DAY ONE Thursday 25th February 2010
9.00 – 10.00 Coffee and Registration at the Prestigious Edinburgh Castle
Engaged and Informed – Chair David Lyon – Head of Service – Performance & Community Engagement.
10.00 – 10.05 Welcome and Introduction by Councillor Brock – Convenor for Culture and Leisure
10.05 – 10.15 Jim Mather MSP – Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism
10.15 – 10.25 Chair David Lyon
10.25 – 11.00 Keynote Speaker – Susan Benton – President & CEO of American Urban Libraries Committee
Libraries steadfastly serve as engines for literacy and education; as a site for the employed and unemployed to access the internet and apply online for work; as anchors for community and economic development; and they continue as the visible representation of democracy — providing access to knowledge no matter one’s age, income, nationality or race. Libraries are ever more central to the health and vitality of the communities that they serve.
11.00 – 11.30 Ewan McIntosh – Channel 4
How emerging technologies such as social media, mobile ubiquitous computers and gaming can help people learn, work and live better. Ewan is one of Europe’s foremost experts in digital media for public services, particularly in education. He was a key player in setting up one of the most ambitious investment funds from a public service broadcaster in the UK. He made the call on investing over £1m in cutting edge and high impact digital media products. Ewan’s understanding and application of the latest web, mobile and games technology also continues to influence policy and practice in the world of education, where his personal passions lie.
11.30 – 11.40 Chair David Lyon closes this section
11.40 – 12.00 Refreshment Break
The Physical Library and Regeneration – Chair Dave Anderson – Director of City Development
12.00 – 12.10 Introduction from the Chair Dave Anderson
12.10 – 12.40 Nicky Parker – Head of Library and Information Services – Manchester, With Councillor Mike Amesbury, Executive (Cabinet) member for Culture & Leisure at Manchester City Council
A once‐in‐a‐life time opportunity, Manchester is refurbishing some of its oldest landmarks under a £155 million programme and the Central Library is key to that regeneration. Nicky Parker is the Head of Transformation (Customer and Services) for Manchester City Council, a new role she took up in January. Prior to that she was Head of Library and Information Services in Manchester managing the Library Service, Archives Service, the County Records Office and the Library Theatre and was a member of the wider strategic management team for Neighbourhood Services in Manchester.
12.40 – 1.10 Tony Durcan OBE – Head of Culture, Libraries & Lifelong Learning – Newcastle
With The Leader of Newcastle Council, Councillor John Shipley OBE. The Newcastle Libraries’ modernisation programme that has transformed public buildings and spaces, and Newcastle’s international reputation. The latest development, the brand new city library is a far cry from the 1960s building it replaces. The six‐floor building includes a 185‐seat performance space, meeting rooms, café, and crèche facilities. The library is fully self‐service, allowing staff more time to give help and advice to customers. It has a 24‐hour library vending machine which opens on to the street and music fans can access tracks from nine download stations. It is also built to a very high design standard, and the City Council has actively engaged with residents throughout its development.
1.10‐ 1.20 Dave Anderson Closes this section
1.20 – 2.00 Lunch
Digital and Virtual – Chair Ewan McIntosh – Channel 4
2.00 – 2.10 Introduction from Chair Ewan McIntosh
2.10 – 2.45 Michael Porter – America’s “libraryman”
Michael has nearly 20 years of experience working in Libraryland and has presented hundreds of times to library staff around the world. In 2009 he was selected as a Library Journal “Mover and Shaker and). Michael’s professional focus is on practical technology, community, library futures, training and planning. He is currently working on a book about successful electronic communities for ALA Editions, coauthors the “Internet Spotlight” column in each issue of Public Libraries Magazine and also teaches the “Technology Planning” course for PLA’s “Certified Public Library Administrator Program”. Libraries, librarians, travel, creating digital multi‐media, and PEZ are all near and dear to him.
2.45 – 3.15 Dan Franklin – Digital Editor ‐ CanongateBorn Digital – Understanding the dynamics of information production in the digital era and how to engage the Digital Native.
What does this mean as we design library and learning spaces for the future? Dan has responsibility for developing “special, enhanced e‐books”, while continuing to look after his own list of authors. Franklin will also cover audio books, with the intention of commissioning more frontlist titles, and bringing backlist classics such as Muriel Spark’s The Driver’s Seat – read by Dame Judi Dench – back into availability.
3.15 – 3.30 Refreshment Break
3.30 – 4.00 Edinburgh’s new Virtual Library – Liz McGettigan, Head of Libraries & Information Services and Jim Thompson – Quality Development Manager, Digital
In transforming our service for the 21st century we have identified an audience that may never enter a library those who prefer “The Virtual Library”. This service or “Library” is also essential to traditional library users who have experience and expectations of sites like Amazon and other personalised information and electronic services. This Virtual Library project is key to our strategy not only to transform Edinburgh City Libraries but to ensure that our transformation is apparent to our residents and users across the city.
4.00 – 4.30 Questions and close by Ewan McIntosh
4.30 Close
Gala Dinner – 5* Caledonian Hotel – Alan Taylor – Editor of The Scottish Review of Books
Join us for the drinks reception at 7pm, in the lounge to The Castle Suit, where you can network in the company of friends and colleagues
Dinner will be served at 8.00pm in The Castle Suite
Enjoy the splendour of the gala dinner while taking the opportunity to speak with the speakers and share and learn from personal experiences……
After dinner speaker ‐ Alan Taylor ‐ Alan Taylor is a journalist and is currently the Editor of the Scottish Review of Books and Associate Editor of the Sunday Herald.
Carriages 11pm
DAY TWO Friday 26th February 2010
9.30 – 10.00 Arrival / Coffee
Libraries Change Lives – Chair ‐ Susan Benton – President & CEO of Urban Libraries Committee
10.00 – 10.15 Opening of Second Day
10.15 – 10.30 The Design Concept – Daniela Hislop
The design concept is about bringing together cutting edge interior design capabilities with a professional marketing and branding consultancy service, implemented by people with a wealth of experience in the library sector. Thinking beyond what it could be – we give you that!
10.30 – 11.00 Linda Constable ‐ Chair of Libraries Change Lives
This prestigious award recognises the work done in Libraries to improve services and make real difference to lives and communities. See how families with Autistic children, children in care and many other disadvantaged groups are helped. See practical examples of how we can enrich the lives of individuals, help strengthen local communities and add value to the communities served.
11.00 – 11.30 Refreshment Break
11.30 – 12.00 Nigel Ironside – Governor of Saughton Prison
Making a real difference from 12 to 12,000 library visits ‐ The refurbished Saughton prison library is now kitted out with modern equipment such as laptops as well as a larger range of books than ever before. The inmates were asked what they wanted and while some would criticise the modern equipment that they have, the reality is that these prisoners are part of the community and will be going back out there. Learning will allow them to do this.
12.00 – 12.10 – Chair Susan Benton closes this section
12.10 – 1.00 Lunch
Creating a Knowledge Sharing Culture – A National Perspective – Chair – Ken McKinlay – Head of Culture and Sport
1.00 – 1.10 Introduction from Chair Ken McKinlay
1.10 – 1.40 Martyn Wade – National Library of Scotland
Creating a knowledge‐sharing culture from a national perspective and maximizing the Library’s contribution to key Scottish Government priorities is an important initiative with particular focus on lifelong learning. Martyn Wade joined the National Library of Scotland (NLS) as National Librarian in 2002, after 25 years experience in the public library sector. During this time he worked in a number of rural and urban authorities, including London Borough of Sutton, Leicestershire and Cambridgeshire. He was appointed as Head of Libraries, Information and Learning with Glasgow City Council before moving to NLS.
1.40 – 2.40 Panel Session – Ewan McIntosh, Michael Porter, Susan Benton
2.40 – 3.15 Summary and Close
Get more from library and information services ‐ our intention is for all of our attendees to leave our conference with a vision into the future!!!
I stand by the comment that this was best conference ever …. Well thought-through content, very well organised, consistently excellent speakers (chairs were OK too), a powerful and coherent vision with some great and moving stories, a magnificent setting and a welcoming atmosphere.
I came away with a huge sense of the creativity and inspiration of so many librarians, and of how badly their work needs advocacy, communication and co-ordination.
A thought-provoking, stimulating, moving and just plain enjoyable conference