HUG conference in Birmingham

 So yes, yesterday, on a very hot day, we had the HUG conference in Birmingham

(me, on my way to The Priory Rooms where the conference was taking place... in fact, I was walking in the wrong direction... found it in the end...)

first of all yes, very happy that we had a conference at a Quaker's space... (all Irish descendants, wherever they are in the world, will always be grateful to them, as well as to the Choctaw people of America... not sure what I'm talking about? Check history... anyway, we're not here to speak about the Irish famine)

The day started with a talk by Emma from HeritageCirqa on the new look of the catalogue Loook4. It's offered to all customers who are hosted by HeritageCirqa... I'd love to have it frankly but still awaiting decision in my work place.

Then we had a 'managing your overdues' session as it is something always nagging us, especially towards the end of year. 

Everything can be automated on the system of course which could save some time. Having said that, because I work in a rather small library, I like to see who is about to be late for returning a book. 

Maybe it's silly, what happens if I'm not well? If I'm too busy etc...? 

I could also make the most of recall, a clever way to contact all the people from a class but selecting only those who still have borrowings. Great when it's the end of term. 

Many tips were shared for dealing with very late offenders (I was quite interested to hear as I have one of those at the moment...) when one tip I'm going to execute... which is to text... also appearing in class (provided of course that you've obtained the Tutor's permission) can do wonders... Let's see if it works. 

In the afternoon, after a delicious lunch (and oh! the pain au chocolat in the morning, I forgot to mention!) we had a speed dating session. Very fun game, going from one table to another and each time we were asked one question. All around the same theme: how do we encourage our people to use the library? New users, existing users, remote and experienced. It was a great occasion to share ideas and experiences. 

There were library staff from all over sectors: Further education colleges, Higher education, specialists libraries... there were also a few non-British staff which was great!

And the day finished with a talk by on 'Inheriting Heritage' by a very energetic Olivia, aka MissOliviaReeds (I have to admit her social media are wonderful and I hope she'll get an award for showing so much passion for reading in FE)

Interesting talk... I thought I had a pretty rough time in my work place when I started but I'm glad to see I'm not the only one. Yes, it's shocking but there are places where no handover is being done or even written! HeritageCirqa can provide each new manager documents as well as a chat/help session online. A handover is important, as well as a calendar of tasks... it is a document I modify all the time. 

These are the types of documents I wish I had received when I started my new job!