Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals

Partly with a view to promoting the value of information skills as an essential national resource but also with the wider concerns of the information profession very much in mind, I am standing for election to CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) Council. All information professionals, irrespective of those who they wish to vote for, should have have an interest in the election and its outcomes at a difficult time for public service professionals. Information about the candidates and the electronic hustings may be found below:

There are 6 candidates standing for the 4 available CILIP Council places.

.John Crawford

.Isabel Hood

.Emma McDonald

.Nick Poole

.Neil Simmons

.Steve Thornton

 

You can read the candidates' manifestos (and nominating statements) on the

CILIP website at

http://www.cilip.org.uk/aboutcilip/howcilipworks/elections/annualelections/annelect2010

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...and learn more about them CILIP by asking questions and engaging them in

conversation at the eHustings at:

http://communities.cilip.org.uk/forums/p/9836/54278.aspx#54278

 

Note that these Hustings are NOT restricted to current CILIP members: if you

are a non-member, you might ask candidates what they would do to encourage

you to join (or you might tell them what it would take!)

 

Timescale for the elections themselves:

. 16 October - ballot papers despatched

. 5pm GMT, 23 November - deadline for return of ballot papers

. 24 November - count 

. 24 November - election results announced

 Best wishes

 

John

Under One Umbrella 14-15 July 2009

Apologies for the delay in posting this brief report on the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals’ (CILIP’s) Under one Umbrella conference at the University of Hertfordshire at Hatfield on the 14^th- 15^th July but holidays etc have got in the way.  I had to be up early for the 7 o’clock flight on the 14^th July but not organised enough to get to any sessions before my own at 2.15. I shared the session with Debbi Boden (University of Worcester) and Ruth Stubbings (Loughborough) who have perfected an excellent double act. I spoke about the work of the Scottish Information Literacy Project, including latest developments.  Debbi and Ruth described SMILE which is an online IL and writing skills programme based around a ‘Life Cycle of Study' model. Funded by JISC, SMILE is a joint project with the University of Worcester, University of Loughborough and Imperial College London. The programme has successfully been piloted as a credit bearing course at Worcester and will be available through Jorum with a toolkit of lesson plans, assessment criteria and presentations. I must have a closer look at it as it may be of interest to support and academic staff at Glasgow Caledonian.

After coffee I went to the discussion on ‘Our professional future’ chaired by Sheila Corrall of Sheffield University. A number of key questions were addressed: Is a professional qualification necessary? - there was no clear answer to this – for ‘core activities’ yes but for others like marketing a qualification in the speciality might be more appropriate. What are the benefits of having a degree in librarianship? – Ayub Khan from Warwickshire thought a rigorous education develops a reflective practitioner; do education programmes need to change to meet professional needs? – Skills like marketing, strategic thinking; advocacy, customer service and accountancy skills were all identified. Sheila Corrall believes strongly that academics should have professional experience so they can help students prepare for the real world of work which lies ahead. How should professional education evolve? -  Issues identified include more mixed routes into the profession, more competency based training, more flexibility in learning opportunities and more CPD and more employer engagement with information departments.

In the evening I attended the conference dinner at the RAF museum at Hendon where I had an opportunity to indulge my ‘Biggles’ enthusiasms.

In the morning of the 15^th I went to the first session on the Value of Libraries, something I have an interest in and which, in part, led to the Scottish Information Literacy Project.  I had hoped to doze quietly in the back row but was immediately asked by Philip Payne (Birkbeck College) to facilitate a discussion group. Philip and Angela Conyers (University of Central England) reviewed the work on value and impact which LIRG and SCONUL promoted earlier in the decade and Philip emphasised its value in view of probable further budget cuts. Angela reviewed the work of SCONUL including the recent VAMP (Value and Impact Measurement Programme) which is looking at how data is being collected.  After this we broke up into small groups. Our group was mainly from HE around which discussion focused. We looked at the accountability mechanisms of out institutions where there is some evidence of quality departments and requirements. Some school and faculty committees have requirements especially if they are part funders. There are the usual sources – module questionnaires, staff/student committees, course boards etc but the rather depressing conclusion was that there is an overall lack of institutional accountability requirements. However there are plenty of pressures to accountability: increasing demands for opening hours extension and pressure on space, restrictions on budgets, non replacement of staff and increased pressure from students because of fees, perhaps most notable among overseas students. We discussed evidence for the difference the University library makes. We agreed that the most direct contributions are likely to be understood such as the library’s contribution to costed Project proposals. Also mentioned were hours of teaching and impact on programmes. ‘Good news’ stories are an attractive idea but prone to subjectivity. Unfortunately there was not much time for us all to pull the threads together.

After coffee I went to the next Value of libraries session but this seemed more concerned with research methodologies rather than outcomes.

After lunch the Libraries Change Lives Award ceremony took place. This is not unconnected with value and impact. Leeds Library and Information Service was a worthy winner with Across the Board: Autism support for families.  The Service’s ability to pick up an unfamiliar idea and develop it to excellence was noteworthy.

The final session I attended was also chaired by me, The Library and Information History Group’s, Books, buildings and social engineering: the design of early public library buildings (1850s to 1939) in Britain from past to present. Alistair Black and Simon Pepper, both professors, reported on the outcomes of their joint Arts and Humanities Research Council funded study which sets out to rehabilitate the early public library building and review its modern social role as about 65% of them are still in use. This was an outstanding joint presentation and noteworthy for content, analysis and interpretation.  .

Overall it was a fairly useful conference although shoehorning it into two days perhaps reduced the ‘buzz’ a bit although I had useful discussions and networking opportunities which I am following up. The University of Hertfordshire continues to be an attractive venue with all the lecture rooms conveniently grouped together and easy to find.