http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/authors/sarah-ormes/ Recent content in Sarah Ormes on Ariadne Hugo -- gohugo.io en-gb Fri, 23 Mar 2001 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/27/pub-libs/ Fri, 23 Mar 2001 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/27/pub-libs/ After five and a half years at UKOLN I’m leaving. I’m having a small career break and will be indulging myself in some lie-ins, a bit of travel and a chance to find out just who are all those people wandering around the shops between 9 am and 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday. This then is my final Ariadne column and it’s a good opportunity to review the last five years and look forward to what the next five will bring. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/26/e-book/ Wed, 10 Jan 2001 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/26/e-book/ For years we’ve dreamed of the paperless office and foretold the death of the printed book, but my desk stubbornly remains cluttered with paper, my home full of books and my bag weighed down with reports. But finally these electronic dreams seem to be about to come true - e-books have arrived and are available at a Web site near you. What is an e-book?The term ‘e-book’ actually has several meanings. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/26/pub-libs/ Wed, 10 Jan 2001 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/26/pub-libs/ The Public Library Web Managers workshop is a relatively new event for UKOLN. Held for the first time in 1999 [1] it aims to provide an annual opportunity for public library web managers to share their expertise, learn from each other's experiences and keep abreast of the latest Web technology developments. The emphasis of the event is always on the practical aspects of developing and managing a public library web site. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/25/pub-libs/ Sat, 23 Sep 2000 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/25/pub-libs/ Everything, they say, is bigger in America. Well, it’s true. Portions of food, buildings, cars and library conferences. If the UK Library Association’s biennial conference is an Umbrella, the American Library Association Conference is a marquee. It had 20,000 delegates, 2,300 meetings, programmes and events, 1,300 exhibitors and a conference handbook thicker than the Bath and West Wiltshire telephone directory. Of course such a large event can be somewhat overwhelming. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/18/pub-lib/ Sat, 19 Dec 1998 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/18/pub-lib/ The Work of the Networked Policy TaskgroupFor public libraries wishing to provide their users with access to the Internet there are a number of difficult policy decisions that need to be made. For example, do they provide Internet access for free? If they charge how much do they charge? Do they use filtering software? How long can people use the Internet terminals for? What level of services (e.g. e-mail or not) will they provide? http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/16/down-your-way/ Sat, 18 Jul 1998 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/16/down-your-way/ Knowsley Library Learning Resource Centre, Knowsley Library, visited by Sarah Ormes, is a light and airy building which still smells of fresh paint and new carpets. Just six months old, the £2.5 million building is situated in the centre of Knowsley, in the Merseyside Metropolitan Borough of the same name. It was built when the previous library building was sold to make way for a supermarket car park extension. The finance for the Learning Resource Centre came through an imaginative combination of internal funding and a mix of Capital Challenge and Urban money and the European Union’s Single Regeneration Budget (SRB). http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/16/landscapes/ Sat, 18 Jul 1998 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/16/landscapes/ The third UKOLN conference in the series Networking and the future of libraries was held at the University of Bath, 29 June-1 July. There were around 240 delegates, nearly a third of whom were from overseas. Its central theme was the construction of information and learning landscapes. The programme ranged from the exploration of distributed library architectures now being developed, to future gazing with the help of some visionary speakers. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/15/public-libraries/ Mon, 18 May 1998 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/15/public-libraries/ In March 1998 I attended the 7th American Public Library Association National Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. The conference took place over three very cold days (the temperature reached –30·C) and was entitled "Vital, Valuable, Virtual" [1]. This is probably one of the biggest public library conferences in the world and was attended by over 6,900 people. The conference didn’t have one theme but had 10 separate lecture tracks which in total consisted of over 100 presentations. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/13/public-libraries/ Mon, 19 Jan 1998 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/13/public-libraries/ How much do you think it would cost to provide the nation with a free 24 hour reference query service? Millions of pounds? Hundreds of thousands of pounds? Surely not less than hundreds of pounds? Well Ask A Librarian has done it for an amazing start up cost of only £40. Ask a Librarian is a new online service developed by EARL [1]. The service is very simple in concept. It is a reference enquiry point for anyone with access to the Internet. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/10/public-libraries/ Fri, 18 Jul 1997 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/10/public-libraries/   Background to the ProjectChildren’s libraries have always had a crucial role in the educational development of children. However, they are now potentially in danger of appearing outmoded and potentially irrelevant to their readers. Leisure and some home-environments are becoming technology-rich: libraries may appear ‘dull’ in comparison. Increasingly children’s libraries are going to be dealing with readers who will be familiar with and could want to use networked computers. Children’s libraries need to begin to explore how they can integrate this technology into their traditional literature and literacy services if they are to remain current. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/9/public-libraries/ Sun, 18 May 1997 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/9/public-libraries/ For a description of the MODELS programme and its aims see Rosemary Russell’s article in Ariadne [1]. As Rosemary explains this was the final workshop in the MODELS programme and was entitled ‘Managing Access to a Distributed Library Resource’. The workshop had a strong public library focus. Background to Models 5This workshop was in response to the recommendations for increased resource sharing between libraries that have been emerging from a range of sources. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/7/public-libraries/ Sun, 19 Jan 1997 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/7/public-libraries/ With the failure of the second public library Millennium Bid the dream of a gift-wrapped-paid-for-by-someone-else-national-networked-public-library-service disappeared. Although Information for All [1], the company set up to run this bid, has pledged to continue looking for funding from other sources it seems unlikely that they will be able achieve the national implementation that Millennium funding would have made possible. The failure of the Bid, however, must not be seen as the end of Internet services in public libraries but as a starting point. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/6/public-libraries/ Tue, 19 Nov 1996 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/6/public-libraries/ The Web pages described in this article can be found at: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/treasure/ Computers are becoming more prevalent in every aspect of our lives and with the development of networking technology this trend seems set to increase. Schools have recognised these trends and are introducing children to computers at as early an age as possible. If children's libraries are not to be left behind and more importantly are to continue in their role as literacy supporters they must begin to develop services which will also support these new electronic literacy skills. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/5/public-libraries/ Wed, 18 Sep 1996 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/5/public-libraries/ When walking into Bath Central Library readers would find it impossible not to notice Cybercity. Cybercity, as the prefix 'cyber' suggests, is an Internet project. Situated just beyond the issue and return desk Cybercity' consists of a screened off area which contains five PCs. Each of these PCs offers access to the Internet via a broad bandwidth leased line. The centre is fully staffed and has instantly available technical support. It is usually extremely busy with members of the public (at certain times of the day) queuing up to use the computers. http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/3/libraries/ Sat, 18 May 1996 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/3/libraries/ Current public library Internet activity can be divided into four main types: Initial Experimentation and ExplorationPublic AccessCivic InformationCooperationThis is a relatively small range of topics and gives an indication of the lack of resources available to libraries with which to undertake research. Whereas the eLib programme has allowed academic libraries to explore a whole range of topics ranging from electronic documentary delivery to digitization to on demand publishing, public libraries are concentrating on much more fundamental issues.