Top Ten New Librarians meet the Minister 7 May 08
The winners of the 2007 Top Ten New Librarians competition meet Minister Margaret Hodge at the House of Commons.
The Love Libraries Top Ten New Librarians met with Margaret Hodge, the Minister of State for Culture, Media and Sport on April 30th to discuss their work in libraries and their ideas for the future of the library service. The lively discussion covered community engagement work, literacy projects, library staff training, citizenship, and raising visitor numbers and issue figures.
Josie Crimp from Croydon said “It was a fantastic opportunity to meet Margaret Hodge and discuss the future of libraries in the UK. We were able to talk about a variety of issues, from the work that we are each doing in our own local authorities, to the possibilities of national strategies”.
The Minister was interested to hear about the local and regional projects the Top Ten are involved with, many of them groundbreaking new work for libraries. She also shared some of the challenges she faces in her own role and asked for the views of the New Librarians on the future of libraries.
Phyll Smith from North East Lincolnshire said “Good libraries are the hubs of their community and engines for regeneration, growth, learning and pride, and the Minister was keen to recognise and move forward on innovative and exceptional practice.”
More about the competition:
The Top Ten New Librarians were chosen by the Love Libraries Campaign for the excellent work they are doing as new members of library staff. They are challenging the traditional stereotypes of the types of people who work in libraries and as individuals are transforming public libraries with their fresh ideas, creativity, drive, passion and enthusiasm.
Entrants for the competition had to have been working in public libraries in England for less than three years.
The Top Ten New librarians are:
* Bernadette Brewster, 55, Youth Librarian, London Borough of Haringey Library Service
* Josie Crimp, 25, Children’s Librarian, London Borough of Croydon Library Service
* Helen Dahlke, 24, Reader Development Librarian, West Berkshire Library Service
* Sam Davies, 20, Library Information Officer, Manchester Library and Information Service
* Alexis Dimyan, 27, Community Librarian, Luton Library Service
* Jennifer Foster, 25, E- Services Assistant Librarian, Trafford Council
* Elizabeth McDonald, 26, Reader Development Officer, Wokingham Library Service
* Emma Sherriff, 23, Outreach Support Officer, Plymouth Library Service
* Phyll Smith, 36, Library Assistant, North East Lincolnshire Library Service
* Laura Warnock, 29, Community Health Officer, Sunderland Library Service
To find out more about the winning librarians visit the Top Ten New Librarians 2007 section of this website: http://www.lovelibraries.co.uk/librarians.php
