The Science of Innovation
Tuesday 24 January 2012
6:30pm – 9:30pm
City Library

Trevor Baylis, who shot to fame when he created the Clockwork Radio, will crank up the volume on innovation when he joins Professor James Hayton at the fourth inspirational event in the  ‘Science of…’ series.

The events which merge science, business and personal development have proved a real winner with the region’s business community and this one promises to be a real highlight.

Trevor whose career is built on a lifetime interest in invention and innovation is well-known for his inspirational style encouraging people to ‘think outside of the square’. Working tirelessly to promote the cause of the lone inventor, he has been concerned about the neglect of invention, inventors, and intellectual property in the UK for many years.

Trevor will be joined on the evening by Professor James Hayton, the David Goldman Professor of Innovation & Enterprise at Newcastle University, who will focus on how the influences of intangible assets such as culture, human capital, and human resource management practices impact on the innovation process.

Book your FREE place online.

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To celebrate National Pro Bono Week, solicitors and students from Northumbria University’s award winning Student Law Office will be providing free legal advice at Newcastle City Library.  Members of the public can drop in to receive free advice on a range of legal issues including consumer disputes, housing, employment, family, criminal injuries and business matters.

Monday 7 November 2011
Drop in between 9am – 5pm

If you require more information about the event, please do not hesitate to contact Paul McKeown on 0191 243 7527.

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We are working closely with Newcastle Science City, Northumbria University and the British Library to develop a new service aimed at entrepreneurs, innovators, start-ups and established businesses. Through a series of events, workshops, public talks and one-to-one coaching sessions experts will share their knowledge of business development and intellectual property all underpinned by high quality resources and staff support at City Library.

Visit the new Business and Intellectual Property Centre website.

Speakers include Dragons’ Den contestant Solvej Biddle, The Apprentice runner-up for 2011 Helen Milligan, and the former head of PR at Easyjet, James Rothnie. Most of these events are free and we invite you to find out more about the programme by coming to the launch at City Library on Monday 5 September at 6pm.  Find out more information or reserve you place online.

If you have any business or intellectual property enquiries please email newcastlebipc@newcastle.gov.uk.

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Staff within our teams at City Library have had a bit of a change over but it’s still business as usual.

13-19 June was National Carer’s Week and we celebrated with a marketplace event at City Library. It was great to see the Bewick Hall buzzing with approximately 90 people (and 1 dog!!) who came to find out how they could be supported as carers. They got the chance to learn how to play the ukulele as well! In addition, the Information and Digital team hosted an introduction to online shopping session where we looked at how to buy things from Amazon and how to save money on food shopping through My Supermarket – if you haven’t been on this website before do check it out. We hope this will become an annual event in the City Library during National Carer’s Week.

We’ve also had a host of other agencies in using the City Library this past month including the Housing Advice Centre, the community police, Connexions, Your Homes Newcastle advice and support team and Duke of Edinburgh representatives to name but a few! These agencies use our space on level 1 which can be booked for FREE (yes you did here that correctly – free!!)  by any information and guidance (IAG) provider. Agencies have access to prime drop-in space in the stunning library atrium, high visitor numbers, a bookable interview room for confidential appointments, information display facilities, free wi-fi and much more. If you fit into this category and would like to promote your service to a new audience contact the Information and Digital team on 0191 2774100 or email room.bookings@newcastle.gov.uk.

Alongside many other training sessions, Nick, Luke and Anne delivered ebook taster sessions to visually impaired users at MEA Housein Newcastle as part of Make a Noise in Libraries Week. This was a learning curve for all of us as we did not have experience of the screen reader software called ‘Guide’ which Newcastle Society of the Blind use on their PCs. This software not only enlarges the text, but also guides users around the page without having to use a mouse and can speak the text out loud. During the session, we showed the participants what an e-reader looks like and how it can enlarge the text so it can be more easily read. In two of the sessions we had a Sony e-reader as well as an Amazon Kindle and opinion was divided between which the group preferred! The Kindle was liked for the largeness of the text and for the contrast between the letters and the back of the page, but the Sony reader was liked for its touch screen and its navigation….so the group concluded that a combination of both of them would be just perfect. There’s a proposition for you Sony and Amazon!

In June we hosted our first business workshop in partnership with Newcastle Science City. This exciting new partnership will bring a range of workshops and public lectures on wide range of topics designed to help businesses grow including subjects from PR to market research, sales and marketing to recruitment and HR. Our first workshop, delivered by Fred Pernet from proAgile and Simon Green from Newcastle Science City, was on the subject of digital innovation and was very well received by audience members. Our next event is called Law for Business and is on Wednesday 29 June from 8:30am – 10am at City Library. This session is aimed at individuals with new product or service ideas that could be turned into businesses but need an introduction to legal issues. We look forward to seeing you there!

Sharon Reeve
Information and Digital Service Manager

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City Library is hosting an entrepreneurs’ question and answer event. There will be excellent speakers able to talk you through your business and product ideas, based on their experiences.

Jonathan Wade started up Neuro Partners with two friends and began operating with just the three of them in January 2006. Five year’s later, they have taken on their 250th employee and now have offices in Newcastle and beyond.

Joanna Feeley and Emily Pitkethly both work in design and met through the If We Can You Can Challenge. They work with interns and graduates and even allow their staff to cross over and work within each other’s companies to share knowledge and experiences.

You can hear more about how the speakers’ ideas developed and took shape, and enjoy an open forum for questions and discussion in an informal atmosphere.

The event takes place on Tuesday 29 March at 5pm.

For more information, or to book your place at this event, please email will@entrepreneursforum.net or phone 0191 2267488.

Find out more about the local Entrepeneurs Forum.

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The City Library is hosting a responsible business event in partnership with Newcastle Business Forums. Responsible businesses commit to behaving ethically and contributing to economic development whilst striving to improve the quality of their workforce, their families, the local community and beyond.

Thursday 17 March 2011
3pm – 8pm
City Library

This event is ideal for those who want to learn more about being a responsible business or have great stories to share. Find out more and book a place online.

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Wednesday 29 September from 1pm – 7pm at City Library.

Learn how to find the right job, apply for grants, develop business ideas, protect intellectual property and build a great C.V with our information and guidance experts at the Newcastle Libraries Business and Employment Show. This is a free event, no booking required – just turn up. See the BIPS page for more information about our business information and intellectual property services.

As well as the information stalls, there will be the following talks:

Bsi and British Standards Online – Supporting Your Business
Susan McKeown from BSi
ICT Suite Level 4 from 2pm – 3pm

British Standards provide quality assurance to thousands of products and systems; this talk will help your business understand how to implement and use this important resource, and maximise its usage. British Standards Online is freely available to Newcastle Libraries’ customers via the 24 hour library. Admission is free, but places are limited. Please phone 0191 2774100 or email information@newcastle.gov.uk to book your place.

Building a successful brand online
Nick Stopforth from Newcastle Libraries
ICT Suite Level 4, 6pm – 7pm

This practical event will give you tips and ideas on how to develop the position of your business online and getting the most from search engines and email with tips and hints for developing a powerful online presence. Admission is free, but places are limited. Please phone 0191 2774100 or email information@newcastle.gov.uk to book your place.

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