Small library? You need to think big: 10 top tips on how to use open days to promote your small but perfectly formed library service!

As a small, specialist library, we have to work hard to make sure our users (and potential users) know about the constantly changing range of services and collections we offer. Over the years we've run an occasional series of one-off  'open-day' events, including one just a few weeks ago (read all about it here)! If you work in a small (or even not-so-small) library, here are the 10 top tips, based on the lessons we have learned over the years, about how to host a successful library open day!

1. Plan, plan, plan. Organise a few meetings if you have a small team, and think first about what you want to achieve from the day- more users? better use of the collection? awareness of a new/underused service or resource? Make sure the day has a theme or focus of some kind.

2. Set a budget and find funding. Our open days have always been run on a shoestring, but it is worth thinking about whether there is any source of funding to support costs for food, drink, decorations, promotional materials or new things for the library. If there is no money to be found, at least planning in advance gives you time to beg, borrow and steal what you need!

Yes, we lure people to our library with cake. 

There, I said it.

Photo © Claire Beecroft

3. Allocate roles. We all have our particular strengths, so let the library team, however small, play to their's. Some might want to run the infoskills sessions (see tip 4), some might be great at decorating and giving the library a little makeover for the day.

4. Offer helpful, short infoskills sessions throughout the day. These were a huge success at our most recent away day. The trick is to keep them short, specify a time for each one, describe the topic of each one in a single sentence, and then promote them well in advance to ensure people can put them in their diary.

5. Bake. There is nothing, nothing on earth, like the lure of cake to get people through the door. Our whole team contribute by baking or buying- mostly by baking. Its worth planning this aspect too- we usually have a Google doc where people can list what they are baking, and this means we can make sure we have a nice variety and can cover all the bases- gluten free, dairy free, etc.

6. Call it what you want, but call it an 'Open Day'. It might sound strange, as the library is always open, right? But still, there is something about the phrase 'Open Day' that seems to work. It conveys the idea that all our welcome, even those who might not usually use the library, or who might not think that the library is really for them.

7. Tidy up the library and bring out the bunting if possible! Its really worthwhile putting up some decorations. Bunting is easy, as are ballons, banners etc. We have been known to make our own decorations, and lots have been brought in by the team or sourced cheaply from poundshops or eBay.

8. Showcase what's new. If you have some mobile shelving, trolley or stands, make sure the latest stock is on display prominently. If you have new electronic resources or websites that you want to draw attention too, fire up the PC/s and have these loaded and ready for people to try out.

9. Promote the heck out of it. Don't be afraid to use every possible channel to let people know what you are planning and that they are MOST WELCOME. Twitter, VLEs, Facebook, the library web page, flyers, etc are all good, and remember to promote the event well in advance AND on the day.

10. Put on your happy face and keep it on all day! This isn't usually hard for the IR gang at ScHARR- we LOVE a good open day, but just remember to keep smiling and send out good vibes from the library.

Posted by Claire

ScHARR Library Open Day

The ScHARR Library welcomed all staff and students to its annual open day on Thursday 20th October 2016 . The Open Day proved to be very popular, and the library was busy throughout the day with students and staff. Our  Information Specialists provided a number of well attended drop-in sessions. There was also an exciting competition and if that wasn’t enough, there was a bake sale raising money for Amnesty International, in memory of our colleague Tony Mead.

Drop-in Sessions
Our Information Specialists shared their expertise:

• Helen Buckley Woods presented an overview of IRIS - Information Resources Information Study Skills. This is an online course for ScHARR Students which assists with student Information literacy understanding and competency.

• Magda Bell our resident expert on Inter-Library Loans and Copyright talked about the service offered in ScHARR and dealt with any copyright queries from staff and students

• Anthea Sutton presented an overview  of the Systematic Review Toolkit, demonstrating how this tool can be used for searching, study selection, quality assessment and more.

• 

  Information Specialists deliver a session

  Angie Rees talked about how to use and get the best out of Google Scholar. What it’s good for and what it’s not so good for.
• Claire Beecroft  provided guidance on how to quickly and easily improve your searching to ensure nothing is missed by using citation searching and reference lists. Essential for all types of reviews.

Competition Time!

ScHARR Library Open Day Competition

Sonia Rizzo organised a tough but fun competition ‘Guess the 1st tune’ with lots of great prizes courtesy of Dialectable.  Liz Kitchen and Jean Hamilton came joint first in the competition and collected lots of lovely goodies!

Bake Sale - Raised £150 for Amnesty International!

Finally, there were lots of delicious home baked cakes made by the Information Resources team. These went down well with students and staff! An amazing £150 was raised  for Amnesty International,  in memory of our colleague Tony Mead. Tony worked in the ScHARR Library for nearly a decade and Amnesty International  was Tony’s favourite charity.

A big thank you to everyone who came to the Open day,  and a big thank you to everyone who helped out, we couldn’t have done it without you!

24 Hour Inspire and the Pop up Radio Station

Mark Clowes

Andy Tattersall

For the last five years the University of Sheffield have hosted 24 hours of back to back 30 minute lectures in aid of local cancer charities. The event was started in 2012 by Tim Richardson who delivered 48 lectures over the course of 24 hours. Sadly Tim passed away in the following year due to the condition he was raising money to fight against. The event has continued with the support of many of Tim's colleagues and friends under the stewardship of Catherine Annabel. This year Andy Tattersall and Mark Clowes brought with them a pop up radio station to compliment this wonderful event.

Still standing after no/little sleep

The idea was simple, create a pop up radio station that played virtually nothing but vinyl records (well they are trendy again according to the young folks). Andy approached Catherine Annabel over a coffee some months earlier and she was instantly behind it. The idea was to use the student radio stream from Forge FM and take it over with staff playing tracks from their own collections, the only rule being 'vinyl playlists' or thereabouts. Mark and Andy are no strangers to playing on the radio and in clubs, both have a secret (well until now) hobby of collecting vinyl and playing on the airwaves and in clubs. Andy spent six years on the pirate radio stations overlooking Sheffield and playing up and down the country in underground clubs over a 12 year period, and currently hosts his own monthly radio show on the disco balearic station Purple Radio. Whilst Mark has also played at many parties and nights and releases a monthly podcast via his Mixcloud page under the guide of The Vinyl Librarian.

Dr Chris Sexton picks tracks for her Desert Island Disco

All of this could not be achieved without the support of many colleagues who were encouraged to come along and play their own records. We had Hadrian Cawthorne dropping some quality jazz-funk and Matt Robson playing indie classics from Journalism Studies. Whilst Chella Quint played a varied selection, busting out a few dance moves in the process. Whilst Chris Howett from the Student Union took listeners on a memory trip back to when he ran the seminal NY Sushi Night. Recently retired Stuart Barkworth from CiCS dusted down his trusty records in his attic to take listeners on an early morning journey through the late sixties and early seventies. Finally Graham McEleanery went post punk and electronic on the Thursday evening. All of this was made possible by Ian Knowles from CiCS who did all the fancy technical work and made sure the station ran well with support from colleagues. The Director of CiCS, Chris Sexton was always on hand, as an avid supporter of Inspiration for Life, bringing in food and snacks and listening to the live broadcasts as they happened.

Andy Interviewing Tony Ryan OBE

In addition we had various guests pop in to see us and chat whilst the real highlights were the five Desert Island Discos where guests picked six tracks, a book and luxury item to take to a desert island. The guests included, Dr Chris Sexton, Dr Mike Weir, Professor Tony Ryan OBE, Chella Quint and Catherine Annabel. 

Mark Clowes ran his own Sheffield pop music quiz which Pete Mella from CiCS won after a very tense tie-break. The manager of Forge FM, Luke Wilson (who provided us with the radio stream and licence) brought in his own records for a roundtable review. Being a student and liking new popular beat combos, his choices reviewed by a panel of four 'experts' with our own Artic Monkeys coming out on top, everything else was trashed.

The roundtable review panel

On top of that, Andy delivered a lecture as part of the proceedings in the main room on 'How to be a Digital Academic'. Already plans are afoot to run the radio station again with everyone who was involved last year to be part of the 2017 radio station. Whilst there are no shortage of potential candidates for the Desert Island Disco, so watch this space. It's not too late to donate, so if you want to help local teenage cancer charities, please go to the link below. Many thanks.

http://www.inspirationforlife.co.uk/ 

We hope to get audio feeds of the shows, which ran from 3pm on Thursday till 5pm on Friday, but for now enjoy Mark Clowes very early morning shows.

The Great ScHARR Library Bake Off

Andy Tattersall

Every year we host a bake sale in our library at ScHARR in aid of a local charity. This year we chose the North Derbyshire charity Fairplay that works to support disabled children and young adults.

© Fairplay.co.uk

 All of the team came together to create a host of delicious creations as well as some of our friends from within ScHARR Towers. We had everything from two types of scones, brownies, carrot cake, gluten free options, biscuits and even a Guinness cake...hic!

This year we ran the charity picnic on the same day as we welcomed our new intake of students, so we took it as a good opportunity to say hello and introduce ourselves. I was worried that the students wouldn't venture down from a day full of talks and inductions, but they did thankfully. In fact we were overwhelmed by how many came to see us. 

At one point the library was as full as I'd ever seen it in my 14 years at ScHARR. Everyone was fed and watered with juices and hot drinks provided by the library team. Although there may still be money to be donated we probably broke our record for donations from our cake sales (this is about the 8th one we've run it). At present we have raised £156 for a very worthwhile charity - so well done all. Salads are the order for today.


Thankfully there was very little left at the end of the day, and my beetroot brownies (with my own orange beetroots) and scones (with homemade and picked jam) all went.

For more information about Fairplay and the work they do, go to: 
http://www.fair-play.co.uk/

Next year we hope to have Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry on hand to do some judging.

ScHARR Library Charity Picnic - 16th July - 11-1pm in aid of Doncaster and Bassetlaw Kidney Association

As with previous years we are proud to announce this year's ScHARR Library Charity Picnic on 16th July 11am - 1pm in the library in Regent Court.

We are pleased to announce that this year's chosen charity is the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Kidney Association http://www.dabka.org.uk

We will have our usual selection of lovely cakes and bakes, alongside free teas and coffees. It would be great to see new and old faces in our library which contains a whole wealth of expertise that goes much further than physical books. So if you have any questions on everything from searching databases to critical appraisal, from Web technologies to aid research and teaching to infographics, from Creative Commons to Inter-library Loans, from MOOCs to how to bake that perfect lemon cake - come and see us and help us raise some funds for this great cause.

Blue Cross Tea Party - Friday 8th April 1pm - 3pm - ScHARR Library

Image © Blue Cross

Posted by Andy

Words by Sonia

You are cordially invited to join Information Resources staff on Friday 8th

April between 1pm and 3pm as they host their Blue Cross Tea Party in ScHARR

library in Regent Court.

We're hoping to raise some money for a charity whose aim is to save the lives

of unwanted and vulnerable animals.

http://www.bluecross.org.uk/

There'll be cake.  Lots of cake.  Lemon cake, cheese scones, Guinness cupcakes,

mocha slices, blueberry muffins, cookies, cheese muffins all home made by

library staff.    Tempted yet?  Oh, and seeing as it's a tea party there will

also be gallons of tea (along with coffee and soft drinks).  Last but not

least, we're running a competition which you can enter for £1.  All you have to

do is match the owner to the pet!  The prize is a £10 Amazon voucher!

And of course, whilst you're visiting the library there are books, journals,

internet resources aplenty as well as a whole gaggle of Information Specialists

on hand in the same room to chat to about any work/course-related queries you

might have.  The PCs will still be available to use and there'll be a

designated member of library staff on the enquiry desk.

What's not to like?

Please come and support a great charity and your local library!

Thank you.

Library on a Donkey

Posted by Andy

Inspiring...

Children in Need

Photo and posted by Andy

A massive thanks goes out to everyone at ScHARR who baked wonderful biscuits and cakes in aid of Children in Need. A brilliant £164.55 was raised thanks to the generosity of everyone who purchased a cake or two, or three. Well done Vanessa and co. for organising it all.

Special thanks to everyone who gave up their time to bake, their names are below.

Kathryn Aleixos
Karen Beck
Katy Cooper
Jenny Dunn
Julie Foers
Marilyn Lidster
Sarah McEvoy
Jennifer Morgan
Tricia Qanem
Vanessa Rodgers
Jane Spooner
Sue Wilson
Vivienne Walker

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

Picture and posted by Andy

A million thanks to everyone who sponsored me, my wife, little girl and Thatcher the dog for the Alzheimer's Society Memory Walk on the Monsal Trail .
Thanks to your overwhelming generosity we were able to raise over £300 and with gift aid, it's £375!


The Justgiving page is still live, so if you would still like to give to a great charity and support those working to support an illness that will affect a lot of us directly and indirectly, you can do so by going to http://www.justgiving.com/andrewtattersall/


Luckily for us it was lovely weather and we managed to undertake the six mile walk - three there and three back in about two hours, walking at a toddler's pace. Despite still not being two years old, Isobel managed to walk the majority of the three miles, and probably walked even further due to her keep going back to pick sticks up. We employed the buggy for the return journey.


We set off at the back of the walk and within ten minutes had been left behind as various scooters, walkers and pets disappeared down the track, thanks to the three Ladies who kept holding back to check we were OK. About 70 people attended the walk on the lovely Monsal Trail from the Hassop Book Shop for a brilliant cause.

Alzhiemer's Society - Memory Walk

Photo and Posted by Andy

Many of you know that I bring my dog Thatcher (yes her real name) into work each year to raise money for The Blue Cross Pet Charity. This year, I can't bring her in due to work commitments on the 16th, so instead will be taking her, and my wife Suzanne and two-year-old Isobel on The Alzheimer's Society's Memory Walk in aid of those caring for people with dementia. I'm also aware you can only ask for money once a year, unless you are Bob f'ing Geldof.

We will undertake one of the many Memory Walks taking place this month organised by The Alzheimer's Society - and will be doing the organised three mile walk from Hassop Station along the Monsal Trail. To be honest, it is not much of an ordeal is it? but I will ensure that my little girl walks the three miles there and back, or I will carry her - I promise not to use a buggy. If I think of any other ways to make it harder for myself I will - suggestions on a postcard please.

I know we are on hard times, but this is a truly great cause, that may affect some of us directly or indirectly as we get into the later years of our lives. Please give what you can spare :-)

http://www.justgiving.com/andrewtattersall/

As for why I am doing this.

My own father fell to this horrible disease in February 2008 and I cannot express what an awful and devastating illness it is for the sufferer and loved ones around them. Luckily my father receives excellent specialist care 24 hours a day, but many people are not so lucky. I want raise something in gratitude to those who look after my father and those who need care - the statistics speak for themselves.

According to The Alzheimer's Society

* There are currently 700,000 people with dementia in the UK.
* There are currently 15,000 younger people with dementia in the UK.
* There are over 11,500 people with dementia from black and minority ethnic groups in the UK.
* There will be over a million people with dementia by 2025.
* Two thirds of people with dementia are women.
* The proportion of people with dementia doubles for every 5 year age group.
* One third of people over 95 have dementia.
* 60,000 deaths a year are directly attributable to dementia.
* Delaying the onset of dementia by 5 years would reduce deaths directly attributable to dementia by 30,000 a year.
* The financial cost of dementia to the UK is over £17 billion a year.
* Family carers of people with dementia save the UK over £6 billion a year.
* 64% of people living in care homes have a form of dementia.
* Two thirds of people with dementia live in the community while one third live in a care home.

Take Your Dog to Work Day

Photos by Andy

Posted by Andy

For the third year in a row ScHARR Library opened its doors to our resident hairy librarian, Thatcher Tattersall, all in the name of charity and the national Take Your Dog to Work Day. For those of you already lost, Thatcher is a labrador-Retriever belonging to ScHARR Library blogger Andy Tattersall. The good deed was in aid of The Blue Cross which is a registered UK animal welfare charity.

Their aims are to:
ensure the welfare of animals by providing practical care
highlight the benefits of companionship between animals and people
promote a sense of respect and responsibility towards animals in the community

As part of the day staff from ScHARR were treated to a selection of wonderful cakes baked by fellow information officers Claire Beecroft and Diana Papaioannou and HEDs Administrator
Clare Watson as well as the odd lick and sniff from Thatcher. I would go a little further into the details of these cakes which consisted of chocolate cake, marble cake, banana cake and marble cake, but it would be unfair to leave you drooling at your keyboard.

There was a guess the dog sweepstake and along with the cake sales we managed to raise a total of £92.50 - which was pretty much on par with last year's figure. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the day either through baking or cash contributions and of course thanks to Thatcher for making it into work once again this year and for not peeing in the library, we have enough with the staff and students doing that.

Take Your Dog to Work Day

The 14th September was the Blue Cross 'Take Your Dog to Work Day' and as part of this charity event Andy Tattersall brought his own pooch Thatcher into the library for a stint of her dad's work in addition to a lot of sleeping. It is important to mention that Andy didn't name the dog Thatcher, she came with that monikor and was apparently named after Maggie T.

As part of the day, a sweepstake was held to guess the name of a mystery dog and £75 was raised in total with the aid of cakes and one lovable animal...that's Thatcher not Andy.

A big thanks to all those who supported the day