Voices for the Library
Encyclopedia
Voices for the Library is a UK-based public library advocacy
campaign, supported by individuals and professional bodies and associations, including CILIP
, Special Libraries Association
Europe (SLA Europe) and UNISON
.
The site's team members include:
The site asks public library supporters to : "join us, share your stories of why you want to save the services, explain what they mean to you, your friends and your families." Voices for the Library was started in August 2010, by a group of library and informational professionals to campaign against proposed closures to UK public libraries. Voices for the Library was created using social media tools such as Twitter
, using hash tags such as savelibraries and #ukpling. The success of the Twitter campaign can be seen by the success of the #savelibraries hash tag, from Mar Dixon's original tweet.
Voices for the Library seeks support for the closure campaign by going beyond the echo chamber
, or as Ned Potter has termed it the "echo lib", in which librarians reach beyond their usual audience, and try and appeal to a larger audience against the closures.
Voices for the Library has had considerable coverage in mainstream media outlets, such as The Guardian
and helped organise a "Save our libraries" day of action on 5 February 2011.
Public Library Advocacy
Public library advocacy is support given to a public library for its financial and philosophical goals or needs. Most often this takes the form of monetary or material donations or campaigning to the institutions which oversee the library...
campaign, supported by individuals and professional bodies and associations, including CILIP
Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is a professional body representing librarians and other information professionals in the United Kingdom.-History:...
, Special Libraries Association
Special Libraries Association
Special Libraries Association is an international professional association for library and information professionals working in business, government, law, finance, non-profit, and academic organizations and institutions....
Europe (SLA Europe) and UNISON
UNISON
UNISON is the largest trade union in the United Kingdom with over 1.3 million members.The union was formed in 1993 when three public sector trade unions, the National and Local Government Officers Association , the National Union of Public Employees and the Confederation of Health Service...
.
History
The website was started in September 2010 – with the strapline Promoting the need for and value of trained librarians within a free and open-to-all UK public library service – and provides details of why libraries are important, as well as a list of libraries threatened with closure.The site's team members include:
- Bethan Ruddock – Content Development Officer, Library and Archival Services, Mimas
- Gary Green – Technical Librarian, Surrey County Council Library Service
- Ian Anstice – Librarian in Charge, Winsford Library, Cheshire West and Cheshire Council.
- Ian Clark – Library Systems Officer – Canterbury Christ Church University
- Lauren Smith
- Mick Fortune – Library Systems and RFID consultant – Oxford
- Simon Barron – Assistant Librarian, Nord Anglia Education
- Tom Roper
The site asks public library supporters to : "join us, share your stories of why you want to save the services, explain what they mean to you, your friends and your families." Voices for the Library was started in August 2010, by a group of library and informational professionals to campaign against proposed closures to UK public libraries. Voices for the Library was created using social media tools such as Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, using hash tags such as savelibraries and #ukpling. The success of the Twitter campaign can be seen by the success of the #savelibraries hash tag, from Mar Dixon's original tweet.
Voices for the Library seeks support for the closure campaign by going beyond the echo chamber
Echo chamber (media)
The echo chamber effect refers to any situation in which information, ideas or beliefs are amplified or reinforced by transmission inside an "enclosed" space.- How it works :...
, or as Ned Potter has termed it the "echo lib", in which librarians reach beyond their usual audience, and try and appeal to a larger audience against the closures.
Voices for the Library has had considerable coverage in mainstream media outlets, such as The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and helped organise a "Save our libraries" day of action on 5 February 2011.