Environment Project Power Point

http://www.scribd.com/doc/190285085/Environment-Powerpoint?secret_password=1p1acg3wtqab3cpkk40b

Final Shots of Environment Brief

These are the final shots of my Environment. Although my concept was abandoned and derelict buildings, I had to bring in nature to the project too. Therefore, I focused on the nature element of the church and my final images show the overgrown shrubbery climbing up and down the walls and over the tombstones. I feel my most interesting shot is the one where the tree is breaking through the walls under the roof. 

Questionnaire for my Portrait Project Issue

After researching the current trends for libraries in the UK, I have devised the following questionnaire for when I interview the librarian at Rochester Library.

Questionnaire for Librarian at Rochester Library

1. Do you feel that the numbers of people using the library has fallen in recent years?

2. If so, do you think this might be because more people have access to the internet?

3. If not, what do you think it is about the library that people want to come to it rather than research information on line or buy their own books?

4. Your website tells us how many books were borrowed last year, but has the number of books borrowed fallen since E-readers became popular?

5. Are people using the library for other reasons than just borrowing books?

6. Do more people come to use the library for research reasons rather than to borrow fiction?

7. Was the library incorporated in with the Community Hub because it was felt that it would be made better use of?

8. Rochester is a student town, and UCA has its own library, do you think that affects the numbers using the library?

9. If the numbers of users has declined, is it enough to put the library at risk of closure, bearing in mind local authorities are cutting back on services wherever they can?

Research for Portrait Project

Current Library Trends

According to an article in the Guardian online dated 27^th September 2013, a survey carried out by The Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) has found that library visits are down once again due to closures of so many libraries. It reveals that 63.8% of people did not use a public library in 2012-13. The number of people visiting a library at least once a year has dropped by 25% since records began in 2005-6. However, in the past year, 16.1% of adults used a library website which is up from 8.9% in 2005-6.

The general opinion is that people change and they want the services to change. Therefore, libraries need to evolve and offer the relevant services to halt the decline.

Although we tend to think of the library as traditionally a place to go to when we want to borrow fiction books, it has evolved to be a place where you can do research, use the computers, borrow DVDs and CDs plus it provides a real social networking that allows individuals to find out what is happening in their local communities.

According to research, there has been a rise in the loan of new media such as films, games and music, although this will vary with the demographics.

Another factor may be that more people have access to various forms of media in their own homes. People can use the internet on their laptops, PCs and even smart phones to research things. E-readers have become very popular recently and just by a click of a button you can have any one of a choice of thousands of books sent to your E-reader in seconds.

Libraries are a very important local public service which provides so much more for the community than just the loan of books. There are lots of campaigns on the go to halt the closures and to educate local authorities of the importance to the local community.