a little less able and confident to do this perhaps about 15 years ago but after 28 years working in business information – I feel confident to tackle any challenges and opportunities that may come way.  It was really great to take part on several international events last week and to showcase the breath of way that we can give value to communities on various topics and how important our role is now and in the future.  I feel utterly positive for our place in time as information professionals – and I knew this will always be required in the long term.  

So these are my 5 Ps for the last few weeks – I initially thought that I did not do much but then realised that I actually did go out a bit.  With these points in mind, I look forward to some relaxing time with family and friends as I have a holiday, rest and to raise a cheer or two! Cheers!

Life after prison – new ventures for employment and business

Published on by Seema Rampersad1 Comment

The last weeks has been great for me doing something new and learning about new issues – by this I meant learning about the Criminal Justice system and meeting several organisations, legal professionals, charities, leaders, academics, and persons who are committed to helping returning citizens (preferred term now rather than ex-offenders) by supporting them to resume their lives with education, business opportunities, employment skills and support. We were invited to take part in the project known as Project ReMake, which was the starting point for getting involved in this area of work.  I will discuss some of the people, organisations, leaders and programmes I have met and how I understand a little bit more on the great work, policies and the tasks still in hand to help with a very complex and emotive criminal justice system. My disclaimer is that I don’t have much exposure to prisons neither the legal system, so I am unable to speak in detail about those areas.  However, who knows, perhaps one day I may visit a prison as part of my work in libraries and as an information professional, as have my ex-colleagues for presentations in the past, and many other prison librarians. 

When I first start in my current role at the British Library, I received a handwritten letter from a prisoner who was researching kenkey (cornmeal) in preparation for starting her business when she was released from prison.  At that time, I hadn’t received any enquiry from prison before, and although I was able to find information and post it back to the person – I never met the person nor was I able to follow up and find out how the person got on with her business venture when she was released.  I still secretly wish she is doing well and even if the business didn’t happen – I admired her well-written letter asking for information on the topic. 

 “No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails.” – Nelson Mandela

Fast forward to earlier this year, it was a nice surprise to be asked to help students in the Project ReMake project by letting them know the wealth of free resources, access to expertise and support available for business ideas and creativity from the British Library.  I was very motivated from the start after meeting project leader Judge and fellow well-connected Trinidadian Judge Kameel Khan.  Kameel was able to introduce us to the graduates from the previous cohort, as well as the large number of support organisations (from universities to charities) who would assist in the project for this programme.  The introductory session was really heart-warming and inspiring on how important the learning opportunities and support are for someone trying to restart their life after their time away from society.  This initial event happened in late February, but since then I have learnt a lot more on the organisation, people and issues for assisting as well transforming or restarting lives and communities.

The one class I attended was also very useful for me as the trainer covered Competitor Intelligence, but due to time constraints I wasn’t able to attend other classes.  However, I have since hosted about four groups of persons who have visited me at the library since the project initiation and they are amazed with our access to resources and support available for starting their businesses.  One person dubious why I wanted to help and offered to help and support him without looking or asking for something in return – I had to point out that most librarians actually are kind and do support people and businesses all the time!

There are quite a few prison libraries, and CILIP has a Prison Libraries Group. These libraries are there to provide access to education, literacy, skills and leisure, and…perhaps escape in the books that they read.  The Prison Library Group are doing great work by their Twitter feed and seems to be popular with their programme of engagement with books, reading and education. Their mission is interesting for the provision of library services to prison communities as from their newsletter in 2021, I found the link to The Hardman Directory which offers a free online access as well as ‘contains information on grant schemes and start up loans, education, employers, housing, benefit changes, debt help and mentoring; all relevant to prisoners and/or ex-prisoners and/or to people serving their sentence in the community’.  Their work is very important within the prison system and for preparing return citizens.  I do recall going to an Italian food exhibition in the early 1993s where there was buffalo mozzarella made by female prisoners in the UK.  And recently, colleagues have mentioned that there is a fashion line pop-up in Westfield by ex-offenders called Blank Canvas. 

Some of the criminal justice organisations I met are doing great work for restoring lives on employability and training skills for people who want gain employment or start their own business.  Some of these organisations that I encountered recently are:

  • Working Change – this is a charity who is the UK’s only employment charity solely for women with convictions.  It was great to hear the support as well as the opportunities for training and learning new skills for women.  There should be more organisation who offer employment.  One example was Capita when I attended the Project Remake event. https://workingchance.org
  • The Corbett Network – has been going for over 40 years and Lady Val Corbett was very pleased to hear about the access to business resources and support we have our library. What was more impressive – is Lady Val’s networking lunch with amazing partners organisations and leaders who are stakeholders in the criminal justice system. It was one of the most memorable networking events I went to as we were discussing persons who were still in prison and how we can support them in and outside.  Some of these programmes included Sainsbury’s employment opportunities, Meganexus Digital Academy for prisoners, and Children’s charity for highlighting the issue with children left on their own to fend for themselves whilst their parent is in prison. https://www.thecorbettnetwork.com
  • Bounceback – I was able to also meet this charity who are helping people with employment skills and turning their lives around.  There is also great at driving lots of people back into work with partner organisations with high success with preventing re-offending.  https://www.bouncebackproject.com
  • Clink Charity – The Clink Charity works to train serving prisoners in catering skills within a real-life work environment whilst helping them gain academic qualifications. They offer great menu opens by students who are working to gain skills and qualifications in the food and drinks industry. https://theclinkcharity.org

One of the main highlights from the last few weeks is the Lady Val Networking Event at the appropriately ex-court dining room at Browns in Covent Garden.  Lady Val was amusing and deeply passionate about Prisoner Re-integration with her Corbett Network… “coalition of charities, social enterprises, and non-profit organisations and businesses with a social mission. These decision-makers are dedicated to reducing re-offending by helping people with convictions find and keep a job”. 

Prison – You may be confined by it, do not be defined by it.

– The Corbett Network

The Chairman of Timpson, James Timpson, was the guest speaker at the lunch and he was one of the best speakers I ever heard! He obviously was influenced by his parents who fostered children whose parents were in prison.  One of his first visits to prisons was when his mother took him and his siblings with her so the foster child could meet their parents in prison.  James spoke of his leadership ethos of kindness and techniques for getting everyone on board and in work with trust, family friendly policies, as well as a real commitment and strategic focus to help ex-offenders to gain training skills and meaningful employment.  He likes people who relish the trust bestowed on them, staff recognition and had some personality to work and service customers.  He was very funny and engaging in his stories, such as have a Rolls-Royce for an employee of the month at Timpson, staff fund for hardship and support on whatever they like (engagement ring, divorce etc), having a day off on your birthday and measuring the happiness index of employees to judge moral and motivation levels.  James also mentioned other great companies, such as Greggs supporting ex-offenders.  We discussed how entrepreneurial most offenders are due to issues prior to offending, or whilst in prison using very little to get what they need (within reason obviously in prison). I was also pleased to hear James mention his roles in prison reform boards, government policy and improvement for criminal justice advocacy. I found out that The Netherlands is also offering great rehabilitation for prisoners to the point that they are closing a third of their prisons.   We certainly have a Champion and angel in him.  Last but not least – it was heart-warming and blessed to heard James end his talk on the importance of kindness, as well as love.  One man talking to room full of women about this was truly impressive and resonates with my own motto.

On my closing note about the project, I only recently was referred to Lucy Vincent from the charity Food Behind Bars who teaches prisoners to cook their own foods and give them skills that they can use when they come out of prison.  Coincidently, the British Library was hosting a Food in Prison event which was interesting to hear the motivations of their business – such as there was no one focussing on the plight of prison food or even talking about it.  Lucy also feels like she is giving a voice to people in prison.  The other panellists had great thoughts on the state of the funding and support for prisoners – there seems to be no interest in making the food interesting or nutritional as the prisons are ‘not on a holiday’. Lucy is hoping to counter this with using the great bakeries, facilities and equipment available in Brixton for making food, as prisons used to in the past.  However, they discussed health, wellbeing and hope for prisoners in happy prisons – whereby we should make better people and societies and in the long run.  This makes sense for cost and benefits analysis with less financial strain on the prison system.

We can examine the capitalist side of prisons and hope for better in future! On a few of the events – the corruption and privatisation for profit of the prison system was mentioned.  Just as I recently read about prison system in Akala’s book ‘Race Class and the Ruins of Empire’.  However, these discussions, thought leaders, activism and businesses – including Judge Kameel Khan – are inspirational and really are doing great work in giving us solutions to a very complex criminal justice system. 

I look forward to hearing some successful business stories from these graduates from Project ReMake, and great examples of good citizenship for those who are motivated to make the best of their new start and ventures this time around.

Volunteer – your community really needs you!

Published on by Seema RampersadLeave a comment

Just be yourself….  This has been my guiding thoughts in recent years especially after using social media for such a long time in a transparent and open way.  It is hard not to be real or your authentic self and it is where I have been bringing my true self from my local community to my global activities with family, friends and fellow professionals everywhere.   

The last few months has been challenging for me as I get to grips with the loss of my mother but it also seems to be a time when my professional volunteering and work have ramped up with some fierce momentum.  I wanted to let you know some of the main highlights of these activities, how fulfilling volunteering…and work can be, especially if you have direct impact and responsibility for your global and local communities.

August started with my colleagues and I collaborating in the British Library’s Community Engagement programme in our local borough with their holiday club with teenagers, which is part of the footballer Marcus Rashford’s holiday club programme.  We spent two days with young teenagers giving them support, tips and techniques for business ideas.  It was refreshing hearing about the innovative and cutting-edge perspectives they have for new technologies, and other new business models. There is nothing like youth to keep you on your toes!

I particularly like some of the skilful youth workers who knew how to keep young people engaged for the holiday club, and there really is an art to making sure that you connect in a learning environment with teenagers.  It was also a good time for me to be involved with our Community Engagement team in one of their outreach programmes for our local community in the heart of a busy ‘world-class’ city.  I was able to get to know the community engagement project team better and hopefully will be in a position to contribute with them in the future.  We are looking forward to hosting a sustainable theme event in future and ideas are already circulating. So watch this space!

I know that my past employers are doing community engagement, and was aware of the benefits of community from my childhood. In the Community Affairs team at PWC, I was inspired by one of the founders of the department over twenty years ago, where they implemented literacy programmes and various funding streams that were awarded to staff to help with their local communities.  It is good corporate social responsibility, and we need this in such challenging times regardless if we are a first world…or developing country. It makes great business sense to use these outreach and localised initiatives to help with digital literacy, reading and good citizenship. Therefore we can see allies and benefactors in these corporate social responsibility initiatives for our communities and citizens in general.

On a global level, I am beginning to see new ways that world challenges are being incorporated into lines of work and company missions with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out in 2015 by the UN for a sustainable future in 2030. These guiding principles and focus are now visible in job descriptions, research, books and information being produced in industry, science, academia, etc.  I recently attended online the SLA Europe and SLA Conference where there were great content and visual presentations for example by Elsevier on their resources. They were actively tracking the number of research outputs coming out from countries, their impact and rankings.  Personally, I think the SDGs are great for reminding us of what we should be working on collectively now, and how much more that still needs to be done whilst we sit comfortably on our mainly first world problems. The pandemic has created lots of new challenges whereby we have to be in a position to incorporate, and actively work on these issues and opportunities as a matter of course and urgency. IFLA have also produced a resources page for the SDGs here.

There has been a lot of ways that we can incorporate social good in our volunteering. There are activities in my profession that require us to reach out to others who may need that support, helping hand and lifting up.  Mentoring, informal chats or social get-togethers are great for helping us to make those connections and support systems.  There is something special when we get insights from someone who may be able to offer us guidance, and a support network whether we are looking for a new job, ad-hoc support or industry insights.  I certainly needed a bit of a sounding wall recently for my professional life, and did the same to someone who contacted me after recently moving to Ireland, and another who wanted to chat from New York.  These were held in my own time and it makes it all worthwhile when conversations are fruitful, encouraging and positive.  The pandemic has enabled more meeting by video-conferencing calls, and it is certainly one of the best times to think wider and broader with technology to collaborate with those we can engage with now, and in the future. It was only about seven years ago that I spent £18.00 on a telephone call to Germany when I was introducing a volunteer to her role in supporting me.

As we reposition ourselves in the new normal during this pandemic, it is good to remind us that there is still a lot of work to be done for social justice and equity in the profession…and also in wider society.  It is shamefully shocking how imbalances and unfair some of the societal systems are in place in a predominantly white privileged and supremacist systemic structure. In large countries such as the USA and UK, there are great levels of ignorance which is brought on by inequalities that I can identify with terms such as disinvestment, information poverty, and micro-inequalities.  It is actually very sad and disheartening to see the evidence and context of these terms in the wider context.  Yet we haven’t done enough.  Why is this? Are we given enough funds? Power to execute plans? Support and time?

One thing the pandemic has taught us is the importance of caring for those near and far to us.

Regardless of the big issues we can’t control around us, I still try to do a little as I can when I can.  I recently, have been hearing from local gardeners in my neighbourhood who are busy helping with our local green spaces.  I have less to do as we have actually sorted out green spaces in our neighbourhood over the years but if left unattended…it can become like weeds (which is also good for better ecosystem really).  It has been great to bump into the local professional gardener recently as he said that he can advise me on buying a tree for the street, what soil I may need, and which supplier to use! When it is easy to search online it is so great to get this free advice from a fellow volunteer in the local community.

To sum up my last few weeks, I wanted to remember the people who have inspired me in their generosity in giving their time, effort and perhaps financial support to those causes small and big that will have an impact other people’s life, near or far.  Programmes in our local community and global organisations can all do better and more to engage us with the issues at hand from fighting social mobility, poverty, access to literacy, education, work, care and love. I recently met an ethical fashion business founder who was helping rural communities in India but who also want to ensure that their stories are heard and organic products are showcased.  By building in her story with her strategic partners overseas, she has created a better value proposition for her customers, and it is great for getting their joint story on the road to success within these global sustainable development goals.

Don’t tell me it can’t be done.

Do tell me that this makes good business sense.

#ChoosetoChallenge – Celebrating the 110th International Women’s Day

Published on by Seema RampersadLeave a comment

It is exactly 10 years since I first celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) for the first time, and it feels right to write about the progress, changes and challenges that women are facing.  The theme for this year’s IWD on 8th March is #ChoosetoChallenge, which spans the whole month of March for Women’s History Month. I will look at some of the areas that affect women and my views on the topics as gender conversations have certainly moved on with more fluid and open discussions.  Non-binary gender identities, gender pay gaps, gender bias, feminist protests and leadership roles are some of the topics that are being pushed up the agenda and discussed in many (not all) countries to challenge the status quo and act as “agents of change”.  Like with many aspects of life, there are some countries that are performing better than others and new generations are demanding more equality and inclusivity – we can’t run away from this.  What we can do is learn from each other, support causes that we care about that affect women…and lift each other up in what is a difficult era in a pandemic.

Some of the main areas where I feel we have made progress over the last few years are in our openness to discuss in greater details inequalities in the workplace, health information, body positive images in the media (think Lizzo!), learning about key women heroines and achievements, finding places where we can network and most importantly, amplifying our voice on feminist issues. 

There are stories of the feminist movement of women rights who had led the way in the past, and they will always be great for inspiring new generations of girls and women.  I certainly didn’t know all feminist over time but some of characters that I have discovered on the last ten years – Ada Lovelace, Mary Wollstonecraft, Harriet Tubman, Frida Kahlo, Josephine Baker, Mary W. Jackson, Claudia Jones, Manuela Saenz and many many more!  The access to information on the internet and social media have made their struggles, achievements and stories celebrated with new energy and creativity. 

At university, I completed a module on women’s right from the industrial age to 1990s and therefore learnt about the suffragette movement with admiration for figures such as Emmeline Pankhurst, Millicent Fawcett and other women who fought for the vote. It was great to actually do a tour of Westminster a few years ago where the struggles and battles they won were highlight in the living recollection in the space where their hardships and successes were made collectively to give us the vote.  This was obviously an international achievement with New Zealand as the first self-governing country to give women the vote in 1893. We mustn’t take this hard-won right for granted. I still don’t know a lot of great women but it seems the topic is covered in education in schools now, and this generation of girls and young women are able to freely aspire for greater equality, and continue to push and challenge for changes that will affect them in their lives.

The struggles are real still in many parts of the work – education and access to work are some of the basic rights that women have to still fight for in the 21st century – the UN facts and figures women states: “women make up two thirds of the world’s illiterate people”.  There are other challenges such as poverty, work, health and getting into leadership roles which are specific to locations, but generally we still have a way to go. Low literacy and education levels really makes me sad when I hear that some women don’t get the basic right to education.  My parents allowed me to leave a happy home to come to study in a foreign land when I was 18 years – because they believed in me.  I will be forever grateful for their support and help they showed me by financing my studies here. I know that this was NOT a privilege.  I haven’t had free university education – a privilege that many of my university friends may have took for granted 30 years ago. It was difficult and I didn’t see my family for four years, but at least it gave me the ability to support myself and follow some of my teenage dreams.  There is this great graph below by Statista which shows the top 10 countries which have full equal rights for women.

Source: Statista

Not all girls or young women have this option to this day.  Adult learning is possible (plus you never really stop learning), but there are still countries where the cost of education is too high, accessibility and social structures are barriers too.  The cost of higher education in the UK is so high currently that I am deterred to further my studies until I am more financially secure.  One reason I pro-actively keep up my Continued Professional Development (CPD) is because I work in a professional field that never stops serving, changing and develops with technology.  I wish the governments and organisations would value this industry so that we are not at a disadvantaged professionally.  Generally, there are less negative gender equality issues in my professional field as there are more women who work in this area, but men in the sector are usually paid more, and get the top leadership roles. 

“Companies that overlook half of the world’s population overlook half of the world’s talent. To compete effectively, we need to reflect the diversity of the world in which we, and our clients, live and work.” Sheila Penrose Fotolia. Chair of the Board Jones Lang LaSalle

According to this review by Hampton Alexander on the FTSE 350 companies, 33% of women are on UK board leadership roles. In other sectors, the glass ceilings have been smashed but the percentage is still low. In the 2000s, I heard the term ‘old boys’ network’ for the first time but it seems change is slowly taking effect in the last few decades.  Businesses need women for diversity of thought, opportunities and for understanding their customers and stakeholders. Women offer insights and perspectives which open up new markets and ideas rather than having all-male boards.  Women also make up a large amount of the consumption and economic power of business services and products, and therefore you would be missing a new era of inclusive thought if talent and insights were not brought to your business. It is great to have diversity in business as it yields better results and cultivates innovation.  Having women in the decision-making roles also correlates to better business results according to Women on Boards. 

Over the years there are lots of research I have seen where it makes great sense to have structures, policies and initiatives in the workplace which foster greater support for women to progress beyond their roles and to “smash the glass ceilings”.  These may include improvement in attracting women to traditional male-dominated roles, offering better working patterns for working mothers and families, being flexible, and more defined supported routes and policy such as mentoring or training.  Giving opportunities can also one of ways that women in the workplace are not overlooked. Gender pay gaps, gender bias, greater pay transparency and inclusive policies are still work in progress. It would seem rather strange if organisations still have all-male boards in this 2020s decade, and let’s hope there are more deserving women in leadership roles and better equal representation.

It is important for leaders to communicate with their teams and understand that while the pandemic has affected everyone, it has not been the same for every employee. I think the last nine months have made certain qualities of leadership come to the fore. I think empathy is the strongest trait leaders have shown and understanding that everybody is dealing with professional stresses and strains.

Victoria Head – Legal at Football Association

One aspect where women are challenging the stereotypes and making their headway for themselves is by being entrepreneurial and starting their own businesses. Women have always been in great roles as entrepreneurs in the past, such as Madam C. J. Walker in the film ‘Self-Made’. I also recently attend a fabulous Sound Heritage workshop where I learnt of other remarkable women such as Mary Quaint, Audre Lorde and Rene Sawyer, who fought for greater rights and fairness.

As I work in the business information sector, I meet and admire women who are creating their own businesses. They are really passionate about starting up with their own ideas and visions, being their own bosses and having the freedom to follow their own paths to success. As reported by Hult International Business School, US women-owned businesses have increased by 74% over the past 20 years – 1.5 times the national average. They harness their own entrepreneurial talents and open up a world of opportunity, and in turn are in a position to hire other talented diverse persons for their teams.

Local Business Women

Sadly, I recently read that the pandemic will have a negative impact in gender pay and also entrench imbalances, as mentioned in Italy here in the FT’s Women in Business. Therefore, with high levels of inequalities and economic hardship brought on by one year in the pandemic, the next few years are going to be tough on all of us, especially women.  It has also been mentioned that the disparities for ethnic minorities are having the most negative economic and health impact with working in health and social care. Mckinsey have also reported in ‘Women in the workplace 2020’ that: ‘For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 85 women were promoted—and this gap was even larger for some women: only 58 Black women and 71 Latinas were promoted’.

This is a clear message that all of this research is telling us – there is still a lot of work to do for greater equality, representation and diverse policies for business cultures.

Not all men discriminate against women, and some women also do not support other women. However, there are more inclusive practices in the workplace.  Women are also challenging barriers in various fields but they are generally under-represented in some sectors such as STEM, Tech, construction, emergency services, sports, etc.  The UN has created this great datagraphic which demonstrates the under-representation in all fields, and it is still very striking in the ratio between men and women, for example – directors at the Oscars, Nobel Peace prizes, chefs with Michelin three stars, etc. Our challenge is to continue to create structures, policies and supportive environment where young girls and women can fulfil their ambitions and careers. This may seem overwhelming at times but women do tend to support each other and this is the best way in actually working towards more equity for us all.

Sadly, I wanted to mentioned that this month has been a very sad time in my homeland with the murder of a young woman, Andrea Bharatt, who was making her work home in a taxi (falsely licensed when she boarded it). She was brutally murdered at the prime of her young life and leaves behind a lone parent. It is a terribly devastating story, and unfortunately there has been a high level of gender-based violence and murder in recent times in such a small country, as featured in this article by Brown Girl Magazine.  This has forced a national protest on these crimes and a call for a better justice system as a result of the fear and lack of confidence in personal safety felt by the general population in recent year.  It really is horrific – my contacts were sharing an outpouring of grief on social media and to say ‘enough is enough’!  This ‘femicide’ and other gender-based violence is prevalent in other parts of the world, such as I saw reported in Mexico and India recently. It is great to see that public displays of peaceful protest by women are still challenging for better policies, demanding personal safety, well-being services, general equality and…respect.

  • #ChoosetoChallenge

I wish you a great International Women’s Day month of understanding and finding out more stories and facts on women’s role in society.  I have always felt that there should be harmony with all genders and do believe that we need boys, young men and gentlemen to be our allies in understanding our roles in the world.  It could be my upbringing and because I went to an all-girls convent school! This is only the tip of the iceberg on the issues women encounter. However, I will continue to keep an eye on ideas, little tips and stories to help other women along the way. I also look forward to discovering new great female figures from the past and our present times this month. With this in mind, do stand up for and against the barriers in our way to greater equality, and remember to #ChoosetoChallenge for women everywhere.

We are all in this together – a crucial time for information professionals in the next normal

Published on by Seema RampersadLeave a comment

The last few months has been very intense in our personal lives but also in our professional lives. For most libraries and information services, it has been a time for us to close our physical spaces and switch completely to digital services. We have not been closed behind the scenes – we are diligently working to re-open libraries like many other sectors with physical spaces.   For example, I have seen NHS libraries still operating in providing critical information and evidence in this very challenging and critical time in essential services. We certainly owe them for the great work they are doing as medical practitioners. I have noticed most other libraries I have seen also emphasize that they have always remained open since Coronavirus COVID-19 disrupted our global lives. I have decided to dedicate this month to looking how this has affected me in a professional capacity as it has been unavoidable for me not to think of work, libraries and the whole process of initially shutting down very quickly to… gradually opening up libraries and information services again. It really is an extraordinary experience.

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It has been four months since our official full time working from home, and initially, it was difficult to switch to all virtual and digital services. However, in the last couple of months, I actually got into a pattern of my working from home during the day, with fitting in some exercise, errands as well as family time. I was able to do some of the digital things I have been hoping for a long time, in terms of using more digital platforms and working from home tools – it has also made me super…super…busy. I am very much ‘living and breathing’ video conferencing for everything! This includes my local book club, social events and even family catch up. I haven’t been keep track of the many Zoom meetings I have attended but they have been intense for adjusting our current services, plans on reopening the physical and special resources, giving business information and advice as well as providing the face to face sharing of ideas, information and knowledge.

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We have also had to focus on Black Lives Matter as a very urgent issue. I will remember this time too for the Black Lives Matter and how it is being discussed with a new hope for genuine change within the library and library profession.

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I was also able to join a great chat up on a SLA’s Virtual Mocktails, Cocktails hangout – which was great for talking about visiting other countries, the social and cultural impact of drinks such as beer, bourbon and gin! Obviously an alcoholic drink was not compulsory for attending and it was nice to see persons I have met on my trip to New Orleans in 2019, and who I hope to meet in the future! It also made me realise – just like in my professional capacity – I will see and meet people virtually but may never meet them in real life. I still correspond with a contact in Singapore for over 25 years although I have never met her in real life.

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This really has given us the opportunity to create the digital transformation that we all wanted but never had the time or the resources to do. It has made me remember the time when I work for a global accountancy firm but even now I am learning new systems and providing different services by current technology. Since the lockdown in March, I am impressed that our wider department has implemented a new library enquiry system by Springshare called LibAnswers. I am also using Lib Chat to answer, “real live queries in the clouds”. Springshare’s slogan in their website says they are making librarians into rock stars!

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The Springshare system has lots of customer interaction and relationship features that are also used for retailers on the high street and is beneficial for global teams who are working virtually and remotely. It reminds me of chatting online with someone from the retailers Monsoon who was based in Scotland, and also when I use the ‘automated’ chat on Go-to-Webinar when I need to clarify my queries or my curiosity! These are some of the new skills that we are all learning or refining in a truly digital space. Just like retailers, gyms, cinemas, restaurants and all physical spaces – we are communicating with our customers virtually but it is likely that we are going to reopen more of our physical spaces with new safety measures, social distancing, clear signage and new ways in the ‘next normal’.

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I have only seen my local library reopen but have not been inside although we have a project with local libraries virtually in Covid-19. They are also offering a reduced service in my local branch but their current campaign is hashtag #ALLTogetherNowWF. It is ironic that I am seeing more little free libraries than local libraries in my walks. In the last few months, I have interacted and met 1000s of customers and library patrons without leaving my home! That is phenomenal.

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This a time to really learn from each other and I am really developing at a very accelerated speed in the last few months. I was asked to moderate the fabulous inaugural ‘Info Trends’ for SLA with Eugene Guidice – who is great at chatting, sharing his knowledge and making you feel at ease. We haven’t met in person but we already seem to get on great! I learnt so much from the presenters, the new virtual conference format was on the Remo platform, and it really was mind-blowing hearing of the new technological trends in the sector being used such as virtual reality, chatbots, AI, Fab Labs, search developments, social media for research etc. In hindsight, it was a great honour to participate on this global and high level at a virtual conference, and to represent SLA Europe, my current employers and the libraries and information profession here in the UK. It really was a highlight of the last few weeks and I am very pleased I was asked to take part. I will try to attend the Info Trends event next time too! I wanted to also say a special thanks to Tara Murray, Diana Shapiro, Eugene Guidice and all the SLA headquarters for the opportunity.

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And again, I was pleased to be asked by Tara, co-present with Eugene, for the Madhya Pradesh Library Association in India. I knew some of our hosts from SLA Connect virtually, and it was really nice to make new contact with professionals in South Asia. I also had to present on the very topical and important topic of ‘Libraries and Librarianship in times of Crisis: Covid-19 and Beyond’, and this was some initial finding on the bigger project I am working on as the Chair of the Task Force on Reopening Specialised Libraries. I found the session exhilarating and personally good for my development on a very pertinent topic to a very large and diverse audience. Apparently, there were about 1000 professionals registered, and they were really pleased and appreciative of our work. It was the first time I used Webex by Cisco, and made lots of notes from Eugene and Tara as we spoke for 1.5hours. My team do a lot of public speaking in our roles at the British Library but this event is really special as it took me back to my roots in India as a descendant of Indian indentured labourers to the Caribbean. My family was really happy for me, especially my mother. I hope these links made will be used again in the future for sharing insights and collaborating on professionals issues.

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Due to COVID-19, I was unable to give a Presidential talk and presentations in-person at both the SLA Conference in Charlotte USA, neither the flagship SLA Europe summer soiree and networking event. We have still put on great new and topical virtual events, which have been reactive to the current situation ranging from Mindfulness, Business Research, Mind-mapping to using Data and Insights for recovery in Covid-19.

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This year SLA has moved conferences for 2020 and 2021 to virtual events, so I am not likely to go to my first SLA Conference until 2022. I know virtual conferences are better for the environment and stretched finances, but I hope I do make it one day to meet some of the fabulous people I got to know over 15plus years. I am usually very active in SLA Europe and love going to their events, so hopefully sometime in the future we can go back to hosting events that are safe and socially appropriate. These are some of the reasons why networking in real life and person-to-person contact are still essential and part of what makes us human. I do advocate for us working together virtually but also for conferring in person to make human connections with shared missions by being in a physical space together.

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I thank my fellow volunteers at SLA Europe who give up time freely to do this in their own time and go out of their way to support the organisation, come up with great events and ideas on how we can support each other and the wider profession. We inspire and learn from each other – I would be lost without being part of this great professional community over the years!

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One of the biggest honour and tasks I have been given by Tara and the SLA Board is to chair the Task Force on Reopening Specialized Libraries. This topic is HUGE! Working as a library and information professional during Covid-19 really is hopefully a once in a lifetime experience in crisis management. It should also be a great opportunity to learn from little and large organisation, local and global libraries on how we can take the next steps in providing services to our stakeholders and customers in a global pandemic. I have since been in touch virtually with other task force members (two members I met the New Orleans Leadership Symposium 2019) and others only recently virtually. It is very interesting, developing as we speak, creating some brilliant collaborative learning, exchange of insights and knowledgeable ideas on reopening as best practices and guidance.

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Remember this is a global pandemic and has affected everyone we know, everywhere! It is very interesting learning, seeing and reading how libraries have responded everywhere. I have seen and learnt about libraries and information services, systems, processes, challenges opportunities and staff and customers safety and well-being issues that we are facing at this time. Yes, we are making full use of digital and virtual technology, but it is interesting to see how much people also want and need physical collections, spaces and our human in-person services.   You might understand and see the re-opening synergies with the way we react to retailers and hospitality in the pandemic.   The Living Knowledge Network has also hosted great webinars from public libraries in Denmark, who are a little ahead of us and Christian Lauersen is a superstar! Their talks have been great at inspiring as well as motivating me to keep on track of these necessary, and heart-warming services we provide to citizens near and far.

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So this is definitely a challenging, busy…as well as an exciting time. It is certainly right up there with unexpected changes, crisis and preparedness such as the launch of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s, the Millennium Bug crashing our Library Management System, working from home due to terrorism or riots, social media introduction in our lives, and other unique watershed moments in the library and information world. I said this in my presentation to Madhya Pradesh Library Association but I have since seen it repeat by others…and we truly are in this together.

 

 

Personal Resilience in a Pandemic – a Next Phase to Go

Published on by Seema RampersadLeave a comment

As we move into the 12th week of shutdown and lockdown in the UK, some part of life now seems like the new routine but there are changes being implemented this week to see our lives returning with adjustments to the old normal. This is not likely to happen overnight and therefore humans, organisations and society will return different and with varying levels to these increased freedoms and enticements to ‘get the economy going’. For our healthcare workers and key workers, they have been working throughout this pandemic and therefore, hopefully, will not have more strains than the present and will remain as resilient as we go into the next phase as other countries have in the last few weeks. This virus has not made us all resilient – it has shown the cracks, the weaknesses and the fragile areas where it has won us over as we collectively and personally struggled to cope in very challenging times – be it the politics, economy, social and health care system etc. The last few weeks have been an endurance test as we are protected for our own health, safety and wellbeing in our homes.

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I met with friends for a chat via a Zoom meeting – one friend is a nurse and reminded me how privileged I am working from home, getting on full pay for now and having a home with a garden in a nice part of London! I was certainly in accord to my position compared to other people are furloughed, redundant, far away from loved ones, alone, vulnerable, stuck in indoors, don’t have access to green spaces and who are in other desperate situations during this pandemic. It is with great respect and admiration that I heard first-hand stories of her working with colleagues who had the virus and who are treating patients in a COVID-19 ward. They are exhausted, very busy and only just getting some relief after the peak of the pandemic – however, we also had a ‘wait and see’ discussion about the ‘second wave’ as more and more people go about socialising in the era of ‘social distancing’. Personally, I can give beauty spots a miss and have stuck to local areas to exercise and for relaxation.

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In my book club via Zoom conferencing, I have now heard from neighbours who have lost relatives and more of us know someone who has contacted or even died of Covid-19. The sheer numbers of official deaths due to COVID-19 has been staggering to see in the last few weeks and the UK is undoubtedly one of the countries with the highest deaths in the world. Therefore, this will have a real impact on personal and professional interests and does have effects on our psychological and physical wellbeing. I have seen many examples of people trying to keep up with the changes we need to survive and stay clear from the dangers of the virus. There are also personal fears and anxieties that are very valid with so many changes in the way we live, work, play and…socialise with other people outside our own household. Therefore it is very important that we seek ways to maintain our good mental, physical wellbeing and develop resilience. I will shortly be doing a course on resilience but hopefully, I am practising this in my own little ways.

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A couple of weeks ago we held a SLA Europe webinar with tips on how information professionals are coping in a pandemic, and due to direct feedback, we also programmed a follow-up event on managing stress in a different working environment as government and organisation make plans to facilitate employees back into their workplaces. In May, it was also Mental Awareness Week, which helped a conversation that is sometimes difficult to communicate on a normal day. We have come a long way in a decade and this is being discussed a lot more by organisations, the media, high profile persons and thankfully too on ‘positive’ social media. Some of the tips I picked up are really useful – such as spending time in nature and exercises for the various moods that we go through as ‘life gets in the way’. The one thing we need to remember is that persons are experiencing various levels of anxieties and fears especially in a pandemic and we just have to be conscious and mindful of these emotions. We should also make time to proactive take time out to maintain good levels of mental and physical wellbeing.

 

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Working from home 2020

As there are now plans, strategies and steps being made to prepare us to return to workplaces, travelling as well as the risk of redundancies – trade unions have seen a revival with campaigning and working with workforces to ensure that they can voice their concerns and come to a consensus on various safety and wellbeing issues that do not put people at unnecessary and unexpected risks. There has been increased in trade union memberships as people look for collective influence from their trade unions to protect and support their interests in very choppy waters.

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As I write, we are still in a phase where most employees are still not in the physical workplaces and sectors – schools, university, retailers, restaurant and hospitality, manufacturers, transport, aviation etc. Our key workers are also still fighting for the protection and enough equipment to ensure safety so it is obvious that the next phase would require planning, testing and adjustments to ensure robust mitigation against the obvious risks we will all face as we go gradually back to what was normal. In this period – we have seen redundancies announced by companies such as Roll Royce…who supply aviation engines to…British Airways who employ…thousands of people who are at risk of redundancies. This connectivity with business and people is very important and therefore all sides must remember this in good and bad times. It should not be a one-way approach for profiting – it was about a decade ago that governments had to bail out banks and now the situation is even worst and far widespread in a pandemic. There are forecasts for a global recession but hopefully, there will be a new way of doing business in future that will ensure that the balance is redressed.

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Graffiti on a local wall

I was due to leave for the USA this coming week and also travel to Trinidad to see relatives in July. However, I obviously can’t travel at this time as was happy to get a refund and also future travel vouchers to use up to April 2022. I would prefer to have this cash but I understand this is one way of helping the situation and all those people in the aviation industry. Although, it has been great to see the bright skies and sunny days during this working from home period due to better air quality in London. As you know, there are fewer aeroplanes in the skies and we should seek to think of air travel in terms of the environmental impact. I would use rail travel more to continental Europe, but this is not always cheaper when you are on a budget. There have been people flocking to beaches and other beautiful parts of England as lockdown has eased. It is worrying to see from a distance and I personally don’t see the attraction of going to the beach in a pandemic. The beach and the beauty spots can wait for a few more weeks…months…or year.

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With England and other parts of the UK having different rules – we have been in the ‘Stay Alert’ phase of the pandemic. As usual, there have been several reactions on social media and real conversations I have had where there are mixed and unclear messages coming from our policymakers. It has been a benefit in this digital age to see the collective views and echo of the pandemic. Most of the time, people are not happy with the messages and the rules as they seem to be open to interpreted differently by different people. I presume most people are sticking to the rules, but there are a few issues in my local park and the high street with social distancing so can imagine some other places too.

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In the last week – there has been public meltdowns with one rule for us, and one rule for others. Seriously, this was no joke – there were references to George Orwell’s book ‘Animal Farm’ where double standards exist to govern. Some other countries, on the other hand, have shown great examples of leadership and are working with their people to instil faith and positive examples for taking us to the next phase of this pandemic. Everyone seems to love Jacinta Ahern, Nicola Sturgeon and Angela Merkel. The most common feature is that they are female, but also seem to display humility and cautiousness in a time of grave danger to human life. There messaging has also been on point and exemplary.

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Mental Health Week in May 2020

Sadly, our Thursday evening neighbourly ‘Clap for Carer’ has come to an end – this has been one of the truly best aspects of the human side of praise for the keyworkers in a pandemic. As this disease continues, I will continue to remember and support them in my little way and hope you will too.

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In my book club, one of my neighbours said that we should all be keeping journals that we can look back on for future researchers, historians and family. I have been thinking of this and my reason for focusing the pandemic in my last three blog posts. However, I have been extremely busy in this period of working from home, as we have mainly switched most of our offerings online. I am also volunteering, catching up on CPD and various activities such as the news using digital technologies. This can be overwhelming during the day so I make sure I do get some exercise and have a wander around my community and neighbourhood. I frequently catch up later in the evening as we have family time in the evening. The digital divide is real. Also, the divide between those able to work from home and those on the front line is also explicit. Undoubtedly, I am privileged to have access to digital equipment and okay with my level of ability but we must remember that not everyone is able to work from home and so we have to also be empathic and careful for those who will eventually have to return to those physical settings whilst the pandemic is still around.

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Travelling are our main concerns – there are more initiatives for cycling but I personally also dread going on a crowded bus or underground train as I normally do. These are hard options to face as we hear about the relaxed in the rules. I still think of my grocery shopping as the most dangerous exposure to the virus as the busiest place I go to in the week. I still haven’t reverted back to online shopping for groceries. In the meantime, I am happy to make the best of my remote working as well as staying locally as much as I can.

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Film: Contagion

It has taken a long time but I have finally looked at the film Contagion 2011, and it does give you an understanding of what the world is going through at present. The film can easily show the similar stages that we still working towards until there is a cure to COVID-19. There are also some uncanny foresight as it was based on SARS – such as the global spread of the virus, working digitally, the unruliness of stockpiling, social distancing and contact tracing, experts and truth finders, budget issues, death and the race for a cure.   There is one line between the two investigating infectious diseases doctors – ‘if you are not doing fine – tell me’ that rang a bell to what is happening to persons during this month.

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In this time of surreal comfort, I have been making the most of my home as my office, my oasis and my temple of calm. My garden has had my full attention and one of the main highlights of Spring 2020 has been the time seeing Walthamstow in bloom, the positive messages for the community and support for key workers displayed. Gardens and flowers have been an absolute avenue for me to find solace and beauty.

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Garden centres were reopened three weeks ago and they were heaving on my first visit – with lots of plants… and people. However, the one I went to was very large and had enough social distancing guidance and signage. Linking this to my own spirituality and consciousness – I am hoping that regardless of the next few weeks, I have found new and old ways to ensure that my endurance and resilience are in tune to the next few weeks in a pandemic to help me cope with this unnatural way of working and living.

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