Cat Smith MP, visits Lancaster University Library to present staff with her message of congratulations.
‘Outstanding Library Team’ which we went on to win. The award judges said: “The work of the library succeeded in its aim of deepening the connection between the campus and the local community and of demystifying the uni- versity by partnership working to both increase access and to develop collec- tions. It demonstrated a partnership approach between the university, aca- demics and the local community that is sustainable and would also be scalable to other parts of the sector.” The project has involved interlinked activities which collectively support the library ambition to develop extended communities and services, to build the confidence of our community and demystify the library, the university, and the academic world, providing a gateway into the university. These include:
l Establishing a Library Community Card providing free access to our print collections;
l Collaboration between Lancaster University Library and the Lancaster Black History community group to sup- port the Lancaster Slavery Family Trees Community Project3 a hybrid conference;
, including hosting
l Launching the Library’s first Glocal (global and local) Collection, consisting of books about Lancaster’s historical role as the fourth largest transatlantic slave-trading port in the 18th century;
l Hosting our first Library Festival – a hybrid event showcasing library and university activities. These initiatives have enabled both the library and the university to demonstrate their com-
April-May 2023
mitment to being a civic university that engages with and supports local commu- nities, individuals, and groups.
The award recognises the work of colleagues across all Library teams. The picture above shows our local MP, Cat Smith, presenting a copy of an ‘Early Day Motion’ that she has tabled in the House of Commons, which puts her message of congratulations on receiving the award on permanent record in Parliament.
The Diversifying collections and services
It is interesting to reflect where the involvement with LBH started. The Faculty Librarian role at Lancaster is seen as the key link between the library and the academic departments, and strong part- nerships have developed. Colleagues in the team have been involved with initiatives such as Decolonising Lancaster, encourag- ing recommendations for purchase from staff and students from a dedicated fund with the aim of readdressing historical bias in the collections and making them more diverse. From this initial focus, a broader ambition was realised, to diver- sifying library services and collections, to ensure that under-represented groups are recognised and feel included. From the Decolonising Lancaster initiative, rela- tionships formed with Lancaster academics and key members of LBH. The work of LBH has focused to date on Lancaster’s role as Britain’s fourth largest slave trading port in the 18th century, and on making this history accessible and visible through collaborative work with schools, university students, faith organisations, refugee and arts, museums, and heritage organisations.
Lancaster Slavery Family Trees Community History Project One of their first projects, the Slavery Family Trees project (2020-2022), saw over 30 members from the community work with LBH to research the ways in which prominent local families in 18th century Lancaster were associated with Atlantic slavery, and to map how this influenced the economic growth and development of Lancaster and the sur- rounding areas.
Community members worked alongside staff from Lancaster University, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), Lancaster Museums, Lancashire Archives and Lancaster University Library to trace the history and links that five prominent local families had with either the triangular transatlantic slave trade or bilateral trade with the plantations, examining their family trees and highlighting the interconnections both locally and globally to other families, business and faith groups associated with direct and/or indirect links to the slave trade and plantation slavery. The library’s role was to support research of primary and secondary source materials.
Seven groups were formed to produce community stories and learning relating to these five family trees, with the aim of the project to co-produce and develop educational resources for use by the local community and regional groups, to enable local people to work together to face the past, and in doing so transform the future. This process enables the groups to under- take reparative historical research – using digital resources, databases, old and new historical data, and the local community to reimagine history, bring healing and positive change.
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 29
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