Things in the Library - July

Here is the Illingworth Library July blog - one week later than promised, because both life and June travel fast.

NHS in England

The Kings Fund have posted a really great video which explains how the NHS works, and how it is changing.

"What are the key organisations that make up the NHS? And how can they collaborate with partners in the health and care system to deliver joined-up care? Watch our animation to find out."

Voices of England’s Missing Children

The Children's Commissioner for England published a report of the findings of an audit of children regularly missing from education settings. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the disruption to education faced by children since the beginning of the pandemic, their number has almost doubled since 2018/19 to 1.7 million. The report gives six ambitions to account for every child:

• Ambition 1. Ask, Listen, Communicate: decisions about children’s education need to be made with children, their families and other adults in their lives.
• Ambition 2. Meet children where they are: all children receive support in school, through families of schools.
• Ambition 3. Exclusion as a trigger for intervention: children should receive a fantastic education, regardless of setting, always and receive targeted support following exclusion or suspension.
• Ambition 4. Letting children be children: no child should feel that they need to miss school to support or care for their family.
• Ambition 5. Attendance is everyone’s business: school leaders have a relentless focus on attendance and work together with LAs to ensure children are supported to be in school and to attend regularly.
• Ambition 6. No more ‘known unknowns’: lack of information should no longer be the reason why children are not receiving a suitable education.

Sexting

Revealing Reality has released a report, supported by the PSHE Association, which looks at sexting. The report highlights the extent of the issue and the unequal way it affects young people depending on their gender, socioeconomic circumstances and self-perception. Findings from a survey of 5,197 14-18-year-olds include: 61% of girls have been asked to share a nude image compared with 31% of boys; and nearly two thirds of girls from a disadvantaged background had been asked to send a nude image, compared with half of the girls from non-disadvantaged backgrounds. 

National Paediatric Diabetes Audit

The Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health has published 'Care processes and outcomes' the national, annual report from the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit highlighting the main findings on the quality of care for children and young people with diabetes mellitus in England and Wales. Read it here.

PANTS for Makaton

The NSPCC has created new PANTS resources to keep children who communicate using Makaton safe from sexual abuse. PANTS (the five underwear rules) supports parents and carers to have conversations with their child to help keep them safe from sexual abuse. The resources include Makaton guides explaining the rules and setting out the importance of having these conversations with children.

Things to do in Sheffield in July

July is always a bumper month in Sheffield. Beginning the month is the new exhibition at the Millennium Gallery, Creative Connections Sheffield which runs from 30th June-2nd October. The exhibition brings together over 30 works from the National Portrait Gallery and Sheffield’s own collection, including portraits of Alex Turner, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sean Bean, Self Esteem, Otis Mensah, Helen Sharman, Mary, Queen of Scots and more. 

If you like architecture you may get a kick out of Out & About Urban Futures Weekends, happening over four weekends beginning the first weekend in July. You can try print making, sculpting a new landscape, and learn about art-led housing.

On the 16th there's Pinknic, Sheffield's biggest Pride event this year - it's a family-friendly event with stalls and performers from across the TV-talent-show board, and it starts with a unity walk beginning at Orchard Square at 11am.

And of course at the end of the month there is Tramlines, Sheffield's biggest music festival which requires no introduction - go and see Self Esteem!

Something to make

Tomato & harissa stew with cheddar dumplings is July's recipe of the month. These cheese dumplings are the perfect dumpling consistency, and the flavour of the harissa goes really well with them.  It also involves chickpeas and perfectly cooked courgettes. I make it all year round, and it's good for the type of warm-but-rainy day that this blog is being written on.

Things in the library 29th April

Things about Ukraine...

The Ukrainian Book Institute is fundraising to print Ukrainian-language books and distribute them to children displaced by the Russian invasion. They hope to raise enough funds to have hundreds of thousands of children's books printed in Europe. The main printing works in Ukraine were based in Kharkiv, which has been heavily bombed in the war. These Ukrainian books will allow children to be entertained while keeping the link with their homeland.

Things to debate...

Festival of Debate is an annual series of panel discussions, debates, Q&As, artistic responses, keynote speeches and other public events in Sheffield, exploring politics, economics and society. It’s coordinated in collaboration with over 50 partners across the city, from grassroots campaign groups to the city’s largest institutions. Headliners on this year's programme are Gloria Steinem, David Wengrow, Jeremy Corbyn, Led By Donkeys, Shon Faye, and George Monbiot. It takes place between 19th April and 30th May.

Things about adolescent health...

The Adolescent Health Programme is a new e-learning programme from Health Education Englandfor all healthcare professionals working with young people age 12-18 years. The programme aims to ensure that all health professionals have essential youth communication skills and understand young people’s rights to consent and confidentiality. 

Thing about online safety...

NSPCC Learning and National Crime Agency- Child Exploitation and Online Protection (NCA-CEOP) have redeveloped and updated the elearning course Keeping Children Safe Online. The course consists of seven online modules including information on how children use the internet and the risks related to internet use. Updates include information on new trends and the latest government guidance on keeping children safe online.

Things about old friends and gifts...

We were very pleased to have a visit from Sujatha Gopal, formerly a consultant here at SCH and now Consultant in Paediatric Endocrinology and Bone at Evelina Children's Hospital in London.. Here she is pictured with Sarah, our Library and Knowledge Services Manager, and the plant she brought in to go with the beautiful orange tree she previously gifted the library.

Things about stress release...

We are now at the end of Stress Awareness Month, but the Illingworth Library is well set up for all of your mindful needs all year round. We have colouring in, puzzles, games, leisure reading and space to sit and ponder and look over the hills of Sheffield. Here is a link to Uplifting Resources for the NHS, by the NHS which was put together by Heath Education England.

Things to make...

 I make this Satay Noodles recipe just about every single week. It takes 15 minutes! It's tasty! It contains vegetables! My children actually eat it!

Things in the library 8th October...

 Things to read... 

The next Reading Group book if 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' by Muriel Spark on 3rd November via Microsoft Teams - please contact the library if you would like to join. At the staid Marcia Blaine School for Girls in Edinburgh, Scotland, teacher extraordinaire Miss Jean Brodie is unmistakably, and outspokenly, in her prime. She is passionate in the application of her unorthodox teaching methods and strives to bring out the best in each one of her students. Determined to instill in them independence, passion, and ambition, Miss Brodie advises them, "Safety does not come first. Goodness, Truth, and Beauty come first. Follow me." And they do--but one of them will betray her.

Things for children to read... 

A new book published recently aims to help children stay hopeful and positive during the COVID-19 pandemic. The story is a sequel to ‘My Hero is You: how kids can fight COVID-19!’, published in April 2020. Both books have been released by a collaboration of 60 organizations working in the humanitarian sector, including the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the MHPSS  Collaborative for Children & Families in Adversity.

‘My Hero is You 2021: how kids can hope with COVID-19!’ draws on the daily realities of millions of children since the beginning of the pandemic. For many, the pandemic continues to disrupt their education, recreation, and time with friends, family and teachers. 

The story – aimed primarily at children aged 6-11 years – sees the return of Ario, a fantasy creature who travels the world helping children to find hope in the future and joy in simple pleasures. Together with old and new friends, Ario addresses the fears, frustrations and concerns children are facing in the current phase of the pandemic, and explores the various coping mechanisms that they can use when faced with difficult emotions like fear, grief, anger and sadness. 

Available to download  free in a variety of languages.

Things to attend...

ScHARR short courses for October-December have been announced.

• MASTERIE ONLINE Course 19th & 26th October 2021 (4 x half days) 20th & 21st October 2021 (2x half-days); Fees £349 

• How to Critically Appraise Research ONLINE Course Wed 20th & Thur 21st October 2021 (2 x half days) Fees; £149
  
  
• Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis ONLINE Mon 1st, Tues 2nd, Mon 8th and Tues 9th November 2021 (4 days) The course comprises live online sessions, plus a series of short, self-directed exercises to be undertaken in addition to the live sessions. Fees £499

• Introduction to Social Media ONLINE Course: Tues 2nd & Wed, 3rd Nov 2021 (2 x half days). Fees: £149
• How to Quickly Synthesise Research; ONLINE Course: Wed 10th & Thur 11th Nov 2021 (2 x half days) Fees; £149
• Advanced Simulation Methods ONLINE Tues 30th November - Thur 9th December 2021 (6 x half days) Fees; £599
• Scoping Reviews, Mapping Reviews and Evidence Gap Maps ONLINE 1-day course. Date tbc.

Things to keep children active... 

Physical activity among children and adolescents is associated with lower adiposity, improved cardio‐metabolic health, and improved fitness. Worldwide, fewer than 30% of children and adolescents meet global physical activity recommendations of at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day. Schools may be ideal sites for interventions given that children and adolescents in most parts of the world spend a substantial amount of time in transit to and from school or attending school. 

The purpose of this Cochrane Review update is to summarise the evidence on effectiveness of school‐based interventions in increasing moderate to vigorous physical activity and improving fitness among children and adolescents 6 to 18 years of age.

Things to read and attend...

Next Journal Club:  Tues 12 October. Contact the library for a copy of the paper and joining information

Venue: Virtually/ Education and Skills Centre, F Floor, Grey Lifts.

Paper: Safety, Immunogenicity, and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine in Adolescents

Things spooky... 

Kelham Island Museum after dark - an event for children and an event for over-18s on October 28th. Book in advance.

Things about measuring well-being... 

While there is very good national data on the wellbeing of adults, the national statistics on children and young people’s wellbeing in the UK, is not collected regularly, or nationally.

A key role for the What Works Centre for Wellbeing is to create robust, consistent wellbeing measures that can be used with confidence for different purposes and groups in the UK. With this project, they have developed a framework to measure the subjective wellbeing of children and young people, an area with growing national interest, particularly as a result of Covid-19.

Things to take part in... 

The Commission on Young Lives, an independent commission set up to research and design a new national system to support vulnerable young people in England, has opened a call for evidence. They are looking to hear from frontline workers, system leaders and commissioners, and those with lived experience. The closing date for submissions is 30 November 2021.

Things to make... 

I love butternut squash and this risotto is easy to make and fabulous in flavour - don't stint on the sage - the fried leaves on the top may be the best bit! I may have featured it before but make no excuses to do so again.

Things nearly finished... 

Next week will be my final Blog before I retire. There  will be a few weeks before my successor takes up the post so Sarah & Kate will be stretched to cover the  library services.  So there will be a few weeks gap in the blog. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible!

Things in the library 17th Sept...

 Things watery... 

The Waterfront Festival returns on Saturday 18 September, with many stalls, events, and activities planned at both Victoria Quays and Attercliffe Don Valley Moorings.  The free event runs from 10am to 4pm at Victoria Quays, and 11am to 3pm in Attercliffe. It will see live music and street performances, boat trips, canoe and paddle boarding taster sessions, stalls and street food. There will also be guided walks, including taking in the canal’s Street Art Trail.

Things foodie... 

The Harvest Fayre is a celebration of Sheffield food and drink and takes place this weekend Sat18 and Sunday 19 in the City Centre 10am – 6pm both days.  Free admission. It features food producers and businesses from around Sheffield and further afield, bringing a range of vegetables, fruits, spices, preserves, oils, cakes, cookery books, craft beers, gins, cakes and much more for you to  enjoy.

Things about Social Care... 

If you want to read the full health and social care plan announced recently by the government - this is a link to the document.

Things about Black History... 

October is Black History month and there are resources and information available on this website. One of the events planned is 'Explore Your Nursing Family History' (Virtual Event). This session is open to everyone, but will be especially interesting to people of colour looking to find out more about the history of their families. Sign up to attend and a Zoom link will be sent to you before the event.

Things about COVID-19 vaccinations for children... 

A statement from RCPCH about this topic in response to the recommendation from the four UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) regarding offering COVID-19 vaccinations to all 12-15 year olds. 

Things about transgender children...

Farrer & Co has released a two-part podcast offering guidance on the law, best practice and how to effectively safeguard transgender children and young people.

Things to make... 

If you have family members going off this weekend to be students then they may need simple recipes to cook with limited equipment and a small budget. There is a nice selection here - but of course anyone can make them not just students! Started by students at the University of Portsmouth in 2015, The Student Food Project has since grown into one of the worlds leading student recipe websites.

Student Food wanted to show students how easy it is to cook an amazing meal with fresh ingredients. Their recipes are designed to be easy to follow, quick to make and cost-effective. This Sausage and Ratatouille Casserole sounds perfect - don't forget to remind them to put the dish to soak before they try to wash it! You don't want it to still be there when you pick them up at Christmas.

Things in the library 10th Sept...

 Things about child well-being... 

The Children’s Society has published its annual Good Childhood report, looking at the wellbeing of children in the UK in 2021. Findings from a survey of around 2,000 10- to 17-year-olds between April and June 2021 include: 7% of 10- to 15-year-olds in the UK are not happy with their lives; the areas causing the greatest dissatisfaction are school, friendship and how they feel about their appearance; and 85% of children who rated how well they had coped during the pandemic gave themselves a score of above five out of ten. Children's happiness is in an alarming state of decline. 

"Society is tragically failing our young people. School, friendships and how they feel about the way they look are causing the greatest dissatisfaction in adolescence."

 Things about art... 

Evening in Benares, India
Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945)

For the past six months there’s been a lot of work going on behind-the-scenes to renovate, redecorate and redisplay works at the Graves Gallery, and they are now open again.

They have transformed four of the galleries in the Graves – walls have been re-cladded, spaces redecorated and over a third of the artworks on display have been changed over.

Currently you will be able to see Phlegm’s Pandemic Diary, a new exhibition of work by sculptor Mark Firth, an exhibition curated by pioneering artist Keith Piper, and a new display on the theme of landscape.

Things to buy... 

We have over 100 second-hand books for sale, the list and prices are on this spreadsheet. Now that we can take card payments it is easier than ever for you to come up to the library to browse and buy.  You can also ring us with your choices and, if they are still available, we can take your card payment over the phone and either keep them for you to collect or send in the internal mail (at your risk). Please make sure all transactions take place 30 mins before our closing times. 

Things about opening hours... 

A reminder that we are now back open on two evenings a week  Tuesday and Wednesday until 19:00 - it seems to be popular and we have a few regular attendees.

Things about ultra processed foods... 

A cohort study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, of 9025 British children assessed longitudinal associations between UPF consumption and adiposity trajectories from childhood to early adulthood.  Ultraprocessed foods tend to be more energy-dense and nutritionally poorer (ie, high in levels of free sugar, salt, and saturated fats but low in levels of protein, dietary fiber, and micronutrients) compared with less processed alternatives and are designed to be cheap, palatable, durable, convenient, and appealing. The findings suggest that higher UPF consumption is associated with greater increases in adiposity from childhood to early adulthood. 

Robust public health measures that promote minimally processed foods and discourage UPF consumption among children are urgently needed to reduce obesity in England and globally.

 

Things about everything... 

 Whether you want to know more about our training, what we do, how to request an article or what services we can provide for management then our website is the place to look. Including useful links to Book a Librarian, finding e-books or searching our library catalogue.

Things to book and attend... 

Sheffield's brilliant 'Off the Shelf' literary festival is back 15th-31st October. With speakers and events for everyone including comedian and writer Andy Hamilton, Former Labour MP Helen Jackson, Black Women Write Now – curated by Désirée Reynolds' Lady Hale (who was the first woman and youngest person to be appointed to the Law Commission, President of the Supreme Court and a pioneering reformer), Miriam Margoyles and  Poet Laureate Simon Armitage performs a newly commissioned piece in celebration of the Peak District National Park’s 70th anniversary. This brochure has all the events at a glance.

Things to make... 

One of my jobs this weekend is to make crab apple jelly. This year my fairly new tree is heavily laden with fruit. If you don't have crab apples then other UK apples are coming up to their best season - one of my favourite apple recipes is Dorset apple traybake.

 

Things in the library 20th Aug...

 Things about Sure Start... 

The Institute for Fiscal Studies published their research which finds that one of England’s biggest early years programmes delivered long-lasting health benefits for children through their teenage years. Taken together, ​the savings from reduced hospitalisations up to age 15 offset around 31% of spending on the programme.

Established in 1999, Sure Start Children’s Centres brought together health, parenting support, childcare and parental employment services into a one-stop shop for families with children under 5. At its peak in 2010, Sure Start received £1.8 billion a year (a third of overall early years spending), but spending has since fallen by more than two-thirds as many centres have been closed, scaled back or integrated into Family Hubs.

The research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, builds on previous IFS analysis and provides the first evidence of how this major initiative affected children’s health up to age 15.

These results highlight ​the importance of integrating a range of services during the early years to improve child health ​in both the immediate and longer term. These are important lessons for existing services (such as Family Hubs) and ​should inform the government’s approach to the recommendations in the recent Leadsom Report ​on the first 1,001 days of life. While this autumn’s Spending Review will be a tight one, these results highlight the importance of considering the long-term benefits of early intervention policies, not just their up-front cost.

Things about RCPCH... 

The General Medical Council has now approved the plans for new two-level, run through specialty training programme from summer 2023, which will be "flexible, fulfilling and fit-for-purpose" called RCPCH Progress+. As a trainee or a educational supervisor these FAQ may be of interest to you to find out more.

Things about Covid-19... 

Recent article in JAMA Pediatrics looked at whether there were differences in the odds of household transmission by younger children compared with older children. The ages of children were grouped as 0 to 3, 4 to 8, 9 to 13, and 14 to 17 years. The study suggests that younger children may be more likely to transmit SARS-CoV-2 infection compared with older children, and the highest odds of transmission was observed for children aged 0 to 3 years. Differential infectivity of pediatric age groups has implications for infection prevention within households, as well as schools/childcare, to minimize risk of household secondary transmission. Although children do not appear to transmit infection as frequently as adults, caregivers should be aware of the risk of transmission while caring for sick children in the household setting. As it is challenging and often impossible to socially isolate from sick children, caregivers should apply other infection control measures where feasible, such as use of masks, increased hand washing, and separation from siblings.

Things in the gardens... 

Held annually in the Sheffield Botanical Gardens, Art in the Gardens is an outdoor art exhibition, with artists, craft makers and visitors coming together from across the UK.

This event on 4th-5th September is an opportunity to buy a piece of art or craft direct from the artists, whilst enjoying the surroundings that the gardens have to offer. Thousands of pieces of art and craft are on show and for sale.

From premier artists in the pavilions and marquees, sculptures on the lawns to the Open Art Competition, a dedicated 'Home and Gardens' area and a host of professional artists and craft makers. Go along to explore the gardens, meet the artists, enjoy some locally sourced food and drink, beautiful artwork and enjoy your day. Online pre-sale tickets available  and it does sell out. there will be two sessions each day. This will be 10.30am-14:00pm and 14:00pm-17:30pm. 

Things to eat... 

I think aubergines are a wonderful vegetable lending themselves to many cuisines. Here is a recipe for the vegans amongst you...or anyone else who wants a meat free tasty burger.

**** No blog next week as I will be taking a day off ****

Things in the library 6 August...

 Forty things... 

Someone asked me recently “was I counting the days until my retirement” …well I wasn’t …but I did & found I had 40 of my working days left. So I thought I would spend my last 40 days telling everyone something  different about the library on each of those days via our Facebook page or on Twitter using the hashtags  #40things #GillRetiring . When I made a list I found so many things I wanted to tell people about that I might have to postpone my leaving day 😄. So do follow us to find out what 40 things I have chosen.

Things for new starters... 

If you have new rotating doctors in your area or as colleagues please make sure that they know about the library and all our services. Everyone in the trust gets our Monday morning bulletin so do encourage them to glance through this and also to join the library to make the best use of our services whilst they are with us. Whether it is for training, literature searches, current awareness services or leisure reading or a place to work, they will be very welcome. They can find full details of everything to offer on our website.

Things green... 

Sheffield has been blessed with many green open spaces within the city boundaries - many thanks to be benefactor J G Graves. This greenground map produced by Outdoor City and University of Sheffield shows 365 of them.

Things about mindfulness... 

An interesting article spotted this week looks at Yoga and Mindfulness Interventions for Preschool-Aged Children in Educational Settings: A Systematic Review which can be downloaded from this link. They conclude that this systematic review provides some evidence that yoga and mindfulness are promising practices for addressing social emotional development among preschool-aged children.

Things about social and ethnic groups... 

A  population-based retrospective cohort study has published the results of  research looking at the social and ethnic group differences in children’s use of healthcare services in England, from 2007 to 2017. They conclude:

Between 2007 and 2017, children living in more deprived areas of England made greater use of emergency services and received less scheduled care than children from affluent neighbourhoods. Children from Asian and black ethnic groups continued to consult GPs more frequently than children from white ethnic groups, though black children had significantly lower outpatient attendance rates than white children across the study period. Our findings suggest substantial levels of unmet need among children living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. Further work is needed to determine if healthcare utilisation among children from Asian and black ethnic groups is proportionate to need.

The full text of the article and supplementary material  in Archives of Disease in Childhood can be accessed by this link. 

Things about opening hours... 

We are now open one evening a week (Tuesdays) until 7pm if you need to use the library and/or the computers.

Things about Children and young people’s mental health... 

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have published initial findings from the early evaluation of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Trailblazer programme, a programme funding the creation of mental health support teams working in schools and further education colleges in England. An evaluation of the first wave of mental health support teams and education mental health practitioners, working with more than a thousand schools and colleges, include: schools and colleges welcomed the funding of additional capacity to provide in-house mental health support and participants raised concerns about gaps in support, especially for children and young people whose needs were not ‘mild to moderate’ (the group that the teams are designed to support) but also not serious enough to meet the referral criteria for specialist services. The final report from the early evaluation will be published in summer 2022.

Things to read... 

The next virtual Reading Group meeting will be on Sept 1st at 18:30 to 19:30 - all are welcome, please contact the library for the joining link. The book we will be looking at is 'West' by Carys Davies.

When widowed mule breeder Cy Bellman reads in the newspaper that colossal ancient bones have been discovered in a Kentucky swamp, he sets out from his small Pennsylvania farm to see for himself if the rumours are true: that the giant monsters are still alive and roam the uncharted wilderness beyond the Mississippi River. Promising to return within two years, he leaves behind his daughter, Bess, to the tender mercies of his taciturn sister, Julie. With only a barnyard full of miserable animals and her dead mother’s gold ring to call her own, Bess fills lonely days tracing her father’s route on maps at the subscription library in town and shrinking from the ominous attentions paid to her and her aunt by their neighbour and sometimes yard hand, Elmer Jackson. Bellman, meanwhile, ventures farther and farther from home, across the harsh and alien landscapes of the West in reckless pursuit of the unknown.

Things to make... 

Greengages (Reine Claude in France) are, I think, my favourite plum (sorry Victorias ...you are a close second) and spotted in the shops yesterday. They can vary in quality but good ones are fabulous. If you want to cook with them this Nigel Slater frangipane tart is good (you can always cheat with a ready-made pastry case if pastry isn't your thing.

Things in the library 17 July...

Things written by you... 

Our online SCH Repository continues to grow and now includes most publications from SCH staff from 2018 onwards (over 450). In our library catalogue you can see the details of all of these by searching for “sch repository”. They are identifiable by the image on the right. If you have signed up to receive a monthly email with new items added to the library (when you joined the library) then you will be notified of any of these articles which match your subject interests.

The catalogue records link to the PubMed abstract – if you then require the full text of an article and cannot obtain it elsewhere  we can supply this in the normal way via our request form (charges apply).

We only list co-authors who have given SCH as their institutional affiliation, if they have stated their department we can report on this for SCH departments but many have only given the trust name.

We hope this will not only showcase the research being published by SCH colleagues but also share awareness of what is being done in different specialities across the trust.

If any of your SCH affiliated publications are missing or are in error please email the library for them to be checked (post 2018 only).

Things to donate and record... 

Museums Sheffield have been thinking about what objects represent our lives at the moment, and what should be collected to tell the story of what we’re currently going through to future generations. COVID-19 has seen our day-to-day life change massively – we all have a lot in common right now, but they are also mindful that people people’s personal circumstances mean that a lot of us are having very different experiences.

They want to do their best to represent this unprecedented moment in our lives, but  need your help. What do you think should be kept as a memory of Sheffield and its people at this time? In particular, if you have a suggestion of something you’d be happy to donate to the city’s collections that represents your experience during lockdown they would love to hear from you.

Sheffield Libraries and Archives are also running a fantastic project to document the experiences of people in Sheffield during lockdown - you can find out more about that and how you can get involved here 

Things to make your life easier... 

We often advertise that we can provide one-to-one training in Mendely - reference managing software. Perhpas you have seen this and not realised what a benefit this could be to you, your colleagues or even useful information to pass on to your student family members. Mendeley (and other similar software) does two things. It allows you to keep an record of all the references you have acquired for a topic in a very easy to use way. You can organise these in folders or with subject tags or keep them in a jumbled heap (not recommended) depending on your preference (guess what "us librarians" prefer!). You can make notes on an article and if the pdf is available to you highlight sections which you want to refer to in your writing.

The other side of the software is where the magic happens and as you are writing your Word document you can automatically insert your references where needed and create your bibliography at the click of a button. You can change the citation style just by selecting from a drop-down list and if you need to move batches of text around in your document the references will automatically re-number themselves. It is a real time-saver and will help you organise your work if you are doing any writing for publication or education. If you wish to book an individual or small group session please use our Book a Librarian service.

Things to return... 

Although we have extended everyone's libnrary book due dates until Sept, if you have books that you are ready to return please do so either by handing in at the library counter or placing in the returns box outside the library. This is particularly important if you are moving on to another trust in August. All returned books are now quarantined for 72 hours before being available for loan to another reader so you may see  this indicated on the library catalogue. 

Things to eat... 

I made this Chorizo, orzo & sweetcorn summer stew yesterday - very simple and tasty

Things in the library 26 June...

Things for parents... 

The Department for Education (DfE) has published information for parents and carers about the opening of early years providers, schools and colleges, safety in schools, attendance, transport, school meals and exams. the guidance can be found here

Things to join in... 

Next Wednesday our virtual reading group will be meeting from 18:15 to 19:15 and the book being discussed is 'Before the coffee gets cold' by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. Translated from Japanese this book is  a fable about regret and reclaiming lost opportunities. What would you change if you could go back in time? In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a cafe which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years.

If you would like to take part please contact the library for the joining link.

Things coming to an end... 

We hope those of you who have been joining in the most recent Randomised Coffee Trial (Virtual) in June have had chance to meet-up. I will be sending out a feedback form next week so please let us know how it went and if you would like more virtual RCTs organising. 

Things to know if you are using the library...

Add caption

Things out and about... 

Many of you in Sheffield may sometimes come across footpath signs saying 'Round Walk' - this doesn't actually walk all around Sheffield but is a 14 mile walk through the parks, woodland and countryside of south west Sheffield. It starts in Endcliffe Park at Hunters Bar goes through Whiteley Woods up into Mayfield and Porter Valley, emerging at Ringinglow before descending again into Whirlow and Ecclesall Woods.  There is an ascent into Ladies Spring Wood, through Beauchief and Chancet Wood then into Graves Park and down through Gleadless Valley, returning to Hunters Bar via Meersbrook Park and Brincliffe Edge Woods. More information on this and other Sheffield walks, including a civil engineering one around the city centre, can be accessed here.

Things to book... 

Please remember that by using our Book a Librarian service you can have one-to-one help and our undivided attention...well unless the cat walks across the keyboard. We can do training, give general library help and advice, discuss a literature search and much more. Please use the form on our website accessed by the Book a Librarian button or follow this link.

Things to make... 

A lovely Chicken & chorizo ragu which you could have with pasta, bread, rice or jacket potatoes.  I find it is extra special made with the real sundried tomatoes rather than the ones in oil (though that is good too), you can make a batch and freeze it.