A recent European Court of Justice decision has provoked a flurry of comments about the legality of putting URLs into a published piece, and whether this constitutes any kind of copyright infringement. Judging by some of the comments made on this case, this is the end of the Internet (at least in the EU), but I don’t agree. The case in question is known as GS Media, and follows a decision by the same Court some years ago called Svensson, which was decided in 2012. Together they provide a statement of current EU (and therefore UK – at least for the time being!) law in regard to the legality of inserting links.  The decisions help clarify the law, and are particularly relevant to library and information professionals who either hold, or have been considering taking out a licence with the Newspaper Licensing Agency, as the NLA has been pressing claims that ALL linking to newspapers it is responsible for is potentially infringement, and therefore requires a licence.

The details of both cases are complex, so I have supplied references to discussions on both cases at the end of this piece. It is, of course, my view that providing such URLs is not illegal.

The legality of linking depends on whether it leads to a communication to the public, which is a restricted act and therefore requires permission of the rightsholder. However, if that material has already been made available to the public by means of placing on a freely accessible web site, and therefore potentially available to anyone with internet connectivity, then a third party putting a link to that material is often not infringing because there is no “new” public to which the information is being communicated, but a lot depends on whether the content linked to itself infringes. This is a fine example of the convoluted logic used by the European Court! Anyway, one can now classify links and their likelihood of being infringement. The Table below is based on one created by Eleonara Rosati as a result of the two Court cases [1].  
 

The first column, accessibility, refers to whether one can get access to the linked content at no charge, i.e., is it on a web site without paywall or other barriers? The second refers to whether the content in the website being linked to infringes copyright.  For example, a website containing unauthorised reproductions of documents would be considered to have infringing content.  Of course, in some cases, a website contains a mixture of infringing and non-infringing content.  In such cases, one has to consider the two types of content separately in the Table.  The third column refers to the commercial activity of the person or organisation providing the link; it is nothing to do with the commercial or otherwise activities of the site being linked to. The fourth column asks the question is the person creating the link aware that the material in the site they are linking to is, or is likely to be, infringing?  As noted in the Table, in some cases, both this question, and the question of commercial activity of the person doing the linking, is irrelevant to the final outcome.  The final column confirms whether the proposed linking is lawful or not (though there are special circumstances noted by the Court and not discussed further here that may affect this column). If it is not, then a licence should be sought from the owner of the web site being linked to, or from someone acting on the owner’s behalf; either that, or don’t include the link!

Why am I not so alarmed as other commentators?  Because in the majority of cases relevant to library and information professionals, there will be no potential infringement. Yes, I can think of circumstances where there may be a problem, e.g., a link to Edward Snowden’s web site, which includes unauthorised reproductions of confidential documents, or a link to the Sci-Hub service, which contains unauthorised reproductions of scholarly articles. This is why I have not provided URLs to these Web sites!

The question of commercial is controversial.  Many library and information professionals work for academic institutions or charities, and arguably their activities will not be deemed commercial.  On the other hand, if a member works for a clearly commercial organisation, such as a pharmaceutical company, or one that earns income from adverts on its web pages, then arguably anything it publishes which includes links might be deemed to be commercial activity.  Readers who work in such organisations are advised to exercise caution in regard to including links on their web pages.

The question of whether someone knew, or should have known that the content being linked to includes infringing material is open for argument, though clearly if the organisation was explicitly warned that the linked site contains infringing materials, that would be considered decisive if a case came up.

To sum up:  the reasoning of the European Court is byzantine and complicated, and goes against the ethos of the Web and the fact that URLs are merely signposts, but nonetheless, I feel that the majority of UKEIG members, who are unlikely to provide links to obviously infringing sites, are unaffected by these rulings.
 

Some of you may remember a paragraph in CILIP Update last autumn requesting resources for refugees, in the form of:

• dictionaries (any language)

• printed language teaching resources

• stationary (pens, pencils, paper to write on)

I responded to the request and have subsequently collected materials from groups with whom I am involved; individuals; schools sorting out their language teaching textbooks; and even the odd library where former colleagues put out the word as to what was needed. I was able to deliver resources to the organiser, and on one occasion, help her to transport them to Calais for use in the Jungle Books Library.

We are still collecting these resources and it is now time to send out a request to other CILIP Members who might be able to help in any way to gather more dictionaries, language books and stationary.

With all the issues rampaging around Brexit and immigration, whatever your position, there are still refugees out there who need immediate help, in whatever country they may end up building a life.

If you can help to gather material, please contact Rachel on wanderinglibrarian56@gmail.com.

If you are in the Cambridge area, we can collect.

With thanks,

Dr Rachel Johnson

(Assistant Librarian, Tyndale House Library, Cambridge)

Next year's IFLA conference comes back to Europe, to the city of Wroclaw in Poland.

To give you in the flavour of Poland, ILIG is bringing its Informal Talks to Edinburgh where Polish Librarian Sylwia Grabowska will give an overview of Polish Libraries and her work in Scotland and overseas.

Date: October 31st - 7-8.15pm

Venue: Room 1130, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EW

All the details - and a booking form for catering purposes - are available from the Events page of the CILIP in Scotland website. 

If needed, the full  web address of  the Events page of the CILIP in Scotland website is

http://www.cilips.org.uk/events/

Looking for innovative ways to promote your library service? Register for the CILIP ARLG East Midlands workshop Marketing your library service: principles and actions led by Ned Potter.

In this hands-on workshop we'll look first at communication types and then work on segmenting your audience and tailoring messages for each group. In the afternoon we'll look at online publishing and social media, before tying everything together in a strategic marketing plan. Delegates will get a template marketing campaign document to work on in the session and then take back to their own institutions to develop. Everything in this workshop is designed to be applicable right away, whether you want to better communicate the value of a particular service or market your entire library.

Ned Potter is an Academic Liaison Librarian at the University of York, and a Trainer for various organisations including the Bodleian and the British Library. His book The Library Marketing Toolkit was published by Facet in 2012. Ned can be found online at ned-potter.com and on Twitter at @ned_potter.

Delegates will need to bring their own mobile device with them (laptop, tablet, smartphone). When booking, please indicate if you have access to the Eduroam network so guest WiFi access can be arranged for those delegates who do not have access.

Date and time: Thursday 8th December 10.00am-4.30pm (registration with refreshments from 10am, the day will include a half-hour break for lunch with lunch being provided).

Venue: Loughborough University Library, Epinal Way, Loughborough, LE11 3TU (Free parking available on campus; buses to campus run regularly from the train station).

Cost (inclusive of VAT): £80 for CILIP/ARLG members and £100 for non-members.

How to book: Email Sharon Reid at s.d.reid@lboro.ac.uk (01509 222403) with your name, job title, employer, eduroam access, ARLG or CILIP membership no. (if applicable), address for invoicing and details of any special dietary or access requirements before Thursday 1st December 2016. Please note that if you cancel your booking on or after Monday 5th December or book and are unable to attend on the day, and are unable to send a substitute in your place, you will be charged the full price. 

Address for invoicing: ARLG East Midlands, c/o Katie Fraser George Green Library, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD. Telephone 0115 95 13247, email katie.fraser@nottingham.ac.uk

If you are working towards CILIP certification, Chartership or fellowship (or revalidating), the workshop is relevant to the following areas of the PKSB:

2.5 Knowledge transfer/organisational learning

11.1 Strategic marketing

11.2 Communicating with stakeholders

12.1 ICT skills

12.4 Social media and collaborative tools

12.5. Communication skills

CILIP is delighted to announce that Peters will be the official book supplier for the CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals Shadowing Scheme from 2017.

The CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards are the UK’s oldest and most prestigious children’s book awards for outstanding writing and illustration in books for children and young people. The awards shadowing scheme is one of the main national reading for pleasure schemes, with approximately 90,000 children and young people in over 5,000 reading groups taking part in libraries and classrooms across the country and overseas.  From March to June each year, the award shadowers engage with outstanding writing and illustration by writing reviews, producing creative works based on the books, uploading videos and debating the books and who they think should win.

Peters have been selected to be the official book supplier following a competitive tender process. They will provide shadowing groups with up to 30% discount on the shortlisted books, free UK delivery and jacket servicing and will work with CILIP to jointly promote the role of children’s literature and reading for pleasure.

The Medals are uniquely nominated and judged by expert librarians. In 2017 the Carnegie Medal will be 80 years old and the Kate Greenaway Medal will be 60.

Ray Dyer, Managing Director of Peters commented: “ I am delighted to renew our association with CILIP and the Carnegie Greenaway Awards and shadowing.  At Peters, we are committed to ensuring children have access to books wherever they read, in school, at home or in their local library.  We are looking forward to working with shadowing groups, both old and new, to promote the very best of writing and illustration for children” .

CILIP Chief Executive, Nick Poole said: “We’re excited to be joining forces with Peters as official book supplier to the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals from 2017. With 80 years’ experience each in the world of children’s books, we’ll work together in our anniversary year to recognise the wonderful canon of medal winners since 1936 and to bring the much-anticipated shortlists to thousands of schools and shadowing groups in 2017.

I would like to thank Browns Books for Students, for the great care and service they have given to shadowing groups over the past three years. We saw enormous benefit from working with Browns and I hope we have the opportunity to work together again in the future”.

-Ends-

Press Contact

Cat Cooper
Campaigns and Communications Manager, CILIP
Tel: 020 7255 0653
Mobile: 07867 455070
Email: cat.cooper@cilip.org.uk

CILIP: The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers. CILIP’s vision is a fair and economically prosperous society underpinned by literacy, access to information and the transfer of knowledge. CILIP is a registered charity, no. 313014. The youth libraries group (YLG) of CILIP works in a “pressure group” role to preserve and influence the provision of quality literature and library services for children and young people, both in public libraries and school library services. cilip.org.uk   

About the CILIP Carnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal, awarded annually to the writer of an outstanding book for children, was established in 1936 in memory of the Scottish-born philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). A self-made industrialist who made his fortune in steel in the USA, Carnegie’s experience of using a library as a child led him to resolve that “If ever wealth came to me that it should be used to establish free libraries.” He set up more than 2,800 libraries across the English speaking world and by the time of his death over half the library authorities in Great Britain had Carnegie libraries.

About the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal
The Kate Greenaway Medal was established in 1955 for distinguished illustration in a book for children. Named after the popular nineteenth century artist, known for her beautiful children's illustrations and designs, the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal is awarded annually for an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people. ckg.org.uk

About Peters
With over seven decades of experience, and a passion for children's literature, Peters is the UK's leading specialist children's book and furniture supplier to nurseries, schools, academies and public libraries. From their team of dedicated children's librarians and curriculum specialists who read and review every book they take into stock to their unique showroom with over 40,000 titles for you to browse and buy, they’re here for you. Peters also have a range of furniture perfect for classrooms, libraries and schools to help you create the ideal reading space for story time. Thanks to their knowledge and expertise there's no limit to the bespoke support Peters will provide. peters-books.co.uk

The change from a web of documents to a web of data has taken its time, but in recent years there have been huge changes in both our perception of open data and in the development of an infrastructure to support it. Much of the time, however, the web of data continues to take the form of data silos: dispersed resources with little or no connections between them. Even in the same repository, synergistic potential may be unrealised because terminological differences mean that connections between data are never made.

Such problems are not insurmountable however, and library and information professionals have a long history in the development of controlled vocabularies for information retrieval and organization. Ontologies  - formal representations of knowledge with rich semantic relationships between terms – are just another type of controlled vocabulary, suitable for a distributed web and a higher level of granularity. 

So, why do librarians need to know about ontologies?

1) …because libraries are moving from AACR2 to RDA

Ontologies are not something librarians can choose to opt in or out of as they are increasingly central to a library's activities, as evidenced by the development of Resource Description and Access vocabularies and the FRBR model.

2) …because 'Every user his data'

"Data is the new book", and facilitating the publishing and accessing of this data requires librarians to have an understanding of data modelling and the vocabularies used. 

3) …because Facebook is too big

The dominance of a small number of social network sites, such as Facebook, can potentially have negative consequences for things librarians are interested in like privacy, freedom of speech, and innovation in social networking. Open ontologies can provide the building blocks of distributed social networks.

4) …because modelling the world is too important to leave to Google

The potential of open ontologies for information retrieval is recognised by the major search engines in Schema.org, but the interests of search engines are not the same as a search engine's users and there is a need for alternative perspectives on what and how the world should be modelled. 

5) …because the promise of undiscovered public knowledge is exciting!

New knowledge does not have to be found through investigation of the real world, but may be discovered through the combination of existing public knowledge. Libraries have always been a key resource in the discovery of undiscovered public knowledge, and the development of new ontologies can facilitate more rapid discovery on a global level. 

Library and information professionals have a long tradition of being double experts, coupling postgraduate information science qualifications with a subject specialism. Not only are they ideally placed to contribute to the development of new ontologies, and facilitating access to the web of data, but such contributions are essential if the potential of the web of data is ever to be realised.  

About Practical Ontologies for Information Professionals

Practical Ontologies for Information Professionals, a book by David Stuart, provides an accessible introduction and exploration of ontologies and demonstrates their value to information professionals.

Buy the book

The Bodleian Libraries’ new Weston Library reopened to readers in 2014 following a three-year, £80 million refurbishment. Here, Toby Kirtley, Estates Project Officer for the Bodleian, discusses how a Grade II listed book ‘fortress’ has been transformed into a finalist for the RIBA Stirling Prize 2016.

When our newest library, the Weston Library (formerly the New Bodleian), was announced as a contender for the RIBA Stirling Prize it was an exciting moment. The positive feedback we’d had from the public and from readers using this special collections library meant we felt confident that this new site met user needs. Being shortlisted for the Stirling Prize, however, is a testament to the architectural building work itself and, with the Weston the only dedicated library building on the Stirling Prize shortlist, it is great to see our sector represented.  

Caption: Weston Library exterior - under wraps during the redevelopment

For myself, the project team, project architects Wilkinson Eyre and many of those working on this unique project, the £80m refurbishment of the Weston Library was a huge undertaking, many years in development culminating in the three-year refurbishment. As the Estates Projects Officer for the Bodleian Libraries I have been involved with other large-scale capital projects, most recently the development of the Bodleian’s Book Storage Facility in Swindon, but this was a different level of complexity. The scale of planned improvements for this major refurbishment of an existing listed building is unparalleled among research libraries.

The Grade II listed building, originally known as the New Bodleian Library, was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in the 1930s and opened in 1946 as a working library and storage facility. The building is a recognisable feature of the Oxford cityscape, given its prominent location on the corner of Broad Street and Parks Road in the centre of Oxford. After 70 years of service the building was in need of upgrading in order to meet the National Archives' Standard for Record Repositories; severe overcrowding of bookstacks along with non-compliance with fire regulations meant the building and the libraries were at risk of losing their heritage status.  

The vision of this ambitious project was to fully modernize the library, overhauling the storage facilities for the Bodleian Libraries’ special collections to meet the latest standards. The aim was also to dramatically improve research facilities to support scholarship, with the renovation of three reading rooms and creation of new centres of scholarship: the Centre for Digital Scholarship and the Visiting Scholars Centre. Finally we wanted to create inspirational new facilities for engaging the general public, and to expand public access to the Libraries’ great treasures with two new exhibition galleries, digital interactives, a shop and a cafe. In order to achieve this, London-based Wilkinson Eyre Architects expertly transformed the library from the inside out, updating the core of the interior while retaining the surrounding spaces and the historical façade of the building and many of the unique fixtures and features within it.  

It’s difficult to summarize a project that ran over such a long period; however I’ve tried to provide some highlights of this exciting project below: 

Project highlights

Planning permission

Long before work started on the building we had to go through the lengthy planning permission process and consult extensively with English Heritage, preservation groups and the City of Oxford. Securing Planning Permission approval and Listed Building Consent from Oxford City Council in May 2010 made the project viable. 

Book moves

Caption: Toby Kirtley at the Book Storage Facility in Swindon 

Over 3 million books needed to be moved from the library before works could begin. In November 2010 the book decant got underway, a process that would take over a year, led by our incredibly efficient and organized Book Moves Team. It was a process that never seemed to stop, however, as once the bookstacks in the refurbished building were completed, the lengthy process of moving items back into the building began. Over 40km of materials were moved back in a move lasting over 3 ½ years! The new library now holds over 1.25 million volumes and boxes of special collections materials. 

Demolition works begin

The project really started with the demolition process which began in August 2011. The demolition phase lasted 12 months in total. 

Completion of the storage areas and new storage

A highlight was seeing the storage and climate control systems installed in the library’s new internal bookstacks that run across six floors. As one of the key drivers for this project was overhauling storage to meet the requirements of BS5454 (British standards for the storage of archival material), the completion of the bookstacks was a huge achievement. In total, above and below ground, the Library has more than 42km of secure, state-of-the-art storage facilities with the capacity to house 1.25 million of the Bodleian Libraries’ special collections which include rare books, manuscripts, archives, music, ephemera and maps.

Historic preservation

The project was designed to ensure that the library could be modernized in a way that preserves the historic character of the building and allows the unique features of Scott’s design to be seen in their best light. Seeing the cleaning of stonework/stone facade, the refurbishment of wooden chandeliers designed by Gilbert Scott, the modernization or the original reading room desks and the delicate preservation of the 1930s reader’s entrance was a constant reminder of the historic importance of this listed building.

Refurbishment of the reading rooms

Caption: The Charles Wendell David Reading Room on the top floor of the Weston Library, completed  

he library includes two readings rooms which needed considerable renovation.  Removing coverings from the skylight of the Mackerras Reading Room that had been in place since the room was used by the War Office in the 1940s was a big occasion, opening up the room and providing natural light for readers. So too was seeing the careful cleaning and preservation of the inlaid wood ceiling in the Rare Books & Manuscripts Reading Room. In these rooms students, scholars and researchers from all over the world can now study manuscripts or rare books to inform a range of research and scholarly questions. 

Topping out

June 2013 marked ‘topping out’, when the rebuilding of the central part of the library reached its highest extent. . Just under two years into the project, this was a huge milestone that signalled that we were closer to the end than the beginning. 

Broad Street opening

The opening of the Broad Street entrance of the building really brought the architect’s vision to life. Previously the building had been closed off on the side facing onto Broad Street. A series of high windows here were cut through and opened up to create a modern glass entranceway leading into the new public space called Blackwell Hall.  

Fitting out of the exhibition galleries

Caption: Displays in Blackwell Hall - the Sheldon Tapestry 

One of the last elements of the project was the fitting out of the two exhibition galleries entered from Blackwell Hall. A key aim of the project was to engage with the public by making our collections available so it was exciting to finally see the spaces where some of the University’s greatest treasures would be on public display.

Items uncovered in the building

Over the course of the renovation project an array of items dating back to the 1930s were found. These ranged from cigarette packets, sweet wrappers and a George VI stamp to a receipt for a book from Blackwell’s Bookstore (next door) purchased for the Red Cross Prisoners of War Educational Books Section, based in the library during wartime.  All these items were a constant reminder of the building’s past use and are now part of Bodleian archives.

Library opening

Caption: St Lee Gallery - one of two exhibition galleries in the Weston Library, displaying the flagship exhibition 'Marks of Genius'

The Weston Library opened to the public in March 2015, with our flagship exhibition Marks of Genius opened by physicist Stephen Hawking and conservationist Sir David Attenborough.  It was hugely gratifying to see visitors at the opening enjoying the space and visiting the exhibition galleries for the first time.   

A year and a half from opening the Library welcomes an average of 3,171 readers every month and has welcomed over 1 million visitors to its public spaces.  

Critical factors in this project have been the good working relationships that developed between the project team, contractors, staff and the architects. Also key was the level of commitment to the project at every level of the Library and University, along with the anticipation that something special was being delivered. 

Transforming this Grade II listed building into a 21st century research facility and visitor space has been a major undertaking for the libraries and will hopefully enable the Bodleian to continue to hold its place as one of the world’s greatest centres for scholarship.

Visit to Isle of Sheppey Prisons

The CILIP Cataloguing & Indexing Group (CIG) is pleased to announce a repeat of the successful RDA in a Day training course - and this time, we’re offering it in two locations (Sheffield and London) to make it available to a wider audience.

RDA in a Day is a practical introduction to cataloguing with RDA: Resource Description and Access, led by two RDA specialists from the British Library. The course will cover the FRBR model and RDA terminology. This is an interactive, hands-on course in which trainees will learn by using RIMMF and the RDA Toolkit to create RDA records. The day also covers creation of RDA records in MARC 21. Prior cataloguing experience and knowledge of AACR2 and MARC 21 will be an advantage.

Registration
Closing date for bookings: 30 September 2016

Sponsored place
We are pleased to be able to offer a sponsored place at each of these events. Applicants must be CIG members (though CILIP membership is not required), and the application (ca. 200 words) should demonstrate why they would like to attend, how they would use their attendance to highlight or promote CIG’s area of interest, and if/why they would not be able to attend without CIG sponsorship. We would like the sponsored delegates to write a report/summary to be publicised on the CIG blog and/or journal.

Please submit your application to Emily by 25 September 2016.

Applicants will be notified whether they have been successful by 3 October 2016.

Cancellation policy
Please note our cancellation policy: once your place is confirmed, we are unable to arrange refunds if you are subsequently unable to attend the event. Should this circumstance arise we are happy for someone else to attend in your place, but please notify us in advance if at all possible.

The CILIP Cataloguing & Indexing Group (CIG) is pleased to announce a repeat of the successful RDA in a Day training course - and this time, we’re offering it in two locations (Sheffield and London) to make it available to a wider audience.

RDA in a Day is a practical introduction to cataloguing with RDA: Resource Description and Access, led by two RDA specialists from the British Library. The course will cover the FRBR model and RDA terminology. This is an interactive, hands-on course in which trainees will learn by using RIMMF and the RDA Toolkit to create RDA records. The day also covers creation of RDA records in MARC 21. Prior cataloguing experience and knowledge of AACR2 and MARC 21 will be an advantage.

Registration
Closing date for bookings: 14 October 2016

Sponsored place
We are pleased to be able to offer a sponsored place at each of these events. Applicants must be CIG members (though CILIP membership is not required), and the application (ca. 200 words) should demonstrate why they would like to attend, how they would use their attendance to highlight or promote CIG’s area of interest, and if/why they would not be able to attend without CIG sponsorship. We would like the sponsored delegates to write a report/summary to be publicised on the CIG blog and/or journal.

Please submit your application to Nicky by 2 October 2016.

Applicants will be notified whether they have been successful by 10 October 2016.

Cancellation policy
Please note our cancellation policy: once your place is confirmed, we are unable to arrange refunds if you are subsequently unable to attend the event. Should this circumstance arise we are happy for someone else to attend in your place, but please notify us in advance if at all possible.

Development of reading and literacy in children (or indeed adults) relies on the right activities and opportunities that help us to experience the joy of imagination, discovery and sheer gratification that makes the world of books and stories irresistible. 

Literacy is a skill that is central to our life chances; but it’s easy to over-emphasise the importance of formal testing and performance measurement of those who are learning to read or develop as a reader.  These may be a necessary part of the journey; but without positive associations, the joy of reading can be lost or never experienced; and learning to read becomes a process to be acquired, practiced and performed as though by rote.  

Focus days like International Literacy Day allow us to consider the ways that tightrope between these two poles can be walked: achieving reading skill and yet enabling that process through social and creative activities and a natural sense of enjoyment.  

Positive associations

Stories can play a key part in children’s early bedtime routines, not simply through aiding a process of winding down and allowing a metaphoric ‘release of breath’, but also in the act of sharing and providing quality opportunities for bonding and attachment between adult and child. Recognising the contribution that bedtime reading can make to good sleep habits, BookTrust’s  Bath, Book, Bed campaign aims to promote regular night-time routines based around books and reading.

Choosing the right books to match mood and emotions can help act as a measure for the feelings of readers. Positive associations with reading at an early age will help to establish an aptitude and ability for achievement in literacy, and librarians are experts in recommending the types of book that are great at bedtime, and will carry positive and memorable associations throughout a child’s life.  

Tonal quality

One aspect a librarian will consider when recommending the right book for the mood is the tonal quality of a piece of writing or a story. For example, consider the exciting and enlivening pace and rhythm of a picture book like Steve Webb’s Tanka Tanka Skunk.

This is Tanka.  This is Skunk. They love to play the drums.  Say their names together and hear the beat like this.  Skunka Tanka, Skunka Tanka, Tanka Tanka Skunk!

Energy, playfulness and verve drip from every sounded out syllable.  Just as some music is rousing, so too is some writing.  By contrast, stories can be soothing and reassuring, instantly like being wrapped in a velvety blanket as felt in the opening to Martin Waddell’s Can’t you Sleep Little Bear:

Once there were two bears, Big Bear and Little Bear.  Big Bear is the big bear, and Little Bear is the little bear.  They played all day in the bright sunlight.  When night came, and the sun went down, Big Bear took Little Bear home to the Bear Cave.

My CILIP Kate Greenaway bedtime book list

Which books would you recommend as part of a bedtime routine?  

Using past winners of the Kate Greenaway Medal – the accolade for distinguished illustration in a book for children, awarded annually by CILIP, here are a half dozen of my top recommendations.

Raymond Briggs, The Mother Goose Treasury, 1966

Like fairy tales, nursery rhymes hold an almost timeless and universal appeal.  They can be an ideal form to help share early rhythm and rhyme and to encourage participation among young people.  Raymond Briggs is a colossus in the field of children’s book illustration and there are rich pickings to engage and occupy minds and imaginations.

John Burnigham, Mr Gumpy’s Outing, 1970

What could be better after splashing about in bath water than a story about a river outing on a boat?  Poor Mr Gumpy gets more than he bargained for, however, when two children and a menagerie of animals accompany him.  Burninghams’s stylised and unsentimental portrayal of nature makes each spread a joy to explore.

Allan and Janet Ahlberg, Each Peach Pear Plum, 1978

Perfect for reading aloud, there’s a real sense of familiarity in this classic picture book that draws on the characters and settings of classic nursery rhymes and traditional tales.  Readers can have fun seeking out the many hidden characters and details in Janet’s wonderfully detailed watercolour illustrations.

Martin Waddell and Barbara Firth, Can’t You Sleep Little Bear?, 1988

Sleeplessness is something that many children experience and there can be few stories that offer a more homely, comforting and reassuring base than this.  The relationship between Big Bear and Little Bear is touchingly portrayed both in Waddell’s text and Firth’s warm yet sedate watercolours.

Helen Cooper, The Baby Who Wouldn’t go to Bed, 1996

There is a luminescent quality to the imaginative inner-world of childhood that Helen Cooper brings to life in this story of a baby who wants to stay awake throughout the night.  The illustration and sense of wonder and amazement glow and gradually become more muted as the child slips ever closer to slumber.

Catherine Rayner, Harris Finds his Feet, 2009

Harris is curious about why he has such big feet, but with his granddad’s help he comes to realise why, and the types of impact he is able to have in his world because of them.  There’s a sense of realistation as to purpose and place in the world in this story and Catherine Rayner’s illustrations capture the expansive state of the natural world with real style.

About International Literacy Day

50 years ago UNESCO officially proclaimed 8 September "International Literacy Day". This year UNESCO are celebrating " the past five decades of national and international engagement, efforts and progress made to increase literacy rates around the world. It also addresses current challenges and looks to innovative solutions to further boost literacy in the future."

CILIP Youth Library Group Conference

7 - 8 October 2016, Cardiff

CILIP’s Youth Library Group Conference, 'Families: An Open Door to Literacy', will provide practitioners with the skills to engage with parents, families and carers in supporting children's reading, covering many aspects of reading engagement from recent reading research, engaging with children with autism, physical literacy, library services for disabled children and reading aloud to children. 

Book your place

Brian Wildsmith, children’s writer and illustrator, born 22 January 1930 Penistone, Yorkshire, has died on 31 August 2016 Grasse, France, aged 86.

Wildsmith was born and raised in a small mining village near Sheffield. He won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art, London where he studied for three years. He later taught maths at the Royal Military School of Music but gave it up so that he could pursue his passion for painting.

Published in 1961, Brian’s ABC, an alphabet book illustrated in a fresh and free manner won the 1962 Kate Greenaway Medal for distinguished illustration in a children’s book.

Brian has a world-wide reputation as one of the greatest children's illustrators. He is particularly popular in the USA, Europe and Japan. During his long-standing association with his publisher Oxford University Press, Wildsmith wrote and illustrated more than 80 books which have been translated into more than 30 languages.

“Wildsmith brought a great sense of unrestrained freedom to his work in terms of colour and form. His approach utilised these in ways that not only conveyed but elevated the majesty and movement of the natural world as his subjects.  His illustrations never failed to captivate, engage and remind of a world of wonder that existed beyond the confines of one's own experiences.”

CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Chair of Judges, Sioned Jacques

The September HL Newsletter is now available at:  http://www.cilip.org.uk/health-libraries-group/newsletter/current-newsletter

• Are you a current member of the CILIP East Member Network?
• Will you be beginning or continuing to study for an LIS degree in 2016/17?

Nick Poole became Chief Executive of CILIP on 22 June 2015.

Nick said, “I am honoured and excited to be taking up the role as CILIP’s Chief Executive. Library and information professionals have a profoundly important role to play in a modern digital economy and a productive society. I want to ensure that the skills and expertise of our members is championed as widely as possible, nationally and locally.

These are challenging times for our community, and CILIP needs to be able to offer leadership, support and encouragement to professionals working to promote information literacy across industry, media, education and Government.

I know CILIP as a member and as a former Trustee and Treasurer and I cannot wait to work with our members, Trustees, committee members, staff and partners to build a strong and positive future for our community.”

Nick was previously CEO of the Collections Trust and was responsible for the strategic direction and management of the organisation. In this role, Nick has been responsible for developing UK and international standards for information management, advising agencies on digital programmes and leading partnership initiatives with a range of leading digital companies.

Nick was elected to the Board of Wikimedia UK on 25 July 2015.  He is former Chair of the Europeana Network and provided representation to the European Commission.

Nick Poole will speak about the current state of the library and information profession, and successful ways in which to build your career.

Marina Sotiriou will be giving a presentation on her experiences of working in different libraries across different countries. Currently working as a Library Assistant at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Marina previously worked at Belfast Metropolitan College and before that was the Librarian at the 21st Ephorates of Byzantine Antiquities in Corfu.

Please email Janine.hall@berkshire.nhs.uk for further information, and to book your place. Unfortunately, the venue is not accessible to wheelchair users or those with limited mobility.

At the CILIP MmIT conference in September we will be talking about releasing and re-using library data. Here is a bit about our experience of open data in Newcastle Libraries.

By open data we mean information that has been published and made freely available for re-use, using an open license such as Creative Commons or the UK Open Government License.

Why open data

The reason we are so interested in open data is simple: the principles of it fit with our ethics. We are library and information professionals; as such, we believe it is our role to facilitate the sharing of information, knowledge and culture.

Traditionally we facilitate access to other people's content and information; we have books for loan, journals subscriptions, internet access, artworks and artefacts on display, etc.  This got us thinking about the information we hold and collect as a service: why weren't we sharing our own as well as other peoples’? We have information on our collections through our catalogue, on our PC usage through our booking system, on our members, our events, our buildings, the list goes on.

We are the custodians of this information, but it does not belong to us: it belongs to the citizens of Newcastle. And we need to give it back to them: freely, clearly, openly.

Benefits

The process of publishing our information also prompted us and acted as a catalyst, changing the way we look at and use data internally. Looking at what data we collect, how it is collected, stored and ultimately used.

Although we are at the early stages with releasing our data, we are keen to work towards data-driven decision-making. In the past we have made changes to our services based on what we think we know or what we believe might be best however these are often assumptions or based on our experiences. We want to challenge this by showing and sharing our data and basing our decisions on this.

One of the interesting issues we have come across when asking people to release data is that they want to know what data people want, why they would want it and what would they do with it. The answer often is, we don’t know!

Dropping the C-word

Among the practicalities of opening up data, the first is to make sure you actually own that data; this was not a problem for us and should not be for most library services.

When we talk about ownership of data and publishing under an open license, we need to mention the C-word: copyright. In some cases a neighbouring right may apply, known as database rights. Using an open license means waiving some of those rights so that others may use your content without asking you or paying you for permission.

The next thing we had to do was to decide which licence we would use to make our data open. The Open Data Institute has an excellent guide to open data licensing which is a must-read to understand the different rights and licenses you may be dealing with.  

We settled for the Open Government Licence (OGL), which covers information protected by either copyright or database rights. This was an obvious choice because other data sets already released by Newcastle City Council at the time (March 2016) were published under OGL.

As it happens, five months later we dropped the OGL and moved our data under a public domain dedication, waiving all rights to our information. But we are not going to go into the details here, as explaining why we did this would probably take up a whole article in itself!

Join the movement

Technically it is very easy to share and open data. It isn't a technical problem, it’s about changing the culture within your organisation to one where it is ok (or actively encouraged) to share. 

People can often be reluctant to share their data for a number of reasons, It can be perceived as a loss of control, they may be worried how accurate their data is and more frequently people genuinely don’t know what they can and can’t share. 

In response to frequent well-publicised information and data security horror-stories people often default to the 'safest' option which unfortunately is usually to lock information away in a system where nobody else has access to it.

Releasing data is still the unknown, when we speak to data owners were often asked: Why do you want the data? Who are you going to give it to? What are they going to do with it? 

Our answer to all of these is we don’t know but that’s ok, in fact that’s the whole point. We release so that people can do things with our data that we haven't and wouldn’t have thought of.

Releasing libraries data should be fairly easy to do as much of the data is non-contentious. The data will probably belong to you, it’s up to you to decide what you want to do with it.

It helps to have someone in your organisation working on open data, many organisations, including local authorities, are exploring the possibilities which come with open data, seek them out!

Top tips

In conclusion we thought it would be good to share some of our top tips when it comes to releasing data base on our experiences.

Talk to others who have done it before. People are really open to sharing their experiences and help you where they can.

Just start publishing, it starts the conversation with data owners and data consumers and you will learn so much more this way. 

Find examples of where seemingly 'boring' or 'dull' datasets have been used to create great things. People often can’t see how their data could be used in any way other than what they currently use it for. Show them the 'art of the possible'

Try to release data in a standard, easily reusable and consistent way (we used CSV) and give people as much information about the dataset as you can.

About the CILIP MmIT Conference

Date: 12 - 13 September 2016
Location: Sheffield

The CILIP Multimedia Information and Technology (MmIT) Group conference is titled "Digital Citizenship: What is the library's role?" It will explore and discuss several digital citizenship themes and the role and responsibility of the library and the librarian in supporting citizenry in the digital world.

Book your place

As another school year begins, it is a great opportunity to look at the challenge teachers, learning support assistants and school librarians will face in getting students reading. Below are seven tips, tricks and things to consider when encouraging students to read. These will be useful when either encouraging a single reluctant reader or implementing a whole-school literacy strategy. Please note that they are in no particular order except that the one I think is most important is first! 

1. Share your enthusiasm 

For me this is essential. If you love reading and books, then this love should enthuse everything you do in your position. Students will respond to this enthusiasm and it can be contagious. Students will want to read a book because you championed it. They will go to you talk about it when they’ve finished it. They will, most importantly, go to you again to find out what to read next. Creating and maintaining a reading culture has to begin somewhere. I believe that it should start with members of staff who are going to work to pass on their love of books and particular genres, authors and stories and will not be deterred when there are the inevitable setbacks that come with trying to get students reading. 

2. Get the community involved (outside school)

Early this year I got the opportunity to listen to Jonathon Douglas of the National Literacy Trust speak. He emphasised the importance of community for improving literacy levels. The message of the necessity of reading to improve your literacy is so much more powerful when it comes from everyone in a young person’s community than when it just comes from a couple of loud voices in their school. 
 
How to do this is a difficult question to answer but I think there are two useful starting points. The first is to get the student’s family involved. Communication with home is a vital tool and making positive phone calls home when a student succeeds in their reading can help ensure that they will continue to do so as they will have another hand patting them on the back. This year I also trialled 'come to the library' sessions where parents were invited to the library to see what their child did in their reading lessons, read with them and have a cup of coffee. Many parents got involved and it is a great way to ensure that students will get more support and motivation when it comes to literacy.

3. Get the community involved (inside school)

A second useful starting point is to get the whole school involved. The most effective literacy strategies take a whole-school approach with students seeing that reading is something that the entire school does from the new year seven intake to the head teacher. World Book Day is perhaps the most widely used event for championing reading as a community with students seeing what is fun and exciting about reading. However, there are countless other ways to show that reading is important to the whole school. What I am reading posters outside a teacher’s classroom, book giving days where staff give a book from home to a particular student and class readers are just three of the ways to get reading for pleasure out of the English department or school library and into the whole school. 

4. Get students to spread the word

Having students that can champion literacy and reading for pleasure is so useful and many will love this responsibility. The students in my school's literacy squad love the opportunity to suggest books to other students, help in the in the library and get involved in the planning and delivery of literacy events. However, students don’t have to have an official title to help you encourage reading throughout the school. For example, we had a fantastic opportunity to take a group of students to see the amazing Carnegie-winning Sarah Crossan speak. When they came back they devoured The Weight of Water and One. Now I often do not have to explain why they are such good books to a student because one of their friends is itching to do it for me and students are much more likely to read a book when it has their friend’s seal of approval.

5. Help students to take ownership

Students are unlikely to read regularly if they do not understand its importance and feel that it is being forced upon them. It is essential that students see the worth of reading for their own personal development and take ownership of it. They will read after school for twenty minutes because they see its worth and they enjoy it. Developing this sense of ownership is a challenge but there are ways of working towards it. In library lessons in my school, students have minimum targets but I also encourage them to set their own targets. This might be to finish the Harry Potter series before Christmas or to read a million words as part of the Accelerated Reader scheme. I will provide encouragement and rewards but the student is aware that this is their intellectual development and they will reap the benefits. Students should then have their own drive to keep reading when you are not there to give support. 

6. Sell the story

Over four years of working in school libraries, I have discovered that “selling stories” is my favourite part of the job. It is great to work with a student to find a title that they want to read by delving into the shelves, pulling out titles I think they will love and explaining what is great about each one. It is particularly fun to find a hook that will get a student to grab a book out of your hand and tell you that they want to read it now. For example, this year I have relied on the hooks "she can tell when you are going to die by looking in your eyes" (Rachel Ward's Numbers) and "a boy finds a body in the river and tries to solve the murder" (Kim Slater‘s Smart).  This does not mean that you need to have read every book in your library, it just means that you need an awareness of what is in your collection and how to sell it. 

7. Do not be afraid (to start at the very beginning) 

This last one is something I have to remind myself of very September. Not every student in your class will be willing to pick up a book. You may have students who will drag their heels or complain or proudly exclaim that they hate reading. When this is the case it can be useful, especially with lower ability students, to get them into the habit of sitting down with a text and taking the time to go from page to page by using something they enjoy. Last year I sat down to read texts as varied as graphic novels, picture books and choose-your-own-adventure books with very reluctant readers before we moved onto something more challenging. This initial step requires time and patience but it can be essential to giving a student the confidence they need to get reading. 
 
So these are my seven top tips for getting students reading. What do you think? If you have your own tips, please share them in the comments below. 

Critical Literacy for Information Professionals

Critical Literacy for Information Professionals, edited by Sarah McNicol, is an edited collection exploring critical literacy theory and providing practical guidance to how it can be taught and applied in libraries. Joel Crowley is author of Chapter 10, "New media and critical literacy in secondary schools".

Buy the book

Those of us who visit libraries will know the benefits of time out with a good book, but increasingly public libraries are showing their capacity to encourage public health and wellbeing. The 2016 shortlist for the annual CILIP award for best practice in UK library services recognises library services that are reaching people in the community to help people self-manage their heath conditions and actively promote a healthy way of life.

• 42% of working age adults in England struggle to make use of everyday health information and 43% struggle to understand instructions to calculate a childhood paracetamol dose [1].
• The National Health Literacy Action Plan for Scotland asserts that healthcare professionals often underestimate the public’s health literacy needs [2]
• Falls among the elderly in Norfolk are estimated to cost local health & social care services approx £19 million every year[3]
• Almost 7 out of 10 men and 6 out of 10 women in England are overweight or obese [2]and around 4 in 10 children are physically inactive [3]
• The number of people with dementia in Liverpool is expected to rise by more than 10% between 2013 and 2021.1 in 100 of the local population is estimated to be living with dementia but only 1 in 200 have been identified and are receiving access to support services [4]
• Renfrewshire Council’s Tackling Poverty Commission estimates that more than one in five local children is growing up in poverty. One of the Council’s six priorities is to improve levels of physical and mental health of children in low income families [5].

“There is a growing evidence base that links literacy and reading to improving health and wellbeing. As the examples in this shortlist illustrate, public libraries are increasingly becoming key partners with health and social services in helping to prevent ill-health and supporting people to fulfil their potential, live well with any conditions they may have. Within Scotland, libraries’ community-centred, enabling approach is central to delivering Scotland’s national goals of helping people to become successful learners, and to live longer, healthier lives in resilient and empowered communities.” - Dr Ann Wales, Programme Director, Knowledge Management at NHS Education Scotland

“The 2016 shortlist is all about wellbeing, and showcases services targeted towards health as an extension of the library’s core functions around literacy, keeping people informed, and supporting social justice in our communities. These three different library services clearly show the need for non-clinical spaces and support and the increasing role libraries are playing as a channel for the public health message.” John Vincent, Libraries Change Lives Chair of Judges

Norfolk Libraries are shortlisted for their Healthy Libraries initiative. On a countywide drive to actively promote healthier living, staff at all 47 of Norfolk’s libraries have been trained in understanding health improvement and mental health first aid to offer information, advice and guidance on local health services - signposting to suitable local health projects’. Almost two thirds of the Norfolk population are overweight or obese and the county has one of the lowest childhood activity levels in the East of England. Dedicated awareness activities at Norfolk Healthy Libraries include slipper swaps targeting fall prevention and a smoothie bike aimed at raising awareness of the benefits of the government-recommended target of five a day fruit and vegetable portions.

Also in the running, Skoobmobile is Renfrewshire’s specially adapted mobile library outreach service which travels around the county to schools, nurseries and community events to encourage early years’ wellbeing through combined reading, play and exercise. Over the school holidays, ‘Play In the Park’ takes the mobile to parks and green spaces and encouraging families to get onboard to listen to a story and complete an outdoor activity trail.  Working with community groups, third sector organisations and health agencies, the primary aim of the service is to help improve children’s life chances by encouraging a lasting interest in reading, literacy, physical activity and learning, bringing the opportunities of the public library service directly to children and families where they are gathered in the community.

The third finalist, Sefton Library Service, goes out into homes and care homes to record the life stories of local people in the first stages of memory loss, to provide a reminiscence tool for the patient’s care and a valuable primary history. The work is delivered in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society, Age Concern, Age UK and care homes in the Sefton Area, who refer people recently diagnosed with memory loss. Residential care workers are using the material to establish a rapport with their residents and find topics of conversation. Reminiscing to rekindle forgotten memories (cognitive stimulation therapy) has been shown to slow the progression of the condition. Memories recorded include wartime experiences, accounts of childhood times, and family and working lives spent in what is now the Sefton district of Merseyside. The recordings are accessible to the public via the local history archive at Crosby Library.

The Libraries Change Lives Award is judged by CILIP’s Community, Diversity and Equality Group (CDEG). The winner will be announced on Thursday 29 September and will receive a £4000 investment from CILIP. Over 24 years, the award has recognised a number of targeted initiatives around health and wellbeing, including bibliotherapy and services designed to support local populations dealing with dementia, autism, visual impairment, domestic abuse and mental health issues. Health is one of the public library Universal Offers, five key areas of service in which public libraries in England are committed to quality provision and promotion.

Ongoing initiatives recognised by the award include Bookstart, the Government-backed scheme first piloted by Birmingham Libraries which now reaches 3 million babies and their parents across the UK; and The City of Edinburgh’s HMP Edinburgh Library Partnership, an initiative that has transformed engagement among the prison population, tackling social exclusion and providing education and employment opportunities for a better transition to community life.

-Ends-

Press contact

Cat Cooper
Communications and Campaigns Manager, CILIP
Tel: 020 7255 0653
Mobile: 07867 455070
Email: cat.cooper@cilip.org.uk

Notes to editors

Healthy Libraries, Norfolk – an initiative to develop all of Norfolk’s libraries into health and wellbeing ‘hubs’, promoting healthier living to the Norfolk population. Building on the existing universal health offer of UK public libraries, Norfolk’s 47 libraries are now actively promoting public health, with staff trained to deliver informed health signposting, support and guidance.

Almost two thirds (65.7%) of the adult population of Norfolk are overweight or obese and instances are increasing among the child population of Norfolk, who have one of the lowest levels of childhood activity in the East of England (49.7%). An estimated 16,400 people in Norfolk have dementia (diagnosed or undiagnosed) and the recorded annual number of strokes is very high. Norfolk’s population has an older age profile than England as a whole and falls are estimated to cost Norfolk and Waveney health and social care services around £19 million every year, not including unknown costs such as GP time treating people who have fallen.3 From May 2015 to April 2016, over two thousand Norfolk residents had participated in a dedicated health-based activity under the programme

Lost Voices, Sefton – a library project which goes out into the community to record the oral histories of local people in the early stages of memory loss, in their homes and care homes. The material forms part of Sefton’s oral and local history collections and the recordings are provided to the subjects and their families as a reminiscence tool to help slow progression of the condition.

The library service is a member of the Sefton Dementia Forum and Sefton’s Dementia Action Alliance and plans are underway to work with NHS Care Commissioning Groups to enable doctors’ surgeries to directly refer patients to the service when a memory loss condition is first diagnosed. Over 50 sufferers had their memories recorded in the first year since April 2015 and the service aims to increase the number of people to benefit by 50% by April 2017.

Skoobmobile, Renfrewshire – this mobile library outreach service travels to schools, nurseries and community events where children up to twelve and their families are gathered. It is equipped to promote reading and play combined, stocking a broad range of children’s books and providing flexible space to house a range of activities based around play, activity and exercise.

The service targets schools more than a mile from a public library and nurseries and preschools more than 0.7 miles from a library; and works more intensively with schools in the Scottish Index Multiple Deprivation zones. From the launch in April 2015 to February 2016 there were 10,907 visits by children and 1,859 visits by adults, lasting from 20 minutes to 1.5 hours. The service visited 28 different primary schools, 21 pre-5 establishments and all schools for children with additional support needs.

CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers. CILIP’s vision is a fair and economically prosperous society underpinned by literacy, access to information and the transfer of knowledge. CILIP is a registered charity, no. 313014. cilip.org.uk. Full details of the award and past winners can be viewed at: www.cilip.org.uk/lcla  

The CILIP Community, Diversity and Equality Group work towards development of a diverse library and information workforce; one that supports communities to achieve sustainable needs-based services.

Every April, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) issues the "Special 301 Report", an annual review of the state of intellectual property (IP) rights with US trading partners around the world.

Countries deemed to have inadequate IP protection and enforcement are graded into categories - priority watch list and watch list - in the report that is usually hailed by industry and assailed by public interest groups who complain about one-sidedness and lack of balance in its findings.

What if library advocates had a handy way to measure the aspects of copyright law most important to them? Like the provisions that allow libraries to develop their collections, provide robust support to education and research, preserve our cultural heritage not just for tomorrow but for the long term future, and to serve all persons with disabilities equally.

Or legally speaking, to measure the limitations and exceptions that provide the essential balance in copyright law between the rights of copyright owners and the rights of users..

The EIFL Core Library Exceptions Checklist is a practical and, we hope, a fun way to help librarians do just that – to evaluate their domestic copyright law, identify gaps or see where the law is doing well.

The checklist can be used by the library community to generate discussion around copyright issues, assist with copyright law reform and, if the results from different countries are collated, to provide a global picture of the real state of copyright laws from a library perspective. A kind of ‘Special 301’ report for libraries.

Copyright laws fit for purpose 

The checklist complements the excellent Study on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries and Archives prepared by Dr. Kenneth D. Crews for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that brings together copyright statutes on libraries and archives from 188 countries.

The WIPO study provides a wealth of useful information.

It shows that many countries around the world are amending and updating their copyright laws. In fact, in the five years between 2010 and 2015, sixty-six countries changed their copyright law with respect to libraries in some way, according to data from the series of three studies.

We also know from the study that many countries still have no provision for libraries in their domestic law [1]. Nearly half of WIPO’s member states do not explicitly allow libraries to make copies for research or study. And we know that the pace of change regarding digital activities is too slow.

Yet in an interconnected world where government policies increasingly mandate international research, and global collaboration among scientists and scholars is driving the demand for access to materials held in libraries around the world, it is vital that copyright laws in every country are fit for purpose.

What every copyright law should have

The EIFL Core Library Exceptions Checklist sets out provisions that every copyright law should have to support modern library activities and services, such as lending, making an electronic copy of a journal article or book chapter for a user, providing library material for use in virtual learning environments, and undertaking digital preservation.

It takes as its starting point what libraries do, and applies it to the law. It also includes issues not covered by the WIPO study such as lending, and text and data mining.

While librarians will primarily take the lead using the checklist, it can easily be shared with policy-makers, academics and other copyright specialists to increase knowledge of specific library copyright issues and to support library advocacy.

How the checklist works 

There are two documents – a checklist and a scorecard.

The first part of the checklist features library activities and services i.e. collection development, support for education and research, preservation and replacement, and serving persons with print disabilities.

The second part covers important ‘cross-cutting’ aspects of the law that affect the scope and efficacy of the exceptions. For example, a broad exception for preservation might look good at first glance but if the definition of reproduction is restricted to paper copies, then the preservation exception is of limited value in the digital environment.

Each question in the checklist is accompanied by a short explanatory note and a model legal provision.

The second document is a scorecard to grade how the law performs for libraries.

‘Rate my copyright law’ contains the checklist questions that can be answered as yes, partly and no. If the answer to a question is yes, the score is two points. If the answer is partly, the score is one point, and it’s zero for the answer no. Add up the score to get the result from a total of 36 points (if every question is answered).

The scorecard online is a fillable PDF form - the fields can be filled in, saved electronically and printed.

The checklist is also available in poster format.

Informing and empowering librarians

Of course, the rating exercise is not an exact science. There might be uncertainty over some of the answers prompting deeper analysis on the questions.

Or there might be different opinions especially among different stakeholders. The fact that there are different, equally valid legal interpretations can help to empower librarians to manage risk in a proportionate and informed way - see 50 shades of risk at the CILIP conference - copyright and risk management.

Perhaps the checklist might reveal differences between common library practices and what the law apparently allows, especially if technology is involved.

The differences could be a catalyst for the library community to advocate for the law to be brought up-to-date. For example in Poland, the new copyright law settles legal matters for activities that had become commonplace, such as the reproduction of short works for educational purposes and the use of whole works, such as photographs in certain circumstances [2].

Rate my copyright law - how low can you go?

The checklist had its first public outing in August at the 2016 World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) in Colombus.

At a meeting of IFLA national, international and other association members, over 100 people participated in a lively exercise to ‘Rate my copyright law’. One librarian is reported to have awarded her law the grand score of five marks, less than 14%!

IFLA plans to use the results of the exercise to support advocacy work.

EIFL welcomes wide use of the checklist and scorecard.

We hope it will be a practical resource to support advocacy at whatever stage of copyright development a country is at. For example, it might start a debate for the first time in the library community, kickstart reforms by clearly highlighting shortcomings in the law, or provide model language for library-friendly amendments (that can of course be adapted), if the law is already under review.

A ‘Special 301’ report for libraries?

In addition to helping libraries rate national copyright laws, the checklist provides an opportunity to assess the state of copyright laws globally from a library perspective.Then library-friendly laws could easily be identified, and librarians in countries with restrictive copyright laws would have good practice examples to draw upon.

Perhaps the numbers could be crunched with nice visualisations at a hackathon, like the EU Copyright Hackathon taking place in November 2016.

Then we’d have a ‘Special 301’ report for libraries to pitch to policy-makers in support of national and international copyright law reform.

Feedback and ideas on using the checklist and scorecard are welcome. Let us know in the comments below.

UKeiG, in association with the Chemical Information and Computer Applications Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry;  the International Society for Knowledge Organisation UK and the British Computer Society Information Retrieval Specialist Group, is delighted to announce that this year’s winner of the Tony Kent Strix Award is Maristella Agosti, Professor in Computer Science at the University of Padua where she has worked since completing her MsC in Statistical Sciences in 1975. Since then, she has built a world-wide reputation for her work in many aspects of information retrieval and digital libraries.  Her work ranges from original contributions to hypertext information retrieval and automatic hypertext construction to shaping experimental evaluation in the CLEF information retrieval evaluation initiative. Her work has always transferred to products and services (such as SIAR, a digital archive system accessible on the Web offering access to the historical archives of the Italian Veneto Region) and she has always played a leading role in the IR community, devoting particular attention to the transfer of knowledge and expertise to new generations of researchers. 

Further details can be found on her 2016 Tony Kent Strix Award Page.

Professor Agosti will present the Tony Kent Strix Annual Lecture in 2017. Meanwhile there is still time to book for this year’s FREE annual lecture, which will be given by 2015 winner Peter Ingwersen  on Monday 31st October at the Geological Society in London. While the event is free, bookings are required. The annual lecture is sponsored by Google.

We've collected together some of the interesting, contentious and important library and information stories that were discussed around the world last month. There were lots of interesting discussions in August, including: 

1. Copyright
2. Storing physical and digital information
3. Why we need good, trustworthy data and information
4. Digital and information literacy
5. Improving life chances
6. The economics of privacy

Let us know what you think or if you have any other important issues that we missed in the comments section below.

1. Copyright

A compilation of some copyright news and blogs from around the world:

• How well does your copyright law support libraries? 
• Change to copyright law for industrially manufactured artistic works
• Getty Images will bill you thousands to use a photo that belongs to the public. Is that legal?
• Publishers Lose Another Round in GSU Copyright Case

2. Storing physical and digital information

The recent story, in Atlas Obscura, about New York Public Library moving 15 million books to an underground storage facility aptly demonstrates the challenges involved in storing physical documents and information. (One of which being that, once it’s underground, it’s quite easy to forget about ).

Digital information is often held up as a panacea for all our data storage problems. However, despite some incredible research and advances being made, it comes with its own set of problems. For instance, digital data “rots” just like physical material, file format obsolescence is an issue and, even if you could store everything, you still need to make decisions about what you should store.

3. Why we need good, trustworthy data and information

John Pullinger, Head of the Government Statistical Service, wrote a fantastic blog recently about how we need good, trustworthy data and information to make decisions. Conversely, he mentioned how dangerous poor use of statistics and misrepresentation of numbers can be. How can we avoid this? One way, as Nick Poole, CILIP Chief Exec, commented on the blog, is to "promote information literacy at all ages so that every citizen is equipped to live successfully in an information-rich society".

There is a really important role of information and library professionals here, both in being systematic about collating their own data and in running events to empower the public to understand how open data can be accessed and used.

4. Digital and information literacy

Some recent articles on digital and information literacy:

• #AskALibrarian: Does mindfulness benefit children?
• 6 suggestions for teaching information literacy
• Increased reading and literacy: how libraries deliver
• Digital Literacy in Libraries – a day of sharing innovations

5. Improving life chances

The Guardian reported in August that public library use has fallen over the last decade but that, importantly, "usage in the country’s most deprived areas has remained stable". This points to the crucial role public libraries play in, as Mark Taylor (CILIP Director of External Relations) comments in the article, “improving life chances through literacy, learning and access to knowledge for those communities with the most to gain”.

This often takes the form of “bridging the digital divide” and there have been lots of examples this month of this happening on an international, national and local level.

6. The economics of privacy

In a fascinating article on the economics of privacy, Professor Alessandro Acquisti arguable places the issue of privacy squarely in the information professional’s domain: “Privacy is not about blocking all information flows, it’s about managing information flows.” He goes on to argue that the type of data shared and the context in which it is shared will determine who benefits most, consumers or producers.

Some more practical examples related to Professor Acquisti’s arguments can be found in a couple of recent articles in TechCrunch. In one, Tim Barker highlights the perceived divide between the growing hunger for data from companies and the increasing loss of control felt by the public. In another, Christine Bannan writes about how the speed at which technology is developing, in this case the internet of things, means users of this technology struggle to maintain a reasonable understanding of how their data is being collected and used. A struggle that will likely increase as face and voice recognition becomes more widely used.

Join CILIP

CILIP is the leading body representing the information professions. 

We build the professionalism of our members by supporting the development of skills, knowledge and excellence. We provide unity through shared values and advocate on behalf of the information professions.

The benefits of CILIP membership include:

• A weekly email containing a top 10 round-up of library and information stories
• A subscription to Update magazine, he leading publication for the library, information and knowledge management community. 
• The option to apply for professional Certification, Chartership, Fellowship or Revalidation, CILIP's internationally recognised qualifications.

Join CILIP

Please join us for the PATMG 2016 AGM, and afterwards for “Common misconceptions of interpreting patent data”  by Peter Evans, Assistant Economist/Senior Executive Officer, UK IPO.

The meeting will be hosted by EIP in their London offices, please email Nathan Pennington to register your intention to attend.

Thursday 29 September 2016, 2.30pm to 4.30 pm

CILIP PATMG Tour of the Dana Research Centre and Library, Science Museum, 165 Queen’s Gate, London SW7 5HD. www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/library 

Join the CILIP’s Patent & Trade Mark Group (PATMG) for an afternoon tour of the new Dana Research Centre and Library with a talk on the history of the Science Museum Library given by the Head of Library and Archives. Some of the collections related to patents will be also showcased.

Booking is essential as places are limited.  To register please email Susan Bates at  susan.bates@shell.com who will confirm your place by email.

Join us: CILIP Members’ Day and AGM

We hope that you can join us at Leeds City Museum on Thursday 29 September for CILIP Members’ Day and AGM 2016.

The theme for the day is ‘Getting it right: user needs and customer service’

Programme includes:

• guest speaker Neil Infield from the British Library’s Business and IP Centre
• the CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award
• the UKeiG Information Manager of the Year award
• celebration of member achievement
• formal AGM business

Full programme:  cilip.org.uk/agm16/programme 

Register: cilip.org.uk/agm16/registration 

Guide to the AGM: http://www.cilip.org.uk/how-cilip-works/board-meetings-agm/2016-annual-general-meeting

#cilipagm | cilip.org.uk/agm16

Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Please register your place so that we can count numbers.

See you there!

CILIP

Cat Cooper

Communications and Campaigns Manager

CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals

7 Ridgmount St, London WC1E 7AE

Direct line: 020 7255 0653
Mobile: 07867 455070
www.cilip.org.uk

@CILIPinfo