March is already nearly upon us. One question...where did February go? The main thing is the sun is shining, which makes it the perfect opportunity to grab a book (from your local library) and soak up the rays while it lasts.
As implied above, the last few weeks have raced by at ASCEL. Here are some of the highlights:
- Inclusive practice: In April, ASCEL's training topic will be around inclusion, which is something that came up in the members' skills audit as an area for development. This is also a priority for the ASCEL team. We're aware, as a small team comprising of middle-aged white women, that we need to open up to far greater diversity in thought, lived experience and approach. In fact, this is vital for our continued progression, and bringing children and young people's voices into our team is also a top priority. As the saying goes - 'nothing about us without us'! For our members, we're delighted to have RNIB lead a session in March on supporting children and their families with visual impairment in libraries, and our Members' Meet-Up in April will zone in on this topic, giving members a chance to delve deeper, learn from each other and swap ideas and resources.
- Working in partnership: Yesterday, the ASCEL team joined forces with the Libraries Connected team in London, to understand more about our shared visions, plans for the future, and (following from above) how we can incorporate better inclusive practice in our organisations and support libraries with it too. It was a fantastic day and as a relatively young charity, we felt a real sense of support from the Libraries Connected team, which is appreciated.
- Youth Engagement: This week, I met with a few of the libraries who took part in the pilot phase of the Youth Engagement Network, to see how things were going and how ASCEL could support them with this work moving forward. As always, I took away some great ideas - in particular, the need for a national youth voice to advocate at the highest levels, and for an embedded activity for both primary and secondary-aged children (or a 'Bounce & Rhyme style activity' as one person so succinctly put it, which is so established it's become an integrated part of the standard library offer). I also met with a few of the new library services taking part in the Youth Engagement Network, in an informal drop-in session. We had a productive chat about challenging perceptions around children and young people, how to make initial connections, working with local partners, and much more.
- Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF), free resources! The HAF programme has been renewed for this year, which is excellent news given the great impact it's already had since it was established. Members, if you haven't yet accessed the free resources on the ASCEL site, this is your invitation to do so. You'll find: a guide on how to work with local HAF providers / become a HAF provider yourself, marketing material to help build partnerships with HAF providers, book talk guides to encourage them to promote a love of reading (and libraries), and much more.
- Brand development / new website: We've secured a developer for our new website, which is a huge and exciting step forward. Our members' experience is important and at present, the old website isn't the easiest to navigate, so we're delighted to share that we should have a new site in place around Autumn. Our branding work continues too and thank you to both members and the children and young people who have supported us with this.
After what feels like a month of back-to-back meetings, webinars and days out of the office, I've got a relatively clear week next week. One of the best parts of my job is talking to members, but every so often I appreciate the time to get my head down and 'get the house in order'. My to-do list is about as long as my arm now, so it's definitely time to address it! I'll be looking at the spring and summer offer for our training programme, and starting to explore options for broadening our Youth Engagement Network outwards and extending the impact.
I had the week off last week, seeing family in Cambridge. I managed to predictably embarrass myself at ten-pin bowling (I don't understand why I'm so routinely bad at it), eat a lot of Lebanese food in a very nice restaurant, and visit several of the colleges, which I've never done before, despite having lived and studied in Cambridge for several years. They're stunning buildings, especially the library in Trinity College, where I spied Isaac Newton's walking cane and a signed copy of Das Kapital. Impressive stuff!
As usual, I've also had my nose firmly in a book or two. Ghosts of My Life by Mark Fisher was a collection of essays by the late writer, mostly focused on hauntology, which before you ask, has nothing to do with ghosts, but rather about 'lost futures' that hang over the present. I also finished Folk Horror: Hours Dreadful and Things Strange by Adam Scovell, which was a deep dive into all the folk horror films that I enjoy as a guilty pleasure. If you've never watched the seventies classic The Stone Tape, complete with riotously enthusiastic overacting and a rather unbelievable 'medieval' set, then you're missing a treat (though please note - there are some outdated views and opinions on race and gender too).