I worked for the Foundation for Conductive Education for eighteen years and was there as it grew, faltered, grew again and is now struggling to deal with the effects of the economic downturn leading to my redundancy this week.
I was employed to establish, run and maintain a Library that would hold information about Conductive Education that would be available in one place to anyone who wanted to find out more. Initially its basis was Andrew Sutton’s own collection, held in a single but overflowing filing cabinet and this has developed into a unique collection of books, manuscripts, articles, conference papers, conference proceedings, press cuttings, dissertations, videos, CDROMs, DVDs and Internet links - all about Conductive Education.
Over 2,000 of them.
Associate material on educational systems, special education, motor disorders, therapies, child development, psychology, neurology, anatomy, physiology, disability issues, disability experiences, disability fiction, history, has swelled the collection to 8 thousand items.
It has not been easy to bring all this together. There is very little published material on Conductive Education and tracking items down and obtaining copies has been quite a challenge at times, but worth it. Finances have been very limited and donations rather than purchases have been heavily relied on. Resources and equipment have also been minimal and lag far behind the big public and university libraries . There is no security system and items get ’lost’, no self-service photocopying, no self-service issuing and returning system. But its size and set up have also been one of its strengths, enabling ease of access to the material and the librarian.
This library has developed an international reputation and received many visitors not just from the UK but from all over the world, and enquiries, other requests and all sots of problems to be solved come in regularly via email and telephone. Along the way the Library has helped bolster the collections of other Conductive Education institutions around the world.
Initially I was apprehensive about taking this job on but went on to derive great pleasure and satisfaction from building this Library. In the process I learnt a lot about the conductive system, about running a library, publishing a journal and editing books, and most of all, myself. I think I can say these years have been my conductive upbringing. This has only been possible because of the support, knowledge and encouragement of Andrew Sutton. Thank you, Andrew.
But what now? All things must come to an end and my time is up. I want this Library to develop even more, continue to be a worldwide resource and help further the knowledge. At the moment there is no one to hand over to and its future is unknown.
I am sure that I will have more to say. Please continue to watch this space.
11 comments:
Dear Gill,
As I said in my e-mail, I am truly saddened to hear the news about your redundancy and the future of the hours and hours of work you have put into building the library up.
It seems that the news has caused a ripple (or perhaps a storm) of sadness, anger and frustration from many in the CE community. It is a shame that it is only after something like this happens that we get to know what people really think of us. But it is evident from all of the recent postings on the blogs that people DO very much value your work and see the library as an essential landmark not only at the Institute but for CE as a whole.
You, in my opinion ARE the library and the library IS the Institute.
There are many rare and special treasures in the library which I fear will not be preserved if you are not there and our heritage will be lost forever.
Gill, I really do hope that somehow the decision can be turned around and you can be ‘reinstated’ and in a couple of months all of this uncertainty can be a distant memory.
Whatever the future holds, I would like to thank you from the heart for everything you have done, not only for me personally but for Conductive Education as a whole.
Be strong,
With love
Mandy Elliott
Conductive Education Support Services Ltd
One disappointment is that the Trustees had so little confidence in the wider conductive education community, that they thought to ask our advice, cooperation and ingenuity, long before this awfulness became an inevitability.
If an era is at an end, one only hopes that it includes an end to the silo-mentality of the prevailing disconnected and discontinuous CE business model.
Gill, you already know my personal thoughts. As Mandy says: You, in my opinion ARE the library and the library IS the National Institute of Conductive Education.
I have already emnailed you and left a comment on Sussie Mallett's blog. So just to say that this decision makes no sense and CE will be much poorer without your presence.
Thank you for everything that you did for me during my studies.
B.
I received the shocking news yesterday via email from Andrew and it took me a day to take it all in in order to write to you. I like many have gone from being completely shocked, to saddened and am now feeling very angry at the decision that has been made. After 18 years service I feel you deserve more respect for the work and dedication you have put into not only the institute, but also the time you have given to all the students who trained at NICE.
Living in Brazil I only get to use the library once at year, but it is always a priority for me on my return to England. I visited earlier this year but it was shut and I left with great sadness at not having a catch up with you and any new additions you might have in the library. Now with even more sadness I realised that next year when I make the trip, again you will not be there, this time for different reasons.
Your knowledge, kindness and help to anyone interested in Conductive Education is known throughout the world, by conductors, parents and a range of professionals, who have passed through your door. After all it is your door and your library, which has been built from nothing, solely by you and it should never have been handed over to anyone else without your say so. I know that in your kindness you will wish the conductors the best of luck in its maintenance, but I feel this is all that will happen, it will be maintained and not grow, because lets be honest it has grown because of the many hours you spend searching out new material, who will do that now?
I would like to close by saying thank you for all the time and help you have giving me during and since my training at NICE. I pass on best wishes from Leticia who was very sad to hear the news and will write to you at a later date.
Becky
As with so many in the CE community, I too am both shocked and saddened to hear of your redundancy.
As a student currently writing their dissertation this unfortunate event highlights how important it has been to so many of us that you have been there to point us in the right direction when we are at our wits end. It also gives us an opportunity to reflect on the effect this news will have on future cohorts that will no longer be able to as rely on your diligence and knowledge.
I'm sure that I am not speaking out of term to say that you have the thanks and support of the current student body at NICE.
Lee.
Dear Gill,
Now is NOT the time to say goodbye.
Let's use whatever we know from the conductive pedagogy: motivation, intention, active participation, facilitation.
Let us use it in an intelligent manner and make the change.
Nothing in the world is fixed. It is in our power to change things.
If we don't know how to do it, let's ask the parents, the have the Know How!
NO GOODBYE, time has not arrived yet...
As somebody who had the opportunity to visit the library and who received much support and assistance from Gill in my historical research of CE, I can assert that the collection of the library is invaluable and irreplaceable in any further research not only of CE but of the broader field of disability studies. In fact, the collection which is the result of Gill Maguire’s and Andrew Sutton’s hard work and devotion to the cause of CE over several decades is unique and irreplaceable since besides the well catalogued media reportings, it contains a multitude of manuscripts, unpublished papers, and documents that are not available in any other libraries in the world. In most academic/university libraries such a collection would be designated as “special collections” treated with special care by an archivist who knows the material inside out, just like Gill does the contents of her collection. Therefore, I hope that the current proposed measures will not take effect or are only temporary.
Gill, All thats been said is really true. Infact I also find it difficult to actually believe it is happeneing. Your support is valuable and through training at the institute it has always been said, by myself and many others, about your interest in helping though's in need and desire to help the students succeed.
There's only one in many people nowadays who go that extra mile to help others, and you certainly are one of those.
You should be proud of all you have achieved and how many lives you have touched.
Thank you
Oh Gill,
I'm so sad to hear this news.
I have not been following much of the Institute's evolvements. Even still you were the person to contact whenever I had a question. You always helped me, as a student, as a conductor, as a person searching for answers ...
I do hope things will change for the better both for the Institute as for you personally, especially for you.
With love,
Katja
I have only just heard the news and it is very upsetting. Gill was an integral part of NICE and my time during my study. In fact I know that my last year and work would not have been anywhere near what they could have been without Gill. She is a great support and it is a shame she will not be continuing. I hope you take with you all the kind comments.
Thank you for everything you did for me and everyone else
Ruth
Post a Comment