QLP News

Editorial

I am delighted to have been asked to editthe seventh issue of the QLP News andhave this opportunity to share with youthe success of the QLP-Y projects inHaringey Libraries.

QLP-Y responded to the needs of Haringeyyouth with audience developmentactivities (ADAs) which reflected theneeds and wishes of young peopleexpressed at the beginning andthroughout the project. ADAs ranged fromworkshops in creative writing, digitalphotography and web design to artworkshops. Our digital photographyproject took us to the traditional annualTottenham Carnival. We were very pleased

to have the Mayor of Haringey to present certificates to the youngpeople who were involved in the web design workshops.

The ADAs saw the development of new partnership work with HALS(Haringey Adult Learning Services) in the 1319 Youth Library in WoodGreen. Quality Leaders also worked in partnership with the local YouthCentres, Springboard Trust and local schools.

Our digital photo processing workshops saw the seeds of ongoing digitalworkshops at the 1319 Teen Library in Wood Green.

My participation in the project has enabled me to familiarise myselfwith national youth policies and kept me abreast of new developmentsin this area. It enabled me for the first time to develop library servicesfor youth and experience the highs and the lows of youth projectdevelopment. It has also given me some advocacy skills on behalf ofyoung people.

The project also provided an opportunity for me to take part in asemester long module in Innovation and Development in InformationServices at London Metropolitan University. This course provided mewith an opportunity to consider global issues around information whichI don’t often get time to do. Assignments and practical work gave methe opportunity to reflect on service development and evaluate factorsthat contribute to the success of new services in libraries.

Selma Ibrahimselma.ibrahim@haringey.gov.uk

The Paul Hamlyn Foundation

Information about QLP can be found at www.seapn.org.uk/qlp

THE NEWSLETTER FOR THE QUALITY LEADERS PROJECT – MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

No. 7 July 2008

Contents

1 Editorial

2- 6 Haringey QLP-Y

activities

4 Haringey Youth Librarian

in top ten in “Love

Libraries” competition

7-8 QLP-Y news from

Portsmouth

9 Information, Society

and Justice

10 New publications

11 New services based on

social justice

12 What’s happening at

DASS?

12 QLP-Y extended

evaluation

Editor: Selma Ibrahim

Published by the QLP Steering GroupLondon Metropolitan UniversityLadbroke House62-66 Highbury GroveLondon N5 2AD

Contact:selma.ibrahim@haringey.gov.uk

ISSN 1477-68801

The Mayor of Haringey,Councillor Sheik Thompsonpresenting a certificate forattendance at the web designworkshop

1

2

One of our earlier projects took usto the colourful annual TottenhamCarnival in Bruce Castle Park on 17June 2006.

A member of the Bruce Castleyouth team joined the QualityLeader (QL), Selma Ibrahim, andfour young people from BruceGrove and Wood Green Youthcentres at Bruce Castle Park armedwith digital cameras. Young peopleenjoyed the day and took loads ofphotos, which they felt reflectedthe nature of the Carnival. Anyoneseeing us in the park might havethought we were there simply forthe fun of it! Our picnic was notbad either. Some of the youngpeople had never been to theCarnival before and found thewhole experience very enjoyable.

Their excitement was apparentand the pictures they took showedthe colourful nature of the carnivaland the diverse ethnic mix of theborough.

Digital photo workshops wereoffered in various libraries to allowyoung people to develop theirCarnival photos. These courses

were open to other young peoplewho wanted to learn to developdigital photos. These workshopswere so popular that they becamea regular feature of 1319 Teenlibrary in Wood Green. QLP-Yenabled libraries to acquire thenecessary equipment tomainstream the workshops.

Tottenham Carnival 2006 – young people who took part in this project took photos which they felt reflected the spirit of the Carnival

Young people involved in the digitalphoto workshop

LET’S GO TOcarnival!

QLP-Y NEWS FROM HARINGEY

Hearing and writingabout different ideas

and things

3

Creative Writing

Here are some comments from our participants:

This is what they said when we asked them what they liked the most:

We want to thankyou for everything

you do for us

We know more aboutcreative writing

Workingtogether

and listeningto others’

stories

One of the target groups for our ADAs was asylumseekers. Springboard Trust in Haringey was verypleased to hear that Libraries could offer creativewriting workshops for their ESOL students and theseworkshops took place between November 2005 andFebruary 2006. We commissioned children’s authorPenny Kendal to facilitate the workshops. The groupwas very diverse in nature including young peoplefrom some of Haringey’s newer communities –Ukrainian and Russian as well as Turkish. Most ofthem had never been in a library in the UK beforeand found it amazing that libraries could offer such

workshops. They commented on how friendly thestaff were. They showed a lot of interest in what eachother had to say. We wanted to boost theirconfidence by helping them to mentor each other.Although they found that difficult at the beginning itdid not take them long to understand that it wouldbenefit them all.

After the end of the workshops we learnt that someof the young people who attended them enrolled atthe local college. It was very rewarding to see thatwe managed to increase their confidence and theirinterest in learning.

The very last QLP funded activities in HaringeyLibraries were web page design workshops held at the1319 Teen Library in Wood Green. The workshopswere held between 19-22 February and 8-10 April2008 to coincide with school holidays.

Evaluation showed the workshops to have beenreceived very positively, providing the opportunity tolearn something new and interact with their peers.

11 young people (6 girls and 5 boys), aged 11-16years, all from minority ethnic communitiesattended. 8 of these were new faces while 3 wereyoung people who had attended the similar QLPfunded workshops in May-August 2007.

The last QLP funded activity in Haringey Libraries

QLP-Y NEWS FROM HARINGEY

4

Let’s Celebrate!We celebrated the success of ourweb design workshops on 22September 2007, when the Mayorof Haringey gave certificates toall young people whoparticipated in the web designworkshops.

The writings and artworkproduced since the beginning ofthe QLP-Y project were displayedalong with the laptops, whichshowcased the web sites createdby young people.

The Mayor showed a lot ofinterest in the work produced by

young people in Haringey andspent a lot of time talking tothem and asking questionsabout the projects they did inHaringey libraries. Young people,in return, were delighted to bethe centre of Mayor’s attention.

QL Claire-Stalker Boothpresenting a certificate forattendance at the web

design workshop –September 2007

Copy of the certificate presented to theyoung participants of web design

workshops

Congratulations to

For taking part and successfully

completing the QLP Haringey

Web Design Workshops 2007

Claire Stalker Booth

Selma

Ibrahim

Children”s

and Young People’s Stock and

Social

Inclusion

Service Development Manager

Librarian

www.haringey.gov.uk

1319 Youth Librarian in Wood Green Library is in theTop Ten in “Love Libraries” Competition

By Bernadette Brewster,Haringey’s 1319 Youth Librarianand member of Haringey’s QLP-Y team.

In June 2007 Love Librarieslaunched a competition to findten inspiring individuals whohave entered into a new careerin public libraries, and aremaking a difference with theirfresh and enterprising ideas.

I submitted my entry in June2007 to be nominated as one ofthe Top Ten New Librarians inthe Country. It was extremelypleasing to hear in October thatI had been selected as one ofthe top ten!

As part of my submission I summarized myinvolvement and support of the QLP work that wasbeing done in Central Library by Selma Ibrahim andClaire Stalker-Booth.

Having a wealth of experience in IT, I assisted theQuality Leaders to organise and run the Digital

Workshops and the Web DesignWorkshops March-August 2007.We also arranged for a domainto be purchased and set up apublic web site where we couldupload the sites that theteenagers had built forthemselves. This is now availableto view at www.1319.org.uk

We have continued with theworkshops in the school holidaysand they are very popular withteenagers. We now have thesoftware installed on the PCsand often take an ad hoc sessionwith one or two teenagers ifthey want “something to do.”

We are currently running web design, Photoshop andSpanish courses.

I described this work in my application for Top Tenlibrarian (quote above) as my biggest achievement upto June 2007.

Doing the work with the teenagers was great fun,and appreciated by those who attended.

QUOTE FROM MY APPLICATION

What has been your biggest achievementin the role?

The summer programme ofworkshops, including QLP-Y

workshops and the final PresentationDay.Over the summer I helped

organise and put on a series of digitaland science workshops.They were wellattended with over fifty young peopleattending the various events.We then

had a QLP-Y presentation day to whichthe Mayor of Haringey,Cllr Sheik

Thompson came to present certificatesto the young people having attendedand completed the QLP-Y workshops.

QLP-Y NEWS FROM HARINGEY

5

Haringey QLs contributed to the commemoration ofthe bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave TradeAct with art and creative writing workshops, whichtook place at Central Library Wood Green in August2007.

Caribbean artist and writer, Errol Lloyd, delivered theart workshops. Young people learnt about slavery andexpressed their feelings about slavery in paintings.This work generated an interest in the subject, whichyoung people said they did not know much about.The work elicited very positive comments from theMayor of Haringey and the young people’s teachers,who declared themselves very impressed with itsquality.

This is what young people said about the workshops:

QLP-Y NEWS FROM HARINGEY

It was really good andI thought it was fun

It made my artwork better It was really

good and fun

Historian and author, S.I. Martin, led

three creative writing workshops on

the theme of slavery. Participants

learnt about The African Academy in

South London in 1800 and took part in

a role-play about bullying at school.

Taking the perspective of a student at

the Academy, they wrote a letter

collectively to the student’s mother

describing life at the Academy.

Left: Letter written jointly by the young peoplewho took part in the Liberation Project’sCreative Writing workshop – August 2007

Some of the artwork produced as a result of the LiberationWorkshops – August 2007

21st December, 1802

Dear Mama,

How have you been Mama since my last letter?

I have now settled in the African Academy. Life is horrible!

Bed bugs biting, smelly clothes and horrible roomates.

The weather is so cold and wet – rain, rain, rain! But, I

am learning lots of new topics in my subjects. I am learning

English, Arithmetic, Natural Philosphy, Geography and

History.

I had fun this week but Mr William Greaves, our school

master, was cruel to me and my friend today because he was

very, very upset as we did not complete our homework. I miss

you terribly and wish you were here.

Mother, there is something serious I need to tell you that

just might shock you. You know that now I live in London,

and London is a place where lots of people have their last

word. People might have the chicken pox or the influenza.

Well, mother I might have the measles and I hope I won’ t

have to visit the doctor.

Your loving son,

Samuel Peter

Liberation Workshops

6

Web Design WorkshopsMay-August 2007

At the beginning of QLP-Y in 2005, and throughoutthe project, young people told us they were veryinterested in computers and designing their ownwebsites. They wanted to design a website allabout themselves, their interests, hobbies, heroesand aspirations.

We took this on board and our partner HALS(Haringey Adult Learning Services) facilitated theworkshops in May – August 2007 in the 1319 TeenLibrary in Wood Green.

These workshops were the first of their kind inHaringey Libraries. There was a lot of interactionbetween the tutor and the participants and theparticipants themselves. Armed with cameras theywent out taking photos for their websites. Theytalked about what they liked or didn’t like andwhat they would like to achieve in the future.Some wanted to become the “Beyonce” of thefuture, while others were determined to become apilot or a boxer. Good luck to them all! They learntto add and edit text and put images on theirwebsites. They had fun playing around with theimages. There was a lot of laughter and jointworking throughout the project. Young people withprevious experience of computers volunteered toassist the tutor, which was very welcome.

By the end of the course every young person hada website which was on the 1319 websitewww.1319.org.uk in time for our “CelebrationDay”.

The success of the courses and the demand fromyoung people led to another series of web designcourses in February and April 2008. These attractedeight new faces as well as some of the previousparticipants who came to lend a hand and assistthe tutor. It was great to see how young peoplewanted to use their time to help their peers andshare knowledge.

Kim showing off his website

At first Ididn’t know

how to makemy website and

now I do

Making my web siteand meeting new

friends

Everything

Experimenting

with pictures,

that was fun

It was funand I learnt

a lot

When we asked them what they liked most about the courses this is what they said:

I thoughtall of it

was good

7

Yatta! magazine has not had a very long historyso far, but that does not mean that it has not hadan interesting one. Over the last five months, ithas not quite gone from strength to strength, butat least we have got the ball rolling, and it is onlya matter of time before we get everythingrunning smoothly. The magazine began in January, after the idea

of having a magazine for young people inPortsmouth had been floated, and then sunk.There were lots of ideas when the idea was firstsuggested, everything from a Dr Who fanzine to amusic mag. As you can imagine, not all of theseideas proved to be too popular. After a Manga workshop, it was realised that

there was a huge audience for Manga and animein Portsmouth, and the idea of a magazine beganto look like a good idea after all. We were not tosure at the beginning what this magazine wasgoing to be, but over the last few months, weseem to have got it sorted. It has take us a long time to get to where we are

today, and I think that many people would saythat it has taken us too long, but then we havehad problems. We have had people leave thegroup without notice; we have gone down from alarge group of perhaps 35 people in January,down to a core group of about 15 today. We havehad people fall out with each other; and none ofus has any experience at creating a magazine.Added to this, it has taken us almost five monthsto get an office together, and we have still notmoved in. We have had people taking SATs,GCSEs, and I myself am working through thefirst year of my archaeology degree. All of this,and we only manage to meet up for two hoursevery two weeks. But I think that slowly, as we get used to the

idea, and get used to each other, things aregetting easier. We now have a few good ideas formangas, and we are always thinking up new andbetter ways of doing things. Now that thenumbers have come down, we are able to seewho amongst the group is really committed tothis project, and we are able to get things donein a way that was just not possible five monthsago.

So yes, it has taken a while to get the ballrolling, but once it is moving, nothing is going tostop it.

UPDATE on Yatta! from Dave Percival,Portsmouth’s Quality Leader, July 2008

The office is now set up for young people inthe Central Library. The young peoplepainted the room – formerly a study room inthe Central Library – and selected thefurniture themselves. We continue to havesuccessful general meetings of the projectgroup every fortnight. We have taken deliveryof the office furniture and the ICTequipment has been installed. The office nowhas a PC, scanner, colour printer and flatscreen monitor. The editorial group arebusily putting together a mock-up of the firstedition, with the publication of the firstedition proper expected in September 2008.

Before QLP-Y!

QLP–Y NEWS FROM PORTSMOUTH

Here comes Yatta! By Martin Cox, Co-Chief Editor for Yatta! Magazine

After QLP-Y!

8

Annie Aust, Helen Anthony andJulie Duffy from Portsmouth’sCommunity Library Service, aresupporting the Quality Leader,Dave Percival in the running of aground-breaking project in thecity’s Portsea Library.In partnership with St. Luke’s

Secondary School, this is an inter-generational activity that uses aspecially adapted MP3 playercalled the Navigator – producedby an Australian company calledAudio-Read – which can be used by blind andvision impaired people.Six year nine pupils from the school are helping

ten blind and vision impaired people todownload material from the internet. Forexample, newspapers and magazines from theTalking Newspapers website(www.talkingnewspapers.org.uk) can be now belistened to by the group in the comfort of theirown homes. We have also added some shortstories from Project Gutenberg(www.gutenberg.org).In addition, we have included information on

the players about the library services on offer toour blind and vision impaired community bytaking Microsoft Word files and converting themwith a special program. These are thendownloaded onto the Navigator which reads it

aloud to the listener. Podcasts and health information

can also be downloaded, trulyliberating the group frominformation isolation.We have nearly completed this

exciting six-week project. Withthe help of the young people,four members of the group havereported that they found it mucheasier to download the materialthan they had expected. Theyhave decided to buy their own

MP3 players as a result of the project despitethem not having used this technology before.The rest of the group are relishing theopportunity to try out something new – oneblind lady who is in her seventies is going toshow a friend how to use the MP3 player. Theyare both members of a Spoken Word ReadingGroup, but one was unable to take part in thisproject. After the technical activity has taken place in the

sessions, participants young and old enjoy alunch together, finding out all sorts of thingsabout each other!We are planning to run another project once

this one is completed. It is our intention to dothis in partnership with the PortsmouthAssociation for the Blind.

LIBERATION PROJECT – Portsmouth

Portsmouth’s Dave Percival has been fortunate enough to receive abursary from the John Campbell Trust. Administered by CILIP, thisaward supports the successful applicant in attending a library andinformation science related conference. Dave was inspired to applyfor this award whilst undertaking the QLP-Y module in Innovationand Development in Library and Information Services.Thanks to the trust, this August Dave will attend the International

Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Conference in QuebecCity, Canada. This is an annual event that takes place in differentcountries. This year’s theme is “libraries without borders:navigating towards global understanding”. As well as attending theconference, Dave has also arranged some visits to libraries inMontreal to find out how they engage their diverse communitiesand share his experiences as a Quality Leader with Canadiancolleagues.

Participants in inter-generationalLiberation event, Portsea Library,Summer 2008

IFLA 2008

QLP–Y NEWS FROM PORTSMOUTH

9

ISJ was launched at London Metropolitan Universityon 1 May 2008. Speakers at the launch includedFironze Manji of the Pambazuka Press, DuncanBowie, editor of the periodical Chartist, Tony Bunyan,the Director of Statewatch an organisation thatmonitors civil liberty in Europe and Shiraz Durrani,Senior Lecturer in Information Management atLondon Met.

Firoze Manji spoke about the origins of thePambazuka News project and its far-reachingsuccess today. The production has sprouted a Frenchedition and is poised to cross the African continent.

Duncan Bowie, who is also a reader at LondonMetropolitan University, explained that Chartist ismeant to be a radical alternative to the mainstream,going beyond well-worn slogans and clichés.Chartist’s latest product is a collection of essaysunder the heading Beyond Blair, with severalcontributors proposing a new route for the left.

Tony Bunyan introduced the audience to somecontroversial European Union developmentsincluding information access, face scanning of airpassengers, the possibility of fingerprinting andwidespread personal communication interception.He concluded by saying: ‘Most of the EU’s ongoingtransformation into a police super state is promptedby US pressures; the US acts as a virtual head of theEU.’

Shiraz Durrani spoke about the management ofinformation in capitalist states. He suggested that ifthe EU and US are getting increasingly paranoid over‘security’ issues and turning into surveillance states,‘it is because they can no longer dominate others asin the colonial days. It is a reaction to the growingeconomic power and independent stance of thecountries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China,which can no longer be pushed around.’

Eddie D’Sa, the London based Editor of NewDiaspora described the forum as, ‘All in all, a verystimulating and enlightening occasion.’

The next two issues of ISJ will be special issues,focusing on particular themes. Special issues will beedited by guest editors, to whom submissions shouldbe sent. The themes for the future issues listedbelow.

World cities, their media andinformation networks

In December 2008, the theme of ISJ will be Worldcities, their media and information networks. The aimof the special issue is to provide a forum fordiscussion concerning these recent developments ofmedia and information networks in the major citiesof the world. The objective is to map the growth ofsuch developments and assess the socio-economic,cultural and political impact of the ‘immigrant’,‘ethnic’ and diasporic media and information sectorsin these cities. Further, it is essential that weunderstand how these local developments connect,if at all, with the expanding global media actors.

The Guest Editors are:

� Shehina Fazal, of the Department of Applied SocialSciences, London Metropolitan University, UK.

� Professor Ali Memon, Environment, Society andDesign Division, Lincoln University, New Zealand

If you are interested in contributing to this specialissue of the ISJ journal, please send a message in thefirst instance to Shehina Fazal, atshehinafazal@hotmail.com

Trades unions and workingclass struggles

In July 2009, a special issue of ISJ will focus ontrades unions and their place in working classstruggles. The Editor will be Shiraz Durrani to whomany submissions or enquiries should be directed.

ISJ is currently published online and is available at:www.londonmet.ac.uk/isj

Information Society and JusticeInformation Society and Justice (ISJ) is a biennial peer-review journal based in the Department of AppliedSocial Sciences (DASS) at London Metropolitan University. The journal is governed by an Editorial Boarddrawn from UK and overseas. It seeks to provide a proactive space for critical discussion of the issuesaround information, society and justice. It focuses on a diverse range of issues including – but not limitedto – development, equality, human rights, inclusion, justice, liberation and democracy.

10

The paper is summarised below

The paper examines the Quality Leaders Project-Youth(QLP-Y) from theoretical and practical aspects: (1) asan innovative model that deals with managementdevelopment in reforming services to make themmore personal and relevant so as to create betterpublic value (2) its application in Barnet.

Public libraries face major challenges in meeting theneeds of young people. The Reading Agency (2004)sees the need for “nothing less than a fundamentalchange in focus for libraries”. That is precisely whatQLP-Y aims for. Its central tenet is “managementdevelopment through service development”. Itaddresses “social exclusion of young people fromlibraries and other services, through developingpartnership between library services, youth servicesand community groups”. (Pitcher et al, 2007).

QLP-Y demands shifts in thinking and requires actingoutside local government boxes. A key aspect of QLP-Y is the need for sustainable and sustained change atvarious levels – organisational, managerial, cultural,policies and practices, all of which require politicalsupport at local and national levels. Such changerequires innovation. This paper examines innovationas it applies to the information sector and asdeveloped by the QLP-Y model.

The challenges of change are not easy to meet.Historical imbalance in services to young people iscompounded by a lack of strategic approach toaddress the imbalance. This results in what a QLP-Yparticipant describes as a “youth shaped hole in mostof our libraries”. (Pitcher et al, 2007).

Securing the Future, the UK Government’s strategyfor sustainable development, refers to the “4 Es” as away of securing change: Enable, Engage, Exemplify andEncourage, an approach which is exemplified by theQLP model. What makes QLP-Y different from many

other similar initiatives, however, is the link betweenthe development of services and the development ofstaff. It supports initiatives which young peoplethemselves want and need. These are done not simplyto improve services to young people, but also as atool to develop key leadership skills among staff. It isthe development of such skills through thedevelopment of personalised services, in partnershipwith a specific client group that makes QLP such aunique model.

The paper looks at the broader policy and strategicaspects and then takes an in-depth look at theprocess of change in Barnet. It explains the QLP-Yapproach to staff and service development for youngpeople within the context of the national policyframework, both from library and youth servicesaspects. It then explores the dynamics of change inBarnet from experiences in both aspects(management and service development) from anactive participant in the change process providingexamples of how young people have beenempowered. This is then put in Barnet’s organisationalcontext from a management and strategicperspective.

The paper concludes by assessing the Project as amodel to address management development. Itexplains the proposed research outcomes of theproject: a conference on sustainable innovation inlocal authorities; the publishing of the QLP Manual,which will document and analyse the experience ofQLP. Thus the paper moves full circle from the needfor a new model and the implications therein, topersonalising services, application of the managementtools contained within the model, back to how todeal with the management implications in theapplication of the QLP model in order to achievebetter public value.

1. Youth Ideas & Action No. 11 (April 2008)

2. Youth Policy Review. No. 2 (June 2008)

3. Innovation in youth services: The Quality Leaders Project (Youth) empowers young people in Barnet byDurrani, Shiraz; Smallwood, Elizabeth; Lusted, Catherine and Richens, Hannah

The above is the title of a paper presented in May at the 2008 EFMD Conference in Dublin on Public Sector ManagementDevelopment. The theme of the conference was: "Empowering the Public: Management Development Implications of FurtherPublic Services Reforms in Personalising Services, and Applying New Management Tools to Create Public Value"

ReferencesPitcher, Jane; Eastwood-Krah, Mary and O’Neill, Maggie (2007): Evaluation of Quality Leaders Project (Youth) initiative.Interim report. Available at: www.londonmet.ac.uk/londonmet/library/i29617_3.pdf [Accessed: 28.04.07] The ReadingAgency (2004): Fulfilling their Potential: a national development programme for young people and libraries. London:TRA.

Please contact Shiraz Durrani at s.durrani@londonmet.ac.uk if you wish to have a copy of the conference paper. The conference presentation is available at: www.efmd.org/component/efmd/?cmsid=080604sqku

NEW PUBLICATIONS

11PD2107R 07/08

New services based on social justiceTwo Quality Leaders, Catherine Lusted from Barnet and Dave Percival from Portsmouth have taken up thechallenge to publish in the second issue of DASS’s journal Information, Society and Justice (ISJ). The opportunity to publish in this journal arose from the module developed originally for QLs – Innovationand Development in Information Services. The Module is now an option on the MA in InformationManagement course at the London Metropolitan University. It takes a novel approach to providingadditional learning opportunities to students. While students are normally encouraged to be “publishing-active”, few take up the challenge. It was therefore decided to include writing a short piece for ISJ as acoursework requirement. The coursework requirement is:

A project proposal (c 3,000 words including summary), based on a workplace situation or a case study, todevelop a new service based on principles of social justice as a way of meeting emerging needs. It shouldinclude a 500 word summary of the proposal for publishing the in-house electronic journal Information,Society and Justice.

The forthcoming issue of ISJ carries two such pieces.

A more comprehensive detailing of Catherine’s and Dave’s proposals can be found in the forthcoming issueof ISJ due for publication later this year.

Catherine Lusted’s proposaldetails the establishment of aLibrary Youth Board in BarnetThe Library Youth Board will consist of youngpeople to advise senior management on libraryservice design and delivery. To be successful, a newpolicy framework will be created to set out thepracticalities of the project, such as the number ofmembers, length of term served, selection (orelection) processes and rewards and accreditationgiven for involvement. The policy will alsodocument the remit, power, responsibility andbudgetary control of the board. This policy will bedevised by library staff, in consultation with youngpeople, to clarify what participation will entail. Anevaluation system will be created and built into thepolicy to ensure young people have a channelthrough which to communicate concerns. Throughthis staff will check that members feel they arebeing heard and that participation is worthwhile.

The outcomes of the board will be detailed in thepolicy. A key aim of the Board will be to “youthproof” service polices and practices and allexpected outcomes of the Library Youth Board willbe detailed in the policy document.

Dave Percival’s proposaldetails the setting up oflibrary services for homelesspeople in PortsmouthThis service proposal aims to deliver library andinformation services to homeless people of all ages,as well as providing learning opportunities bothformal and informal. It will achieve this by formingstrong partnerships with many of the agencies thatwork with homeless people and in doing so aim toprovide library services to the maximum amount ofpeople. By undertaking a comprehensiveconsultation exercise with homeless people, theprecise needs of the community will be ascertainedand then delivered. Homeless people will not bepassive participants in the process – it is hopedthat a group will take control of the service byforming an advisory board and actively state thedirection that the service should move. After theinitial three-year run of the project, the advisoryboard will contribute to the evaluation process ofthe project, offering advice on improvements andsuggestions for change.

12

Liberating African past for a stronger futureMarika Sherwood

African identity in Asia: cultural effects of forced migration Dr Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya

Political significance of Makhan Singh in Kenya (1913-76)Shiraz Durrani

Makhan Singh, the family manInderjit Gill

Trade Unions and the British EmpireMary Davis

Globalisation & worker strugglesRichard Ross

The end of tolerance in Britain

Arun Kundnani

The impact of the Stephen Lawrence Enquiry on race equality in BritainRichard Stone

29 Oct 2008

6pm – 9pm

29 Nov 2008

6pm – 9pm

tbc

What's happening at DASS?The Department of Applied Social Sciences Debates and Lectures Series continuesin October 2008. The Series provides a space for diverse orientations andperspectives, as well as encouraging debate and critical analysis. To this end, theDebates and Lecture Series carries the byline “People and Ideas Shaping the World.”

The particular theme of the next three lectures is Liberating People, Liberating People’s Histories.Attendance is open to any interested party.

Further information on the DASS Debates and Lectures Series can be found atwww.londonmet.ac.uk/depts/dass/research/informationsocietyandjustice and following the linksto Debates and Lectures or by using the link http://tinyurl.com/6yuyomDASS Debates and

DASS Debates and Lectures 2008: Liberating People, Liberating People’s Histories

Henry Thomas Room, Tower Building, 166-220 Holloway Road, London N7 8DB

QLP-Y extended evaluationIt is proposed that the same team that carried out the QLP-Y Evaluation in 2007 will prepare an updateevaluation report on outcome, progress and developments in QLP-Y since the main Evaluation Report(December 2007). It will assess sustainability of staff development and service development activities basedon evidence from QLs, Mentors, sponsors and young people. The report will be in two phases: August 2008 andAugust 2009 to examine sustainability of initiatives started under QLP-Y.