"If your own house is blown down you must go somewhere else mustn’t you, Piglet? What would you do if your house was blown down?"

Before Piglet could think, Pooh answered for him.

"He’d come and live with me," said Pooh, "wouldn’t you, Piglet?"

Piglet squeezed his paw.

"Thank you, Pooh," he said, "I should love to."

 A.A. Milne – The House at Pooh Corner

To coincide with International Children’s Book Day 2016, Amnesty International released the results from a new YouGov opinion poll. In the poll, parents were asked to select from a list the pastime that they thought were most likely to enhance the ability of their child to empathise with others. Over half of the parents polled said that reading a book was the most likely pastime to do this.

These findings tally with the results of the literature review released in 2015 by the Reading Agency looking at the wider benefits of reading for pleasure. For children and young people the evidence demonstrates that children who read for pleasure have higher levels of educational attainment, but what is most interesting is how reading improves the overall quality of their lives. Children who read demonstrate significantly enhanced emotional vocabulary, and are better equipped to express themselves. Children and young people who read like themselves better, and cope with life better. They are more likely to use positive mental self -imagery and generally use more positive vocabulary in both their school work and their lives.

The Amnesty poll results have also generated a list of books that might be helpful in developing empathy in the reader. Parents were also asked to select a book from a list of titles which they felt had best helped them to learn to identify with others. One in six parents (17%) who selected a book, chose Roald Dahl’s BFG, the most popular choice from the list, closely followed by Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (16%).

The full list of the ten books in order of popularity, is:

1. The BFG by Roald Dahl (17%)
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (16%)
3. The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett (14%)
4. Goodnight Mr Tom, by Michelle Magorian (13%)
5. Charlotte’s Web, by EB White (10%)
6. JOINT Winnie the Pooh, by AA Milne;  AND The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain (9%)
7. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling (7%)
8. JOINT Noughts and Crosses, by Malorie Blackman And Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D Taylor (2%)

This list a great starting point for parents looking to develop empathy in their children, and I would heartily agree that all of the books on it would support a greater sense of empathy in the reader, but it is by no means exhaustive. There are thousands of others and one of the best ways to find a suitable book-match for a child’s needs is to ask a children’s librarian. The encyclopaedic book knowledge held by a school librarian means that they are the perfect person to find exactly the right book for your child. These are the people who can tailor book recommendations to the individual child in a way that a list can’t. 

The findings of this poll come as Amnesty International is set to make a special children’s book commendation in a new partnership together with CILIP. This is a groundbreaking move for both organisations and it represents a first in the world of books as the Amnesty CILIP Honour will specifically acknowledge the books that most distinctively illuminate, uphold or celebrate freedoms. Two overall Amnesty CILIP Honour winners will be announced in June, just in time to inform parents’ summer reading selections for their children.

 Nicky Parker, Amnesty’s Head of Publishing, said:

 "There is no doubt that the ability of books to develop a child’s empathy and compassion is unparalleled. Of course the world needs a generation of people growing up with those engrained qualities - now more than ever.

"We hope the Amnesty award will make it easy for parents and teachers to identify books which will teach children about truth, freedom and justice, and encourage them to feel they can shape a better world."

Former Carnegie winner and inaugural Amnesty CILIP Honour judge Tanya Landman, said:

"Books break down barriers. They have the ability to show us that we’re all members of one human race. The Amnesty award will have a huge impact in recognising books that open up difficult situations. As a judge, I want to be transported by a gripping story but I want to be moved by it too and know more about an issue than I did at the beginning. I want it to open up hungry minds to what’s going on in the world."

Reading for pleasure is an important way of helping us tackle issues such as social isolation, teenage depression, negative self-image, and social and educational disengagement. Reading for pleasure can make an isolated and depressed young person feel better about who they are and can make them more confident about the importance of their unique role in the world. For small children the world is a dreadfully complicated place, but fiction can help them to make sense of it, and can help them to understand others. The right book at the right time can change, or save, a life. Every child needs to feel that they belong and that their lives and the lives of others matter, and reading a book is the best way to do that.

"If your own house is blown down you must go somewhere else mustn’t you, Piglet? What would you do if your house was blown down?"

Before Piglet could think, Pooh answered for him.

"He’d come and live with me," said Pooh, "wouldn’t you, Piglet?"

Piglet squeezed his paw.

"Thank you, Pooh," he said, "I should love to."

 A.A. Milne – The House at Pooh Corner

To coincide with International Children’s Book Day 2016, Amnesty International released the results from a new YouGov opinion poll. In the poll, parents were asked to select from a list the pastime that they thought were most likely to enhance the ability of their child to empathise with others. Over half of the parents polled said that reading a book was the most likely pastime to do this.

These findings tally with the results of the literature review released in 2015 by the Reading Agency looking at the wider benefits of reading for pleasure. For children and young people the evidence demonstrates that children who read for pleasure have higher levels of educational attainment, but what is most interesting is how reading improves the overall quality of their lives. Children who read demonstrate significantly enhanced emotional vocabulary, and are better equipped to express themselves. Children and young people who read like themselves better, and cope with life better. They are more likely to use positive mental self -imagery and generally use more positive vocabulary in both their school work and their lives.

The Amnesty poll results have also generated a list of books that might be helpful in developing empathy in the reader. Parents were also asked to select a book from a list of titles which they felt had best helped them to learn to identify with others. One in six parents (17%) who selected a book, chose Roald Dahl’s BFG, the most popular choice from the list, closely followed by Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (16%).

The full list of the ten books in order of popularity, is:

1. The BFG by Roald Dahl (17%)
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (16%)
3. The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett (14%)
4. Goodnight Mr Tom, by Michelle Magorian (13%)
5. Charlotte’s Web, by EB White (10%)
6. JOINT Winnie the Pooh, by AA Milne;  AND The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain (9%)
7. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling (7%)
8. JOINT Noughts and Crosses, by Malorie Blackman And Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D Taylor (2%)

This list a great starting point for parents looking to develop empathy in their children, and I would heartily agree that all of the books on it would support a greater sense of empathy in the reader, but it is by no means exhaustive. There are thousands of others and one of the best ways to find a suitable book-match for a child’s needs is to ask a children’s librarian. The encyclopaedic book knowledge held by a school librarian means that they are the perfect person to find exactly the right book for your child. These are the people who can tailor book recommendations to the individual child in a way that a list can’t. 

The findings of this poll come as Amnesty International is set to make a special children’s book commendation in a new partnership together with CILIP. This is a groundbreaking move for both organisations and it represents a first in the world of books as the Amnesty CILIP Honour will specifically acknowledge the books that most distinctively illuminate, uphold or celebrate freedoms. Two overall Amnesty CILIP Honour winners will be announced in June, just in time to inform parents’ summer reading selections for their children.

 Nicky Parker, Amnesty’s Head of Publishing, said:

 "There is no doubt that the ability of books to develop a child’s empathy and compassion is unparalleled. Of course the world needs a generation of people growing up with those engrained qualities - now more than ever.

"We hope the Amnesty award will make it easy for parents and teachers to identify books which will teach children about truth, freedom and justice, and encourage them to feel they can shape a better world."

Former Carnegie winner and inaugural Amnesty CILIP Honour judge Tanya Landman, said:

"Books break down barriers. They have the ability to show us that we’re all members of one human race. The Amnesty award will have a huge impact in recognising books that open up difficult situations. As a judge, I want to be transported by a gripping story but I want to be moved by it too and know more about an issue than I did at the beginning. I want it to open up hungry minds to what’s going on in the world."

Reading for pleasure is an important way of helping us tackle issues such as social isolation, teenage depression, negative self-image, and social and educational disengagement. Reading for pleasure can make an isolated and depressed young person feel better about who they are and can make them more confident about the importance of their unique role in the world. For small children the world is a dreadfully complicated place, but fiction can help them to make sense of it, and can help them to understand others. The right book at the right time can change, or save, a life. Every child needs to feel that they belong and that their lives and the lives of others matter, and reading a book is the best way to do that.

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 March, including: 

1. Libraries lose a quarter of staff as hundreds close
2. A step closer to a strategy for public libraries in England
3. What skills do library & information professionals need?
4. Libraries and schools
5. Making progress: via gender equality, women leaders & the maker movement
6. Keeping up with the data

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

1. Libraries lose a quarter of staff as hundreds close

A BBC report, using data from freedom of information requests, has shown "almost 8,000 jobs in UK libraries have disappeared in six years" and "Over the same period, some 15,500 volunteers have been recruited and 343 libraries have closed". 

Nick Poole, CILIP Chief Executive, said that the report demonstrates "the damage caused by hastily implemented austerity and devolution policies without a robust strategic plan for libraries."

2. A step closer to a strategy for public libraries in England

Last (23 March), the Libraries Taskforce published an ambition for public libraries in England.

Ambition and Opportunity, the national strategy for public libraries in Scotland speaks of a ‘compass and a roadmap’. In England, the Sieghart report provided us with the impetus to develop a thriving public library offer but not the roadmap to get us there. The Taskforce has provided a platform to develop this roadmap.

We welcome this as a first step towards a national strategy in order to secure the future of our public libraries in England. We'd encourage our members to take part in the consultation and join with us to call for the strengthening of the document to move from an ‘ambition’ to a robust Strategic Plan for Public Libraries in England.

3. What skills do library & information professionals need?

The Library Journal has reached out to academic and public library directors in the US and compiled a list of 11 skills they expect librarians to need in the next 20 years.

Three of them (critical thinking, data analysis and technological expertise) are also reinforced as important skills in two recent blogs on the CILIP website. In "5 technical skills information professionals should learn" Dr Diane Pennington calls for librarians to learn data, makerspace and cloud computing skills while Sarah McNicol emphasises the importance of an understanding of critical literacy.

All of these skills are likely to come in useful if you'd like to work as a librarian... for the CIA:

4. Libraries and schools

The ONE Access project is a fantastic, innovative project in North Carolina. It opens up public library access to over 147,000 students by allowing them to use their Student ID number in place of a library card. Between September 1 and December 31 2015, over 100,000 students used their ONE Access accounts to interact with the Library.

And the importance of the public and school library network to students was highlighted in two interviews recently. "School librarians should be compulsory” is one great quote from an interview with author Malorie Blackman in The Bookseller. In a wide-ranging interview with the Society of Authors, CILIP President Dawn Finch talked about the crucial role of libraries in supporting school students: "I strongly believe... that well-staffed school libraries should be a statutory requirement."

5. Making progress: via gender equality, women leaders & the maker movement

A loud cheer has rung out upon news of President Obama’s nomination for the next Librarian of Congress - Carla Hayden, CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, known for her progressiveness, campaigning and commitment to modernizing libraries.

- Read reaction from Cory Doctorow on boing boing
- Inside Higher Ed on the welcome from the ALA and the US Senate
- You can watch a video of Carla talking about her work during the protests in Baltimore on this piece on Jezebel.

On the week of International Women’s Day, the Telegraph shares research by Accenture which says that that gender equality at work could be achieved in 25 years if governments and businesses help more women become digitally fluent.

Stephen Abram pointed us towards the report ‘How Cities Can Grow the Maker Movement’ on what cities can do to create, support and grow maker communities locally, via analysis of the US maker movement. Via 10 city examples this defines the movement and analyses what role local policy can play in the movement’s success.

6. Keeping up with the data

‘Companies are hoarding more data than ever’ according to Information Age, with advice on ‘How to pull back your data archive from the brink of chaos’ and why good data management pays off.

Computer Business Review suggests that demand for Big Data analytics and adoption of the oft-cited Internet of Things is on track to create 182,000 UK jobs by 2020.

A missed opportunity then? This piece from The Global Recruiter says that data skills remain underestimated by the majority of UK graduates, who are unaware of the importance of data analytics and its place in their future professional development.
 

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

Keep your diary clear on 12th-13th September 2016 so you can come and join us!

Our keynote speakers have been confirmed as:

• Chris Stokes, Joint Director of Digital Learning, University of Sheffield
• Helen Milner, CEO & Staff Board Director, Tinder Foundation
• Kevin Curran, Reader in Computer Science and Group Leader for the Ambient Intelligence Research Group, University of Ulster
• Madeline Barrett, Head of Libraries, Heritage and Arts, London Borough of Sutton.

SACEPO (Standing Advisory Committee before the European Patent Office) recently discussed the subject of the unitary patent for which there are no plans at present to make a separate publication or kind code. The EPO plans to give all information relating to the unitary effect in a separate (non searchable) entry in the European Patent register (on a tab similar to the legal status one).

For patent professionals with an interest in using unitary patent information - please can you help by filling in the questionnaire below, to let the EPO know why it's important to be able to identify the existence of the unitary patent immediately, and give any particular events you would like to see in the register to ensure they are all covered from the outset.

Please send your completed responses to Susan Helliwell by 8 April or Peter Kallas by 27 April

For further details please email Tom Berry.

For further details please email Tom Berry. 

Booking is now open for  Overcoming invisible barriers: working with people with needs we may not be aware of at Exter Library on Wednesday 11 May.

The day seeks to  awareness of and pool information about good practice within the region and elsewhere in working with people with ‘hidden’ needs. Attendees will also consider how effective our existing provision is,  how this can be improved, and start to plan how to take this work forwards in their organisation.

£30 per person for SWRLS and Network members, £40 for non-members, to include lunch.  Members of CILIP’s Community, Diversity & Equality Group are entitled to a free place sponsored by CDEG. 

For further information including a full programme and how to book please visit http://www.cilip.org.uk/commun...

This course is designed for all staff who support library users from every sector, including HE, FE, schools, health, public and specialist.

Aims for the day:

• To develop awareness of and pool information about good practice within the region and elsewhere in working with people with ‘hidden’ needs
• To consider how effective our existing provision is, and how this can be improved
• To start to plan how to take this work forwards in our own organisation.

This course is supported by the CILIP Community, Diversity and Equality Group, and Libraries Unlimited – and is being organised and delivered by SWRLS and The Network.

Applications are now open for the 2016 Award.  Please see our Guide for Applicants. The deadline for receipt of applications is 22nd April 2016.  Please see the HLG International Award page for more details.

Please see the Events page for more informaton on the following events:

Local History Day - Stockton-on-Tees Library - Wed. 11th May 

Dementia Awareness and Reminiscence Training - Lancashire Archives, Preston -  Tues. 12th April

Past into future: making local history accessible for current and future generations - Morden Library - Thurs. 21st April 

Wed. 11th May, 10.30 - 4.30

Local History Day will be held at Stockton-on-Tees Library.  

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council,
Municipal Buildings,
Church Road,
Stockton-on-Tees,
TS18 1LD

12th April at Lancashire Archives, Preston (09.30-13.00 hrs)

Cost: Free

Delivered by Libby Lawrence, freelance trainer and followed by the NWARA Annual General Meeting at 14.00 hrs. The aims and objectives of the training are outlined below. Any interested members should contact Michael Stephens, NWARA Training Officer michael.stephens@cumbria.gov.uk to book a place.

(maximum 25 delegates).

Thurs. 21st April   

Local Studies Group South Forum 2016   Cost: Free

ARLG-South West are offering a sponsored place for a Masters student to attend the 5th DARTS (Discover Academic Research, Training & Support) Conference  taking place June 2nd and 3rd at Dartington Hall in Devon. Applicants must work in a Higher Education or Research Library based in the South-West and be a current Masters student. A fully paid residential conference place, including overnight accommodation on the Thursday, all meals and the conference dinner are included. In exchange we ask that the successful applicant write a blog post for ARLG – South West, which may also be used for publication and promotion.

To apply, please email Claire Stevens at: cstevens@marjon.ac.uk with approximately 300 words on:

-              Why you would like to attend.

-              How you feel attending the conference would improve your personal and professional development.

-              How it will impact on your working practice.

Applications must be received by midday on Friday April 15th and applicants will be notified of the committee's decision by Friday April 22nd via email.

More details, including eligibility requirements, are available at the ARLG-SW DARTS5 website at: https://arlgdarts.wordpress.com/

Open Access (OA) to research literature, as both a concept and a movement, has been with us for many years – so how can it be described as new?

In 2002 the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) set out the principles of Open Access to research literature.  The statement, re-endorsed in 2012, is long and radical.  A more concise definition is provided by Peter Suber: Open Access literature is “digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions”.

Open Access, in both its Green and Gold forms, is generally accepted by the scholarly community.  Major influencers and funders (such as HEFCE and the EU) are now committed to increasing the range of Open Access. 

The EU for instance is funding an important research project, Open Access Policy Alignment Strategies for European Union Research (PASTEUR4OA).  The project has identified the critical elements of policies that increase OA availability.  It is to be expected that funders’ policies throughout Europe will become increasingly aligned and harmonised to reflect the findings of PASTEUR4OA, thus increasing the range of OA.

Following Open Access to the research literature, Open Access to the data created or assembled in the research process has moved centre stage for funders such as the EU and international bodies such as the OECD.  The OECD stresses the economic importance of Open Data in:

• reducing duplication and the costs of creating, transferring and re-using data; enabling more research on the same data; … increasing transparency and quality in the research validation process, by
• allowing greater replication and validation of scientific results.

Now the concept of openness is being extended even further with the new emphasis on Open Science.  Open Science is not simply about the communication of outputs, but is about transforming the entire research process, exploiting technological developments, new communication tools and the cultural change that is visible in collaborative projects.

Open Science means that every step of the research process is as open as possible, including:

• open notebooks (documenting and sharing the experimental process);
• open data (ensuring that research data is optimised for discoverability, sharing and re-use);
• open research software;
• open access (ensuring maximum impact by freely publishing outputs).

Further evidence of this widening from Open Access and Open Data to Open Science is provided by the development by SPARC Europe of a tool for visualising, discussing and monitoring how open an institution’s research is. Another EU project, FOSTER (Facilitate Open Science Training for European Research), is creating and assembling a wide range of training resources covering all aspects of Open Science.

Open Access can be seen as a variant of what Christensen terms a disruptive technology (Christensen, C.M. 1997. The Innovator’s Dilemma. Boston: Harvard Business School Press). He sees sustaining technologies as generally improving the performance of established products, pursued by companies that focus on their existing customer base. Disruptive technologies are generally very different: they underperform existing products, but have different features that are attractive to fringe customers, and are cheaper, simpler, smaller, easier to use.  They start out as occupying a niche, but suddenly take over the market.  An example is Kodak, a major international company, which concentrated on its analogue technology and lost all its world market to digital imaging.

One can make the argument that OA began as a niche product and was for the user cheap, simple, small scale (articles not journals) and easy to access.  Subsequently, the underlying concept of openness has developed to be applied to all elements of the scientific research process, and may well have a (beneficial) disruptive effect on that process.  The circumscribed, sterile format of the article, for instance, is a product of the traditional print medium.  Freed from that strait jacket its content can become dynamic, developed and refined by the scholarly community at large.

Our professional challenge is to support researchers, institutions and funders through the radical changes that this disruptive technology is engendering in the research process itself.

Download UKeiG’s White Paper Open Science, Open Data, Open Access, by David Ball

The latest issue of Library & Information History (Vol. 32, Issue 1-2, 2016) celebrates Peter Hoare's 80th birthday.  Read it online here until 30 June 2016. 

CILIP has launched its most exciting and ambitious programme yet for its Conference taking place in Brighton – 12-13 July and we hope that you will be able to join UKeiG there and come to meet us in the Special Interest Group area where we will be based.

The CILIP Conference brings 100s of library and information professionals together for two days of discussion and debate as well as networking and fun. Leading keynotes – Scott Bonner, Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt and Becci Louise – look at the important role libraries play in times of crisis, the social and economic value of data and information and the power of the written word to promote health and wellbeing. The breakout sessions reflect the diversity of the sector with presentations from organisations as diverse as the Royal Shakespeare Company, Morgan Stanley, the Tinder Foundation and Staffordshire County Council.

In each of the three themes – Managing Information, Everyday Innovation and Using Technology – there will be a session of interest to members of our group. The Reading Agency has developed a reading outcomes framework and an evaluation toolkit and the presentation by Laura Venning is about the project outputs and how they can benefit you. Lauren Dodd, a PHD student discusses her qualitative big data study examining the information behaviour of aspiring undergraduates demonstrating that just because adolescents have the digital world at their fingertips, this doesn’t mean that they can use it effectively.

Librarians from Leeds Beckett University discuss their ideas to develop the digital and information literacy skills of all University staff who support teaching and learning, including increased provision of events and the creation of a collaborative LibGuide with other Professional Services staff in order to emphasise and support opportunities for applying digital literacy skills in the workplace.

For a full list of sessions, including abstracts and biographies, visit http://bit.ly/Conf16SIG. Select Sessions.

These sessions and keynotes will be complemented by a series of workshops and presentations, run by CILIP, under the heading “Your Career” to help with your professional development and approach to advocacy within the workplace and profession. Alongside the main conference, the Fringe events in partnership with Carnegie UK Trust will provide a more relaxed approach. There will be a range of workshops, Q&A with Scott Bonner and a live illustration presentation by children’s laureate Chris Riddell.

The Early Bird discounts end on 29 April.

A public libraries dataset published today by the BBC has revealed the extent of losses to public library services and paid staff since 2010.

According to the data compiled from FOI requests returned by 207 authorities responsible for running libraries across the UK, almost 8,000 jobs in UK public libraries have disappeared in six years and 343 libraries have closed, with over 15,000 volunteers recruited to the library service.

Comment from CILIP Chief Executive Nick Poole:

"Through CILIP’s My Library By Right campaign, we have been campaigning to highlight the neglect of our statutory rights to quality libraries and the national crisis as a result of the loss and hollowing out of public library services.  It’s very important that the BBC has responded with a comprehensive investigation to evidence the scale and nature of changes to the public library service over the past 5 years, which independently verifies data and figures about services nationally that had previously been contested.

The statistics published by the BBC today, showing the closure of 342 UK public libraries and the loss of a quarter of paid library staff jobs since 2010, demonstrate again the damage caused by hastily implemented austerity and devolution policies without a robust strategic plan for libraries.

Volunteers have always been a vibrant part of our library service, but they cannot replace the expertise, ethics and professional skills of qualified staff, who are fundamental to providing the quality library services that we are all entitled to by law.

We have worked closely with the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce to develop a strategic plan for public libraries in England and we welcome the recent publication of Libraries Deliver. As the BBC statistics show, it could not have been published at a more crucial time. It is an opportunity to create a healthy, vibrant network with strong national leadership and tailored local delivery and it clearly recognises the value of skilled library and information staff. I encourage the library and information sector to provide their views and opinions through the consultation.”

Nick has given interviews to 17 BBC radio stations this morning talking about the importance of library services to local communities.

• BBC Northampton - two interviews, inlcuding Northampton's lunchtime programme (Segment starts at 06:10)
• BBC Three Counties: Listen back  (Segment starts at 01:47:40)
• Lancashire
• Wiltshire
• Leeds
• Leicester
• Kent
• Shropshire
• Sheffield
• Devon
• Lincolnshire
• Manchester
• Stoke
• Kent
• Berkshire
• York
• Solent

The following is a copy of the NISO press release of 22nd March, which we believe will be of interest to our members:

Baltimore, MD - March 22, 2016 - The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) seeks comments on the draft Altmetrics Definitions and Use Cases document, NISO RP-25-201X-1. The draft is an output of the NISO Altmetrics Initiative, a two-phase project aiming to address limitations and gaps that may hinder the adoption of altmetrics, an expansion of tools available for measuring scholarly impact of research in the knowledge environment. Draft output from one NISO altmetrics working group studying data quality was released for comment earlier this month, and further draft outputs from a third working group addressing specific output types, including data metrics and use of persistent identifiers, will be released soon.

"The Definitions and Use Cases document is short, but encapsulates the many discussions the working group held to review and hash out definitions from many diverse sources of information in the altmetrics field," remarks Robin Chin Roemer, Instructional Design & Outreach Services Librarian at the University of Washington Libraries, and co-chair of Working Group A (Definitions & Use Cases), the group that developed this document. "We also include a statement about the role that alternative assessment metrics plays in research evaluation, to help place the document in context and advise on altmetrics' possible applications."

"Use cases for altmetrics are driven by different stakeholders in the research ecosystem," adds Michael Habib, a consultant working in scholarly communication, publishing, and library markets and co-chair of Working Group A (Definitions & Use Cases). "The NISO document means to highlight the different ways in which the stakeholders collect, develop, and consume altmetrics, and to explain and contextualize commonalities between stakeholders' needs, goals, and usages."

"Members of the working group and NISO are interested in receiving wide feedback on this draft document, to be incorporated into the final version to be published by NISO later this spring," comments Nettie Lagace, NISO Associate Director for Programs. "Working Group A's output lies the groundwork for the other two working groups in that the definition of terms used allows different stakeholders in this space to understand when they are talking about the same thing. In addition, the development of use cases and their relationship to stakeholder groups clarifies requirements and priorities for further development."

The draft Recommended Practice is open for public comments through April 20, 2016. To download the draft or submit online comments, visit the NISO Altmetrics Initiative web page at http://www.niso.org/topics/tl/altmetrics_initiative/

About NISO
NISO, based in Baltimore, Maryland, fosters the development and maintenance of standards that facilitate the creation, persistent management, and effective interchange of information so that it can be trusted for use in research and learning. To fulfill this mission, NISO engages libraries, publishers, information aggregators, and other organizations that support learning, research, and scholarship through the creation, organization, management, and curation of knowledge. NISO works with intersecting communities of interest and across the entire lifecycle of information standards. NISO is a not-for-profit association accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). For more information, visit the NISO website.

The March 2016 issue of Network News, the newsletter of the West Midlands Member Network, is out now and you can read it from our Newsletter Section

This edition features reports from the our recent Member's Day held at The Hive, Worcester as well as details of a Conference Bursary that our members can use to apply to for any Conference they wish to attend!

http://info.cilip.org.uk/wENvN...

Background to the Collection/Library – The British Library serves business and industry, researchers, academics and students, in the UK and world-wide

Each year:

• Six million searches are generated by the British Library online catalogue
• Nearly 400,000 visit our Reading Rooms
• Over 100 million items have been supplied to users all over the world

The visit will include: a guided tour of the building visiting at least one Library Reading Room, a basement tour and viewing of special collection items.

For further details see their website at: http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/index.html

The visit is free, with a maximum of 16 places.

Please contact Vicky Robertson v.robertson@ucl.ac.uk to book a place – the deadline for booking will be Wednesday 15th June.

Public libraries deliver real value and impact for millions of people every year. They help people find information, develop their skills, get online, participate in their communities and access vital services such as health and education.

As part of the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce, CILIP has played an active role in lobbying for a national strategy in order to secure the future of our public libraries in England. We welcome the publication of Libraries Deliver: Ambition for Public Libraries in England 2016-2021 as a step towards this strategy. We have been actively involved in drafting the document and are encouraging our membership to engage with the consultation to try and secure the best outcome from Libraries Deliver.

Executive summary of Libraries Deliver

A roadmap for library development

Ambition and Opportunity, the national strategy for public libraries in Scotland speaks of a ‘compass and a roadmap’. In England, the Sieghart report provided us with the impetus to develop a thriving public library offer but not the roadmap to get us there.

The Taskforce has provided a platform to develop this roadmap, bringing together a range of views about what public libraries should deliver in the future and how they should be supported and developed. We have heard from a range of stakeholders and users about their hopes and expectations of the library network and our leadership of it.

CILIP’s vision is of a thriving, properly-resourced public library networked developed in partnership between skilled professionals, Local Government and communities. We want to see a structured approach to their development and promotion which ensures that everyone can benefit from a quality library service. We will fight hard to secure this outcome, building on the legal basis of the My Library By Right campaign, because it is what we believe is in the best interests of the public.

Celebrating progress, promoting better choices

It is clear that it is time to move on from discussing what libraries do and to get busy with the active stewardship of and investment in the network to secure these benefits for current and future generations.

In developing the way ahead, we have to acknowledge that while a significant proportion of Local Authorities have failed to understand the value and impact of a properly-resourced library there are many others that have actively protected and invested in their library services through a period of very significant cuts.

CILIP believes that it is important to celebrate and acknowledge this commitment while using the law to hold to account those Authorities that are making short-term and ill-informed choices about their libraries. That is why we are moving into the second phase of the successful My Library By Right campaign with a programme of direct engagement with Local Authorities.

It is also why we welcome the Libraries deliver proposals for a clear set of expectations for Local Authorities to use and an accompanying accreditation scheme to celebrate when they are met.

Martyn Evans Chief Executive of Carnegie UK Trust and Chair of the working group that developed the Scottish public libraries strategy said, “Libraries Deliver is a critical step in securing a confident  future for libraries at the heart public policy making in England. It seeks to draw library advocates and campaigners closer to library funders and those with wider interests. It is both challenging and ambitious. It moves the debate decisively on from a circular repetition of what libraries are good at to a much more persuasive, and potentially far more powerful, argument about what libraries are good for. It deserves the widest support.”

Putting the plan into action

CILIP has worked with partners in the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce to deliver a document which is ambitious but realistic in the context of differing views about the role of public libraries. We would like to encourage all of our members to engage with it and to join us in seeking the following improvements:

• The strengthening of the document to move from an ‘ambition’ to a robust Strategic Plan for Public Libraries in England
• A clear Implementation Plan with a timeline and a transparent monitoring and reporting regime to measure progress
• Sufficient budget and realistic long-term funding proposals for library infrastructure, stock and staff as well as projects and initiatives
• The active and visible engagement of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in overseeing the strategy and challenging Local Authority decision-making where this further undermines the provision of a ‘comprehensive and efficient’ service
• Proposals to work with public library staff and leaders to raise public and media awareness of the tremendous positive impact of their existing work

Libraries Deliver is an important step toward the realisation of an exciting and positive vision of the way ahead for public libraries in England. It does not yet deliver the detailed implementation and funding plans which it will ultimately need to, but it does represent significant progress in building consensus between the profession, library leadership and Local Government and securing active engagement from Government.

I encourage CILIP members to engage with the document, share your ideas and help us in securing an effective strategy for the future.

This one day workshop will provide participants with a background to mentoring, a basic framework for conducting mentoring both long and short term.  The focus of the event is to enable participants to develop effectively as mentors in the context of the CILIP professional development scheme.