Tag: writing

Waterside summer outings

Published on by Seema RampersadLeave a comment

We are in the middle of a heatwave with the news constantly reminding us of the long spells of dry warm weather that we are experiencing in the UK but also across Europe.  As I write, there are multiple wildfires that are threatening lives, homes, nature and our food supply in Europe and closer in some parts of England.  It is very worrying to see the changes in the climate and more extreme weather reported in the news and evidence by scientists.

With this in mind, this month I was able to still spend some time enjoying the hot seasonal weather. My first trip was by train to Brighton for the Business Librarians Association (BLA) conference which was held at the University of Brighton.  It was great to be there on the theme of strategic partnerships and there is always so much to learn and adopt in the services that we provide, and to see in the physical spaces. The conference was help in the university’s School of Business and Law and it was great to see the big and tangible versions of the UN’s Environmental Sustainable Goals (ESG) blocks in the main reception area. Some of the delegates were actually pleased that they were not making their way to the conference at the height of the recent heatwave in June. 

The conference was great for sharing practical ways that we can help our library users during the ever-present Artificial Intelligence (AI) challenges and opportunities, as well as other aspects of collaboration, research, engagement and development of library and information services.  There were tips for workshops, teaching, predatory publishing, systemic reviews, gaming and general user experience and developments. There were also presentations and exhibition of some well -known business information providers like Clarivate, Mintel, EBSCO, S&P Intelligence etc. 

We also had a tour of the Library on the last day but as the university was closed for summer, there were hardly any students around the whole campus. 

Delegates were stationed at a local hotel near the seafront in Brighton and therefore it was nice to be near the seaside during the summer.  It was nice to spend to evening having dinner in a local bistro and at the Brighton i360 – which is Europe’s tallest (450ft) moving platform in the sky. It was truly nice to see the view with a glass of champagne on a clear evening – from the city, and nearby hills, the pier and beachfront below, as well as the windfarm out in the sea to the south!

In Brighton, it was also nice to visit the Sea Life Centre with some great aquariums with sea creatures big and small.  I love seeing the jelly fishes with their features enhanced with the lighting.  It was humid that day so I didn’t want to stay too long as I had been at the conference for most of the earlier part of the day.  I have been to Brighton before and walking along the seafront, it was nice to observe life during the week with the shops, bars and general place to spend some fun time. I am likely to visit Brighton again one day and I hope to visit the South Downs too.

I was in London for most of the time and mainly working whilst outside we are having this “balmy summer”.  I have been mainly worrying about my plants and the lack of water as there is little rain.  I made an effort to get out and get on the London Underground despite the heat and having to travel into town (again) at the weekend. However, once I got to the Riverside I began to feel better and more excited to be in a part of London that is famous for leisurely walks and celebrations.  I went to the Royal Festival Hall for the 75th Anniversary of the first steel pan bands in the UK for a ticketed programme called Steel Plan Reimagined. It was 75 years ago that the Trinidad All Stars Steel Orchestra (TASSO) first played at the Festival Hall. It was really interesting to see and hear the history of the struggle of the steel pan – from the banning of drums in colonial time to the innovation of tambo bamboo instrument (musical songs made of bamboo) to the use of disused steel drum brought on by empty steel oil drums around 1920s in my homeland of Trinidad and Tobago.  Out of prohibition came the development of a 21st century instrument that is now recognised and played across the world. 

I am really proud to know how amazing the steel pan sounds in large orchestral bands moving through the streets and stages in Port of Spain as a child…to the celebrations here in London at Notting Hill Carnival to the Southbank.  The evening was also celebrating calypso, reggae, song, fusion music with classical instruments and dance. It was also great to see that the Southbank was a great venue to have this celebration for the community, visitors and tourists in the area.  There was also three days of free music on the riverside by other steel bands, from schools to the more accomplished London bands that you may see at the Notting Hill carnival.  The free concerts were busy around 6pm when I arrived and when I left the concert at around 9:30pm – there were still a lot of people enjoy the good weather and the vibes along the riverside.  I did take it all in as it reminded me of Carnival in Trinidad and there is a distinctive sound of the steel band filling the warm air across the riverside as I went along Hungerford Bridge.

I know that I like that these two outings were near some nicer parts of the UK but I guess with such hot weather, I am looking forward to being somewhere less urban and near water.  I spent the last weekend visiting family in Bedford but unfortunately did not get time to see the river – which I may have showcased on here already. I do hope we do not have sustained drought this summer – touch wood! I do look forward to the rest of the summer, with a some rain, and who knows… I may spend some time just relaxing this time near fresh air and water.

Go on In – celebrating the National Year of Reading

Published on by Seema RampersadLeave a comment

This year we are celebrating the National Year of Reading and the theme of ‘Go on In’.  Reading is one of the fundamental joy, pleasure, and human activity that is universal to us.  I know that literacy rates are not complete in parts of the world and there is still access issues to reading materials, but reading is a right and skill that helps us to learn, develop, imagine and grow throughout our lives.

The National Reading Agency hopes highlights the importance of literacy here and that the year-round celebrations will encourage younger person to take up reading more to help them develop and communicate. Literacy skills are great for helping us navigate life from early years, through education to our adult everyday lives. We need to read everything from health and medical information, filling in forms, road signs and more and more – our lives are very digital.  Therefore, it is necessary for us to read for pleasure but also for living. 

The journey from child in early years is one of the best ways to engage children with the love of reading.  I remember loving the books we had at home and reading my older siblings schools books.  We did not have all the British books that may be familiar here but we knew some of the popular titles like Alice in Wonderland. We also had some books from Canada and America with two I remember on Inuits and another on architecture (I have tried finding it as an adult but perhaps it is out of print). I went to a local primary school and they we not strong on reading but great at maths! So when I changed school to a private school with expats – I actually was behind at reading in my new class.  I used to have to take home a book to read with my mum and it is possibly my first interaction with a library as the books was kept in the Head Teacher’s office. She was an amazing woman and I have tried finding her but to no avail. Eventually I would catch up on my reading.  That first year at my new school, I did get a prize for my maths.  The prize was a copy of the book ‘Heidi’.

As an adult, I love that there are actually libraries now in my childhood town and my current neighbour. The Booktrust and other initiatives like Dolly Parton’s Imagination library also give children books with read with their families. It is also interesting to see a lot more Free Libraries and many in my neighbourhood have books for children.

There is actually a challenge, as well as an opportunity, that has evolved in the last 15 years ago or so for children and adults – this is the advancement of tablets and computers in the home.  I do see more children looking at content on their tablets and even parents smartphones.  Children are obviously looking at visual content, media and games but they may also be reading stories.  Therefore the Go all In theme is great here as we are not just talking about printed materials.   Reading materials in any format is great – be it comics, newspapers, magazines, poetry, bike manuals etc, are all encouraged and interesting to instil a love of reading.

Newspapers and current affairs are great sources of reading that we may take for granted. This is where I have been working on information literacy, and my degree covered a lot on the use of news, information, communication, media, library and IT resources at that time.

This is still one of the most common ways we may read content and which is even more accessible on smartphones. In secondary school, we studies literature and obviously read various genres of literature from scripts, regional and international novels to poetry.  At one point in my first year of secondary school, students and teachers had a dedicated 15 minutes for reading after lunch. If I recall rightly, the acronym of this reading programme was called USSR (perhaps it meant Universal Staff and Student Reading).

One of the best aspects of reading is learn classic and new tales and stories.  They tend to inspire new forms of understanding and creativity such as film and theatre. Many stories are take us away to faraway lands and planets such as Sci Fi literature. They also make us create a respond emotionally to the characters and narratives.  Obviously, this is something we already know but reading for pleasure can also help us to write better.  The way that language is formulated or how authors tell their stories gives us the gift of their imagination and use of language. 

Up until recently, I was part of a neighbourhood book club and loved that we all reading the same book at the same time (and not at school or university!). It was great to hear modern and classic suggestions, and to read something that I would not necessarily choose to read.  I really did enjoy being part of this club where we met in a local pub or home to discuss the book of choice.  However, due to extra workloads and my volunteering – I was unable to participate fully and therefor I have recently stepped away.

One of the best ways to be inspired to read more, is to pop into book shops. There are some amazing book shops and although books may be available on Kindles and tablets, there is still a passion and need for buying physical books.  One time when I can appreciate books, is when I am on holiday and unable to do much.  So going to a bookshop always feel better when I know I will be off radar for a while.  

Again, there is a whole industry around publishing, artwork and literary agents seeking out the newest talent.  I have been a couple of book launches and it is great to hear the inspiration and through processes for stories.  I also went to the London Book Fair with my ex-colleague in the 2000s as she was looking for books in Braille and ‘scratch and sniff’ for visually impaired readers. Providing reading materials that are accessible is another fascinating area – such as books in Braille, talking books, audio and even podcasts.  I am still to listen to my first audio book and haven’t as yet as I do like to see how language is convey but I guess I can try it to see it works for me.

Apart from libraries, schools, free libraries, books shops and free digital ways of reading.  There are some options for corporate organisations to sponsor materials but also to host reading and literacy support to local schools or learners.  All the organisations where I worked (and one where I volunteered), help young people to read and discover stories with one-to-one support.  I know my professional role help persons to read for all walks of life but this post has enabled me to really reflect on how important reading really is to all of us.

Every year one of my loose resolutions is that I read more.  I am busy reading work related materials and stuff but hopefully I can start too. Go on, let’s go on in and get reading!

Fun outreach work in interesting places

Published on by Seema Rampersad1 Comment

In recent weeks, I realised that I have been ask to work with partners at their locations for events or conferences.  I actually like working elsewhere on occasion as this adaptability must spring from my sense of adventure in going to new places and meeting new people.  This is probably a good thing as it helps me to think outwardly, as well as see what is on the horizon beyond my every day.

It was nice to be invited to the Camden Libraries staff conference at their Swiss Cottage Library again.  It was inspiring and motivating to hear the great work they are doing from the launch of their Reading Strategy (which I was able to take part in as part of their Reading Strategy board), work from parts of their libraries from new Health and Wellbeing Librarian or to the newly refitted Holborn Library, where we have also delivered two workshops.

There were great presentations from maker spaces to talks on how valuable libraries are for culture, creativity and for literacy. One of the presenters mentioned spending lots of time as a child in the summer holidays in the library whilst her parents were at work – the library was a safe space but also facilitated the development of her love of reading, learning and eventually working in libraries and the community too.  I was able to also present a workshop on customer service especially since we had recently hosted Camden Libraries along the theme of ‘The Reference Interview’, and it was a natural follow up for us to discuss how good customer service links with a good user experience and exemplary library services. I also attended a workshop on implementing the Camden Reading Strategy, and it was reassuring to hear from volunteers at their Highgate Library talk about ways that they encourage children to read and do interesting activities in the library, which also improve their literacy and use of space. There was also an explanation that their users are usually mixed demographics as there are areas of deprivation in Highgate despite the area being perceived as a wealthy neighbourhood in most parts.

In the lunch break, I was able to have a look around the library to see the children’s Library with the inviting seating areas, mini theatre and reading spaces.  I also like the physical items that you can see which demonstrates that this is a community library with the 60-year-old building still being useful and beautiful.  In the lunch break, there was an energising and great vibe for the Flamenco dancers and guitarist.  It was a great colourful and rhythmic session that got a few people off their feet for a lunch time dance.  I truly look forward to working with Camden Libraries again in the next few months and hopefully years to come.

I also had an invitation for our British Library team to present and help support businesses at the Festival of Upholstery in Sandhurst.  It was a little further than my normal route, so I was able to spend one night and two days at the festival with a hotel overnight stay.  Sandhurst is world famous as a military academy and grounds is great and wide – especially for those military parades that it is known for. The building inside is a training centre, so there were many rooms for this purpose.  Once inside, it was striking to see all the colonial links especially with India with many pictures and images of Indian soldiers.  I obviously thought of my Indian ancestors.  There were several Gurkhas on the premising and surrounding area too.

The Festival of Upholstery was held in a great hall with other exhibitors in the industry, businesses and interesting furniture, makers and materials.  I loved the prints on display, and there were some more important themes of creativity, restoration and reuse with new and old furniture and the items on display. 

It was great to see a thecutting-board by Erica Jane, that enable someone to do their designs on their dining table.  There was also some interesting materials used for filling the upholstery from horse hair to coconut husks called coya ( it reminded me of old-fashioned mattresses in the Caribbean).  However there was a great discussion on this in relation to sustainability and natural fibres or materials.  I was invited to be on a panel on the first day to discuss how we can support business but it was also great to hear the challenges and stories of upholsters on practical and inspirational advice they wanted to share with attendees – from renting spaces to studios, to switching careers, using social media to gain customers, pricing models, or to choosing materials that will not be wasted. The event had about 800 attendees over two days, and it was interesting speaking to several people on why they were there, how excited they were after doing courses on upholstery or that they just had an interest or business in upholstery.  One of the committee members and tutor mentioned that upholstery started 800 years ago, and it was fascinating to hear how it started with fabrics, cushions, stitching etc for chairs.

There was also a fabulous dinner in the evening with a delicious authentic curry.  It was nice to meet and chat to several of the dinner guests who all had great stories on why they were there.  There was definitely a tribe for those who had careers and family commitments, but now wanted to start something new that has always been a passion.  I also spent time chatting with an upholsterer Amanda from New Jersey, who is one of the few American upholsters, and I learnt a lot about some of the terminology on traditional or modern upholstery.  I also realised that it is a skilful trade that you also have to be physically adept.  I left the Festival of Upholstery feeling happy, welcomed and hoping that these lovely people will go on to make nice things and carry on the art, hobbies and businesses they have.  I hope my colleagues and I can continue to support them in future festivals or for visits to the Library.

Closer to home, I was invited to take part in a Fashion event at the new reopened and renovated Soho Theatre. I was free on that Saturday and was able to meet some local designers.  One of them, Naila, is actually showcased on the British Library’s business page, and I am able to have a good chat with her.  It was good to see a milliner, sustainable fashion designs, patterns and other great items on display.  I didn’t have time to ask my friends to come along but they would have liked it too.  I was able to quickly check out the new restored grand stage, and will certainly try to book a show there in the near future. 

Obviously, I still help run workshops in my local area and therefore meet businesses all the time. I must admit that I have been a bit quiet on the local activities in recent years and that is because my professional life has been a bit too busy, but I hope I can find a better balance so that I enjoy and support more local causes.  For me, being asked to take part in these events enables me to understand various sectors, people and communities better and give me an opportunity to meet people and have some fun too!