All posts tagged cilip

Updated CILIP Volunteers In Public Libraries Policy

Today CILIP published their revised volunteer policy for public libraries. The decision to revise it was made after concerns were raised by members of the library profession (including myself) about the existing policy.

The back story to this change is written up in the following posts.

CILIP Volunteer Policy & Job Substitution: Letter to CILIP Update (16th May 2012)

Response To My Letter Re. CILIP Volunteer Policy (6th June 2012)

Further Discussions About CILIP’s Volunteer Policy (18th June 2012)

The wording of the new policy is as follows:

Use of volunteers in public libraries

 In 2012 CILIP Council agreed the following policy statement on the use of volunteers in public libraries. 

CILIP believes that society benefits from the contribution that trained and skilled library, information and knowledge workers make to developing and delivering services. We do not believe that volunteers should undertake core service delivery or be asked to replace the specialised roles of staff who work in libraries.

Volunteers have long supported and provided highly valuable additional support, working alongside qualified and paid staff, and they should be acknowledged and valued for this role. They should also be given appropriate role descriptions, training and management.

CILIP is opposed to job substitution where paid professional and support roles are directly replaced with either volunteers or untrained administrative posts to save money. This applies to all library and information services in every sector.

If this happens services will suffer and will be unsustainable. What remains would be a library service unable to serve the community comprehensively, support people’s information needs or provide everyone with the opportunity for learning and development.

CILIP will not assist in recruiting or training volunteers who will be used to substitute the role of qualified, trained and paid library and information workers. 

We acknowledge the difficult times that we live in, but now more than ever, high quality information services are vital to people’s lives, and local communities, learners, workers and businesses need the support of a trained and skilled workforce to thrive.

Date of policy: June 2012

Policy to be reviewed: June 2014

I’m very pleased with the revised policy. It acknowledges the support role of volunteers, but it also puts it in the context of how this is a support role and should not be used either as a replacement for trained staff providing core public library services, or as a cost saving exercise. In fact, it goes a step further by including “untrained administrative posts” alongside volunteers in this context – a statement which could prevent some library services from considering this route too. It emphasises that it will not assist in the development of roles that fall under this this banner.

At the same time as emphasising these areas it is also good news that the policy has expanded on the reasons why it is important to have library services provided by “trained and skilled library, information and knowledge workers”.

I also think it’s important to highlight that, in relation to its opposition to job substitution, the policy also states:

“This applies to all library and information services in every sector.” 

In doing this, CILIP emphasises that this is not acceptable in any situation and demonstrates its support for the profession across the board.

Not only does the new volunteer policy set out CILIP’s stance in line with advocacy work it has previously mentioned, but it also provides a policy with more substance. The original policy (from 2010) was too vague and brief – it didn’t clearly define CILIP’s position and left gaps that could allow library service providers to misinterpret it in a way that went against the spirit of the policy. This vagueness and brevity was a major cause of concern.

However, it’s reassuring to see that CILIP has taken note of these concerns, that the issues previously raised have been addressed and I hope that it will help ensure that public library users receive the professionally run library services they deserve.

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by garygre on July 2, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by garygre on July 2, 2012

http://informationtwist.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/updated-cilip-volunteers-in-public-libraries-policy/

Further Discussions About CILIP’s Volunteer Policy

I’ve just come back from a CILIP Council meeting, where I’d been invited to discuss concerns about the current CILIP Use of Volunteers in Public Libraries policy. I’d already been informed prior to this that CILIP Council had agreed to review the existing policy and the plan for today was for me to put a bit of meat onto the bones of my initial concerns (and concerns of others) and provide some member perspective on the situation. Points I raised included:

  • The current policy is too brief, vague and too easily open to misinterpretation.
  • CILIP should state in the policy that it is against job substitution of any library staff. Job substitution featured so heavily in the recent volunteer policy review document that it warrants a clear statement indicating that CILIP is against this.
  • It currently leaves the door open for library service providers to interpret the policy in a way that wasn’t originally intended, go against the spirit of it and avoid fulfilling statutory duties and requirements for a comprehensive and efficient library service.
  • The written policy may be the first time people come across CILIP’s Volunteer Policy and, as such, it needs to clearly indicate CILIP’s stance.
  • The responses I received and read from CILIP Council representatives (including Mark Taylor, John Dolan and Phil Bradley) emphasised that CILIP does advocate for the profession, but this isn’t emphasised enough in the policy. This was also reflected in the discussion by others surrounding this correspondence. CILIP advocacy role needs to be backed up by the written word in this policy, as much as the policy needs to be back up by action from CILIP.
  • The length of discussion surrounding the policy (indicated above) serves to highlight that the written policy is currently ambiguous.
  • In highlighting the use of volunteers the policy needs to emphasise the critical need for professional/paid staff even more.

It was a positive discussion and encouraging to hear so many members of CILIP Council agreeing with the points above. It did raise questions about how the policy could be enforced and what would happen if employers or members went against the policy? Would the ethics board be called upon? How would members be expected to respond if they were asked to act against the spirit of the policy? This is obviously important, but in my mind, if you haven’t got a strong policy in the first place you won’t have anything to defend anyway.

I also understand that changing the wording of the policy won’t automatically make local authorities turn around and re-staff libraries. However, what I hope it will do at least is re-inforce the idea that the actions some library service providers are currently taking with regard to volunteers is unacceptable to CILIP and its members, and may in future stop others from going down this route. CILIP is one of the few high profile organisations that has the capability to influence national policy on libraries, and as such, its policies need to be strong.

The discussion also highlighted that concerns over volunteer policy isn’t just limited to public libraries or even in the UK, even though this is the area generating the most discussion. It’s a concern in other sectors and countries too. The strengthening of this policy should also help these sectors.

So, that was the discussion (what I can remember of it, anyway) and the aim now is for CILIP to review the policy over the next few weeks. By the end of July it’s hoped that the revised version will be in place and CILIP will present something that can be used to empower its members.

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by garygre on June 18, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by garygre on June 18, 2012

http://informationtwist.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/further-discussions-about-cilips-volunteer-policy/

Response To My Letter Re. CILIP Volunteer Policy

I received the following response from CILIP Council Chair, John Dolan, to my recent letter regarding CILIP’s Volunteer Policy. This was also published in the current (June 2012) edition of CILIP Update.

Dear Gary

I am responding to your letter on behalf of CILIP Council members. The review paper was indeed used at the March CILIP Council meeting to inform discussion, prompt debate and review CILIP’s policy about the use of volunteers in public libraries. The policy was agreed in 2010 and is kept under review, as are all CILIP policies. 

 The policy is:

“Use of volunteers in public libraries

CILIP acknowledges the contribution that volunteers make to libraries, enriching the services they provide and helping to sustain their viability.

In order to optimise the value of that contribution it should form part of a professionally managed public library service that has at its core sufficient paid staff to ensure the direction, development and quality of the service provided.

Volunteers are not ‘free’ and need proper management, training and development. In many cases a volunteers’ co-ordinator should be appointed to ensure appropriate management and recognition of the value of volunteers.”

The policy acknowledges that for many years volunteers have been a part of the work of public libraries and have contributed by extending library services beyond what is achievable with paid staff alone. Examples include home library services taking resources and information to people who are housebound; working with adults with learning disabilities who volunteer their time to deliver added value; and young people volunteering their time to make the Summer Reading Challenge such a massive success while learning and gaining in confidence.

The difficulty for everyone is that now they are being asked to take on more of the delivery of the core service rather than ‘added value’ aspects of it.

You’re correct, the policy does not currently explicitly say no to job substitution, it does state that the contribution volunteers make should be part of a professionally managed public library service. However, members of Council recognise the concerns that members have about this and have committed to reviewing and revising the policy. I understand that you have concerns and as you know I have to invited you to discuss the issues with members of Council.

CILIP has consistently refused to run training courses to volunteers and refused to run job advertisements for volunteers where it is clear they are substituting paid professional roles. In written evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport inquiry into library closures in England CILIP stated that a comprehensive and efficient public library service in the twenty-first century should be a:

“Professionally delivered service: by using the skills, experience and networks of professional library staff to shape services to the needs of local communities, engage  them effectively in service development, and ensure safe and impartial access to  services.”

Giving verbal evidence before the committee, CILIP CEO Annie Mauger, advocated for professionally delivered services. At a subsequent meeting with the Minister Ed Vaizey and public library chiefs Annie again advocated the importance of a professionally managed and delivered service.

At the same time local communities face difficult choices and a harsh reality where in many cases if volunteers do not come forward to support the library services, the libraries will be closed.  Volunteers cannot provide a library service as we all know it, as they lack the unique skills, expertise and values of paid staff.  CILIP has made a clear stand against this and against any local authority that considers this acceptable.

I look forward to discussing this with you.

John Dolan

Chair of CILIP Council

Links:

CILIP’s written evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport inquiry: http://tinyurl.com/crd3npf

Obviously, I’m really pleased that CILIP Council have decided to review the policy. The current situation generated a fair amount of discussion amongst the profession, including on Twitter and a number of blogs, listed here:

Johanna Bo Anderson’s blog.

CILIP President, Phil Bradley’s blog.

Question Everything blog.

Information Overload blog.

Public Libraries News.

I’m looking forward to meeting with CILIP Council over the next few weeks to discuss the situation, and hope that the discussion leads on to the formulation of a policy that leaves me reassured.

I’ll report back on the meeting.

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by garygre on June 6, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by garygre on June 6, 2012

http://informationtwist.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/response-to-my-letter-re-cilip-volunteer-policy/

CILIP Volunteer Policy & Job Substitution: Letter to CILIP Update

I’ve just written this letter to CILIP Update regarding the current CILIP volunteer policy and its tie-in with job substitution. I was hoping to also add it to the comments section of the CILIP Council blog ( http://communities.cilip.org.uk/blogs/council/archive/2012/04/09/cilip-council-26th-march-2012.aspx ), where I had originally posted some other comments on the situation, but the website will not let me add it, so I have posted it on CILIP forums and here instead.

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

 

Dear editor,

After seeing that the organisation’s current volunteer policy statement had been discussed at the March 2012 CILIP Council meeting, I read “CILIP’s Policy on the Use of Volunteers in Public Libraries: A Review”, which I believe informed the discussion on policy during the meeting.


This raised serious concerns in me about CILIP’s stance on job substitution, particularly when I read the following quotes:

“Job substitution – This goes to the heart of the problem. For many the use of volunteers should only ever be supplementary to the skills and expertise of paid staff and never in replacement. This is a traditional trade union view and is also reflected in the previous Library Association/CILIP statement on the use of volunteers. However Council agreed at its meeting in February 2010 that this policy was too rigid and failed to reflect present day realities where significant expenditure reductions had to be made.”

“The second paragraph of the current volunteers statement endeavours to ensure a continuing professional presence that is sufficient “to ensure the direction, development and quality of the service provided” but not to be constrained by a rigid no job substitution policy.”

“Whereas volunteers could be seen as extending and enriching the service in the past now they have become important in maintaining and sustaining a service that would be otherwise unfeasible.
18. However a return to the policy of no job substitution would be regarded by many as unrealistic and also risk excluding the Institute from meaningful debate and discussion over the future shape and delivery of the public library service in England especially.” 

However, after an email discussion with Mark Taylor (CILIP Director of External Relations) I now believe the organisation is opposed to job substitution. I say “believe” because the response I received did not actually say explicitly “CILIP is opposed to job substitution”, but it did imply that it was.

Based on this assumption, I would like to propose that the CILIP volunteer policy be updated to state that the organisation is against job substitution. It would clarify CILIP policy, leave it less open to misinterpretation and provide reassurance to members of the organisation.

I feel it really needs a statement like this in the policy, especially as the report I took the above quotes from had such a focus on the issues around job substitution. ie It:

(1) Highlights that job substitution is a major concern of its members.
(2) Mentions job substitution frequently.
(3) Was used to inform the current policy on volunteers.

As so much discussion was spent on the issue of job substitution as a precursor to agreeing the policy, surely it is worth including a short and simple statement in the final policy to clearly show that CILIP is against it.

Regards,

Gary Green

(Technical Librarian, Surrey)  
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by garygre on May 16, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by garygre on May 16, 2012

http://informationtwist.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/cilip-volunteer-policy-job-substitution-letter-to-cilip-update/

#FutureSkills and The Body Of Professional Knowledge for Librarians

Following on from the “Defining Our Professional Future” report, CILIP have started working on a number of large projects. One of them is focused on the skills we use in the information and library profession, and part of this involves updating the Body of Professional Knowledge and Skills (BPKS). Put simply, it will identify all skills, competencies and knowledge relevant to the profession and present them in a way that can be measured.

CILIP have been asking members and non-members to feedback on the draft version of the document. So, I did. I thought it was worth making the effort to help ensure that the BPKS was as relevant as possible to the profession, and also ensure that it remained relevant in the future. I’m not an expert in every aspect of information/library based work, so I don’t feel I could respond in detail to every aspect of the questionnaire used for feeding back into the consultation, but I responded to what I could. Even those areas I was hazy about made me think about how they related to my role, roles I’ve had in the past, or even how they relate to colleagues roles. It was useful to go through the draft document, even just to remind myself of the range of skills and knowledge needed in the profession, aspects of which I’d forgotten about, or maybe wasn’t even aware of. Even though it’s still in draft format, it was also good to be able to identify areas that I may want to or need to improve my skills in the future.

Once it’s been updated I can see it being personally useful for:

  • Identifying my existing skills & knowledge – useful for clarifying to others what I do.
  • Identifying skills & knowledge gaps I would want to develop.
  • Show possible paths to career progression.
  • Use to show others what librarians do – employers, Government Ministers, those who hold the purse strings.

CILIP mention that they intend to link in their resources (eg resources on the CILIP website; specific CILIP special interest groups; Facet publications) with skills and knowledge listed in the body of professional knowledge . I think this is a really good idea, but as well as this, I wonder if there’s scope to develop this aspect further, such as:

  • Make an online version of the BPKS document editable, so that members can add other non-CILIP resources they think are relevant.
  • Job shadowing or events with individuals who possess skills/knowledge in an area you want to develop.
  • Small scale mentoring programmes, again focusing on specific skills sets, rather than the full chartership scheme.

A few skills/knowledge areas I thought needed to be specifically emphasised in the BPKS were:

  • Knowledge and understanding of existing legislation and central Government initiatives.
  • Advocacy skills.
  • Leadership – provide direction and lead by example.
I also wonder how we can use the BPKS to develop our roles so that we not only adapt to changes happening around us in society, but also play a part in guiding or influencing society?

As well as providing feedback on the BPKS, yesterday I also attended a talk by Bethan Ruddock about the Future Skills project hosted by CILIP London & South East Career Development Group. She ran through the various stages of the project, how it was developing and how it would impact upon other areas beyond the BPKS. The project will also include an examination of CILIP accreditation & seal of recognition, and the intention is for it to tie in closely with continuing professional development.

Bethan’s talk generated discussions around the need to emphasise specialist information skills over generic skills in the BPKS; how the terminology used to describe the skills/knowledge might not be relevant to some people in the profession and how this can be overcome; concerns over de-professionalisation of information/library services; who was involved in the Future Skills discussion?; the need to reach and involve people in the discussion who are not normally involved with CILIP, as it is just as much their profession too.

So, if you haven’t got involved yet, there are still a few days left to feedback on the Body of Professional Knowledge (it runs until midnight on Sunday 29th April), and if anyone on Twitter is interested in getting involved in the Future Skills discussion, there will be a CILIP #chartership #FutureSkills chat on 26 April from 6.30pm-8pm.

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by garygre on April 25, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by garygre on April 25, 2012

http://informationtwist.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/futurekills-and-the-body-of-professional-knowledge-for-librarians/

CILIP Elections 2012 #cilip2012

I’m currently trying to decide who to vote for in the CILIP 2012 Council Elections, but to be honest I’m dithering. I’m not even sure I can vote for 4 out of the 6 standing for the trustee/councillor roles. Most of them aren’t saying what I want to hear them say most of the time. I’m not saying I can’t vote for any of them, but I’m not sure my ballot paper is going to have 4 crosses on it… which is worrying for me.
I’ve read their manifestos; read their responses to questions posted on the CILIP e-hustings; asked them a few questions via the e-hustings and the live hustings myself – although I couldn’t follow the live hustings video stream, I did follow the Twitter stream and picked up on various points via follow up blog posts.
But still I’m wavering about my decision! I get to the point where I think ”They’ll do for me,” and then I re-read something else they’ve said and I realise I disagree with them on it. I should say I can agree with most candidates on at least one of their major points, but this isn’t enough to make me want to vote for them.
I understand that once they’re elected they will have to work within the restrictions of CILIP Council and won’t be able to stage a coup and over-run CILIP with ideas that have me a bit worried, so maybe I should have faith in others on CILIP Council to stop anything unwanted from happening.
I was going to say CILIP is at a cross-roads regarding its future, but following on from the “Defining Our Professional Future” report, it seems as if it has made its decision about the direction it is going in, has indicated, and has pulled away… Now it needs a bit of gas to race from 0 to 60mph to get where it’s going as quickly as possible. So, in my mind, that’s why it’s important for me to choose very carefully who’s on the CILIP bus helping to drive it, service it and willing to push it up a few steep hills if it needs a bit of extra Oomph!
But time is running out for me to choose… so, I need to go and dither a little bit more.
All aboard CILIP's funky bus

All aboard CILIP's funky bus (c) Mattes

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by garygre on November 21, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by garygre on November 21, 2011

http://informationtwist.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/cilip-elections-2012-cilip2012/

CILIP 2011 AGM #cilipagm11

I attended the CILIP 2011 AGM on Thursday. For a summary of the meeting see my tweets below. The full archive for all of the tweets posted by everyone during the AGM can also be found here.

Summary

  • Annie Mauger presenting honorary fellowship to John Lake.
  • RT @Minimorticia: If you are not here with us you can follow the AGM via the live link http://t.co/fBfJ4JMX #CILIPAGM11
  • AGM 2010 meeting minutes agreed.
  • Issues were raised from last years minutes – questions about subscription charges for retired & overseas members.
  • Auditors appointed – Kingston Smith LLP.
  • Trustees report and annual accounts being presented by Judy Broady-Preston (Honorary Treasurer).
  • Accounts in context: Global financial crisis; Political changes; Changes facing CILIP & LIS sector.
  • Impact in CILIP: Dramatic drop in income £825,000; Had to streamline CILIP (5 redundancies)
  • Remodelled itself based on Defining our Professional Future Report.
  • Expenditure reduced by £0.8mill; Income reduced by £0.9mill from reserves of £767k
  • 2011 actions: Restructure; Increased advocacy emphasis; Reduced costs; New business model
  • CILIP What next?: Sustained CILIP recruitment & retain members; 5 year financial strategy.
  • Finances this year “looking better than last year”.
  • Question from the floor. What are net figures of funds held by branches and groups? Answer: CILIP will get figures & put on site.
  • Discussion around CILIP finances raised by questions from the floor.
  • Membership recruitment and retention is very important in CILIP’s strategy.
  • Presentation by Annie Mauger on impact “Defining our Professional Future” report has had on CILIP #cilipfuture
  • Defining our professional future has guided CILIP over the past year.
  • Want to provide sound leadership; advocacy; long term financial sustainability
  • Advocacy – Engaged with media; government; delivered new advocacy resources; awards
  • Devpt. activities – more online resources; new models of branches & groups; Toolshed support for groups/branches
  • Back to the floor days for CILIP staff.
  • Subscription strategies and proposals. CILIP need to do more with less.
  • Keep CILIP membership accessible. Fund activities members want from their prof. body. Allow ideas in DOPF to take root & grow.
  • Subscription proposals: Reductions at lower levels & no more than increase of £5 for any individual at higher level.
  • Amendment suggested to allow Overseas Members access to reduced UK subs. to acknowledge where overseas income may be very low.
  • RT @Speranda: wants to know how institution membership of #cilip might mesh with individual chartered membership #cilipagm11
  • RT @llordllama: Those outside London get less than a 1/3 of the member benefits too – can we have a decrease? #cilipagm11
  • Me too MT @bethanar Wish they had a band above £17.5k – I’d gladly pay more in amore band, to allow lower to pay less #cilipagm11
  • Vote on amendment to subscriptions taking place. Amendment not passed. (I sat on the fence!)
  • Items raised: text of CILIP Disciplinary Regulations. Changes suggested around bias; expelling members.
  • RT @RMGCat: Hoping for online voting in addition to streaming & proxy votes next year #cilipagm11. Really wanted to vote but on the day …
  • RT @CILIPinfo: #CILIPAGM11 Agenda item submitted for consideration by the AGM. No motions have been submitted
I’ve only been a member of CILIP for just over a year and it’s the second time I’ve attended the AGM. I went last year too. At last years AGM CILIP were deciding how they would act on the members views expressed in the “Defining Our Professional Future” report that had been published a few months earlier – concerns about CILIP’s finances, the future of the profession and action CILIP were taking to support the profession, and the desire for CILIP to move into the 21st century with regard to technology.
With this in mind, it was interesting to attend the AGM again, with its focus on the steps CILIP had taken in response to the report and their strategy/plans for the future. Advocacy was high on the agenda – listing a number of advocacy successes CILIP had achieved over the past year and their future plans. CILIP finances still need to be improved, but they are currently better than they were. Following a recent restructure, the organisation is now leaner and is able to focus on those areas members felt were important. It was recognised that the need to recruit/retain members was important and hopefully the development of CILIP’s leadership role will help encourage membership. With regard to technology it was good to see CILIP were live streaming the AGM, and they had plans in place to develop their online activities.
Obviously CILIP still have some way to go to achieve what they want and what the members want the organisation to achieve, but it appears they are heading in the right direction. It’s only been a year since the report, and change can’t always happen quickly in an organisation like CILIP, with so many areas to focus on. There’s always the added difficulty of trying to be as effective as possible when finances are also an issue. I’ll admit that, as a  member of the organisation, I do find this frustrating, but realise that sometimes things can’t move on as quickly as I’d like them to, no matter how hard I mentally will things to happen. Hopefully this time next year my frustrations will be gone.
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by garygre on September 25, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by garygre on September 25, 2011

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Speaking up for Libraries CILIP event (14/09/2011)

Yesterday I attended an event at CILIP, which focussed on advocacy work in libraries.

There were 2 speakers – Emma Harrison (Assistant Librarian, University of Mid Glamorgan) and Mark Taylor (CILIP Director of External Relations).

Emma Harrison

Emma’s focus was on day-to-day advocacy and how it had helped her ensure the value of her job was recognised by her organisation.

During her time at UMG her department was subject to HERA (Higher Education Role Analysis) job evaluation scheme. From this, grades were assigned to roles based on a National Framework Agreement. The roles written up in the HERA document didn’t match the work that Emma and her colleagues actually did – excluding specialist librarian skills and qualifications from the requirements. After re-writing the HERA document the value of Emma and her colleagues jobs were recognised.

As part of her advocacy  in this situation Emma persuaded colleagues who may have otherwise been reluctant that it was worth challenging the HERA decision, and she also made use of the CILIP campaigning toolkit to advocate the value of her role to managers and Human Resources.

Since this happened Emma has been promoted, which highlights that even though she was worried about taking this action, it paid off.

During the discussion following her presentation it was highlighted that HERA can work for advocacy too if you are able to write your own forms/role/job description, as you have the power to tell others what you do.

Mark Taylor

Mark talked about what he thought advocacy was – influencing other people, winning support, bringing about change. eg. Responding to library reports, support other campaigns, questioning politicians, advocating your own value. He acknowledged that it’s often mixed up with activism and marketing. He felt that the most effective advocacy is that which clearly identifies the target – messages should be tailored to the issues of decision makers, to show how you can help them. You need to set out your agenda clearly and make the message concise. Contact with the media is important, so comment on the media and get them to come to you as first port of call. If you’re involved in a promotional campaign, reporting back on the success/effectiveness of the campaign after it’s completed is important.

Mark saw CILIP’s advocacy role as advocating for the profession, CILIP & developing advocacy policy; providing thought leadership; enabling networking & communications.

He discussed CILIP’s vision & mission, based on the CILIP Future consultation of membership in 2010. Since this consultation CILIP have created new posts to focus on advocacy. CILIP also wants to encourage CILIP members to become involved in advocacy.

Tree of Knowledge by PWBaker

Tree of Knowledge (c) PWBaker / Flickr

Highlights of CILIP’s advocacy in the past year included:

  • 200+ press mentions
  • Briefings for Lords & MPs
  • Lobbying politicians – hoping to launch a Cross Party Library Group in November
  • Supported Save Our Libraries day & are involved in organising 2012 event
  • Annie Mauger spoke at the Women’s Institute AGM
  • Awarded Alan Gibbons Honorary Fellowship (1st time advocated outside profession in this way)
  • Responded to various Government reports
  • Carnegie & Greenaway awards – want to develop it as advocacy tool (get it more into media that it’s librarians choosing books)
  • Libraries change lives award
  • Using social media more effectively

CILIP’s plans for the future include:

  • Continued lobbying/engagement with parliamentarians.
  • Campaigns – “Shout for school libraries“ (Oct 2011) / National libraries day (2012)
  • CILIP staff to go back to the floor – including a wide variety of environments
  • Future areas of policy work – information literacy; digital inclusion; Want to deliver 2 high profile campaigns a year

Question time

Following this, the audience had their chance to raise questions and comment on what they had heard. This included:

  • What are CILIP doing to stop councils from cutting services and handing over to volunteers?
  • I mentioned Twitter advocacy/activism conversations and that the difference between the 2 is misunderstood by some people.
  • National libraries day is seen as more positive than Save our libraries day. It was felt that this positive angle would encourage more people to advocate in this way.
  • We need to build a network of advocates from our users in all sectors – decision makers are more likely to listen to the users!
  • Politicians want to see what we are doing to help them to achieve their goals. How can we demonstrate value in a way (in all sectors) that means something to politicians?
  • We could partner with other related organisations eg National Literacy Trust & make use of their research.
  • Comments were made about the impact local libraries closures have on school libraries & literacy.
  • It was felt that CILIP needs to defend professional staff & qualifications. CILIP will be looking at continuing professional development and performing a qualifications review.
  • It was seen that organisations/library advocates in some ways (library campaigners and friends groups) are less restrained than CILIP in voicing their opinions.

It was an interesting event and helped highlight the wide range of advocacy that is necessary and can be achieved by the profession, whether you are an individual like Emma, or a larger organisation, such as CILIP.

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by garygre on September 15, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by garygre on September 15, 2011

http://informationtwist.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/speaking-up-for-libraries-cilip-event-14092011/

Follow Friday 2010 Thanks

In 2010, through Twitter, I got to know a library community beyond the walls of my own organisation. Without this community I wouldn’t have got involved in so many library related initiatives as I have done this year. The community has encouraged me to look at libraries with new eyes. Twitter has a tradition called “Follow Friday”, which is normally used to recommend Twitter users to other Twitter users. On Christmas Eve I decided to use my Follow Fridays as a way to say thanks to all those Twitter users who had inspired, supported and helped me along the way. This blog post follows up those Follow Friday’s and explains why I wanted to thank them…

They got me mashing…

I got involved in Mashed Libraries – attending events, creating mashups (combining data from different resources to present it in a new way), getting back into computer programming after a break of about 20 years. I also presented sessions at two separate events. These were the first presentations I’ve ever done outside my department.

They made me want to play a part in the wider library community…

I got involved in projects in the library community, beyond the scope of my own job. I also joined CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals). The people I follow on Twitter showed me that CILIP does have an important role to play in the future of libraries. I also now feel as if I’m part of the library community beyond my own organisation.

They got me thinking about the future of libraries…

I became increasingly aware that the value of libraries and librarians were being questioned by people beyond the library community and within it. As the year went by I heard more stories about local authorities planning library closures. I was concerned and angry, but at the same time I got inspired/motivated by a small group of librarians and information professionals, who felt that someone needed to do something to stop these closures. From this, within about 2 weeks, we founded the library campaign Voices For The Library.

They made me smile…

There’s always someone on Twitter who will make me laugh, smile, give support, or “make it better” with a funny comment, a piece of advice, an anecdote, or a show of concern. It’s been a bit of a disheartening year with regard to some aspects of libraries, so this kind of support counts for a lot.

I appreciate all of these people and I just wanted to say thanks… Oh! Go on then. Have a hug. :-)

Image (c) ganesha.isis / Flickr

I also realise I missed some people off my Follow Friday’s and this thanks is for them too.

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by garygre on December 28, 2010  •  Permalink
Posted in libraries
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Posted by garygre on December 28, 2010

http://informationtwist.wordpress.com/2010/12/28/follow-friday-2010-thanks/

CILIP Presidential Address 2010

I’ve been reading the CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) Presidential Address Biddy Fisher gave at the CILIP members day last week. The key quotes for me were:

“The members of the profession, whether in practice or in employment, must be independent in thought and outlook. They must be willing to speak their minds without fear or favour.”

I feel without this independent and free thinking we can’t really engage in debate about our profession or develop information and library services in new and innovative ways. If we are held back by what we think we should say, or what we are told to say we run the risk of getting told how we should run services, rather than leading the development of these services.

“In its specific field of learning a profession must give leadership to the public it serves.”

“…we still struggle with the question of how are we able to truly recognise and then relay to society our worth to our communities?”

We are the experts in our profession. We should be guiding our users – showing them what we have to offer. We should be thinking about the opportunities that are out there, how we make use of them to help our service users, and how we sell what we do to users and non-users. We shouldn’t wait to be prompted and guided by those outside the profession about the services we provide and how we provide them.

“One of the issues that I have grappled with this year has been to determine what we, as CILIP, are advocating.  I know I am not alone in this.  Part of the  ’problem’ is the confusion about what exactly we are advocating for.  Is it:

Libraries – as buildings and as the icons that exemplify our cultural and economic contribution to society?

Library and Information Services – as the content within those buildings, or increasingly virtually beyond them, and by which users and individuals are able to access knowledge and information?

Librarians and Information Professionals – as the agents that develop and maintain the tools, the processes and systems that permit consistent and non judgemental access?

Or possibly the unique body of knowledge that appends our professional practice and that we acquire in our education, develop in our practice and discussions with peers and which grows with our increasing expertise, confidence and the taking of  opportunities?”

In my mind it’s all of these things that CILIP and its members should be advocating – anything that promotes the idea of what an information professional or librarian does and all that entails. It’s all so intertwined that in some cases it is difficult to separate the different strands.

I thought Biddy’s speech was powerful and it made me feel positive about the role that CILIP will be playing for our profession in the future. We as professionals and individuals though, need to take note of these ideas and make sure we put them into practice. Otherwise we will just remain as we are now – undervalued and disenfranchised!

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by garygre on October 21, 2010  •  Permalink
Posted in libraries
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Posted by garygre on October 21, 2010

http://informationtwist.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/cilip-presidential-address-2010/

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