A Libraries All Parliamentary Group is being established to provide MPs and Lords with information and opportunities for debate about the role that libraries play in society and their future.

Justin Tomlinson MP Swindon will chair the new group. For more infomation click here:

A collection of images by painter and former Principal of Falmouth School of Art, Tom Cross, has been digitised and made available online via the Visual Arts Data Service (VADS). The collection was kindly donated to University College Falmouth by his widow Pat Cross who is keen to ensure the legacy of Tom's work continues and inspires students and artists alike, following his death in 2009.

Whilst in the role of Principal from 1976 to 1987, Tom Cross produced many paintings and drawings inspired by Cornwall's landscapes and seascapes. He felt it was important for students to be taught by practising artists and invited many key characters from the St. Ives art scene to teach at the College. Prior to his time at Falmouth, Tom lived and worked all around the country and abroad, and was influenced by a range of popular styles including French Modernism and Russian Constructivism, making him a key British twentieth century artist.

University College Falmouth acquired the Tom Cross Archive in 2010. The archive provides a personal account of the life and work of the artist and former Principal through sketchbooks, diary entries, news-cuttings and exhibition catalogues.

Following the donation of the archive, Pat Cross also donated a substantial collection of Tom's slides of paintings and drawings, which the University College has uploaded into its database 'The Image Space'
for learning, teaching and research at University College Falmouth. Out of this collection, Pat has also kindly donated a selection of images for public access via VADS, as she was keen to share the prolific work of her late husband with a wider audience. Pat and the Image Collections Co-ordinator from University College Falmouth made the selection together, based on works which Pat thought were key in Tom's career and which showed a cross section of the range of work from different periods.

To view images from the Tom Cross Archive on VADS, please see:
http://www.vads.ac.uk/collections/TCA

A case study on the digitisation of the collection at University College Falmouth has also been made available on the JISC-funded Look-here!
project website at:
http://www.vads.ac.uk/lookhere/casestudies

The serials' holdings of the University of Bath have been added to SUNCAT, bringing the total number of contributing libraries to 80, plus the CONSER database, the ISSN register and the Directory of Open Access Journals.

The University of Bath (http://www.bath.ac.uk), which was recently named as the "University of the Year" by The Sunday Times, joins over 50 Higher Education institutions on SUNCAT.  It has contributed over 37,000 serial records, with a collection supporting learning, teaching and research across science, engineering, management, social sciences, and the humanities.

For a full list of the 80 libraries contributing to SUNCAT, please go to:
http://www.suncat.ac.uk/description/contributing_libraries.html

See all the issues of the Inspire e newletter here:

http://www.swrls.org.uk/Inspire/Inspire_E_Newsletters

UWE has joined OCLC's 24/7 Academic Reference Cooperative in order to offer a 24/7 service to its students. For more infomration see the press release here:

http://www.iwr.co.uk/professional-and-library/3011125/Chat-service-for-university-library-users 

A companion to the Arts Council's 10-year strategic framework for the arts Achieving great art for everyone, this publication is their first attempt to integrate museums and libraries into this framework. It is designed to provide certainty as to the programmes the Arts Council will run from 2011-15 while soliciting further debate about the directions they should take in the longer term.

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/publication_archive/developing-great-museums-and-libraries/

The monthly Inspire E newsletter is added to the SWRLS website monthly here: http://www.swrls.org.uk/Inspire/Inspire_E_Newsletters

If you want to receive the newsletter direct, please email dirtector@swrls.org.uk be added to the mailing list.

As usual at the SWRLS AGM, a speaker of interest to our cross sectoral membership has been invited to present.

The presentation will focus on the issues that libraries face, the changing face of suppliers, what open source is all about, how its supported, developed and the role of PTFS Europe.

Open source software is FREE, it provides the possibility to significantly reduced capital and revenue costs, its newer software technology, provides freedom from supplier tie-in, offers shared service opportunities and puts libraries in the driving seat rather than being in the hands of the traditional software supplier. It is an exciting concept that is rapidly gaining a foothold in the UK market for library systems and I'm sure all those that attend the meeting will find it of interest.

Who can attend: Anyone from a  SWRLS member organisation can attend the AGM and hear the presentation.

Cost: Free

Location: Somerset Heritage Centre, Brunel Way,Taunton, TA2 6SF

Directions: http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/SHC/Directions.htm 

|f you intend to come and are not the usual SWRLS Regional Council rep, please email director@swrls.org.uk to book a place.

The Local Government Group and the MLA have issued a joint report on the future of libraries which suggests four options for helping to ensure the survival of libraries in the 21st century have been identified by the Future Libraries Programme pilots.

These are:

• Running libraries in partnership with the private sector, charities and other councils.
• Extending the reach and range of library services by integrating them with other community facilities like churches, shops and village halls and providing public services such as health centres and the police surgeries in existing libraries.
• Sharing services like back offices and mobile libraries with neighbouring local authorities to make stretched resources go further.
• Giving library users the ability to play a more active role in running library services themselves.
  

The findings of the Future Libraries Programme will now be shared among councils across the country.
(Source MLA Press Release 8.8.11)

To see the full report click here