Twenty-first century London contains some of the finest book collections in the world, but what about the libraries that haven’t survived? If you know where to look, London’s streets and alleyways are crammed with the ghosts of libraries past.

This walk will carry you back through London’s history, to long-forgotten libraries, readers, librarians and collectors. In the company of Alice Ford-Smith (Bernard Quaritch Ltd), Lost Libraries uncovers some of the links between London’s past and present book collections. From Bloomsbury to the City, you will hear tales of enterprise, transformation, obsession and destruction.

Meeting point: Gray’s Inn Library, 5 South Square, High Holborn, London, WC1R 5ET

Tube: Chancery Lane / Holborn

The walk’s meeting point will be the entrance to Gray’s Inn Library. This can be found through a narrow archway, between Rymans and the Cittie of Yorke pub, on High Highborn. After a brief look around the Library, we will take to the streets. The walk ends at approximately 8pm a few paces away from St Paul’s underground station. Please be ready for occasional steps, and no breaks!

Numbers are limited to 25 people, and pre-booking is essential. Tickets are £10 each. Please email Erika Delbecque (erika.delbecque@st-hildas.ox.a...) to reserve your place. This event is open to all, so early booking is recommended.

Zurab Elzarov has been awarded the 2016 London Book Fair International Excellence Award for his education initiatives on behalf of United Nations - African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

Zurab spoke about the Library of Peace in Darfur at the Library and Information History Group's AGM in November 2015. It was as a result of this event, and his association with CILIP, that he eventually published an article in Update and gained recognition for his initiative at an international level.  Well done Zurab!

UKeiG is pleased to announce that the first two of the four new Factsheets scheduled for 2016 have been published and are available on the web site as web pages and PDFs. The two Factsheets are 'A Brief Guide to Records Management' and the first of a new series which are industry or media focussed: 'Pharmaceutical R&D – Key information resources and the role of Knowledge Management'. This brings our total number of Factsheets up to 27! Factsheets are updated annually and can be found in groups under the menu headings:

• Web 2.0 - Blogs, RSS, Wikis and other 'stuff'
• Search Skills
• Intranets
• Content Management
• Managing Your e-Information
• Management
• Industry or Media Focus

The new Factsheets can be found at:

• A Brief Guide to Records Management
• Pharmaceutical R&D – Key information resources and the role of Knowledge Management
   

A new conference covering all aspects of taxonomy has been announced to take place alongside one of the conferences which UKeiG support, and at which members are entitled to a 25% discount on booking: ILI. Delegates - notes the conference home page - can "discover new applications and develop new skillsets." Whether first-timer, established information professional, or seasoned taxonomist, you can:

• Explore fresh approaches to establishing taxonomy in your organisation; from initial project sign-off to ensuring strong governance 
• Learn about cutting-edge developments in taxonomy from case studies
• Network with a ready-made taxonomy community - no need to work in isolation"

The call for speakers is given in full:

The Call for Speakers has been announced for Taxonomy Boot Camp London, a new conference covering all aspects of taxonomy which will take place on 18 & 19 October alongside Internet Librarian International.

Taxonomy Boot Camp London will be the UK’s only dedicated conference for taxonomies and will help delegates learn practical approaches to improving their taxonomy development and implementation skills.

More and more organisations are recognising the value of taxonomies to drive their data, content and information processes. The conference will cover a range of skillsets and applications with sessions designed for those brand new to taxonomies, as well as seasoned taxonomists. It will be chaired by taxonomy, metadata and search consultant Helen Lippell.

The Call for Speakers is now open and the submissions deadline is 10 May 2016.

To be held in the brand new Plymouth Central Library on Friday 20th May, 10:30am registration for 11am start, closing at 3:30pm

We want this day to be about sharing and discussing creative approaches to supporting skills for success in FE and HE: lifelong learning, academic and employability skills, information skills, digital literacies and more.

Do you have something that has worked really well that you would like to share in a ten minute ‘speed-dating’ style session?  If so please get in touch with arlgsw@gmail.com and register your interest.

Full details and booking to be announced shortly.

11am - 12.30pm: The Society of Antiquaries library

2-3pm: The Linnean Society library

Everyday people rely on Google for answers to their most personal, important and most trivial questions. How do we know if the information is reliable? A good place to start is with an information expert. We ask consultant and author Leslie Stebbins to investigate “How can I find reliable hotel reviews?”

Ever wonder how James Bond always seems to know, just in the nick of time, where the evil villain is hiding and how to get to him? 

Librarians are kind of like that. 

Now hold on, before you scoff and roll your eyes. Librarians are like ninjas: able to pop in and out of information sources, quickly zeroing in on reliable answers to questions.

But we didn’t get that way over night. And, in fact, with more information available at everyone’s fingertips it has arguably become more difficult to locate reliable information today than it was ten years ago. It’s counterintuitive, but with search engine optimization tricks, fake reviews, and questionable 5-star rating systems, finding reliable information remains challenging. 

This new blog series was inspired by recent research[1]  about how people struggle to find reliable information online, and how we often settle for untrustworthy information without even realising it. It is based in part on strategies I used for my recent book Finding Reliable Information Online: Adventures of an Information Sleuth. The book uses storytelling to illustrate the best (and worst!) ways to locate reliable every-day-life information, such as health information or credible product reviews. 

The search for reliable hotel reviews is a perfect example of how millions of people log on to Google, pop in some search terms, and may wind up staying in a place that wasn’t quite what they expected.

My hotel in Italy got five stars, but it was right between a garbage dump and a highway!

In research for my book I spent months determining how best to go about locating reliable travel information, and even I was surprised by what I found. The following is a brief taste, focused on using crowd-sourced travel information.

Can thousands of travelers be wrong?

I had wanted to go to Nova Scotia for years, but knew little about it. I figured I would start the same way most people start their search for information: Use Google, find a good crowd-sourced travel site, and rely on the advice of thousands of travelers. I pop online to see what Google would choose as the best place to start my travel planning:

    Google: Nova Scotia Hotels

Not surprisingly, Google brings up its own Google Reviews first, followed by other large players such as TripAdvisor. 

Lesson 1: Showing up in the first 5 hits on Google or Bing might be more a reflection of a powerful marketing team than of being reliable and trustworthy

TripAdvisor is a dominant player with revenues of more than one billion dollars a year [2].  Like other sites such as Airbnb they are wildly popular because we feel like we are getting the inside scoop from people who have sampled the product, rather than having to rely on advertisers or journalists.

Lesson 2: Large amounts of user-generated information can make reliability harder to achieve

Though I am sceptical, I decide to search TripAdvisor for a great place to stay in Nova Scotia. The results are impressive. If nothing else, TripAdvisor is a handy niche search engine to almost all the hotels and other lodging information in many parts of the world. 

The amount of reviews can be a strength and a weakness, though, as there are too many for an editorial team to check manually. As TripAdvisor states in their Review Moderation guide:

"TripAdvisor has millions of reviews and more than one million hotels, restaurants and attractions; therefore, it would be impractical for us to fact check the details of reviews."

One example of how the review process can be abused is when TripAdvisor got into hot water for the five star reviews and a “Top 100” rating given to a homeless shelter in Glasgow [3].  Pranksters inundated the Bellgrove Hotel with 5 star reviews describing its outstanding service, spa, and pool facilities even though it is actually a shelter housing 150 homeless men!

"Hotel did look a bit shabby on the outside however appearances can de deceitful. Luxurious rooms, spa and leisure facilities a real gem."

The manager of the shelter finally asked TripAdvisor to remove the reviews after confused tourists kept showing up asking for rooms.

Lesson 3: Always take your search to the next level if the information seems "too good to be true"

Of the 192 hotels in Nova Scotia, the Greendale Hotel * comes up as one of the best places to stay. It looks fantastic and everyone online is raving that it is ”excellent” and “life changing.” It seems strange that no one has had a bad experience at the Greendale Hotel. 

On TripAdvisor you can email reviewers, so I email 16 reviewers of the Greendale Hotel; only three answer. Each of them indicates that their reviews were completely fair and not coerced, but the third reviewer ends with: 

…I've been doing this out of my own interest. However, I've found some of my negative reviews deleted from TripAdvisor many times. I've complained to them. but haven't heard back.

Perhaps this explains why the Hotel has no negative reviews? I decide to dig a little deeper into the research on TripAdvisor and review sites generally.

Trip advisor clearly states in its Review Moderation Guide that:

"As long as a review meets our guidelines, we’re happy to post it whether it’s positive or negative. The majority of our reviews are indeed positive, but we do not influence or change the content of reviews."

Research shows that 79% of consumers trust advice from other consumers as much as they trust information from a travel expert or even a friend[4].  There is also a strong link between how credible a source is viewed and later purchases based on those sources [5].  It is in the interest of a site like TripAdvisor to provide reliable reviews. However, it is important to remember, that people running hotels and guesthouses can have an influence on what reviews are posted, not just travelers. 

There are reported stories that indicate that negative reviews are sometimes deleted from TripAdvisor reviews, thus skewing the reviews toward the positive. Howard Orlarsch, writing to “The Ethicist” advice columnist in the New York Times Magazine explains:

I recently spent several days at a relatively expensive hotel. The place was deplorable and unsanitary, with an unresponsive front desk. I gave it a poor write-up on TripAdvisor.com … titling my review “An Overpriced Dung Heap.” The following day, the owner contacted me through the site with an offer to refund almost half the cost of my stay if I would retract my review. I accepted the handsome offer and deleted my post. Who was the most unethical: me (for accepting the bribe), the owner (for offering it) or the site (which enables this chicanery and therefore has untrustworthy reviews)?

The Ethicist concludes that Howard and the hotel are unethical, but not TripAdvisor. They warn people on their site to not engage in deceptive practices. But recently the UK Advertising Standards Authority ordered TripAdvisor to delete all references on their site to the words “honest” or “trustworthy,” including the phrase “reviews you can trust” [6]  after hotels alleged that there were more than 27,000 legally defamatory reviews posted [7]. 

Researchers are looking into travel review sites after discovering hotels were bribing guests to write positive reviews in exchange for room discounts or money [8].“Astroturfers” now advertise online that they will write fake hotel, restaurant, and product reviews for five dollars on sites such as Fiverr.com. Competitors have also been known to write negative reviews [9]. And, while many people are convinced that they can spot fake reviews, researchers at Cornell University found that subjects did poorly in separating fake from real reviews [10].  Other research demonstrates that between 10 and 30 percent of online reviews are fake, and software developed to combat fake reviews only catches the most obvious ones [11]. 

Lesson 4: Never rely on one source for information for something you care about

If you use TripAdvisor or similar sites, use the following strategies to check the reliability of the information provided:

1. Read the reviews; don’t rely on the aggregated star ratings. Research shows there is a 41 percent misalignment between star ratings and reviews [12].   The problem is that a simple star rating system cannot capture all the nuances involved in a review. For low starred reviews the alignment is much higher, people rate the item low and then list negative experiences. But for hotels with five stars, read through the reviews to get an accurate picture, and also keep in mind that some percentage of them are fake.
2. Check the number of reviews. Researchers found that people were more apt to focus on the rank of a hotel, such as one that came in first or second, but did not attend to the number of total reviews [13].   It is safer to choose a hotel ranked several places down on the list but has many reviews. The more reviews about a hotel the less effective astroturfers will be.
3. Look for trends. Try to spot information that appears multiple times. Also, look for specific information such as someone mentioning that the sheets were not clean or the beds were uncomfortable. Specificity combined with items mentioned by several people can suggest reviews might be credible.
4. Ignore the extremists. Extremists are more likely to be either fake reviewers or people who tend to exaggerate. Stick to the reviews that are a mix of positive and negative information.
5. Check the date of the review. If the review is more than a year or two old things might have changed.
6. Check the track record of the reviewer. See if they tend to be overly negative or positive, consider emailing them to see if they are real people.

Lesson 5: Pick sources who value their reputation and do not write anonymously, who work for you not the travel industry, and who know they will only get repeat customers if they provide reliable information

For the Greendale Hotel I read reviews, checked the number of reviews, and so on. Everything checked out, but I ended up booking somewhere else after double-checking the hotel and several other places I found on TripAdvisor by doing the following:

• Using reliable travel blogs that do not accept sponsorship such as National Geographic Travel.
• Using good old fashioned guidebooks such as Lonely Planet and Fodor’s that are now making a comeback [14] (I accessed them online through my library)
• Relying on expert travel journalists who work for old and new media. (Type your destination + hotel + favorite online newspaper or trusted site.) Journalists follow a code of ethics and have a reputation to uphold.

One final trick if you want to really scope out a hotel before you get there: go on Google Earth and see what it really looks like!

*The name of the hotel in Nova Scotia used in this article has been changed to protect its reputation.

Facet Publishing have announced the release of Barbara Allan’s latest book, Emerging Strategies for Supporting Student Learning.

It is both an exciting and challenging time to be working in higher education as the sector experiences rapid changes including: an increasingly diverse student population with evolving expectations; changes in technology such as the rise in the use of social media; increased emphasis on employability and internationalization; development of new social learning spaces; as well as an ever-decreasing resource base. As a result of these changes, new approaches to supporting student learning are developing rapidly.

In the past five years, developments in both the theory and practice of learning and teaching have created a complex landscape which it is sometimes difficult to navigate. Emerging Strategies for Supporting Student Learning provides practical guidance and brings together theory and practice in an accessible style. The book covers a wide range of tools and techniques (relevant to face-to-face, blended learning and online practices) which will suit students in different contexts from large groups of 500+ to very small classes of research students. 

Making extensive use of case studies, examples, checklists and tables, the book covers key topics including, digital literacies, working with diversity, employability and designing, delivering and evaluating learning and teaching activities. 

Author Barbara Allan said,

“In writing this book, I wanted to capture the many different ways in which information professionals are supporting student learning in a time of rapid change. As ideas about learning and teaching have changed, so have professional practices which involve supporting students online, in social learning spaces, the library, as well as in classrooms. Practitioners use a variety of technologies ranging from their institution’s virtual learning environment through to social media. The relationships between students and information professionals is changing and the idea of ‘students as co-creators’ is producing new forms of working together. Overall, this is an exciting (although challenging) time to be supporting student learning and this book explores current practices.”

Emerging Strategies for Supporting Student Learning will be essential reading for different groups working in colleges and universities such as library and information workers, staff developers, educational technologists, educational development project workers, educational change agents and students of library and information science who are planning their careers in higher education institutions.

-ends

Press and review copies contact:

James Williams, Marketing Manager, Facet Publishing
Tel: +44 (0)20 7255 0597
Email: james.williams@facetpublishing.co.uk

David Ball's one-day workshop gives an overview of developments in openness in Open Science, Open Data, Open Access and Open Monographs, framed within the context of a disruptive technology. 

Who should attend?
Research, information and library professionals keen to understand the impact of Open Science, Open Data and Open Access on their work, their institutions and the current and future services they provide for their users.

CILIP’s Professional Knowledge and Skills Base (PKSB)
2. Knowledge and information management: 2.2 Information management
2. Knowledge and information management: 2.3 Data management
2. Knowledge and information management: 2.5 Knowledge transfer
4. Research skills: 4.1 Understanding research
5. Information governance and compliance: 5.1 Information governance
5. Information governance and compliance: 5.3 Copyright, intellectual property and licensing
7. Collection management and development: 7.1 Collection management
7. Collection management and development: 7.3 Selection of materials and resources
12. IT and communication: 12.2 Library, information and knowledge technologies

The March 2016 issue of Catalogue and Index is now available. The theme of this issue is metadata teams and workflows. We have a number of articles from institutions who have moved to Ex-Libris’ Alma system and have reviewed their workflows both pre and post implementation and team structures. There is also
a focus on eBook workflows in a number of articles, specifically in an article from Leeds Beckett University.

Catalogue and Index is now an open access publication so there is no need to log on to the website to read it.

The Open University press release is as follows:

Welcome to this new free course produced by The Open University. If you enrol and complete the course you can gain a digital badge and a Statement of Participation as a record of your achievement. Digital badges are a new way of demonstrating online that you have gained a skill. Schools, colleges and universities are working with employers and other organisations to develop open badges that help learners gain recognition for their skills, and support employers to identify the right candidate for a job.

This free course, Succeeding in a digital world, will develop your confidence and skills for life online, whether study,  work or everyday life. It explores a range of digital skills and practices, including digital identity, digital well-being, staying safe and legal, finding and using information and online tools, and dealing with information overload. The importance of developing a critical approach to life online is emphasised throughout, whether consuming or creating information. You'll be encouraged to reflect on your own situation and to apply what you learn to real-life scenarios, using a digital skills plan to keep a record of progress.

The course takes about 24 hours and can be completed in as little as eight weeks. It can be found at:
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/education/succeeding-digital-world/content-section-overview

Gamification was a huge part of LILAC this year and is growing momentum with many Librarians.

In this full day workshop, Andy Walsh will be running his (now famous) workshop on how to use Lego in teaching. We will explore how Lego® (or other model making materials) may be used in teaching situations in libraries.

We will introduce briefly the concept of Lego® Serious Play® and carry out some exercises based upon it. The outline programme below is indicative only and subject to change based on the activities / attendees on the day.

Attendees will have the chance to take part in an activity inspired by Serious Play® before going onto creating their own ideas based upon the methods discussed.

We will then use the materials in a slightly different way, using them to solve problems as a group, then go onto building models that can be used for evaluation at the beginning or the end of a teaching session.

By the end of the day, attendees should have an appreciation of how model making, particularly with Lego, may be used in teaching, and have planned a specific teaching intervention to apply in their own work situation.

We are offering a discounted price for CILIP members and can only accept 25 bookings due to the interactive nature of the event.

Note - LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this workshop.

Terms & Conditions

Bookings close:  30th May  ​

Preferred method of payment is by BACS; alternatively, cheques should be made payable to “CILIP ARLG Eastern Group. Cancellations received after 1st June will incur a £20 charge. Cancellations within 24 hours of the event will still be charged.

The following press release published on DIGITAL-PRESERVATION@JISCMAIL.... is likely to be of interest to members. It is quoted here in full. Comments or queries to the original author: Sarah Middleton, Head of Communications and Advocacy, Digital Preservation Coalition - Tel: 01904 601952 / Email: sarah@dpconline.org

Paul Wilson, formerly of the Office Systems Division at The National Computing Centre, has contributed a new addition to the Case Notes now available on the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) website.

In this new Case Note, Paul narrates his attempts to create a preservation plan for a small personal collection. In the fuller article (which can be downloaded as a PDF), he outlines his experiences to provide insights into the practical outcomes of using published guidelines and tools for preservation planning. Since he could find no preservation planning process appropriate to individuals, Paul obtained a slide set detailing a simple preservation workflow from the Digital Preservation Coalition, and used that as a foundation on which to establish an approach to the work.

This general approach and accompanying documentation was tested and refined on two of his personal digital collections (one of 800 mementos and the other of 17,000 photos).

“I recounted my PDF experiences not to alert others to specifics about PDF (about which I know very little) or the eCopy software (which I am generally very pleased with),” he explains, “but to illustrate how complicated and time-consuming work on file formats can be.”

The detailed account of his research and preliminary trials provides a set of guidance for any individual or institution looking to preserve their own small, digital collection. Paul has also provided the documents he created from scoping to maintaining his collection, along with blank template versions that can be easily used and adapted by others. All of the documents, as well as blank templates, are available to download as a Toolset.

This case note also appears in the DPC’s Technology Watch Report Personal Digital Archiving by Gabriela Redwine.

A one day workshop provided on behalf of the CILIP West Midlands Member Network – FREE to members of CILIP.

Double whammy librarianship

A CILIP East Midlands Member Network event

Our journal - eLucidate - has just published the first issue of 2016! As usual the editor has highlighted what makes it worth reading... there is "fascinating and thought-provoking reading for you in this issue". This news item is based on his editorial.

Karen Blakeman argues that, while knowledge of alternative search tools is vital, it is no longer sufficient to have advanced search expertise; that information professionals require savvy appraisal skills and a better understanding of how search outputs are generated and manipulated. 

Michael Upshall introduces the great semantic Diffbot debate, yet another initiative to extract meaning from the web. But does it?

Martin White, playing devil’s advocate, also touches on “search” asking the pertinent question: do intranet managers really need an information architecture, or is click and search the way to go? 

UKeiG has addressed many issues impacting on research activity over the years: most notably Open Access, copyright and intellectual property, but also search tools and advanced information retrieval skills. A key theme of this issue is scholarly digital publishing and research impact evaluation tools. The Library Research Services Team at the University of Hull provide a practical overview of bibliometrics and the associated commercial and public domain e-resources utilised to support this activity. Bibliometrics has immense value in academia and across all sectors, but has drawbacks as well as benefits. Altmetrics - the impact of social media on research visibility (who is talking about YOUR research?) – is featured and is one theme we will revisit in more depth in a future issue. Michael Upshall also touches on social networking, and highlights a key report about changing resource discovery behaviour amongst researchers. How do scholars find articles in 2016? Is traditional A&I on the decline? He also provides oversight of scholarly publication processes, and charts the rise of the library as publisher.

UKeiG was proud to be one of the supporters of the first LISDIS (Library and Information Science Dissertations) conference, held at the University of Huddersfield on 14th November 2015. The organisers explain the rationale behind the event and highlight some of the themes from the day. In future issues we hope to support this initiative by showcasing the fascinating e-information research undertaken by students across the UK LIS education sector. In a time of escalating international crises, with the systematic destruction of cultural heritage in conflict zones, Chloe Menown, a recipient of UKeiG’s Early Career Professional conference grant, reflects on the destruction of libraries. She left me thinking that there must be a greater urgency to drive forward digital preservation through advanced imaging technologies and digitisation projects. 

Enjoy!

The full issue PDF is at:

http://www.cilip.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/elucidate_13_1.pdf

Individual articles on the web site are available from:

http://www.cilip.org.uk/uk-einformation-group/elucidate/elucidate-current-issue

This year, the Information Literacy Group is running a series of webinars to support our annual conference, LILAC.

The final webinar in this series will be presented Emma Coonan, Editor of the Journal of Information Literacy (JIL).

Emma will be presenting best practice and advice for preparing your research for publication and potentially writing up a conference paper for a journal such as JIL.

To book a place please go to this form.

The previous webinars in this series can be viewed here: http://www.informationliteracy.org.uk/category/webinars/

Do you feel that searching should be simpler?

Are you concerned about the availability of your personal data on the web?

Does internet research fill you with dread?

If you said "yes" to all of the above, then the following event is for you!

Deep Web Searching and Content Mining will cover

• Why the general search engines miss or ignore information
• Impact of the “right to be forgotten”
• Specialist search tools for the hidden web, getting to know key resources
• A quick look at what tools are needed for data extraction and analysis
• What is the dark web (as opposed to the deep web?)

The meeting, hosted by CILIP East of England Information Services Group with UKeiG, will take place at Cambridge University Library on Wednesday 11th May 2016 from 10:00-15:45.

Cost (including lunch and refreshments):£50 + VAT at the current rate

Further information and a booking form is included in the attached document.

If you are interested in attending, please complete and return the booking form by 4th May 2016.

We currently have a vacancy for Membership Secretary. This is a great opportunity to become more involved with the work of the Group, learn new skills, network, and help advocate for information literacy. This role is voluntary and you must be a member of ILG to apply.

The Membership Secretary liaises with the CILIP Membership Team, analyses membership statistics and compiles the ILG newsletter. They are the key point of contact for general and membership enquiries. Please see the full role description for more details.

In order to apply, please send us your CV and supporting statement (max. 500 words) showing how you meet the job specification. Applications should be emailed to cilipilg@gmail.com and must reach us by Friday, 29th April.

The committee meets four times a year, usually in London. Our next meeting is on the 10th June and the new appointee will be invited to attend. We also have a dedicated committee mailing list. Committee members also contribute to general committee work, subgroups, task and finish groups and projects as required.

All are welcome to join us for a sponsored walk in the Whitley Bay/ North Shields area on Saturday the 4th of June.

We will be fundraising for Childreach and Room to Read, both charities that support  children affected by the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal. Childreach is raising funds to rebuild classrooms to ensure that children can return to school, this will help vulnerable children as it provides a safe place for children to learn about the risks pf child trafficking, preventable diseases, hygiene and much more. Room to Read is raising funds to establish classrooms and libraries, focusing on literacy and girls’ education in order to help rebuild communities.

The walk: We will meet at Whitley bay metro station then walk along the coast to North Shields, passing the Priory and Long Sands. At North Shields we will catch the ferry across to South Shields where we will walk along the river passing the silver ships, stop for some food and finish at South Shields metro station. The walk is approximately 8 miles long and will take around 3 hours, we will finish at a pub for food around 1pm.

At the beginning of April, CILIP wrote to all of the candidates in the London Mayoral Election to highlight the opportunity to champion the role of the information professions and libraries in delivering their ambitions for the future. The text of the letters was based on the following template.

A Knowledge economy for London

As the prospective future Mayor of London, we know you will be thinking hard about how to secure London’s future as a world-leading economic and cultural centre. I want to share with you the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) vision of London as a global hub for knowledge-based industries.

London is already home to a staggering range of knowledge-based organizations, delivering new sources of economic growth and opportunities for skills and employment for all.  With more than 500 libraries and thousands of smart, information-based businesses, we estimate the gross value-added (GVA) of London’s knowledge economy in excess of £150bn per annum, based on figures for the Creative Industries and Technology Sectors (and discounting the value of knowledge-intensive activity in the City). 

Between 1998 and 2008, London saw the creation of 164,000 new knowledge-based jobs across the public and private sector, including high-quality jobs in the sciences, Creative Industries, media, technology and legal sectors. 

With your support, we believe we can make this great city even greater by investing in the future of our knowledge economy.

The Future of London’s Knowledge Economy report highlights the key role played by library and information professionals in:

• Driving regeneration across London – Canary Wharf is a global hub of knowledge-based industries, creating jobs for 90,000 skilled knowledge workers & driving investment and regeneration in the surrounding area;
• Delivering jobs and opportunities for all – knowledge-based businesses account for 60% of jobs in Central London and 41% of jobs in outer London;
• Ensuring research excellence – our world-leading Universities are home to tens of thousands of students and thousands of academics, using knowledge, information & data to develop innovative products & ideas;
• Helping people take control of the information in their lives – our outstanding public, school, academic and specialist libraries support the delivery of cost-effective healthcare, education & other public services right at the heart of their communities.

The challenges for London’s public libraries

London’s public libraries provide a cost-effective way of supporting Londoners in taking control of the information in their lives. They help people access education and healthcare, improve their digital skills, get online and improve their literacy and reading – essential skills for life and employment. They provide the platform on which the London’s knowledge economy is built.

In common with many public services, public libraries are under severe economic pressure. As the recent occupation of Lambeth’s Carnegie library demonstrates, London’s voters feel passionately about their libraries. This support was highlighted in the recent Money Saving Expert poll, in which nearly 90% of the 30,000 respondents said that it is ‘crucial’ to protect local library services. 

We call on you as prospective Mayor to become a champion for London’s libraries and to support our #MyLibraryByRight campaign to secure their long-term future. 

We need your support

We want to work with London’s new Mayor to create the conditions for London’s knowledge industries to thrive by: 

• Developing joined-up policy and investment across Central and Greater London;
• Delivering an integrated plan for the development of London’s library and information services;
• Promoting collaboration across the academic, public and private sectors;
• Ensuring that London continues to attract international business;
• Securing a smart workforce with the skills to drive knowledge-based industries for the future 

We believe that the May 5th Mayoral election is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to set the pace for London as a world leading Knowledge Economy. We would welcome an opportunity to meet with you and your team to discuss this fantastic opportunity. In the meantime, if you would like to provide a statement of your plans as the prospective future Mayor for London’s knowledge industries and libraries, we would be glad to share it with our networks. 

UKeiG is pleased to announce the publication of its second White Paper - the first in 2016 - this one on the Internet of Things. Written by Martin De Saulles of the University of Brighton who has previously written for the Group in eLucidate, the Paper presents an overview of some of the key issues surrounding the development and deployment of the collection of technologies commonly referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT), concluding with a note on the potential relevance of the IoT to libraries.

UKeiG 2016/01: The Internet of Things
Published: April 2016
Series: UKeiG White Paper: 2016/01
ISBN: 978-1-870254-16-8

The Author
Dr Martin De Saulles is a Principal Lecturer at the University of Brighton. His teaching and research focus on innovation, digital marketing and the internet of things. The second edition of his book, Information 2.0: New Models of Information Production, Distribution and Consumption was published by Facet Publishing in 2015 and he is currently writing a book on the Internet of Things for Routledge. Before working at the University of Brighton, Martin was a research analyst in the telecommunications industry.
He can be contacted via his website, http://informationmatters.net

Members can find White Papers at:
http://www.cilip.org.uk/uk-einformation-group/members-area/member-resources/ukeig-white-papers

All UKeiG White Papers are available as open access publications three months after original publication to members.

30 places available on a free training afternoon from ARLG Yorkshire and Humberside.

This event is intended for library assistants and front-line staff in colleges, universities and research libraries in the Yorkshire and Humberside region.

Lunch is included.

As the number of places is small, in the first instance we can only accept one booking per institution- we will have a waiting list and may be able to take more at a later date (we will let you know in time to sort out covering desk duties!) We will give preference to attendees from Yorkshire & Humberside, and to front-line staff themselves rather than their managers.

Please fill in the attached form and send to Katherine Turner at k.turner@leedsbeckett.ac.uk to book a place

SLG London and South East's Annual Unconference.  ALL WELCOME.  Price £10 per person.  For further information contact Angela Platt: aplatt@ibstockplaceschool.co.uk  or Amanda Ball: aball@morpeth.towerhamlets.sch.uk   To book a place, please use the form below.