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BIALL Study Seminar - Edinburgh, December 6 - 7

By Jennifer Vass

This year?s study seminar in Edinburgh looked like a Nurofen for my work headaches: targeted relief for pain. And (to rip off another slogan) it did what it said on the tin!

The setting was the wonderful Signet Library in Parliament Square, hosted by Elaine Bird and the BIALL Professional Development Committee. The seminar lasted for a day and a half (with plenty of time before and after for Christmas shopping). Dinner was held at the library itself, a fitting setting for the participants.

Sarah Fahy kicked off the proceedings with a session on Making a Business Case. This was a practical run-through of the many management issues behind decision-making, common to a lot of organisations. Sarah outlined the stages involved in making a business case, from the preparatory work, right through to getting it down on paper. She drew from her own experiences and led the group through some practical exercises to discuss which techniques had proved successful in the past.

The second session was led by Sally Creissen and focused on Library Management Systems. Sally?s talk was a thorough and systematic look at the stages involved in buying and implementing a new LMS. Her handouts, which included a checklist on planning the project; sample system requirements; and a list of suppliers (not endorsed, I should hasten to add); will definitely prove useful when I find myself in the position to buy a new LMS. I use the word ?when? since, as we learned on the day, the average age for a LMS is between 8 and 15 years, and I?m a fair way off retirement yet!

On the second day, Jacky Berry gave us an illuminating talk on library design. This was my main reason for attending, since my offices are being refurbished. Jacky spoke about the physical aspects of designing a library, from the height of the bookshelves, to the number of plug sockets. She also gave us a useful outline of the other issues involved in a project like this, particularly those involving people - customers, staff, and stakeholders. I found myself furiously scribbling notes, and am pleased to report that I have now factored these into my requests for the new Library space.

After coffee, we heard from Jenny Barrow who talked about a host of staffing issues. Jenny talked about the importance of timing when making a proposal for more staff; linking the proposal to your firm?s strategy; making the business case; and gave suggestions for what to do if you don?t get your own way. During question time, Jenny talked frankly about her experiences of recruiting and retaining staff, including the sticky subject of money.

Victoria Janetta followed with a talk on measuring the performance of the library. She ran through a number of different techniques for collecting, analysing and presenting statistics. This session certainly made me realise that I should have been collecting statistics, and I will make sure that I am armed with some meaningful ones when it comes to setting my budgets for next year.

The study seminar was concluded with a talk from Penny Bailey on common pitfalls that managers face when trying to get backing for a new project. The session included a look at some common influencing styles and how these might be put to work on the more ?colourful? characters in an organisation.
I left Edinburgh full of ideas to transform my library (literally and figuratively), and keen to get started. For me, the real value was in learning about things I hadn?t experienced, or factors I hadn?t thought about - simple things like the plug sockets, or the timing of a project. Many of the situations discussed (designing a library; a new LMS) are real issues in my day-to-day work, so it was very relevant. But, as is so often the case, the opportunity to talk to others with similar issues was also of enormous value.

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Posted on behalf of Hannah Milford.

Full post as published by The BIALL Blog on January 25, 2008 (boomark / email).