Ian Anstice

1. Riding the tiger by the tail: lessons
learnt from running
Public Libraries
News
Ian Anstice
ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews www.publiclibrariesnews.com

2. Starting point
ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews www.publiclibrariesnews.com
Branch manager of Winsford
Library (Cheshire West and
Chester Council)
Librarian since 1994

3. Why start?
ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews www.publiclibrariesnews.com
No real current awareness
Desire to learn “how to blog”
August 2010: Dark clouds on the
horizon

4. First steps
ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews www.publiclibrariesnews.com
Simple
Free
“Blogspot”
10 pages
max

5. ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews www.publiclibrariesnews.com
Map it
Google Maps free and easy
(I like free and easy)
Then used volunteers to
improve map – but time
consuming and (of course)
volunteers can cease to
volunteer
Served its purpose well.

6. ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews
Sources
Emails from all around the country (but only report the definite, ideally linked)
Shirley Burnham's emails from Google Alerts (→ Desmond → Lis-pub-libs)
Conferences and contacts made from them.
Increasingly, official sources.

7. ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews www.publiclibrariesnews.com
Branching out

8. ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews
Branching out
more

9. How to get away with it
Only report the facts
Never comment on your own
authority (Librarians can protest
about cuts in libraries in other
councils)
Double-check everything
Never be personal (sorry Ed)
ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews www.publiclibrariesnews.com

10. Redesign
Too many pages for Blogger so
moved to Wordpress
Look deliberately apes newspapers
Professional assistance
No “blogspot”
ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews www.publiclibrariesnews.com

11. Guiding
principles
Link to everything
Acknowledge
weaknesses
Show all sides
Make clear facts
are facts and
opinion is
“editorial”
ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews www.publiclibrariesnews.com

12. Statistics
c.1250 subscribers by email
plus 550,000 views since Nov 2012
c.2350 Twitter followers
c. 615 Facebook followers
ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews www.publiclibrariesnews.com

13. ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews
Media 1
National newspapers and TV call on
average once per week
““Keep up the good work, your blog is hugely valuable. I think libraries, like
playing fields, long suffered from always being a local fight, without anyone
talking about the national picture.” Jane Mackenzie, Reporter, Private Eye
(October 2013).
“a really essential resource for anyone interested in the future of public libraries.”
Boyd Tonkin of the Independent (September 2011)
“Public Libraries News continues to be a fantastically useful resource for keeping
up to date with debate and news” Carnegie UK Trust (February 2014)”
Mentioned by BBC, BookSeller, FT, Guardian, House of Commons + Lords,
Independent (front page), Mail, Mirror, Observer, Private Eye, Scotsman,
Telegraph, Times

14. ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews
Media 2
Journalists are generally not experts:
with some exceptions
Journalists want facts and
connections, fast
Each newspaper has its own bias
Unique selling point
Trust

15. Rewards
Foreign + national trips (France
x2, Spain, Scotland x2)
Advertising
Recognition
Top of Maslow's Hierarchy of
Needs
ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews www.publiclibrariesnews.com

16. How do you find
the time?
Full time job, two school age daughters, wife a
teacher (who also does conferences) … and a
dog
Dead time after 8pm.
Strict “no phone” rule. Type fast, ctrl+c/v/l
Can use social media any time but only “blog” at
home
ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews www.publiclibrariesnews.com

17. ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews
Stages of grief
Denial: No one can close libraries
Anger: How dare you close libraries
Bargaining: I'll stop protesting if you
stop closing libraries
Depression: All libraries are doomed
Acceptance: Libraries will adapt

18. ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews
The tiger + it's tail
Demand clearly there and website
needed. Been the most turbulent time in
history for public libraries.
Response from other professionals
Expectations.
Constant improvement and
experimentation.

19. ianlibrarian@live.co.uk @publiclibnews
Happy to talk
ianlibrarian@live.co.uk
@publiclibnews
“Public Libraries News” on Facebook
Ian Anstice on LinkedIn
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www.publiclibrariesnews.com