Library sketching — Next Library Camp at the State Library of Queensland

Edit: The library post is now up on Public Libraries Connect blog, along a longer page including some of the presentations, and several posts with participant experiences. The Next Library Camp Flickr album is also now online — so you can compare the pictures to the sketches.

On 31 May 2021 I had the honour and delight of sketching proceedings at the Next Library Camp at the State Library of Queensland (in connection with Aarhus Public Libraries with whom we had a short video linkup, so that librarians could call and wave to each other across timezones).

All five subjects of the Dangerous Women podcast (I was pleased I got them all in)

I was working in a pocket Moleskine sketchbook with Pitt Artist pens — I’ve written more about why and how I use so much blue and yellow for rapid sketches here: Sketchbook colours — blue and gold.

Zoom, and an escalating standard of props among storytelling librarians

It was a very full and interesting and thought-provoking day, organised for the State Library by Jackie Ryan (to be found at e.g. LinkedIn, UQP, Burgerforce), who has cultivated that really valuable creative gift of being able to put the right people together in the right room, and let good conversations happen.

I sketched for most of it, with occasional pauses to breathe/eat/stretch my hands. At the end, I presented the art and talked about the story of the day as filtered through a sketchbook — the necessity of selecting, the power of limitations, the charm of tiny details, the way those tiny details can accompany and elaborate on more formal records of an event, the mood and attitudes and fashion, the poses and thoughtfulness, the interactions of groups and personalities.

And below I present: all the sketches, with very high-level captions! I will link to the State Library blog post about the day when it goes live, which will have much more information. Not shown, because I was eating: catering (and the stories thereof) by Eritrean restaurant Mu’ooz.

Hairstyles

Waveney Yasso performs

Librarian hands, and State Librarian Vicki McDonald — find Vicki on Twitter at @coffeemiss, where she tweeted much of the day

Lightning talks by Louise Denoon (executive director of public libraries and engagement — and also on Twitter at @louisedenoon where she tweeted about proceedings), Kristina Olsson (author), Shane Rowlands (Moreton Bay Regional Council), Stephen Harris (Bundaberg Libraries) and Rhianna Patrick (Indigenous-X and the person who told me about the aviation historical society, which is not relevant to this post except that it I sketched at that on the pages immediately before this).

Lightning talks by Theresa Kohne (Sunshine Coast libraries), Krissy Kneen (author), Jacinta Sutton (State Library), Kathryn Kelly (Academic and former Playlab CEO) and Maureen Engel (Academic).

Intense conversations over coffee. Great check trousers considerably better cut than they appear in this very rapid sketch.

Presentations by Samuel Wagan Watson (poet) and presentation/screening/workshop by Pascalle Burton (experimental artist). Also Jackie Ryan herself.

Groups at work (and photographer Leif Ekstrom (State Library), in retribution for the secretive clicks I could hear over my shoulder).

Literary ants, workshop presentations, and more intense conversations.

“Intellectual speed-dating”, Tammy Joynson (State Library) with a bell, and lightning talks by Andrei Maberley (State Library), Frankie Jaiyeola (Story Box Librarian, State Library), and Simon Groth (author, If:Book).

Videographer Josie Huang (State Library), librarians solving the problems of the world (or at least, the future of stories and libraries).