Libraries Hacked

Libraries Hacked is a project to promote open data and digital prototypes in libraries. And it's not overly successful at doing that. BUT in this age of AI, would a computer do better at open data advocacy? Well, here is a poster. You decide. (And yes, this will not be routine AI usage for good reasons) Your Library. Your Data. Our Future ❤️

I'm buying an ePaper display to go on the wall, which allows for custom (or community) plugins to show useful information in a rotating playlist. Like my local train and bus departures, calendar events, weather, etc. But what about libraries? It would be great to have a display with my library account, and publish a plugin for other people to use that integration. The books I have checked out and their due date, how much money I owe, upcoming mobile library dates, whether the local library is currently open, etc. Might try and mock up a sketch today. It's high tech but also lo-fi and accessible information. What other information could be displayed? What is immediately possible, and what's the art of the possible? What about using live data from people counters to show how busy the library currently is? Aude Charillon Claire Back Luke Burton Isobel Hunter MBE Simon Peacock Sheila Bennett. MA, MBA Sean McNamara Tiina Hill Liz White

Andy Burnham has become our new Prime Minister. And everyone will be trying to convince him to focus on various things that they think are a priority. But feasibly, what are the urgent things he should concentrate on in his first 50 days? Firstly, he should be looking to release Public Lending Right loans data held by The British Library as Open Data. Then, committing to more resources into making this data fully automated, more extensive, and published on a nightly basis. This would form the basis of essential library usage data to inform the reading sector across the UK. Next, mandate open publishing and open data policies across publicly funded library orgs, led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and applicable to organisations like Arts Council England and Libraries Connected and their member organisations. Finally, look to establish a 'Government Digital Service for Libraries', with committed future funding, looking at data and digital transformation for public libraries and library systems. It's the year of reading after all, but where's the data? CILIP, the library and information association

We have lots of things we'd like to say about library data but the BBC just won't give us a personal platform for it.

The Summer Reading Challenge is definitely a highlight of the library year, and it's good to highlight the importance of it - with the backdrop of concern about reading for pleasure. But libraries, and library systems, hold the most significant data on reading for pleasure in the UK, and can do more to make this widely available. Particularly for assessing schemes like the Summer Reading Challenge, where next to no significant insight is generated at the moment. Without detailed data, made openly available, we can't understand the communities who are and aren't engaged with reading, and produce the insight needed to appeal to more people. Time to right that failure in data policy and insist on automated data extracts from library systems, published openly by default. Libraries Connected Scottish Library and Information Council CILIP, the library and information association CILIPS The Reading Agency Libraries Rising

A new library strategy will be released this year from the DCMS - possibly quite soon. So, here is the Libraries Hacked submission with regard to data and digital. A couple of recommendations based upon the previous strategy. https://lnkd.in/eN_QWDjh

The National Data Library has formally launched, and it turns out to be a rebadged data.gov.uk with a new focus on: "- making it easier to identify and use trusted, useful data across national themes (new data collections pages) - creating a data manual - a single space to find clear guidance and best practices on how to use and manage public data - fixing significant issues with the original directory - setting up channels for feedback and working in the open through this roadmap and user feedback forms" So, collection management, discovery, signposting, and helping users. It looks like all the needed in the end was to employ librarians/information professionals. cc CILIP, the library and information association CILIPS

The report repeatedly highlights problems with the underlying data infrastructure in public libraries, and mentions that libraries couldn't contribute to the data collection from the report due to other data collection pressures. "During the Phase 1 data collection period, participants were also responding to concurrent sector activity, including a project led by Libraries Connected and a time-sensitive Freedom of Information request from DCMS. As a result, some services withdrew due to competing demands and limited capacity." This highlights the absurdity of the current situation. The DCMS should not need to be sending FOI requests to library services if data is openly available by default. There are multiple data collection strands going on, but very few of them result in what is required - which is consistently published library open data. Collected at source, enabled and published by the technology suppliers, and aggregated for use by all. The collective and duplicate work going on in the sector has been happening for decades and it needs to be fixed by a culture of working in the open. Where is all the data collected by this report? The report itself is published under a non-open licence for re-use.

Knowing how good Shared Intelligence are this will be an essential event for anyone in public libraries. While developing the library data schemas (https://lnkd.in/eVegMRVA), user location was a key part of what should be openly published about library users, because it is so important for analysis. That hasn't changed. Publishing census based and anonymised locations alongside branch, usage type (WiFi, events, borrowing, etc), and age bands allows us to see who uses the service against other established data sources like income, access to other services, car ownership, and much more. AND it could be possible to get this library data for the UK, refreshed on a nightly basis, published openly - and would be transformative for combined analysis and insight. Making library usage a key dataset for the reading sector. Year of reading stuff.

Tomorrow, a select group of public library services will get a freedom of information request for library usage data for 2025/2026. This will be to trial data collection across the UK. The main task is trying to maximise useful data, and minimise the effort to supply it, so any difficulties can be caught from the small sample group. The ideal would be to have sector supported standard schemas and agreed publishing intervals, built into supplier contracts and automated as much as possible. One day....