David Maybury | Blog

As of right now – as I type – the Lord Mayor of Dublin is announcing that Dublin has been named a UNESCO City of Literature – one of only 4 in the world (Edinburgh, Iowa and Melbourne).

The City of Literature is an international network of UNESCO Creative Cities. A permanent, non competitive title in recognition of Dublin as a world centre for literature and literary activity.

I am absolutely delighted about this achievement  – which confirms what Dubliners have known for years – this is a city that has always produced – and continues to produce – great writers.
- Lord Mayor of Dublin, Gerry Breen

The City of Literature was secured by a steering and management group led by Dublin City Council’s library service (namely Jane Alger) in consultation/collaboration with literature organisations, writers and libraries throughout Dublin.

Curious to find out more? Visit dublincityofliterature.ie now and read up!

The Arts Council of Ireland announced the awards for their touring and dissemination grants this week – and there are some great projects to look forward to. (Full details about the awards are here – my highlights are below)

The fund will see the Little Island authors on tour across the country and the Kids’ Own Travelling Library will be on the move -  from library to library on both sides of the border (with artists and writers on hand for workshops and noise making!)

Probably the most exciting – the fund will see the return of Louis Lovett in The Girl who Forgot to Sing Badly – The Ark in association with Theatre Lovett will be taking  Finegan Kruckemeyer’s play on the road!

News broke last week that the 22 school libraries from the JCSP program – which have received €9 million so far – will not reopen in September due to the current state embargo on public-sector contracts. Minister Coughlan confirmed that the librarian contracts will NOT be renewed – and that the fully funded and stocked school libraries will be without professional librarians.

Ireland’s first Laureate na nÓg, Siobhán Parkinson, issued a statement last week that (I think) warrants a post.

One of the things this country got absolutely right during the economic boom was the JCSP (Junior Certificate Support Programme) to encourage young people at risk of dropping out of school to stay in the education system at least until Junior Certificate. This programme was properly planned, properly implement and properly monitored, and it has been famously successful in saving thousands of youngsters from early school-leaving and the appalling (and appallingly expensive) consequences.

If we lose these librarians at this crucial point in the development of this best-practice library system, we will certainly lose the libraries themselves, in which so much has been invested, in terms of time, money and energy, and which have had such success in terms of student use and improved academic standards. For this reason, I appeal to government to make an exception in the case of these contracts, and retain our JCSP librarians. This could be done by redefining them as front-line staff, which in effect they are. This is not about individuals and their jobs. This is about the future of the country’s most deprived and disadvantaged children.

Now for the infomercial part – here’show you can get involved:

If like Siobhán and Children’s Books Ireland you care about school libraries and the impact they can have, let government know that you do not support this decision.

You can contact Minister Mary Coughlan at Department of Education and Skills, Marlborough Street Dublin 1 – 01 889 6400 Tanaiste@education.gov.ie

You can contact Minister Brian Lenihan at Department of Finance, Government Buildings, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2, – 01 6767571 minister@finance.gov.ie

You might also want to contact your local TD or Senator – full details are here

It’s not news but great to see John Walshe in the Irish Independent highlighting the plight of school libraries yesterday! The current state embargo on public-sector jobs may see the closure of 22 school libraries from the JCSP program.

The libraries are designed to boost literacy standards among the country’s most disadvantaged students, and research has shown that they are achieving this aim.

Around €9m has been spent to date on the high-quality libraries, which are stocked with an extensive range of reading materials and computers to enhance numeracy, reading and writing skills.

Here’s hoping that the promised ‘alleviation of the problem‘ from the Education Minister will come sooner rather than later! Read more in the Irish Independent.

UPDATE from the Very Hungry Caterpillar* in the comments:

It seems Minister Coughlan has confirmed contracts will NOT be renewed – its a baffling decision… Fully funded and stocked school libraries without professional librarians – it’s like school buses without qualified drivers!

*The VHC should be held co-responsible for the GaGa video. It’s at least part her fault!

Speaking of libraries. So THIS is what those late fees are spent on:

Can use my, Can use my,
Yeah you can use my catalogue.
Don’t forget the databases

Can use my, Can use my,
Yeah you can use my catalogue.
Don’t forget the infobases

Ca-ca-ca-catalogue. Ca-ca-ca-catalogue.

Via Claire Hennessy

7 of the top 10 most borrowed authors in Ireland in 2009 were children’s books – namely Roderick Hunt, Francesca Simon, Daisy Meadows, Enid Blyton, Jacqueline Wilson, Roger Hargreaves and Roald Dahl.

The most borrowed title – after the The Official Driver Theory Test – was John Boyne’s Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (with Rowling’s Harry Potter and Meyer’s Twilight in close support)

I’m delighted that Horrid Henry is such a popular boy in Irish libraries as I spent all of my lunchtimes volunteering in my school library and most of my afternoons in my local one.
- Francesca Simon

Click to read the full list of most borrowed books of 2009.

It’s International World Book and Copyright Day today – organised by the United Nations and celebrated across the world.

This year Kensington in Maryland, USA are hosting a street festival with more than 100 local authors, poets, bookartists, booksellers, small publishers, literary groups, and more.

Luxembourg will host a 3 day festival featuring booksellers, authors-writers, editors, bookbinders, readers, libraries, archives, organizations and associations. In Malaysia are having a three-week exhibition on books and reading.

A school in San Carlos (Brasil) is honouring Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Monteiro Lobato, Cora Coralina and Jorge Luis Borges with theatrical performances and staging of poems.

Ecuador has launched a competition for anyone 12 – 25 to write a short story, poetry or essay. Moscow (Russian Federation) are celebrating with a series of round table discussions, concerts and more.

Ljubljana has been nameed World Book Capital City.

And in Ireland, amongst other things, Niamh Sharkey will be visiting Wexford and Enniscorthy Libraries!

Who is the queen of Scotish Libraries? The Scotsman reckon it is Jacqueline Wilson!

Recent figures on books stolen from libraries show an annual bill of £659,294 (that’s 129,450 books!) Wilson has the top spot of most books stolen – a crown last worn by JK Rowling.

Also up on the list – Francesca Simon, Enid Blyton, Julia Donaldson, Matt Groening, Stephenie Meyer and Roald Dahl.

There’s plenty of interesting bits from the papers – starting with Ivan O’Brien (of O’Brien Press) who was featured in the Irish Times:

the industry is changing. Conglomerates are on the march, taking bigger and bigger gambles all the time. Their approach is: “Okay, who’s the biggest celebrity on TV who hasn’t had a book yet? We’ll give that person half a million and put something out.”

It makes sense for the retailer to pile those books high, rather than a minority interest title that might sit there for months before anyone buys it. But if book lovers can’t find decent books instore, it drives that business online. – Ivan O’Brien

There is much excitement around David Almond’s nomination for both the Hans Christian Andersen medal and the Astrid Lindgren memorial award – Alison Flood has lots to celebrate.

Josh Lacey reviews the latest Zizou Corder book – Halo:

The book is crammed with a multitude of real and invented characters, and oozes geeky information about the ancient Greeks. (Some notes at the back even explain how to make a bow or bake baklava.) It will undoubtedly inspire young readers to learn more about the period, although they may be disappointed to discover that Pericles never really met a centaur.

The NYT has a comprehensive look at the Marvel copyright battle that is coming on the horizon:

If Mr. Toberoff has his way, the picture painted in court will be one of chaos. He says that during Marvel’s early days — when Mr. Kirby was creating his superheroes — the company was a shoestring operation that was barely afloat. “There was no bullpen; there was a one-man office. It’s easy to imagine that nobody at the time was thinking about work for hire.” – Marc Toberoff

The Twilight Graphic Novel was launched on Tuesday (March 16) and looks great! (I had a flick through a copy over the weekend) Tom Gatti has a full read for the Times UK.

The Railway Children turn 40 – and Patrick Barkham is welling up on the occasion.

Rick Riordan – of Percy Jackson fame – has a new series hitting shelves in May – The Kane Chronicles will tackle Egyptian Gods. Sounds interesting.

Amelia Hill talks to some libraries in the UK – fearing more council budget cuts could mean more library closures.

Rudyard Kipling is being revived/honoured/or inspiring – with a new book of stories by folks like Michael Morpurgo.

Comics corrupting the imaginations of children – and inflaming them with fear of the unknown! Tales of the Crypt from 1954.

Donald Clarke reviews Zonad – and asks audiences to hang up their critical eye on the way in:

For good or ill, Zonad is very much one of a kind. At 82 minutes the picture is short for a live-action feature and sometimes plays like an over-extended sketch. Though the team has used its spare resources cunningly, the limited budget does ask the audience (particularly if they’ve just seen Avatar) to make more than a few allowances.  However, consistently sparky performances from the likes of Donna Dent and David Pearce help the vessel sustain its singular trajectory. It’s certainly unlike anything else currently orbiting your multiplex.

And finally - Kick-Ass, kicks ass. A gripping – funny – take on superheroes, comic clichés and more. (Not for the faint hearted mind) The Guardian catch up with Jane Goldman – swoon.

In honour of the new release from Disney (Princess and the Frog) Dublin City Libraries are hosting Jazz Workshops over the next few weekends. Think you know your alto-sax from your trombone? Or your Davis from your Mingus?

Head along and see how you do – plenty of goodies to be won and it sounds like a whole lot of fun!

The American Library Association (ALA) have the right idea – announcing all of their award winners on the same day. No confusion and lots of excitment. And here they are -

Winner of the John Newbery Medal for most outstanding contribution to children’s literature:  When You Reach Me – Rebecca Stead.

Newbery Honor Books: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (Phillip Hoose),  The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Jacqueline Kelly), Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Grace Lin) and The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg (Rodman Philbrick)

Winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal for most distinguished American picture book for children: The Lion & the Mouse illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney.

Caldecott Honor Books:  All the World (illustrated by Marla Frazee, written by Liz Garton Scanlon) and Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors ( illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Joyce Sidman)

The winner of the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults: Going Bovine Libba Bray.

Printz Honor Books : Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith (Deborah Heiligman), The Monstrumologist (by Rick Yancey), Punkzilla (Adam Rapp) and Tales of the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance, 1973 (John Barnes)

Click for more details on the long list of ALA awards – including the:
Coretta Scott King (Author) (Illustrator) (New Talent Author) (Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement)
as well as the Pura Belpré (Illustrator) (Author),
Schneider Family Book Award,
Odyssey Award,
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award,
Margaret A. Edwards Award,
Robert F. Sibert Medal,
YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award,
Andrew Carnegie Medal,
Mildred L. Batchelder Award,
Alex Awards
and the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award.

From The Bookseller this morning:

Schools in the UK will each be provided with 15 free books as part of British governments £500,000 campaign to provide over 53,000 free books to secondary schools. Every secondary school in England will receive the books for their school library as part of the Everyone’s Reading campaign being run jointly with the School Library Association.

The scheme is part of an education push to raise reading standards among 11-18 year olds.

The news is stark contrast to our own school library commitment at the minute – where libraries across the country have had budgets cut and as well as the realloctation of the school library scheme.

While tinkering around the web last week I came across a message from Dublin City Libraries:

Special Web Page for our younger library users providing access to select websites. Learn, play, explore and more!
- @dubcilib

Have a click and see what ye think – plenty of links to favourite writers, stories, resources, cartoons and more. (Great to see the libraries are having fun playing with netvibes)

And then there’s Chesskid, pictured, who reckons he is the greatest superhero of all time… I don’t think he’s heard of Ironman yet.

I’m having a love affair with library websites and web-services at the minute. (I’m still trawling through sites – so if I’ve missed anything interesting let me know!!)

southdublininnovates.ie is an interesting idea – and their sister site in Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown has some great interviews, including chats with John Boyne, Carlo Gébler, Brian Keenan, Pauline McLynn and plenty more. They’ve got themselves a pretty impressive book review blog to boot.

And there’s more!

I’ve gotten hooked on the LS for YP (aka – Library Services for Young People) How great does Coolock’s Games Night sound?! And the ‘What Kids Want’ from Cork‘?

But if yer looking for something a little less tech… then what about making snowflakes with an artist? Dublin’s Central Library reckons that they can teach anyone how to ‘transform a humble newsprint into a beautiful snowflake’ – and of course the more glitter the better!

Dublin has a new independent bookshop – The Gutter Bookshop (run by Bob Johnston) – with a rake of events, launches and more planned! (And talking bookselling – Pearson reckons that the worst is over)

And here’s one way to encourage sales… have your book featured in a celebrity car crash. A pic featuring John Grinnin’s Get A Grip On Physics on the floor of Tiger Woods’s wrecked SUV has boosted sales of the book up Amazon’s bestseller chart.

Age Guidance on book covers hasn’t gone away – Booksellers in the UK are frustrated, on both sides of the arguement:

Convincing evidence that the initiative has helped increase sales would encourage Walker Books to have further discussion on the issue, said publishing director Jane Winterbotham. However, she added: “I think we have yet to see that, so are not planning to implement the new age guidance at the moment.”

Amazon are offering trade-ins for text books – including pre-paid postage labels available to print!

Rachel Cooke ponders the future of UK Libraries -

What can we take away from this mess? Only that it continues to be up to us – the people who love libraries – to keep our beady eyes open, and our boxing gloves always at hand.

John Grisham hit the screens of the Today show mid last week and talks web pricing with Amazon, WalMart, Barnes and Noble, and Target. The man himself reckons that printed books are endangered species – and eBooks aren’t helping. (Bad news then that the Kindle hit a new high on book sales)

Tim Adams explores the shifts in book buying this Christmas – chestnuts, fireplace and a kindle? Authors Sarah Rees Brennan and Ally Carter talk piracy.

Eoin Purcell talks children’s books and tech – and keeping with that theme: Galleycat asks – can twitter actually sell books? And Usborne gets itself a new website.

Gay Byrne talked books and the new FÍS Book Club with Derek Landy and Don Conroy – schools only!

Staying technological for a bit longer – the The National Literacy Trust (UK) has released figures showing that online social media encourage literacy.

And finally… Stephanie Meyer holds 5 of the top 10 bestsellers in the UK. Just sayin’.

Are new book technology users just growing up?

A few weeks ago I put a computer illiterate five-year-old in front of a keyboard, mouse and monitor. She grasped how to use the operating system (Windows XP) the browser (Firefox) and the Internet (Google, Sesame Street, Nick Jr. and Dora The Explorer) in less than half an hour.

The experience got me thinking.

One of the largest reasons that e-books haven’t become a reality is due to our reluctance to let go of the book. Would gadget savvy young readers be more comfortable using an e-reader than the rest of us?

This isn’t as far fetched as it might sound. Disney, Fisher Price and Hasbro have all released mp3 players for children in the last year. The Fisher Price Kid-Tough FP3 Player is aimed at the youngest audience (3 – 6 year olds) and their online store sells audio books as well as music. While the Disney player is aimed at a 5 – 12 year olds but without the option to download music.

Is it such a leap to imagine a similar device with a large, colour screen* that reproduces picture books? [It could play the author reading the book at the same time through its mp3 player.]

If public libraries and schools supported ebooks then young readers would be encouraged to use them, and be more likely to using them as adults. Some, such as the New York Public Library has already begun to lend copies of ebooks – with certain copyright conditions.

Looking at the conclusions from the research in Bell State (dated 2004) Richard Bellaver concludes:

The children thoroughly enjoy playing and interacting with the eBooks. However, many of the children used the eBook for non-reading purposes because the content was not to their reading level. This was remedied by adding more content geared towards the younger reading level, but at the time of the interviews, that was not the case. The children did grasp the technology, and were able to learn the basic features of the eBook. Only one eBook of fifteen was damaged during the test.

Do you ever wish you see the future??

Sources:
> Richard Bellaver – Bell State University
> New York Public Library
> About.com
> e-book.com

*One of the most ideal distribution outlets for ebooks is the iPod Touch and the iPhone through Apple’s iTunes.
Click for a better look >>>

> The Poetry Ireland Bookstore is up and running. Some of the best new poetry titles, including Harry Clifton’s new book, at really decent prices. Go on – splash out.

> Andrea Deakin‘s brilliant online newsletter is, ehm, online. (Via AchockaBlog)

> Grammatical correctness. Who could say no to such a move?

> Font Vader. (Made entirely out of Sans Serif fonts!?) Huzzah! (Via Boing Boing)

> Are these the greatest looking libraries in the world? (Via Deputy Dog)