For the final episode of the series we sat down with Santiago Ospina-Tarboda, a Customer Service Assistant at Sutton Libraries to chat about what inspires him, the different ways he helps people at work and why he loves Rhymetime. Santiago brought his unique perspective of the library service, having previously worked as an operations assistant and also gave some insight into the sessions offered to sutton Library users with learning disabilities.

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Santiago is a Customer Service Assistant working across all Sutton Libraries.

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This week we were lucky enough to be joined by local author and actor Saraswathi Sukumar, for a fascinating chat about her inspirations, the roots of her love for storytelling and the darker side of old children's tales. Recorded on the 2nd floor at Sutton Central Library, a place that Saraswathi was very familiar with as she described her journey from borrowing books as a child and a young adult from Sutton Central, before studying for her GCSEs in our study space. Listen to hear how Saraswathi's local experience works alongside her Indian roots to create unique stories.

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Saraswathi Sukumar is an actor and author. In 2022 she was commissioned by Documental to write a radio play based on the landscape of Devon, 'Slices of Soundless Scream' and recently developed a lesson plan to be delivered to Sutton school children encouraging them to write a short story.

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SARASWATHI'S SUTTON STEAMS AHEAD LESSON PACK

LISTEN TO 'SLICES OF SOUNDLESS SCREAM'

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Joining us on The Library Talks Podcast this week is local author Gordon Thomas. The author of 5 novels, beginning with the Madrid series, The Harpist of Madrid (2011), The Emerald of Burgos (2014), Expulsion (2017) and Return to Madrid (2019). He recently moved away from this series with It Began in Florence (2021), a novel about British composer Ethel Smyth. Gordon is a natural storyteller and this was a fascinating conversation covering how Gordon came to writing novels later in life, his inspiration and advice for new writers. We ended our conversation by considering the links between art and science as we continue to look ahead to Sutton STEAMs Ahead.

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Gordon L. Thomas spent a long and varied career working as a scientist and for the Home Office before turning to writing novels after retiring in the early 2000’s. He has published 5 novels and is currently working on a 6th, focussing on the life of Anton Bruckner.

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GORDON'S WEBSITE

GORDON L. THOMAS INSTAGRAM

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On this week's episode of the Library Talks Podcast we are joined by Library and Archive Apprentice Abigail Dubois to discuss her hybrid role working with our extensive archives and in the library. Listen to hear a discussion on the changing nature of archives, their purpose and how they can be accessed. We also talked about the ways in which communication has evolved in Sutton over the years and look ahead to some of the exciting projects coming up from the Archive team for Sutton STEAMs Ahead.

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Abigail is.a Library & Archive Apprentice working in the archives at Sutton Central Library and across Sutton Library sites.

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Welcome back to The Library Talks Podcast and the first episode of Series 3, which features a conversation between host Alfie and National Poetry Librarian Chris McCabe. Recorded in a dressing room at Royal Festival Hall and soundtracked by a piano rehearsal taking place in the next room, Chris and Alfie discuss poetry as a political act, when is it effective and what are its limitations? We also hear the fascinating stories of some of London's forgotten poets and discuss three books that have been significant in Chris' life.

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Chris was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award in 2013 and has released several poetry collections: The Hutton Inquiry (Salt, 2005), Zeppelins (Salt, 2008), THE RESTRUCTURE (2011), Speculatrix (Penned in the Margins, 2014) and The Triumph of Cancer (Penned in the Margins, 2018). He has also released 2 novels and his non-fiction work concerns an ongoing hunt for a great forgotten poets buried in London’s cemeteries.

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CHRIS MCCABE TWITTER

CHRIS MCCABE AT THE POETRY ARCHIVE

THE NATIONAL POETRY LIBRARY

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For the final episode of the series, we are joined by Lucas Maxwell, school librarian at Glenthorne High School in Sutton, who welcomed us to the Glenthorne school library for a short conversation about the challenges of running a welcoming school library, that provides students with a safe space and helps them develop the tools to recognise misinformation when online, something Lucas believes is the biggest challenge facing young people today.

We also touched upon the school and public library system in the UK and how it differs from Lucas' home in Canada, the culture shock of entering an English high school and the wide-ranging activities and opportunities the library offers to students.

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Lucas Maxwell is the school librarian at Glenthorne High School and was awarded School Librarian of the Year 2017. He is also a contributor to Book Riot, the largest independent literary site in North America.

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LUCAS MAXWELL TWITTER

BOOK RIOT

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Our guest this week is TLTP alumnus, Josh, Digital Engagement Officer for Sutton Libraries, who joined us to discuss video games that strive to be more than 'just a game', whether by conveying important social commentary, generating empathy and understanding by putting the player in the shoes of a character with difficult choices to make, or by encouraging players to get outside and explore their area and get fit.

This conversation was brought about following the release of 'News Flash!', an online game created by Sutton Libraries in partnership with games designer Adam Dixon. 'News Flash!' encourages young people to utilise critical thinking skills to expose misinformation and recognise what sources can be trusted.

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Josh is a Customer Service Officer for Sutton Libraries, covering everything from events and social media to video and website content.

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'NEWS FLASH!' GAME

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This week on The Library Talks Podcast we are joined by Robert Heath, Production Controller at Pan Macmillan & Managing Editor at InPrint Magazine for an insightful conversation about ways in which the publishing industry has changed over the years and others where there is still progress to be made. Robert also shares his experience as a young person in publishing, something he is uniquely placed to comment on as the current Managing Editor of the Young Publishers Association in-house magazine. Robert also takes an autobiographical Desert Island Books, selecting 3 titles that have been important to him at different stages of his life, including an absurdist children's classic.

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Robert Heath graduated with distinction from an MA in Publishing from the London College of Communication and has been with Pan Macmillian since 2018.

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ROBERT HEATH TWITTER

INPRINT MAGAZINE

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