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Dawson Days 2007 Steven Welch reports from the two UK Dawson Days.
“I've had such a wonderful time – such a lovely venue and such a pleasure to meet the Dawson team!”
Such a charming statement from one of our guests at this year's London Dawson Day!
This year's Dawson Day season commenced in Paris on 24 May and to read all about the experience of a Dawson Day in France click here .
The first of the two UK Dawson Days was held at Knowsley Hall, Merseyside on 14 June.
Over 100 guests from the Midlands and the North of England and Wales , together with those who flew from Scotland , Northern Ireland and Eire , visited this most marvellous venue. Knowsley Hall is the home of Lord and Lady Derby and is the ancestral home of the Stanley Family, one of the great English families of the last 600 years. As a venue for the Dawson Day, Knowsley Hall excelled – guests were able to enjoy the sumptuous state rooms including the library, the Stucco Room and the gorgeous Walnut Drawing Room.
It was in the magnificent State Dining Room (pictured above) that our 14 exhibitors were arranged, under the many paintings of the previous Lord's Stanley and their families. The Dawson Days cannot exist without the generosity of our sponsoring Exhibitors and guests were able to chat to them and learn about the new exciting publications that are being published.
After tea, coffee and biscuits upon arrival, guests were treated to a lecture in the Stucco Room (shown above) given by Alan Benton, Dawson Operations Director and Heather Sherman, Dawson Service Development Manager on the latest developments in the Dawson service and how these benefit customers now and in the future. This was followed by a talk by Mark Howard, eContent Manager on the brand new dawson era service – the new eBook platform from Dawson . Mark was able to outline to the guests the many benefits of this service and the great things that can be expected from such a ground breaking platform.
Lunch provided a natural break and a chance to further explore the treasures of Knowsley and to meet the Dawson Team. Mrs Pat Eades, Senior Servicer (pictured below) was on hand in the Music Room to give demonstrations on the finer points of the very best book servicing that is available from Dawson .
The tail end of lunch was punctuated by the ever popular Dawson Prize Draw (guests waiting to see of there number is drawn in the Prize Draw are shown above), featuring a great many prizes of value and variety which had been donated by our exhibitors. The Prize Draw was given by Mark Howard in his own inimitable style, ably assisted by Tony Wills and Gary King as number callers and prize distributors to the gathered audience.
The afternoon of the Dawson Day is traditionally given over to the Guest Speaker and this has usually been on a subject to the fore of the library world or connected to the Dawson Day venue. At Knowsley Hall we were privileged to hear a 30 minute talk given by the charming Emma Tate, Curator of the Derby Collection at Knowsley. Giving a fun and involving talk on the Earls of Derby through the ages, Ms Tate was able to give a fascinating insight into the history of the Stanley Family and the changing fortunes of Knowsley throughout the ages. This well received talk has certainly been one of the most engaging and stimulating seen at a Dawson Day.
One week later on 21 June the London Dawson Day took place at Haberdashers' Hall in the City of London .
The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London . Dawson Days have, in recent years, visited several of these historical halls but this year the Haberdashers' Hall is a different choice of venue. Completed only 6 years ago, the bright and breezy hall incorporates space into a modern and contemporary design, much in keeping with this year's featured attraction of the eBook platform dawson era . The packed Reception Gallery is shown below:
As at Knowsley Hall one week previously, guests were treated to tea, coffee and biscuits, with the Dawson team greeting all the guests as they arrived. A “goody bag” containing gifts from our Exhibitors was presented along with the Programme for the Day. Guests then received the dawson era presentation from Mark Howard in the Court Room and were directed to visit Jude Norris and Claire Chandler at the dawson era stand to see the actual platform in live demonstration. Jude is pictured demonstrating the exciting dawsonera eBook platform.
As at Knowsley Hall, this proved to be a very busy and popular part of the Dawson Day, keeping Jude and Claire fully occupied throughout the day. Sharing the Livery Hall with dawson era were the 20 exhibitors and, as at Knowsley Hall, their insights into new products and publications proved a major attraction for our guests. The Livery Hall and the exhibitors are shown below:
The full list of Knowsley Hall and Haberdasher's Hall Exhibitors can be found at the end of this report.
During the day the ever popular Mrs Eades, installed in the Luncheon Room, gave her rendition of the great servicing skills that are available in the team at Dawson Books.
The Committee Room played host to the Exhibitor Product Demonstrations which gave the following exhibitors 10 minutes to showcase their latest products and innovations. Guests were able to hear demonstrations from:
• Oxford University Press • Springer • SAGE • Brill Academic Publishers • Palgrave Macmillan • CABI After these fascinating presentations it was time to enjoy the lunch. Dawson Days are renowned for their fine fare and this year was no exception; and it is always heartening to hear so many guests enthuse about the lunch. Once again during Lunch we were treated to the now legendary Prize Draw (pictured below) with Mark Howard resplendent in Fez (a complete mystery as to why) drawing winners for even more prizes.
The afternoon was taken by the talk given by Alan Benton and Heather Sherman on the latest developments at Dawson , with much emphasis given to the future of the Dawson service and how this will develop and incorporate many of the new technologies and processes that are arriving in the library world. Alan is pictured talking about the developments in the Dawson IT infrastructure:
Traditionally the Day closes with Afternoon Tea and many guests when departing remarked on the magnificent and different venue choice this year and the professionalism of the Dawson Team. To finish this report, the final words are best left to one of our guests. Peter Brading of Bristol University , who last year wondered how we could top the 2006 Dawson Days, sums up the mood of the feedback that we have received by commenting:
“I was as ever impressed by the tireless enthusiasm and friendliness of all the staff and their amazing ability to remember names and faces. The managers must have been tempted to answer most questions by saying "I'll be telling you about that in the talks" but they cheerfully gave their time to be as free and as frank as they could be. The very models of "how to win friends and influence people"! As well as the impressive glimpses into the future it is just as important to be able to thank the Customer Services staff who ceaselessly soothe our furrowed brows throughout the year, and still manage to seem so happy in their work. Thank you all very much for such an enjoyable day, and for all the other days when we are not face to face!”
Finally, this is a listing of our Exhibitors at the UK Dawson Days whose generosity is greatly appreciated:
(Representing CQ Press, Edinburgh University Press, Earthscan, National Academies Press, Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group and Scion)
Look out for news later in the year about the 2008 Dawson Day season.
Paris Dawson Day Thursday 24 May 2007To read all about the very successful Paris Dawson Day click here.
The 2007 Dawson Days season Paris 'Fondation Dosne-Thiers' 24 May Liverpool 'Knowsley Hall' 14 June London 'Haberdashers Hall' 21 June
The Paris Dawson Day 2007
On 24 May, the Dawson France team entertained more than 120 of their customers in the sumptuous Fondation DOSNES – THIERS, place Saint Georges. This is the former home of President Thiers, located deep in the heart of romantic Paris .
The Dawson Day commenced with a presentation by Mrs Willoquet of dawson era -the new ebooks platform developed by Dawson Books. This proved to be a fascinating presentation that generated much interest and debate from an enthralled audience.
Fabrice Martin gave an overview of the Dawson New Book System. Developed in-house, Fabrice demonstrated the many advances made over the outgoing system and explained how these can directly assist our customers.
The Dawson Day isn't complete without our publishing friends and this year nine publishers, both from France and overseas, exhibited their latest products and publications to our guests.
A tour of the old library and the private apartments of Thiers preceeded lunch and guests enjoyed a very interesting talk on the history and opulence of Thiers.
The Dawson Day concluded with lunch outside in the beautiful sunshine. The 2006 Dawson Days
“Is this the best Dawson Day yet?” asked one guest of her friend!
Just one of the excited exclamations overheard at the London Dawson Day as 300 guests enjoyed a magnificent lunch and admired the magnificent art collection in the Drapers' Hall.
The London Dawson Day of 25 May was one of three Dawson Days in the 2006 Season.
On the 18 th May 100 guests visited Café Carmen in Paris for the first of the Dawson Days. Café Carmen is the former home of George Bizet and was recently refurbished to its former glory. Madame Josée Willoquet, Manager of Dawson France hosted the Dawson Day, introducing the guests to the Dawson Total Book Management concept and followed this with a talk on the laws governing the right of loan in French libraries. As always the famous French hospitality at lunch was much in evidence and the guests were treated to the sounds of “Les Flutes Vagabondes” a three piece musical group, sponsored by Wiley who filled Café Carmen with the sounds of the great composer. This year the added attraction of the Servicing Demonstration was brought to Paris by Kristina Bone of the Dawson UK Servicing Team. Kristina demonstrated to her audience the great skill and care that goes into the servicing and covering of the books supplied by Dawson .
At Café Carmen, guests were able to visit the Exhibitors, see the latest publications and discuss European Publishing with the representatives of:
• Elsevier • John Wiley & Sons • Oxford University Press • Springer • World Scientific Publishing
The images above are of the Paris Dawson Day at Cafe Carmen, (l-r) the guests enjoying one of the talks, Ms Kristina Bone demonstrating the Dawson servicing techniques to the guests and finally the guests enjoying Cafe Carmen. A week later on 25 May, 300 guests visited The Drapers' Hall in the City of London . The Drapers Company is ranked third in precedence of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of London . With origins that can be traced back to medieval times, the Drapers' Hall proved to be an excellent choice for the Dawson Day – spacious enough to accommodate all the attractions of the Dawson Day and with fantastic art and décor that would not normally be accessible to the general public.
The magnificent painting of Queen Elizabeth II in the Court Room and the Court Room where lunch was served. The London Dawson Day began as it always does – with George Hammond and his team greeting all the guests as they arrived. A “goody bag” containing gifts from our Exhibitors was presented along with the Programme for the Day. Guests then enjoyed a refreshing coffee with fine homemade biscuits whilst enjoying the arts at the Drapers' Hall.
One of the attractions of the Dawson Day is the abundance of Exhibitors that attend. This year the whole of the Livery Hall at the Drapers' Hall was given over to our Exhibitors and all had something new and interesting to show, to demonstrate and talk about with the guests. For many, the quality and variety of the exhibitors is essential to their Dawson Day and this year guests were not disappointed. The full list of London and Birmingham Exhibitors can be found at the end of this report.
The morning progressed with guests attending two talks. Heather Knights, Dawson 's Service Development Manager gave an insight into how Dawson can form a partnership with your library. Well known and respected in the University library world, Heather has over 10 years experience in University libraries. Heather drew on her experience to show how she is able to build bridges between Dawson and library customers, identifying where Dawson services can be best utilised. Alan Benton, Development Manager introduced the new services and products that are coming on stream at Dawson and showed how these will benefit libraries.
After these fascinating presentations it was time to enjoy the lunch. Dawson Days are renowned for their fine fare and this year was no exception; and it is always heartening to hear so many guests enthuse about the lunch.
During lunch guests had the opportunity to see the famous Dawson Book Servicing Team in action. Mrs Pat Eades and Ms Kristina Bone, looking regal in front of the magnificent 2005 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in the Court Dining Room demonstrated the techniques of covering, stamping and labeling used by the Dawson team. This is always a popular attraction at the Dawson Day as many librarians, with their own practical experience of this can see for themselves the efficiency and panache that the team have in producing a first class shelf-ready book the Dawson way.
The Drawing Room played host to the Exhibitor Product Demonstrations which gave the following exhibitors 10 minutes to showcase their latest products and innovations. Guests were able to hear demonstrations from:
• Oxford University Press eBooks from OUP • Palgrave Macmillan The Statesman's Yearbook 2007 • Springer Springer eBook Collection • Brill Introducing Brill online • Thomson Learning New Initiatives 2006 • Cambridge University Press Publishing for Libraries • Sue Hill Recruitment The Sue Hill way After lunch, a highlight! Each year the Dawson Day has a special guest. This year, in London , Dr Paul Ayris of University College London Library Services gave the fascinating and pertinent talk ‘ Success and failure in Scholarly Communications: where do we go from here? ' This was very well received by the guests who were very appreciative of such a well respected and important speaker. D r Ayris, Director of UCL Library Services since 1997 and also the UCL Copyright Officer was equally impressed by his audience. For many, the highlight of the Dawson Day is the Prize Draw, and this year we had more prizes than we have ever had before. Bottles of champagne, books, tickets for the London Eye, Malt Whiskey, store vouchers, London Theatre tickets – just some of the many prizes. Each guest had their Dawson Day programme with its unique number handy – ready to rush forward if Mark Howard and Steven Welch drew their number.
Mark Howard is just visible at the back (in the white shirt with red tie) of the thronging multitude who packed into the Livery Hall for the Prize Draw! The London Dawson Day drew to a close with many guests remarking on how wonderful the Drapers' Hall was and how impressed they were with the Dawson team and the presentations during the day. Perhaps the best way to describe the London Dawson Day is to quote Peter Brading of Bristol University who said: “ I would like to thank you and all the Dawson staff for another excellent day yesterday! The location was superb, the catering was First Class, the exhibitors were interesting, the talks were, hopefully!, life-changing, and your staff, as ever, were consummate ambassadors who circulated all day through over 300 punters and still kept smiling! And of course, your planning was what made it all seem so natural and "effortless", which is probably not how you would always have thought of it.... I am full of admiration and praise for all who took part. There is just one small cloud that furrows my brow - How can you possibly top it next year!!!!!”
The Regional Dawson Day was held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens on 1 June. Over 100 guests from around England and Wales made the trip to this excellent venue.
The activities of the day were similar to the London Dawson Day of the previous week – the same excellent talks in the morning followed by Servicing and Exhibitor Product demonstrations and then an equally impressive lunch. Much was made of the fascinating venue which combines Victorian architecture with unusual plants from around the globe. It was to this subject that our guest speaker at Birmingham , Mr Mark Howard, spoke about. Mark is the Publisher and Content Manager of Dawson Books, yet he is also a keen enthusiast on Botanical Gardens of the world. Marks enthralling talk “ 'Gladly' the Cross-Eyed Bear: A History of Birmingham Botanical Gardens” delved into the history of the Gardens and why they were first established. Initially covering the other Botanical Gardens of the UK , Mark then went on to tell his attentive audience about the animals in residence at the Birmingham Gardens over the years which included ‘Gladly' - a small brown bear that lived at the Gardens and ‘Miss Issi', an alligator that entertained visitors to the Gardens. A varied and riveting talk from Mark led onto the Dawson Day Prize Draw which brought the Dawson Day to a close.
The pictures above show the Regional Dawson Day with (left) guests enjoying the fine lunch and on the right Mark, Steven and Gary hosting the Prize Draw.
Finally, this is a listing of our Exhibitors at the UK Dawson Days
• Blackwell Publishing • Brill Academic Publishers • CABI Publishing • Cambridge University Press • Continuum International Publishing Group • Earthscan / James & James • Elsevier • Human Kinetics • John Wiley & Sons Ltd • Lippincott Williams & Wilkins • Oxford University Press • Palgrave Macmillan • Pearson Education • Sage Publications Ltd • Springer • Sue Hill Recruitment • Thomson Learning • Troika • van de Bilt Sales & Marketing • World Scientific Publishing • Zeticula
Look out for news later in the year about the 2007 Dawson Day season. The Finale of the 2005 Dawson Day season! London Dawson Day at the
Barber-Surgeons' Hall The conclusion of the 2005 season saw 300 librarians from all over the UK and overseas visit the Barber-Surgeons' Hall for the largest ever London Dawson Day! This year's Dawson Day, held on a beautifully sunny Thursday, continued our tradition of hosting our guests in novel and unusual locations. The Barber-Surgeons' Hall – the home of the Barbers' Company provided a lovely backdrop to this most successful of Dawson Days. Located in the heart of the City of London , the founding charter of the Barbers' Company of 1462 under Edward IV established the Company on the present site. A section of the old London Wall, dating from Roman times, formed a historic background to the apothecary's fragrant herb garden at the rear of the hall.
With the famous hospitality of the Dawson Day, the 300 guests enjoyed morning coffee in the sumptuous setting of the Reception Room where pictures of Inigo Jones, Surveyor of the King's Works who designed the Company's anatomy theatre, through to the portrait of Charles II, that illustrate the connections between the Company and the Crown adorn the walls. Guests were also able to view some of the many treasures of the company including medieval surgical instruments, portraits of past honoured members of the Company and the Royal Oak cup, one of the company's most important possessions, presented in 1676 by King Charles II to the Barber-Surgeons' to commemorate his escape from Cromwell's forces. One of the attractions of the Dawson Day is the abundance of Exhibitors that attend. This year there were 22 exhibitors – all with something new and interesting to show, to demonstrate and talk about. For many, the quality and variety of the exhibitors is essential to their Dawson Day and this year guests were not disappointed. The full list of exhibitors can be found at the end of this report. After morning coffee, guests split into two – some to attend the lecture by Alan Benton on the finer points of the Dawson Total Book Management system, how this can and does benefit libraries that are in partnership with Dawson . Other guests were able to enjoy the talk by Mark Howard, our Content Manager, on the Dawson eBooks service and how this is developing into a pace-setting service.
One of the absorbing attractions at the Dawson Day is the Servicing Demonstration. The team at Dawson take great pride in the quality of work and the expertise shown by those who service books to the standards set by our customers. Pat Eades, our Senior Servicer, gave guests a fascinating insight into the covering, labelling and stamping skills deployed by the team to produce a first class, finished shelf ready book. Lunch gave guests the time to visit the exhibitors and network with old friends and colleagues. The beautiful garden with its herbs and the backdrop of the wall allowed everyone to enjoy the canapé luncheon in the sun. In addition to our Exhibitor Forum, the afternoon also saw our two Guest Speakers give their presentations. David Anderson outlined the many changes and developments that have taken place at the Springer publishing empire. David was followed by Gordon Graham, Editor of LOGOS – the Journal of the World Book Community. Mr Graham gave an informative and witty talk, drawing on his 50 years of experience in the book trade, to examine the interdependent relationship of the author, the publisher and the librarian and how all work to spread the written word to the global audience.
The ‘bong' of the Barber-Surgeons' gong signalled that it was time for the Dawson Prize Draw. This highlight at the end of the Dawson Day always draws the crowd together as everyone wonders if they are holding a winning ticket! The generous exhibitors supplied a wonderful array of prizes – ranging from old favourites like champagne, books, and wine to high street store gift vouchers and tickets for the Millennium Eye. Mark Howard, our Prize Draw compere, ably assisted by Tina Atterbury, held the audience in suspense as he drew the numbers. There were many winners and everyone enjoyed the “lottery” like tension. 2005 has seen a most successful series of Dawson Days. We want to say thank you to our exhibitors and clients alike for their support and for making each event, whether Paris , Edinburgh or London , unique. We look forward to 2006! Notes The following exhibitors attended the London Dawson Day: Artech House Blackwell Publishing Bowker Brill Academic Continuum Earthscan / James & James Elsevier Science & Technology Jane's Information Group John Wiley & Sons Kluwer Law International Lippincott Williams & Wilkins LOGOS McGraw-Hill Oxford University Press Palgrave Macmillan Pearson Education Sage Publications Springer Sue Hill Recruitment Taylor & Francis Thomson Gale Troika These exhibitors contributed to the Exhibitor Forum: Bowker, Brill, Continuum, Oxford University Press, Sue Hill Recruitment and Thomson Gale. The Edinburgh Castle crowns
the 2005 Dawson Day season in style The second in the 2005 Dawson Day series saw Edinburgh Castle host 100 eminent Scottish librarians! Our guests climbed to the Queen Anne room at the very summit of the castle to enjoy morning tea with the Dawson team and the many publisher representatives. The Official day began with an introduction to Edinburgh Castle by Duncan, the Historic Scotland Castle Guide. Stamping on the wooden floor for our attention he led us around the castle courtyard telling stories from Queen Margaret's time through Mary Queen of Scots and King James VI to present day, and pointing out some of the many attractions including the Scottish Regiments Museum and the Scottish Crown Jewels Room that set the scene for this very Scottish of Dawson Days.
The packed day then progressed with a presentation by Alan Benton, Dawson Development Manager on the Total Book Management programme being introduced at Dawson . Alan elaborated on the enhancements and developments at Dawson to assist our customers around the world. Following Alan, Mark Howard – Dawson eBooks and Content Manager gave an exciting presentation on the latest developments in the go-ahead world of eBooks at Dawson. Pat Eades – Senior Servicer, then gave one of her popular demonstrations of how books are serviced the Dawson way. A fine lunch and even finer wine was followed by the Edinburgh Prize Draw where everyone attending had a good chance that their lucky prize draw ticket would be drawn and win one of the many lovely prizes donated by our Publishers exhibiting.
The afternoon was given over to talks by Brill and then Thomson. Followed by David Anderson of Springer who gave an insight into the workings of one of the worlds foremost publishing organisations. It was a splendid day! The Dawson team arrived the evening before to find the Edinburgh streets awash after days of rain, but our luck held and the day dawned to sparkling sunshine and crystal clear views. Aye – the air fair glistened and the heart was proud as we almost danced through the day to the skirl o' the pipes! Today, in more rain we have our fingers crossed that the sun will once again shine on our largest London Day yet at Barber-Surgeons' Hall! We look forward to welcoming all of our 300 guests to the finale! Huge Success as 2005 Dawson
Day Season is launched On a perfect May morning, moored in the lee of La Grande Bibliotheque, Paris , the annual Dawson Day series was launched from a beautiful boat on the Seine . After a breakfast of coffee and croissants, a presentation was given by Fabrice Martin, Head of the French Customer Team, on the very positive results from the latest client survey. This was followed by the dynamic Bettina Schies, European Sales Director of the new Springer, who gave a talk on the philosophy and thinking behind the acquisition of Springer Verlag and Kluwer Academic Publishers by Cinven and Candover, explaining the integration plans of these two great publishing houses and the future strategy.
A full presentation was then given on eBook Library by the ever elegant and articulate manager for France, Madame Josée Willoquet. Completely integrated within the enterBooks product, EBL offers not only the unique non-linear lending capability, but all the benefits of the Dawson service and support. EBL is the first eBook offering from the Dawson portfolio, but it will certainly not be the last.
As our traditional Parisian lunch was served, we set sail on a complete tour of Ile de la Cité passing close to the highlights of The Louvre, Notre Dame and directly underneath the Eiffel Tower . The clouds parted, the sun came out and the champagne flowed. We would like to thank the record number of clients and all our top publishers who helped to make the day a resounding success. Declared a brilliant beginning to the Dawson Day season, this reporter was told more than once it would be a very hard act to follow! Perhaps in Paris, but as we move to our next event at the Queen Anne Room in Edinburgh Castle (proving so popular it sold out weeks ago) and the Barber Surgeons Hall juxtapositioning the ancient and modern in London, we feel confident to match the high standard set by our French team in true ‘Vielle Alliance' tradition. We look forward to welcoming you there.
Dawson Days 2004 The London Dawson Day Trinity House 13 May 2004 This year's Dawson Day, held on a beautifully sunny Thursday in May, continued our tradition of hosting the London Dawson Day in a novel and unusual location. Trinity House – the home of the Corporation of Trinity House which maintains the lighthouses and light ships of the British Isles - is located in the heart of the City, opposite the regal splendour of the Tower of London . This year it excelled as the location for one of the most successful and enjoyable Dawson Days ever.
With the famous hospitality of the Dawson Day, the 200 guests who travelled from as far as Scotland and Eire enjoyed morning coffee in the sumptuous setting of the Court Room. Surrounded by images of places and people from Henry VIII to Winston Churchill who are connected with Trinity House, guests were able to view fine models of light houses and ships, famous maritime historical artefacts that included the ship's bell from the Royal Yacht Britannia, paintings of Kings and Queens, statesmen and presidents, consorts and past honoured members of the Corporation.
One of the great attractions of the Dawson Day is the abundance of Exhibitors that attend. This year 17 exhibitors from many parts of the library world attended– all with something new and interesting to show, to demonstrate and talk about.
Cambridge University Press Elsevier Science & Technology Jane's Information Group John Wiley & Sons Ltd Kluwer Academic Publishers Lippincott Williams & Wilkins McGraw-Hill Higher Education Motilal ( UK ) - Books of India Oxford University Press Palgrave Macmillan / Nature Publishing Group Pearson Education Sage Publications Springer Verlag Sue Hill Recruitment Taylor & Francis/Routledge/Europa Thomson Gale/Thomson Learning Troika
For many, the quality and variety of the exhibitors is essential to their Dawson Day and this year guests were not disappointed. Moreover, the Dawson Day would not be possible without the generous support of the Exhibitors.
After morning coffee George Hammond and Mark Howard – Sales and Content Managers of Dawson Books - took guests through the finer points of the Dawson Total Book Management system, how this can and does benefit libraries that are in partnership with Dawson . Mark then went onto outline the immediate future of eBooks at Dawson and how this exciting service is shortly to be developed at Dawson .
In a new departure for the Dawson Days, several of the exhibitors gave special presentations in our new Exhibitor Forum. Outlining new developments and service enhancements, Gale, Sue Hill Recruitment and Troika gave different yet stylish introductions into their services. Meanwhile throughout the day, Oxford University Press gave demonstrations in the Reading Room of the fantastic Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – their literary triumph, 15 years in the making and shortly available in a 60 volume set or as an online publication. By coincidence Trinity House has the original edition of the ODNB from 1901 on the shelves of the Reading Room.
One of the fascinating and absorbing attractions at the Dawson Day is the Servicing Demonstration. The team at Dawson take great pride in the quality of work and the expertise shown by those who service books to the standards set by our customers. The demonstrations are always fascinating to watch and our guests were shown how covering, labelling and stamping skills are deployed by the team to produce a first class, finished shelf ready book.
Lunch gave guests the time to visit the exhibitors and catch up with old friends and acquaintances. Canap é s and sweets served continued the fine food tradition of the Dawson Day and were much appreciated by everyone.
Always popular at the Dawson Day is the Prize Draw which this year had a wide variety of exhibitor donated prizes included books, dictionaries, wine, incense and digital cameras. Upon arrival at Trinity House, each guest was presented with a prize draw ticket and at 2pm the Dawson Prize Draw took place. Everyone waited to see if Mark drew their number and, whilst there can only be as many winners as prizes, everyone enjoyed the “lottery” like tension!
The highlight of the day was our invited Guest Speaker. Mrs Liz Chapman of University College gave an amusing and knowledgeable insight into both the luminaries featured in the paintings that adorn the walls of Trinity House and librarians who can all be found in the pages of the ODNB. Our guest speaker is always well received and this year Liz was no exception. The Dawson Team presented her with flowers on behalf of all our guests to thank her for such an enthralling talk, at the end of a wonderful day that concluded with afternoon tea and farewell.
It is always a pleasure to see so many of our colleagues and partners enjoying the Dawson Day and we look forward to 2005. The Paris Dawson Day Institut du Monde Arabe 6 May 2004
This year's Dawson Day took place in the beautiful surroundings of the Institut du Monde Arabe, located within the shade of the glorious Notre Dame cathedral in the heart of Paris . Exhibitors presented their latest collections whilst the Dawson France team was on hand to discuss the Dawson service.
The subject of eBooks dominated the day with Dawson France manager Josée Willoquet announcing the strategic partnership between Dawson Books and eBooks Corporation to distribute a new eBook service. Publishers Wiley and Springer also contributed to the discussion with presentations on their eBook services and their plans for this exciting area of development in the library world. Josée also spoke about the latest developments in lending law in France .
Everyone enjoyed a lunch with a distinctly Arabic flavour and Ghani Alani, master in calligraphy, gave an introduction into the art of calligraphy with several personally drawn calligraphies for some of our customers.
The famous Dawson France prize draw took place with a member of the Orsay University winning a beautiful art book about calligraphy, “Les ouvriers du signe”.
The day was a great success and Dawson France look forward to hosting the 2005 Dawson Day and welcoming all our friends and customers.
Dawson Days 2003 On 15th May we again opened house and invited librarians to visit us at our offices. Visitors could meet staff and see the internal workings at Foxhills House. Publishers joined us for an exhibition in an adjoining marquee which was also the focus for al fresco dining. Once again the event was a huge success and heavily over-subscribed.
On 20th May we moved to London for a Dawson Day in the gallery and gardens of the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art in Islington. The venue provided a novel location for London librarians to meet key Dawson staff, publishers and each other. |
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Dawson Days 2002 Dawson Days in 2002 celebrated our 10th anniversary as Dawson Books. On 28th May we opened our new offices at Foxhills House to librarians from as far afield as Scotland and Ireland. It was the first opportunity for most to see the spacious new premises we had just occupied. On 30th May we celebrated by hosting a Dawson Day in the state rooms at Spencer House overlooking Green Park. Many publishers joined us for the event giving our delegates ample opportunity to discuss book acquisitions from the producers’ and consumers’ viewpoints.
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