Library champions

Two excellent pieces in the Irish Times on the importance of libraries this week - Saturday's edition saw an essay by Dermot Bolger, poet and novelist, who I have heard reading before. A very engaging and witty writer. He described public libraries as the last truly democractic spaces existing for all citizens of the state. Diarmaid Ferriter, Professor of Modern Irish History at University College Dublin, highlighted the threatened merger of the National Library, the National Archives and the Irish Manuscripts Commission in Tuesday's paper. He argued that these three institutions served completely different purposes and that no money would be saved. As a past user of some of these organisations I could not agree more. OPLs know how difficult budget negotiations are and we often rely on our colleagues in bigger libraries, so we should show solidarity whenever we can.

Interview with Juergen Plieninger

Interview with Dr. Juergen Plieninger, a German OPL expert, available on the Goethe-Institut website (in German). When asked about the future developments in one-person libraries in Germany, he pointed towards the importance of Web 2.0 and social media. He suggested using technology for internal communication and work organisation as well as public relations. He is a member of the "BIB Kommission (One-Person librarians)", which is part of "Berufsverband Information Bibliothek", a German library association with more than 6000 members.

23 things for professional development is back!

An easy and effective way of keeping up with your professional development is "23 things for professional development", run by professional librarians. You will find weekly suggestions, which are easy to follow and don't take much time. A great tool for OPLs!