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I thought list members would be interested in a look back at the 4thnational LibraryCamp #libcampuk2014 last Saturday at Newcastle Central Library. Organised by the irrepressible Sue Lawson @shedsue and Richard Veevers @richardveevers it drew fewer numbers moving north from Brum but had equally diverse participation, while discussion and interaction was just as vibrant. LibraryCamp is a joy to behold. Open to all (not only library people) and free to everyone (but bring snacks and cake for an interminable buffet). It’s funded by sensitive sponsors (corporate, professional bodies – thanks CILIP! – and generous individuals; a big thank you to Newcastle for the accommodation) who are in tune with its immediate joy and longer-term value. LibraryCamp is a deference-free zone, where individuals to share and – a real sell – “no grandstanding” and no powerpoint. In case you’re unfamiliar with the unconference idea: in the first relaxed hour (or online in advance) delegates propose subjects for discussion which are then slotted into a timetable; by11am there’s a day-long programme and you choose your sessions from a screen. Each proposer then leads the discussion and writes up notes later (please!). Most important is the networking – in, around, over-lunch and, importantly, afterwards – when people meet colleagues with shared interests, when questions meet answers, and twitter friends meet each other. An exceptional session on chartership; over 20 participants; mix of not chartered / just done it / about to start /mentors. Proposed by @exlibrisevelyn a law librarian with Pinsent Masons LLP who started off apprehensive about the process, then seemed informed and reassured, by colleagues offering help, support, experience and useful info. It’s well written up here http://bit.ly/ZqAfge . As the conversation focussed on CILIP’s PKSB and new VLE (for a chartership determined by you!) it reiterated a modern take both on librarianship and on personal and career development that matched the needs of today’s professional who is committed to both giving and gaining. A seriously animated discussion surrounded Ann Marie Naylor http://bit.ly/1mfZlJ2 from Locality on ‘Common Libraries’. Once we parked the silly numbers stuff (No! - decline in numbers is not a case for cuts; it’s cuts that have caused the decline in numbers; and anyway, borrowing numbers don’t represent total usage…etc) we were into what really makes a library of today: empathy, community, innovation; creating knowledge as well as accessing it; (utterly) responsive provision; (utterly) flexible space. Go to the ‘Waiting Room’ in Colchester to see more http://st-botolphs.org/ (“But is it a library?” “Oh nooo, not that hoary old debate”) There was a lively tour around literacy/ies in a discussion led by Paul Fillingham of ‘Dawn of the Unread’http://bit.ly/1u213jJ . Maybe a bit of sales pitch, it still caught the imagination and showed how reading, in whatever format, can become a passion among reluctant young readers. More lively debate about Who? How? What? When? “…a more rounded and interactive approach to reading can help improve literacy as well as drive readers to libraries … Library Camp recognise[s] the importance of books … libraries as being the best place to engage readers.” (Remember, @richardveevers tells stories for a living) CICs were on the agenda with a fiery enthusiasm from York for something that seemed to give library staff a particular ownership of their service and its future. Really constructive session on co-location, cooperation, collaboration, sharing growing your service in partnership with others, winning the day with people alarmed by your arrival in their building … all about leadership through example, engagement and sharing the exceptional opportunity of the public library. Courage mon amie; it will work! I didn’t get to everything like… communications between f’/t and p/t staff, code clubs, online surveillance (thanks @audesome; quick plug from me for MAIPLE please http://bit.ly/1zNTfSJ), Librarybox, income generation and so on ….. I met people who work[ed] in prison libraries, British Library, public libraries, institutional libraries, school and higher education libraries, law and business libraries … and all sorts of themes came up within the topics: library as publisher, filtering as censorship, librarian as community leader. This came a few weeks on the back of the IFLA public Libraries Section satellite conference in Birminghamhttp://bit.ly/1mR8HWL . A different but perfectly complementary experience (Proof? Brilliant IFLA presentation by @shedsue of Librarycamphttp://bit.ly/1uUM9sC ) Both events taught me that the future needs imagination, innovation, community empathy and, mostly, this bright generation of professionals who are taking yesterday’s library and reshaping it for tomorrow. Richard and Sue rightly made another pitch for a Public Libraries Festival – outward facing; positive stories; what libraries do now and will be doing soon. Let’s hope it comes off. All libraries are under the reviewer’s eye. More such flashes of inspiration please! Best, John Sent from my iPhone