Went to the Paul Sacher Foundation where Tina works and spent the morning with her there. It is another amazing place which collects music of various composers in depth , the musicologists decide who and the librarians organise it. It is a research library and Paul Sacher set it up in a house and then bought the next door house as the collection became too Large. It is beautifully done and looks out on the Rhine. They have users from all over the world, but you have to make an appointment to use the material. Looked at the various methods of storage, in the stacks which are a chilly 16 degrees and 50% humidity as they hold a lot of rare original material. They share their catalogue with othe music libraries so it is a great resource.
I enjoyed morning tea with the staff who were intrigued by my project and so there was much discussion, apparently , after I left.
Had lunch with Tina and then went to the PUPPENHAUSMUSEUM for some light relief. They have displays of 6,000 teddy bears and dolls- fascinating stuff. (and I am serious)
Went to Tina's mother's house for dinner and we had a traditional Swiss meal of melted cheese at the table and condiments etc. Tina's Mum was great.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Sunday 19th October.
The day was beautiful and sunny and Tina met me at 11.30 for us to do some sightseeing. We went into the city Centre and walked. Firstly to the Cathedral and in the square outside they were preparing for a big festival which would happen the next weekend. The Ferris wheel was huge. We caught the ferry across the Rhine and walked along the bank to a restaurant where we had a salad for lunch. Walked back across the bridge and went to the Basel Historical Museum in the Barfusserkirche and saw the Cathedral Treasury collection, as well as other exhibitions of Basel's history.
We then walked to the MUSIK Museum which is housed in the former Basel prison. A simply wonderful place with large musical instruments displayed in the 3 hallways and the cells contained other exhibitions of different types of instrument. There was an interactive panel in each room which gave a history and played the music of the particular instruments . Fabulous.
Off to a place for coffee and the to Basel's oldest hotel where Tina insisted we had champagne -Moet - and watched the sun set over the river. Off to a restaurant then and I had veal liver- a traditonal Swiss dish. Life can't be bad...
We then walked to the MUSIK Museum which is housed in the former Basel prison. A simply wonderful place with large musical instruments displayed in the 3 hallways and the cells contained other exhibitions of different types of instrument. There was an interactive panel in each room which gave a history and played the music of the particular instruments . Fabulous.
Off to a place for coffee and the to Basel's oldest hotel where Tina insisted we had champagne -Moet - and watched the sun set over the river. Off to a restaurant then and I had veal liver- a traditonal Swiss dish. Life can't be bad...
Saturday, 18th October
Christel and Lennart took me to Central station to get the airport bus. Very sad to say goodbye to such lovely people. Caught my plane successfully and changed in Munich for the small plane to Basel. Tina was waiting to meet me and drove me to my hotel 'Balegra' which was quite near her home and about 10 minutes by tram from the centre of the City. The hotel had recently been refurbished and my room was small but quite lovely. All the rooms had names and mine was called 'Versailles' -so I thought of it as my little palace.
Tina left me to unpack and then came back to get me and take me to dinner at her house with two cats, her husband and 11year old daughter, Leah, who could not speak English, but we coped. I had a wonderful meal with them and so it was a really enjoyable evening. It is so interesting to see people's houses and how they live , different, but yet not so different. Tina walked back with me to my hotel and rode her bike home. She rides everywhere as do a lot of people. Also the public transport i.e. the trams, are wonderful. Pity Sydney cannot see its way clear to embracing usage of trams/ light rail .
Tina left me to unpack and then came back to get me and take me to dinner at her house with two cats, her husband and 11year old daughter, Leah, who could not speak English, but we coped. I had a wonderful meal with them and so it was a really enjoyable evening. It is so interesting to see people's houses and how they live , different, but yet not so different. Tina walked back with me to my hotel and rode her bike home. She rides everywhere as do a lot of people. Also the public transport i.e. the trams, are wonderful. Pity Sydney cannot see its way clear to embracing usage of trams/ light rail .
Friday, 17th October
Up early and left the house with Christel at about 7.30a.m. as she had to be at work early for a meeting. Solna Library is located in a shopping complex and has Central Library and one branch . It is on three levels and is very attractive to look at. The ground floor has the check-out and check-in machines and an information desk at the entrance, as well as magazines and newspapers. There is also a 'download' jukebox where people can plug in their USB and download music to take away. Beside the information desk is the extensive music collection, which Christel looks after- books, scores and sound recordings and DVDs.
The children's area is very attractive and school classes were visiting for a theatrical performance in a meeting area. The Youth Section is nearby and is called 'Chill' (written on the windows) It has a funky pink lantern and other furniture suitable for young people . It also has its own public PC area and the books and other material are attractively arranged to entice . Every library has large comic sections, I noticed.
Upstairs is the Adult Library and there is also an information desk on this floor. On the top floor there are various other facilities, but this floor is no longer staffed, as they are short of people. It has meeting rooms, a performance space, with a grand piano , a 'quiet room' for study and a local history collection. I was particularly impressed with a large screen for a newspaper database, to which the library subscribes. People still like to handle the hand copy, though, Christel told me.
Christel and the Library Manager, Barbro too me out to lunch at the nearby hoteland it was very nice.
Then I had to negotiate the underground again and go to the centre of Stocholm where I had an appointment with a librarian, Anneke, at the Kulturhuset. What an amazing concept. It is a large complex which was built in the 1970's and houses many activities such as theatre , music and art and has a large lending library of material related to these activities. My photos will explain the concept better, but the place is huge and very interactive . They have a children's library section arranged in age groups and decorated accordingly. People were queuing to get in ! In fact the place was packed and they were decorating and organising a celebration for the building's anniversary that evening - a big music and dance party. so the library was a hive of activity and people were sitting everywhere reading newspapers, looking at books and magazines and using listening posts. They subscribe to a fantastic database for listening to music - details will be provided later as they are in my notes. I was able to have a little play with it.
So it was an exciting visit to such a valuable asset to city life in Stockholm.
I then wended my weary way back to Nacka and Christel's house. Astrid had originally organized for an outing to take place that evening as the IAML board were meeting in Stockholm at the Musik Academie that day. however, it had to becancelled as Astrid was taken ill and Christina could not come down from Gavle as her husband is ill. I was disappointed but had a lovely last night in Sweden with Christel and Lennart at their home, with good conversation ,listening to lovely music, drinking beer and vodka and Adkvit? while eating another traditional Swedish meal of herrings, cheese, crispbreads etc.
What a way to end such a fantastic week.
The children's area is very attractive and school classes were visiting for a theatrical performance in a meeting area. The Youth Section is nearby and is called 'Chill' (written on the windows) It has a funky pink lantern and other furniture suitable for young people . It also has its own public PC area and the books and other material are attractively arranged to entice . Every library has large comic sections, I noticed.
Upstairs is the Adult Library and there is also an information desk on this floor. On the top floor there are various other facilities, but this floor is no longer staffed, as they are short of people. It has meeting rooms, a performance space, with a grand piano , a 'quiet room' for study and a local history collection. I was particularly impressed with a large screen for a newspaper database, to which the library subscribes. People still like to handle the hand copy, though, Christel told me.
Christel and the Library Manager, Barbro too me out to lunch at the nearby hoteland it was very nice.
Then I had to negotiate the underground again and go to the centre of Stocholm where I had an appointment with a librarian, Anneke, at the Kulturhuset. What an amazing concept. It is a large complex which was built in the 1970's and houses many activities such as theatre , music and art and has a large lending library of material related to these activities. My photos will explain the concept better, but the place is huge and very interactive . They have a children's library section arranged in age groups and decorated accordingly. People were queuing to get in ! In fact the place was packed and they were decorating and organising a celebration for the building's anniversary that evening - a big music and dance party. so the library was a hive of activity and people were sitting everywhere reading newspapers, looking at books and magazines and using listening posts. They subscribe to a fantastic database for listening to music - details will be provided later as they are in my notes. I was able to have a little play with it.
So it was an exciting visit to such a valuable asset to city life in Stockholm.
I then wended my weary way back to Nacka and Christel's house. Astrid had originally organized for an outing to take place that evening as the IAML board were meeting in Stockholm at the Musik Academie that day. however, it had to becancelled as Astrid was taken ill and Christina could not come down from Gavle as her husband is ill. I was disappointed but had a lovely last night in Sweden with Christel and Lennart at their home, with good conversation ,listening to lovely music, drinking beer and vodka and Adkvit? while eating another traditional Swedish meal of herrings, cheese, crispbreads etc.
What a way to end such a fantastic week.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Thursday 16th October
The day dawned cold and rainy. Christina picked me up at 8.30 and I went to work with her for a while. Then we went for a drive to the seaside (in blustery conditions) before I caught the 1p.m. train back to Stockholm.
Had an appointment with Inga Lunden, the head of the Stockholm public library who had been a keynote speaker at the ALIA Conference in Alice Springs, at 3p.m. However, I got a bit lost when I got out of the underground and was a little late. Luckily I stumbled across Inga and the two Latvian librarians who I had met in Gavle , heading for the coffee shop.we chatted there forabout an hour, and then Larry , the head of the International Library, which caters for other languages and is beside the Central Library showed us around its three floors.
I then went in to the Central Library and looked around myself. It is an interesting round traditional building with non-fiction books all around a central rotunda area where librarians answer questions and people check out their items. Has rooms going off the side of the rotunda containing all different types of material, a children's area, downstairs etc. the building was designed by a famous Swedish architect and new plans for extending and building new wings are in progress.
I had a cheap meal at a kebab place nearby before setting off back to Christel and Lennart's house. Christel was visiting her grandchildren, so was not home until later. I had another early night as Friday was promising to be big, with Christel taking me to visit her library in Solna and we had to make an early start.
Had an appointment with Inga Lunden, the head of the Stockholm public library who had been a keynote speaker at the ALIA Conference in Alice Springs, at 3p.m. However, I got a bit lost when I got out of the underground and was a little late. Luckily I stumbled across Inga and the two Latvian librarians who I had met in Gavle , heading for the coffee shop.we chatted there forabout an hour, and then Larry , the head of the International Library, which caters for other languages and is beside the Central Library showed us around its three floors.
I then went in to the Central Library and looked around myself. It is an interesting round traditional building with non-fiction books all around a central rotunda area where librarians answer questions and people check out their items. Has rooms going off the side of the rotunda containing all different types of material, a children's area, downstairs etc. the building was designed by a famous Swedish architect and new plans for extending and building new wings are in progress.
I had a cheap meal at a kebab place nearby before setting off back to Christel and Lennart's house. Christel was visiting her grandchildren, so was not home until later. I had another early night as Friday was promising to be big, with Christel taking me to visit her library in Solna and we had to make an early start.
Wednesday 15th October
Today I spent the whole day with Christina at the Gavle Concert Hall and its library. What a place. The complex is wonderful and so fantastic to have a branch of the public library attached to it. Outside the building is covered in blue tiles, made by the same firm who did our Opera House tiles. Inside it is all light wood and polished floors. Has a beautiful outlook over the river and the autumn leaves made a great show of colour. The building contains a large hall seating 800 and smaller hall , which can also be rentd out for seminars, conferences etc. In fact there was a Children's Librarians conference on this day , showing the latest Swedish titles. There is also a eautiful restaurant which is quite expensive and there has been controversy about the food. Christina showed mae around the complex , but unfortunately things were very quiet. there is a resident symphony orchestra , but they were not practising that day. Very kindly, the management gave me all of their CDs to bring home. (about 10) I spent till 11.30 looking at the library, and making notes. (more details later)It is on two levels and the pop and jazz are on the ground floor with Classical upstairs. The shelving was specially designed and I took plenty of photos. The atmosphere in the library is lovely and they play music all day - the person on the desk gets to choose . There are 4 staff .
The weather was superb and so Christina and I set off about 11.30 to walk to the University Library which is very new and a semi circle around a courtyard. After looking around for about haf n hour we walked further along the river to 'the Colonel's House'. The university was previously army barracks and this is why there was a house for a colonel. It is now a lovely restaurant. Christina's colleague , Margareta, joined us and I was treated to my meal courtesy of the Music Library. Had herrings and mashed potato-they made me eat traditional food and I liked it. Then we walked back through the woods to the Library along the other side of the river. Very beautiful.
When we got back a reporter from the local newspaper 'Arbetarbladet' had turned up to interview me and take my photo. The article appeared the next day (16/10) -website is www.arbetarbladet.se and I am on Page 15.
I spent more time looking at the library until 5p.m. when it closed and we locked up. We walked back into the town and went to dinner at a lovely restaurant called Matilda's with the Manager of the Gavle Library Service and the Manager of the Central Library. This time I ate reindeer. (sorry Rudolph) Luckily they paid, as main courses were the equivalent of $40 !
Had a great time and this was a fitting end to a very good day.Learnt a lot and had fun with it.
The weather was superb and so Christina and I set off about 11.30 to walk to the University Library which is very new and a semi circle around a courtyard. After looking around for about haf n hour we walked further along the river to 'the Colonel's House'. The university was previously army barracks and this is why there was a house for a colonel. It is now a lovely restaurant. Christina's colleague , Margareta, joined us and I was treated to my meal courtesy of the Music Library. Had herrings and mashed potato-they made me eat traditional food and I liked it. Then we walked back through the woods to the Library along the other side of the river. Very beautiful.
When we got back a reporter from the local newspaper 'Arbetarbladet' had turned up to interview me and take my photo. The article appeared the next day (16/10) -website is www.arbetarbladet.se and I am on Page 15.
I spent more time looking at the library until 5p.m. when it closed and we locked up. We walked back into the town and went to dinner at a lovely restaurant called Matilda's with the Manager of the Gavle Library Service and the Manager of the Central Library. This time I ate reindeer. (sorry Rudolph) Luckily they paid, as main courses were the equivalent of $40 !
Had a great time and this was a fitting end to a very good day.Learnt a lot and had fun with it.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Tuesday , 14th October.
This morning I was left to my own devices to catch an inter-city train from Stockholm to Gavle, an hour and a half away. I caught the bus and the tube to Central Station and caught the very modern and almost luxury( compared to ours) train . You can even plug in your PC and access wirelss facilities !
Arrived in Gavle at 1p.m. and was met by my friend from the Music Library, Christina Wengstrom, who i had also met in Sydney at the IAML conference. After a quick bite to eat she whisked me off in her car to one of the branches of the Gavle public library , which had recently been renovated to be more accommodating for the people of the area and for its location. the library is situated in a shopping centre which has declined because of vandalism etc , and so most of the shops have had to move. There is a pre-school centre and a Youth Service , however, and the library is situated, very conveniently , in between these two facilities. There are 10,000 people in the region and most of these are immigrants . 35 different languages are spoken , mainly Arabic, Kurdish, Somali, Turkish and Persian. The collection is therefore made up of popular materia in Swedish, some english and smalll language collections. The Central Library has a large collection of material in other languages which can be requested. They issue 37,000 items a year with three staff i.e. two librarians and one library assistant. Both RETURNS and LOANS are done by the customers themselves at self checking machines! This frees up the staff for their community liason work which is of major importance in this socially diasadvantaged area. The library was very welcoming and attractive . Some of the shelving was on wheels to enable them to be moved to make space for activities etc.Two librarians from Riga, in Latvia, were also looking at the library when I was.
Then, after a walk through the old part of town, Christel took me to the Central Library which was built in 1962 and renovated in 1992 . It is still not adequate, but...
Again a very pleasant building, with a checkout desk where people join etc and a coffee shop at the entrance . This is surrounded by magazines (300 titles, grouped in subject areas) and doubles as a library programs space (with a grand piano, I might add) also on this floor are movie DVD's and videos. They charge $3.50 for movie loans as there is a state tax on them. Non-fiction type DVD's are exempt and so are free.
The children's are is extensive and also on this floor. Fction is downstairs and some subjects are arranged separately e.g. fantasy . GRaphic novels are also kept separately. There is a librarian on duty at a service desk to answer questions as there is on the upper floor where the non-fictionis located. Dewey is not used in Sweden as they have their own system. However, this library has modified the system further and has grouped various subjects together for ease of use e.g. BOATS and the SEA which contains Sea stories, how to sail, kinds of boats, how to build boats etc. The history and geography of countires is also placed together. Non- fiction is mixed in Swedish and English.
There are a quite a few public access PC's which people can use for one hour at a time- 2 sessions per day. no booking system, just log in with their library card. There are several PC's at the front entrance which can be accessed fre by non- library members for 15 minutes at a time. (no seats- they have to stand)
Also a separate local history are and family history room with microfich/film readers and two PC's with all the family history databases loaded. The mezzanine floor has an EU section, how to speak foreign languages and a business section which helps people set up a business. So it was all very impressive ...
Out to dinner at the Bishop's Arms with Christina and her colleague , Margareta (good name)where I sampled typical Swedish food - potatoes and bacon ,in an English style pub ! Then an early night in my hotel, The Aveny , which was quite nearby.
Arrived in Gavle at 1p.m. and was met by my friend from the Music Library, Christina Wengstrom, who i had also met in Sydney at the IAML conference. After a quick bite to eat she whisked me off in her car to one of the branches of the Gavle public library , which had recently been renovated to be more accommodating for the people of the area and for its location. the library is situated in a shopping centre which has declined because of vandalism etc , and so most of the shops have had to move. There is a pre-school centre and a Youth Service , however, and the library is situated, very conveniently , in between these two facilities. There are 10,000 people in the region and most of these are immigrants . 35 different languages are spoken , mainly Arabic, Kurdish, Somali, Turkish and Persian. The collection is therefore made up of popular materia in Swedish, some english and smalll language collections. The Central Library has a large collection of material in other languages which can be requested. They issue 37,000 items a year with three staff i.e. two librarians and one library assistant. Both RETURNS and LOANS are done by the customers themselves at self checking machines! This frees up the staff for their community liason work which is of major importance in this socially diasadvantaged area. The library was very welcoming and attractive . Some of the shelving was on wheels to enable them to be moved to make space for activities etc.Two librarians from Riga, in Latvia, were also looking at the library when I was.
Then, after a walk through the old part of town, Christel took me to the Central Library which was built in 1962 and renovated in 1992 . It is still not adequate, but...
Again a very pleasant building, with a checkout desk where people join etc and a coffee shop at the entrance . This is surrounded by magazines (300 titles, grouped in subject areas) and doubles as a library programs space (with a grand piano, I might add) also on this floor are movie DVD's and videos. They charge $3.50 for movie loans as there is a state tax on them. Non-fiction type DVD's are exempt and so are free.
The children's are is extensive and also on this floor. Fction is downstairs and some subjects are arranged separately e.g. fantasy . GRaphic novels are also kept separately. There is a librarian on duty at a service desk to answer questions as there is on the upper floor where the non-fictionis located. Dewey is not used in Sweden as they have their own system. However, this library has modified the system further and has grouped various subjects together for ease of use e.g. BOATS and the SEA which contains Sea stories, how to sail, kinds of boats, how to build boats etc. The history and geography of countires is also placed together. Non- fiction is mixed in Swedish and English.
There are a quite a few public access PC's which people can use for one hour at a time- 2 sessions per day. no booking system, just log in with their library card. There are several PC's at the front entrance which can be accessed fre by non- library members for 15 minutes at a time. (no seats- they have to stand)
Also a separate local history are and family history room with microfich/film readers and two PC's with all the family history databases loaded. The mezzanine floor has an EU section, how to speak foreign languages and a business section which helps people set up a business. So it was all very impressive ...
Out to dinner at the Bishop's Arms with Christina and her colleague , Margareta (good name)where I sampled typical Swedish food - potatoes and bacon ,in an English style pub ! Then an early night in my hotel, The Aveny , which was quite nearby.
Monday (cont)
Astrid then took me to a branch of the Stockholm Public Library , which I had heard about from Inga Lunden at the ALIA conference in Alice Springs. We walked for about an hour across the city , through the old town, to get there. The ground floor has been made into a Youth Library and was certainly being well used. It is quite innovative, and when I get home I will see my notes from the conference and write more about it.
Then I went with Astrid to her apartment for a typical Swedish meal of meatballs and potato which her fiance had cooked for us. I successfull negotiated the (excellent) public transport system i.e. tube and bus, to get back to Nacka and Christel's home.
Then I went with Astrid to her apartment for a typical Swedish meal of meatballs and potato which her fiance had cooked for us. I successfull negotiated the (excellent) public transport system i.e. tube and bus, to get back to Nacka and Christel's home.
Monday , Oct 13th
Now it is down to hard work. I left Christel's house at 7.45 a.m. and she dropped me at the STATE MUSIC LIBRARY (STATENS MUSIKBIBLIOTEK ), just before 8.30 a.m.
I was met by the Librarian who gave me a general 'run down' on the history of this library. Although it is run by the national Swedish government , it is free and available to the public. It is a very old library service having been established in 1771. It is now the biggest music library in Sweden and has 25 staff. They lend out any material they can buy and do about 7000 Inter Library Loans to people through their public libraries. they moved to the building they are in now, in 1996 and have a lovely open access library for people to come and use. They also have vast amounts of old material in their stacks . They do not collect CD's just books, scores and sheet music etc. They also subscribe to data bases which the public can access.
I was shown the Archives and document collection and also the Orchestra collection, by the appropriate librarian in charge.
I was treated to lunch in the building's restaurant and then my friend, Astrid, who works here, took me to the actual open acces library and I was able to see how it all worked,what types of material were there and how it was stored and accessed. Vert attractively presented and certainly a pleasant place to visit.
I was met by the Librarian who gave me a general 'run down' on the history of this library. Although it is run by the national Swedish government , it is free and available to the public. It is a very old library service having been established in 1771. It is now the biggest music library in Sweden and has 25 staff. They lend out any material they can buy and do about 7000 Inter Library Loans to people through their public libraries. they moved to the building they are in now, in 1996 and have a lovely open access library for people to come and use. They also have vast amounts of old material in their stacks . They do not collect CD's just books, scores and sheet music etc. They also subscribe to data bases which the public can access.
I was shown the Archives and document collection and also the Orchestra collection, by the appropriate librarian in charge.
I was treated to lunch in the building's restaurant and then my friend, Astrid, who works here, took me to the actual open acces library and I was able to see how it all worked,what types of material were there and how it was stored and accessed. Vert attractively presented and certainly a pleasant place to visit.
Sunday , October 12th
Today dawned bright and clear and Christel and I decided I would do some touristy things. Went to a beautiful old house www.waldermarsudde.se and saw a wonderful watercolour art exhibition. Then to the VAS MUSEET where the 17th century ship, which sank in Stockholm harbour on its maiden voyage , is now preserved , after being salvaged in 1961. In the afternoon we went to a free concert at the Musik Academie , of works by 20th century Swedish composer , Gunnar de Frumerie. His 100th anniversary fell today. The concert last three hours !
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Stockholm
Arrived safely in this beautiful city( the atumn colours are stunning) early Saturday morning , after an excellent flight with Thai Airways. Negotiated the airport sucessfully and caught the bus to the city . Christel , who I had met at the IAML Conference in Sydney, was there at the bus station to meet me and drove me to her home in Nacka, where I am staying with her and her husband , Lennart, who is a doctor. The house is lovely,very Swedish , quite old and wooden and in a rural setting though quite close to the city. Within three hours we were out and about and I visited my first two libraries , those of Nacka Communs.
These are very funky and trendy and have a controversial, popularist approach. One is in a shopping centre and has recently been refurbished and opened the day before. It haas very bright colours , lime green , orange etc. a minimalist information desk and as it has RFID there are self check-out machines. I was amazed at the size of a coffee shop counter within the library space as it was huge. Very strange when there was a nother coffee shop located opposite in the shopping centre. To my mind a waste of valuable library space. Children,s area was fun with a curtained off part for storytelling etc. Then we went to a disused factory site which has been remodelled for a shopping complex and the library is located in the old diesel factory. (Dieselverkstaden) which is participatory arts centre with exhibitions, childrens art claseses, orchestra and theatre based activities. Again very funky and a popularist collection of library material, but a hub of activity.
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