| Rae Riach has been working on the SPL's collection in Ayr - with some great results for poetry readers in the area.
The SPL outreach collection housed in the Ayr Campus Library at the University of the West of Scotland was established when the campus was still Craigie College of Education. As a consequence most of the borrowers over the years have been education students rather than the general public, who are somewhat reluctant to come into the University. Over the last few years I have tried to turn that around and to raise awareness of the collection in Ayrshire and to publicise the fact that any member of the public can join the collection for free.
I have had help along the way. The University Librarian at the time, Stuart James, committed financial support from the Library budget to update the collection and now each year we buy a range of new poetry titles. My colleagues and I have moved the collection to a corner of the Library with comfortable seating and a pleasant ambience. There are interesting new titles on display. The collection used to emanate an aura of brown, a very unhappy colour for a synaesthetic librarian such as myself, but the collection has been thoroughly weeded of ‘brown' titles and now emanates a satisfying rainbow hue of colours.
We have had support from the SPL in Edinburgh as Lilias Fraser gamely escorted visiting poets to the outlands of Ayr to give readings on our behalf, Jen Hadfield, Cheryl Follon and Ian Stephen. Matthew Fitt has visited and read to the delight of my sons. The Poet Partner Scheme has enabled us to have Rab Wilson as our Poet Partner and he has done a number of memorable readings. The Poet Partner Scheme is also funding our current series of summer poetry readings with Gerry Cambridge, Catherine Czerkawska, Alistair Paterson, Liz Niven, Sheila Templeton, Alison Craig and Gerrie Fellows (details below).
We want the public to know that they are welcome in the University library and that it is their library as well.
Rae Riach
The Scottish Poetry Library in Ayrshire, UWS Campus, invites you to our Summer Poetry Series to be held in the Carnegie Library.
Thursday 29 May 7.30 pm Catherine Czerkawska and Gerry Cambridge
Thursday 5 June 7.30 pm
Liz Niven and Alistair Paterson
Thursday 19 June 7.30 pm
Alison Craig, Gerrie Fellows and Sheila Templeton
If you have any enquiries regarding these readings please contact Rae Riach Tel: 01292 886265 or email: raewyn.riach@uws.ac.uk
These readings are made possible through the Scottish Poetry Library's Poet Partner Scheme which is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
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