Monthly Archives: November 2017

Victoria’s Public Libraries Writing A New Story

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As part of the organising committee for the Public Libraries Victoria Network Special Interest Group LibMark I feel very proud of this year’s annual conference Writing Our Story – a New History. It was a success with smiles all around and interesting speakers inspiring us all towards possibilities for a bright future in public libraries. Key to this success was the hard work, guidance and ideas offered by LibMark convenor Kylie Carlson of Yarra Libraries.

20171109 - William Angliss - Melbourne - PLVN LibMark - Seminar 2017 - PIC013 - Kylie Carlson

Kylie Carlson – Yarra Libraries – 2017

Rosa Serratore of Moonee Valley Libraries set the scene with a short description of library days gone by, then highlighting one particular worldwide promotional initiative Outside The Lines, with a call to action to get involved.

Rebecca Hermann of Bolinda gave an enthusiastic talk about her experience as the successful founder and CEO of the worldwide publisher of digital content. The brand of Bolinda products leads the field with its recognisable green marketing.

The State Library Victoria representatives Debra Rosenfeldt and Michelle Edmunds gave an update about the statewide Advocacy Project about to be put into motion. It is aimed to bring a united voice and promotional message for public libraries. It is much needed.

Ash Davies is the 24 year old CEO of Tablo. HIs online platform for writers and readers is poised for greatness. Ash inspired us all with his youthful charm and energy.

The State Library Victoria and Public Libraries Victoria Network offer a successful and popular shared leadership program. Effective collaborative projects result in very good work emerging. First up to talk about their project were Liam Brandon, Haylee Eagle, and Catherine Mathews. Share Our Stories With the World: Victorian Public Libraries and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals offered practical ideas that links everyday work in public libraries with these lofty goals.

Next up were NatashaSavic and Justine Hanna who talked about Keeping A Lookout: Building Our Brand. This website initiative recognises and investigates innovative library outreach practices. 

After a delicious and healthy lunch provided by William Angliss catering, Andrew Powell of Origin Energy and RMIT University spoke to us about developing a meaningful and dynamic library brand and how this forms the foundation for telling our story.

Beth Luppino is the Customer Experience Manager for Casey Cardinia Libraries. The newly opened Bunjil Place offers a new experience for people to engage with Libraries, Arts, Culture, and Council customer services. This model goes beyond the walls of the library space with a promise to “enliven, enrich, surprise, and delight”.

Social Media young guns of the State Library Victoria Sarah Kelly and Cory Zanoni talked about their approach to engaging with people online. They are first to admit they have a treasure trove full of great content to curate and share.

Sarah Ernst of Yarra Libraries told us about a project where people were invited to record their thoughts about their library using a photo booth. ‘In Their Words’ was created.

Nada Stanojlovic of Wavesound talked about their history, products, and new platform called RB Media for all of their digital content. Wavesound were the main sponsor for the conference. 

Here is a short video with the photographs of the presenters that I took on the day.

#Libmarkstory17 #glamblogweekly

 

Beyond the story

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Janelle McCulloch wrote the book, Beyond the rock: the life of Joan Lindsay and the mystery of Picnic at Hanging Rock. While it is a biography about the life of Joan Lindsay, it is also an inquiry into the writing of Joan’s mysterious novel Picnic at hanging rock.

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I invited Janelle to be a guest speaker at our library and she gave an energetic and riveting talk about this topic to an audience of spellbound people. From the moment she entered the room, Janelle was talking, and she didn’t pause for an hour and probably could have continued. People were slow to leave, wanting more.

As a perennial mystery embedded in Australian culture, the mystery behind the story of Picnic at Hanging Rock, tantalizes us with the need to be solved. In Joan’s original unpublished forward to the novel:

            “…the story is entirely true.”

Janelle teased us who were in the room with the possibility of another book that does indeed reveal the truth. Her journalistic nose having uncovered parts of the story that, according to people who lived and live around Hanging Rock, “everyone knew”. We all responded with enthusiastic urging that she must indeed write it. How often does that happen to authors who are not J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, or George R. R. Martin?

The process of journalistic research is of great interest to me, as I love doing that myself. I know the addiction of a good detective hunt. Genealogists know this well. Janelle prompted us to get to work as:

            “Everyone has a story that needs to be told.”

So feeling enthused and having procrastinated long enough about getting my own family story curated, I started. I had already created a storyboard of sorts using PowerPoint. So I purchased a large sketchbook and a scrapbooking kit. I set up a space where I have all the photos nearby in boxes and photo albums and on file.

It is apparent from the moment I begin where the gaps are, so many photos missing. Do they even exist? Does someone have the ones I need? I phoned my husbands aunt not remembering how old she must be. We had a nice conversation and she agreed to look to see what she had. Yesterday I received an envelope with some gorgeous old photos of my mother-in-law and her sister, and their mother, and my husband’s parents. And there was an image of my husband’s late eldest brother as a 3 year old. His family didn’t have photos of themselves or their children; unlike my own father who was a bit of a photography geek.

Isabel_and_Val

As thrilled, as I am to receive these photos, there are still gaps. I have not found a photo of my husband’s maternal grandfather – Arthur William Duncalfe. Using the library member’s subscription to Ancestry, I have found the certificates online that give the details of his birth and death, but no photos. I have even located a passport photo of his father Arthur Gregory Duncalfe as he emigrated from the USA to Australia.

So as I restock the glue sticks and refill the printer ink, the hunt continues.