‘‘ D
When I first heard we were building a new library I was really excited, the thought of somewhere new where communities, families and friends could meet was really special.
The opening of the new Birkby Fartown Library presented yet another opportunity for Kirklees’ two library apprentices to get involved in delivering services that matter to local communities.
éjà vu. That was the surreal feeling I felt, sitting on the Creative Consultation Interview Panel, weighing up
the proposals for the process of the grand opening of Birkby and Fartown Library. Just short of a year ago, I was giving the answers in order to acquire this apprenticeship… and yet here I was asking the questions. Déjà vu indeed!
So how did I end up here? Let’s rewind a bit here – it started off with me absent-mindedly sitting in a meeting, when I heard Kirstie’s (Development librarian) voice, “You’d better join the Birkby Consultation Party or else” and I of course nodded my head… That would be one way of recruiting apprentices into working parties. (Disclaimer: no apprentices were harmed in the writing of this article). Fortunately, Kirklees libraries gives us the freedom of choice.
When I first heard we were building a new library I was really excited, the thought of somewhere new where communities, families and friends could meet was really special. When I was asked if I wanted to be part of the planning around the opening of the new library I became even more excited!
I worked with a few other members
I volunteered for the Consultation Party as the other option was Promotion of Birkby, which I felt I had adequate knowledge of. Instead, I felt I needed to step into a new project where most of the process would be a learning curve for me.
In the end we chose (and boy was it a hard decision with so many fantastic tenders), Charlie and Bev from Edgelands Arts to deliver a creative consultation with the local Birkby community. The process itself was quite lengthy for a number of reasons. We first had to decide as a team what our aims were for this project (engaging the community with the library before its grand opening) and then go through the tender list to select those that would make it to the final interviews, (I know, I know I’m making it sound like The X-Factor). Due to “you-know-what”, Edgelands’ engagement with the community was mostly online, but it would be an understatement how impressed we
Craft table. September 2021
of staff on the promotion side of the planning. Before we opened, I gathered images from different members of staff and uploaded them to our Birkby Fartown page on our website; this showed the building progress and included information around our work with Edgelands Arts, who we commissioned to work with people in the local area to deliver a piece of art which shows the voices and ambitions of those in the community. In preparation for the grand opening I was part of a meeting to decide what would be included at the event. Others mentioned a storytime, drumming and art workshops. I suggested a treasure hunt for children to have a fun time searching around the library for clues. Everyone loved the idea, so I got to work making the illustrations. I used Photoshop and my graphics tablet to create a series of drawings of places in Birkby. I then added a letter to each, spelling out the word ‘Welcome’, and I made a collection sheet for participants to fill in.
Ambreen Aziz is an apprentice librarian at Kirklees Libraries
www.kirkleeslibraries.co.uk
were with the level of success they had with this. They also created a book (how fitting!) with the local Birkby community, which was handed out on the day of the grand opening. On that first day, surrounded by so many members of the community, I couldn’t help but envision how Birkby and Fartown library would flourish. Communities are the hearts of our libraries and Edgelands did a fantastic job reaching out to them. IP
Hannah Armitage is an apprentice librarian at Kirklees Libraries
www.kirkleeslibraries.co.uk
On the day Ambreen and I took care of the craft table, handing out collection sheets for the treasure hunt, giving out colouring sheets and teaching them how to make a flag and a windmill to take home. The grand opening had a great atmosphere with a drumming workshop, sculpture making activity and much more; it felt like the whole community was coming together to celebrate something new. This was such a fresh new opportunity which I loved taking part in and it excited me for what else I may be part of during the rest of my apprenticeship. IP
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
