Awesome day with @whitewateractive.bsky.social gorge scrambling and leaping into waterfalls - bit hairy at times with the volume of water (and tbh it was bloody cold!) but a great day - 8 year old loved it too. Would highly recommend if you’re in Llangollen - a town that’s definitely worth a visit.

Brilliant - really highlights the value of creating communities and connections. Libraries do a lot of work in this area and if we measure it we can see big impacts: "A 2.4-point increase in life satisfaction is worth around £39,000 per participant, assuming the improvement lasts for just one year"

Reading Well, developed by us, #Libraries and @readingagency.bsky.social, provides a cost-effective, preventative programme embedded in public #Libraries. Reading Well for Children books are available to borrow for free from your local #Library. www.local.gov.uk/case-studies... #CMHW26

Listening to @artscouncilengland.bsky.social and @biblioluke.bsky.social on work toward public library data / insight platform Some great principles: * data is messy - need to use new tech & AI to make sense * libraries keen to share data but needs to be easy! * needs to be live - not a snapshot

Lovely to see Macclesfield Silk museum reminding us of gay & trans stories from the mid 1800s. We went with our 8 year old’s class last year and they were fascinated by how sexuality was criminalised in the past. Inclusive history so important in helping us learn from - and not repeat - the past.

Libraries aren’t a panacea for early years, but they form a core part of an integrated approach - and one that greatly extends the reach of support. Great to see this from @local.gov.uk

This 👇 Authors get paid each time you borrow their books - so you’re still supporting your favourite authors directly by using the library. For some this can be similar or even more than they get from sales. So obviously do buy books but do borrow too and know that makes a difference for authors.

Tomorrow is Holocaust Memorial Day. As guardians of truth and centres of their diverse communities, public #Libraries have a vital role to play in helping us continue to remember and learn from the atrocities of history. Here is how libraries can get involved. hmd.org.uk/resource/you...

They know what they say is untrue, they do not care it is untrue. The media know that what they repeat is untrue, they do not care it is untrue. Their supporters know what they are told is untrue, they do not care it is untrue. Telling the truth is not enough, unless people care about the truth.

The New Year is a good time for making changes, and we’ve decided the time is right to use BlueSky and LinkedIn as our main social media platforms, and to no longer post on X. Do give us a follow and please do share this post.

As a journalist you’re always looking for ways to sum up the now, but the story is really often more incremental. This is from a Derbyshire county council paper. I was, inevitably, looking for “library to close” or “doge identified £Xm”, but the starting point is at least as important

This is great - only 2/3 thru but this lost 93 yr old novel has more to say about AI than recent fiction. A tale of an ape raised as human shows we just can’t translate meaning and motive across such different beings - even (especially) when outward expectations appear to align @neglectedbooks.com

Big run done for the week! I'm running the Athens Marathon this year to raise money to support LGBTQIA+ youth. If you can help, every pound can make a world of difference: www.justgiving.com/page/jack-sh...

At London libraries conference - hearing from @lewisham.gov.uk libraries about the impact of one of @librariesconnected.bsky.social and @artscouncilengland.bsky.social microgrants. Great initiative to develop reading for pleasure through screen free audio readers - really child first approach.

this is just fab - the power of archives!

This from @cwarzel.bsky.social is one of the best articles I’ve read on AI since the bullshit machine one link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Please enjoy how hilariously this is not Lionel Shriver: bsky.app/profile/lion... I usually just block these things but this one is so Not Lionel Shriver that it’s actively comedy.

This morning’s working music is Xenakis - music generated with the help of an 1960s IBM computer. But the capacity to intrigue and surprise by generating new forms, patterns and sounds sets it miles apart from anything today’s AIs create.

A Podyssey-themed politics discussion! Do join us. It's online, Thursday 17th July at 6:00 PM, and it's free. But you do need to register. So, do it. x

👀 (very excited)

We are seeking support in developing our skills around tendering and bid writing. This is part of our mission to create sustainable funding for public #Library services so they can provide for communities long into the future. Apply before 9 July. www.librariesconnected.org.uk/opportunitie...

This whole thread on misinformation from @eliothiggins.bsky.social is brilliant - we all need the skills, structures and situations in which we can evaluate claims together. This has to start *offline* and to me public libraries are the prime places with the breadth of reach to do this effectively.

Brilliant night at the @bradfordlitfest.bsky.social launch last night. While I haven’t been able to join any events today I did run over to Howarth I like to think the Brontes would approve of me running up to Top Withins belting out Femininomenon into the wind.

Keynote speaker for @bradfordlitfest.bsky.social is only Ben bloomin’ Okri And he’s incredibly and beautifully inspiring - talking about the current nature of the world: The wolves have only got worse because the cures have been curses and not acts of love or wisdom

Fantastic to be here at @bradfordlitfest.bsky.social opening - it’s in the stunning Bradford Live.

I'd never thought of indexes like this (tbh hadn't thought much about them!) But interesting point that indexes are human created directions to what indexer feels is most important & relevant. Then an AI generated index directs people's reading with a lot of unaccountable & unexplained choices.

Finding this in the way home from #LCSeminar2025 is perfect. We’ve had 2 days exploring the ways libraries and those working there make a huge impact on creating resilient communities. So really good to see libraries don’t see their jobs as bullshit, because we know they’re not!

Cllr Liz Green talking to Isobel Hunter about how libraries can influence change with current obstacles She advocates direct engagement with councillors - invite them to events and so working across the structures and silos of local gov. #LCSeminar2025

Hearing from @lucybanks.bsky.social of @ascelnetwork.bsky.social About their youth engagement network, how it works and what they tell us about libraries Great fundamentals here on what it’s based on #LCSeminar2025

Awesome idea in the states: Library allotments with raised beds that you can ‘borrow’ with your library card (No cannabis policy!) This would be brilliant in the UK where allotments are difficult to get and too big for most to manage. @rebekkahsa.bsky.social At #LCSeminar2025

There’s a simple approach to climate action: • creating safe places to live • recognise and value everyone for their differences • help people to see and work towards a future for themselves that really fits with what libraries can influence and control @rebekkahsa.bsky.social at #LCSeminar2025

Brilliant definition outline of the ALA defn of sustainability from @rebekkahsa.bsky.social Sustainability comes from meeting the triple bottom lines: • environmentally sound • socially equitable • economically feasible And a good reminder that every job is a climate job. #LCSeminar2025

Final session of the @thefabians.bsky.social summit - leader of the education select committee: @helenhayes.bsky.social Some really strong commitments to making things better but obvs no new news before tomorrow’s spending review. Big - and sooo much needed - focus on children’s social care.

Penultimate session of this great @thefabians.bsky.social event We’ve got Jacqui smith Sarah Yong Lizzie Crowley and @joedromey.bsky.social “We can’t achieve the economy growth or build the communities we want to grow without getting skills right - and right at the heart of it” Jacqui Smith

This afternoon at #LCSeminar2025 we heard from Amanda Naylor, CEO of @volunteeringuk.bsky.social. Amanda emphasised the need to create opportunities for those with lived experience to volunteer in their communities. volunteeringmatters.org.uk

This afternoon Peter Wilson, Fiona Pickett, Simon Parkinson and mark malcomson talking about education, skills and training for work at every age. @thefabians.bsky.social

Next up: @helenbarnard.bsky.social @bencooper1995.bsky.social @liveren.bsky.social and Baroness Lister on tackling child poverty. Under 5s have highest poverty rate of any age group - 1.2m babies & toddlers. Strong links w libraries at this age so real chance to support @thefabians.bsky.social

Really good opening speech from @allymcgovern.bsky.social and really interesting to hear about her early writing. A state that focusses on dignity as the core method of designing and delivering services feels very familiar for the library sector. fabians.org.uk/publication/...

The excitement mounts - looking forward to hearing @allymcgovern.bsky.social and get sense of how libraries can fit into the governments missions for employment. #fabiansummit

Very excited to see how @thefabians.bsky.social Opportunity Mission Summit tomorrow fits with public libraries support for • early years • education • people > work • people > brilliant businesses & careers. We know national and devo gov can work through libraries and their communities to do this.

Work with us! - we're looking for an organisation to support us with procurement and tender writing. We're keen to help libraries deliver more services procured by national and devolved gov - it helps sustain libraries and means libraries can offer more to communities.

This is excellent- particularly the second part where there are real differences of opinion between the panelists. I think really reflects and gets into the complexity of the political world we’re in. Feels we’re at a bifurcation point where two quite different futures are both possible and likely

One more thing from #StrongerThings 2025: I'm really keen for library services to be actively present in this space, so here's a list of the speakers' books. Obviously @hilarycottam.bsky.social and @cormacrussell.bsky.social there but a few others! [links support @librariesconnected.bsky.social]

Over four days @savidgereads.bsky.social is heading to #Libraries in all four home nations, highlighting the initiatives are available to visually impaired users as part of #HiViS2025. Today Simon's journey takes him to Bath. @sharethevision.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpdY...

I've put my #StrongerThings thread into a linked article for easier reading. It captures just a small fraction of the brilliant insight but there are some gems from the speakers. An excellent day - thank you to the excellent team at @wearenewlocal.bsky.social www.linkedin.com/pulse/initia...

I've put my #StrongerThings thread into a linked article for easier reading. It captures just a small fraction of the brilliant insight but there are some gems from the speakers. An excellent day - thank you to the excellent team at @wearenewlocal.bsky.social www.linkedin.com/pulse/initia...

“We can’t separate power, wealth & health. Rather than just shifting power, we have to grow it. “Power is not finite - with the right ingredients it can grow exponentially. This is what we’ve seen in Greater Manchester.” @evefrancisholt.bsky.social on how place and power impact health outcomes

Am going to be sharing my takeaways for the Library sector from @wearenewlocal.bsky.social #StrongerThings 2025 conference in this thread throughout the day. It’s certainly very grand in here.

On my way down for #StrongerThings 2025 tomorrow - looking forward to seeing some excellent speakers and most importantly listening to better understand the role libraries can play a part in locally led growth and delivery.