Glasgow, Scotland- University of Strathclyde & Bridge Library- 7-22-08

We took a bus from Edinburgh to Glasgow for a day trip to the University of Strathclyde. The first part of the day was a combination of lectures and discussions from Dr. David McMenemy (Course Director for MSC Information & Library Studies at the University), Christine Rooney-Browne (Graduate Student doing research at the University), Alan Poulter, and Alan Dorset (from the Centre for Digital Library Research).

Dr. McMenemy began by giving us some history and statistics on libraries in the area. He told us that although the University of Strathclyde opened under that name in 1964, it began in 1796 as Anderson's Institution. They currently have 25,000 students, with 50 % of the students being library students. The university has been teaching library science for 60 years. There are 4,515 public libraries total in the UK, and 846 academic libraries. The public libraries in the UK are legally obligated to provide a "comprehensive and efficient" public library service for any one who lives, works, or studies in the community, due to a Public Libraries and Museums Act. All of the publicly funded libraries are governed by parliaments. He is currently researching how to reduce the significant drop in borrowing statistics, how to attract non-users, how to reduce the digital divide, how to reduce the issue of non-professionalism in the workplace, and how to measure services effectively.

Christine Rooney-Browne then discussed her research. She is currently trying to create a way of measuring the social value a public library has to the community it serves. She gave the examples of using the library as a place to break cultural barriers, a place to give the elderly an escape from loneliness, and using the library as a place of support, particularly after a natural disaster. She explained that currently the statistics on libraries only show the economic values determined by things such as Government Audits and Contingent Values. She says that the Social Values should be just as important, if not more important in measuring the value of a library to its community, and that these Social Values could be measured by Social Impact Audits and Self-Assessment toolkits. She also is in the process of conducting surveys and Quantitative Research to record the results of libraries in different situations and areas.

Alan Poulter then discussed FRILLS (Forensic Readiness for Local Libraries in Scotland). He said that they offer IT training, online/CD/DVD courses, and they address the "Digital Divide". They have enforced an Acceptable Use Policy and done reviews, surveys, and interviews to get input on how to improve it.

Alan Dorset then wrapped the lecture up by discussing the Centre for Digital Library Research. It opened in 2000, and it is set up online at http://cdlr.strath.ac.uk. They have set up several online reference resources, including: BUBL, CAIRNS, Glasgow Digital Library, Shaman, and AILT4. He then showed us the sites and how they were set up to find things.

After lunch we then visited the Library at the Bridge. The Library at the Bridge opened in July 2006, so it is still new, but so far, the positive effects it has had on the community outweighs the few problems that they have had with scheduling and other problems that have come up due to the combining of several different ideas under one roof. It is a partnership of Glasgow City Council, Culture and Sport Glasgow, John Wheatley College, and the Greater Easterhouse Arts Company. The community was in need of a positive force to encourage and enlighten them. The Bridge Complex contains a public pool and recreation area, a multipurpose conference room that can be converted for stage use, a theatre, a recording studio, a costume workshop, a public library, a community college library, a café, and the college. It offers many options, such as swimming classes, dance classes, concerts, theatrical performances, and other numerous community classes. It is one of the top six best issuing libraries in Scotland. The complex cost 8.5 million pounds to build, so it did not come cheap, but the effect it has had on the community has been worth it. They have 33,820 books currently in stock.