Juanita Foster-Jones is Development Officer (VLE) at CILIP.
Library and information staff are always looking for new ideas, inspiration and techniques to engage with their research community and to facilitate the research process. Here are a few short, practical examples from all kinds of libraries around the world - small ideas, specific examples and tips which have worked for other people.
The library is a neutral space in the organisation and can be an ideal venue for events held by and for researchers. These events don’t necessarily have to be specifically linked to library resources and services, it’s more about the research community developing a sense of ownership of library spaces and seeing them as part of the research environment.
Identify other teams who may be engaging with researchers, albeit for different reasons. You might simply start to discuss ways in which you can collaborate on areas of common interest or start to share workflows and reduce duplication. Keeping the dialogue going is vital, so consider inviting members of different teams to be regular attendees at appropriate library team meetings; a standing item of a report from the University Research Office, for example, ensures an ongoing conversation. In return, offer to attend or send a regular library report to any relevant team meetings held elsewhere.
Look for innovative ways to celebrate the completion and deposition of PhD theses. Ask supervisors to recommend a a “thesis of the month”, tweet about new theses deposited, simply list new theses on the Library’s website or new books feed.
It’s much easier to engage with researchers over their experiences if you’re able to empathise with them and to demonstrate that you have struggled with similar issues. This doesn’t mean that we all need to complete a piece of doctoral research or write an article for Nature, but in small ways it is still possible to replicate some of a researcher’s experiences. Writing for publication doesn’t have to imply writing a journal article; you can start in a small way by writing book reviews, or starting a blog. These are all useful activities for research students to undertake too and shared experiences will give you a common platform on which to develop a stronger relationship.
Personal stories can bring learning to life and hearing another researcher talk about the value of an approach or the usefulness of a resource can be much more powerful than a librarian demonstrating it. Keep videos very short, delivering concise snippets of information and don’t worry too much about creating formal, scripted recordings.
Too often, librarians become caught up in the language of the profession and offer services to researchers using inappropriate wording. Stop thinking about what you are offering and what you are going to do and start thinking about what the research community are going to gain and how they might use it. For example, you can change a workshop originally titled “Journal impact factors and citation counting” to “How to identify the key journals in your disciple”, or “How to discover who is reading your work”.
Practical Tips for Facilitating Research, by Moira J. Bent, offers innovative tips and reliable best practice to enable new and experienced library and information professionals to evaluate their current provision and develop their service to meet the evolving needs of the research community.
Banner image source: Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed by CC 3.0 BY
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Some are born Fellows, some achieve Fellowship and some have Fellowship thrust upon them. A Fellowship exchange event for the Fellow, the aspiring Fellow and curious, but I don’t really do enough to be one Fellow!
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Juanita Foster-Jones, CILIP’s Development Officer (VLE) will demystify the VLE.
Juanita Foster-Jones is Development Officer (VLE) at CILIP.
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CILIP’s International Library & Information Group (ILIG) extends an open invite to join us at our June Informal.
We are delighted that Ian Anstice has agreed to speak to us about the Public Libraries News website which he founded in 2010. Since then the site has become a trusted and authoritative source of information about the (somewhat turbulent) plight of public libraries throughout the UK. Ian will also be talking about how the site has grown and evolved over time, taking on an international aspect. This includes looking at public library systems overseas and what we can learn from these here in the UK.
The event also relates to the following areas of CILIP's Professional Knowledge and Skills Base (PKSB):
2.7 Knowledge sharing and collaboration 2.8 Obtaining benefits from expertise
9.3 Advocacy
11.4 Service innovation, development, and design
12.5 Communication skills 12.6 Networking skills
ILIG Informals are not lectures; they are informal, but informative, early evening meetings with a short talk on a theme of international interest plus plenty of time for questions and networking.
They are open to all and absolutely free. Light refreshments are served which is why we ask you to let ILIG know you are coming by booking online (no later than 6th June, please) using the Book now button on the right.
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Want time to reflect on information skills teaching? Would you like a week in June at a former stately home (Northern College) in the South Yorkshire countryside reflecting on teaching and learning with other librarians? Want it to be subsidised by the ILG (only £100 including accommodation and meals)?
Then apply for a place on our residential teaching course for librarians. Places are limited, so applications will be marked and the winning candidates offered a place. More details on the application form.
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Found out more about the HLG Conference 2016 via the new HLG Conference 2016 page: http://www.cilip.org.uk/health...
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The latest Internet Librarian International Conference press release begins:
Share your library's successes at ILI this October. Your library showcases the great ideas and innovative strategies you've put in place to make a difference to your organisation, so why not share them at this year's Internet Librarian International (ILI) – the Library Innovation Conference.
Delegates are hungry to hear new case studies, great stories, personal experiences and lessons learned from you, the library innovator. You can see the full Call for Speakers here and begin the process of submitting the story of the new and exciting practical implementations you've put in place to make a difference to your organisation, clients and communities.
ILI welcome contributions from all types of libraries and information and knowledge professionals - public, academic, government, national or corporate libraries - as well as those working outside a traditional library setting.
The submissions deadline is 15 April 2016, but don’t delay your submission until then. The sooner we get your submission, the earlier we're on the road to sharing your expertise and learning from your experiences.
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The CILIP Conference brings together 600 library and information professionals for two days of knowledge sharing, discussion, debate and networking opportunities. The conference aims to leave you feeling inspired and passionate about the work that we do as a profession.
This year’s programme covers three key themes: Managing Information; Everyday Innovation; and Using Technology, and in addition to this CILIP will also be running focused sessions on professional development and advocacy, ensuring you make the most of the tools available to you.
Keynote speakers already confirmed include Scott Bonner, Director of Ferguson Municipal Public Library in Missouri and Sir Nigel Shadbolt, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford and Principal of Jesus College. Following the killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by local police in August 2014, the city of Ferguson, Missouri was left in turmoil. Scott's presentation ‘What we did in Ferguson: A warts-and-all telling of stories’ will share how he and his staff supported their community when they needed it most. Sir Nigel’s keynote presentation will focus on how open data is making a difference in public and private sectors, and what these developments will mean for information professionals.
To keep up to date on conference developments, follow @CILIPConf16 and #CILIPConf16 and visit the website http://www.cilipconference.org.uk
Patent & Trade Mark Group (PATMG) is proud to be able to offer a bursary to attend the CILIP 2016 Conference. Each bursary place includes access to both days of the conference, lunch, refreshments and all sessions. It also includes a ticket to the evening reception on Brighton Pier on Tuesday 12 July, which includes drinks, a fish and chip dinner, unlimited rides on the attractions, music and networking with colleagues. One nights’ accommodation at the Ibis hotel on Tuesday 12 July is also included. Additional nights can be booked at the expense of the bursary winner. Travel expenses are NOT included with the bursary place.
THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS FOR THE PATMG BURSARY PLACE IS FRIDAY 8 APRIL 2016.
To apply for a bursary place contact Chris Torrero, PATMG Chairman at chris.torrero@thomsonreuters.com giving, in no more than 200 words, a statement on why you as a member of PATMG should be chosen to receive this bursary. The bursary winner will be expected to write an informative article on the conference for PATMG’s quarterly Searcher newsletter.
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Facet Publishing have announced the release of two new books, Practical Tips for Facilitating Research and Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries.
Higher education is in a period of rapid evolution and academic libraries must continually evaluate and adjust their services to meet new needs. Librarian roles are changing and new specialisms, such as data librarians are emerging. Activities are being driven by researcher requirements such as the demand for wider dissemination and the impact of research.
Two new books from Facet Publishing, Practical Tips for Facilitating Research and Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries, will provide inspiration and practical guidance to enable LIS staff developing their role in the research environment to evaluate their current provision and develop services to meet the evolving needs of the research community.
Practical Tips for Facilitating Research offers innovative tips and reliable best practice to assist academic liaison librarians, research support librarians and all library and information professionals who work with research staff and students.
Author Moira Bent said, “my book bridges the gap between theory and practice, grounding the very practical ideas garnered from library and information staff around the world in current research in the library and information science discipline.”
Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries provides inspiration through illustrative examples of emerging models of research support and is contributed to by library practitioners from across the world.
Editor Starr Hoffman said, “Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries is designed to inspire librarians and administrators to think of ‘research support’ not merely as Reference 2.0, but as an innovative, holistic activity that should be distributed throughout the organization.”
Both titles are available through Bookpoint.
-ends
Press and review copies contact:
James Williams, Marketing Manager, Facet Publishing
Tel: +44 (0)20 7255 0597
Email: james.williams@facetpublishing.co.uk
Notes:
Practical Tips for Facilitating Research | Mar 2016 | 288pp | Paperback; 9781783300174; £49.95 | Hardback; 9 781783301096; £89.95
Moira Bent is Faculty Liaison Librarian and National Teaching Fellow at Newcastle University and is one of the authors of the 2007 Facet book, Providing Effective Library Services for Research.
Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries | Mar 2016 | 176pp | Paperback; 9781783300495; £49.95 | Hardback; Hardback; 9781783301089; £89.95
Starr Hoffman is Head of Planning and Assessment at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she assesses many activities, including the library’s support for and impact on research. Previously she supported data-intensive research as the Journalism and Digital Resources Librarian at Columbia University in New York. Her research interests include the impact of academic libraries on students and faculty, the role of libraries in higher education and models of effective academic leadership. When she’s not researching, she’s taking photographs and travelling the world.
Both titles are published by Facet Publishing and are available from Bookpoint Ltd | Tel: +44 (0)1235 827702 | Fax: +44 (0)1235 827703 | Email: facet@bookpoint.co.uk | Web: www.facetpublishing.co.uk. | Mailing Address: Mail Order Dept, 39 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4TD. They are available in North America from the American Library Association.
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The visit will give an introduction to the structure of BBC Archives, the systems and roles, a tour of the Media City site, and time with Media Managers in the various departments.
It will provide an insight into the work of Media Managers at the BBC who are ‘embedded’ in the production departments, based in the programme teams and use a mix of archives and production systems to select content for archiving and enhance metadata, as well as providing training and research support.
For more information about Media City and directions see: http://www.mediacityuk.co.uk/d....
To reserve a place on this visit (limited to 10 people), contact Helen Garner, h.j.garner@shu.ac.uk
United Kingdom
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UK space industry and space science have received a boost as Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd - the communications hub currently supporting Tim Peake’s space mission - and Jisc sign a deal to transform connectivity.
From today Goonhilly Earth Station has been opened up to faster, more secure connectivity by taking a connection to the world-class Janet network through Jiscom, the commercial arm of Jisc, which provides digital solutions for colleges and universities.
Goonhilly’s improved infrastructure is a significant benefit for the site’s international collaborators from the space and TV industries, to individual businesses and universities. Goonhilly currently supports and manages satellites for a number of global satellite operators. It is a downlink station for earth observation networks and is planning to become the world’s first private Deep Space ground station. This rapidly growing business will need the extra capacity provided by the new connections to Janet, the UK’s national research and education network.
Derek Thomas MP, said,
“Support for business big and small is a crucial part of the development of the south-west and so I strongly welcome this new join-up. Goonhilly Earth Station plays a key part in a concerted effort to increase the number of skilled jobs in Cornwall and on Scilly and I am delighted by the growth of this high-tech business.”
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Goonhilly Earth StationAll rights reserved
Jisc will also be enabling eduroam on the site. This will allow visiting students and academics seamless wi-fi through their institutional log-ins, so that the next generation of satellite scientists can benefit from the same connectivity.
Goonhilly Earth Station CEO Ian Jones said,
“Goonhilly is a commercial satellite earth station – we need reliable, fast connectivity for our commercial clients. However, we also bridge a significant gap into academic research, teaching and data services. The Janet network’s wide range of interconnect options coupled with a highly available, uncluttered service provides excellent value for money.”
Tim Marshall, MD of Jiscom, said,
“We are delighted to be supporting the chancellor’s initiative for a more innovative digital economy through this agreement with Goonhilly - not only does it generate additional revenue for the research and education sector that Jisc supports, but it very much speaks to our mission of research collaboration and innovation. It will be exciting to track the progress of Goonhilly as it continues to support education and the knowledge economy.”
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ONE Access is a unique partnership between Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools that allows over 147,000 students in Kindergarten through 12th grade to use their Student ID number in place of a library card to access public library resources in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is one of America’s leading urban public libraries, serving a community of over one million citizens in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina with 20 branches scattered all over the county. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) provides academic instruction, rigor and support each school day to more than 147,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade in 168 schools throughout the cities and towns of Mecklenburg County.
In April 2015, President Obama announced the ConnectEd Library Challenge, calling upon library executives to work with their mayors, county managers, school leaders and school librarians to create or strengthen partnerships so that every child enrolled in school can receive a library card.
Inspired by the ConnectEd Challenge and a Pew Research Center study which found that 85% of Americans want their libraries to work more closely with local schools to provide resources, the Library and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) began conversations about how to work together to improve student success in our community. The idea emerged that one of the foundations of student achievement is access to books and information, and from that grew the notion that every single student in CMS should have a public library card. About half of low-income children have few, if any, books in their homes. The goal is for students to gain the ability to check out books to take home for school work and to read for pleasure.
The challenge was to integrate access to the public library using an identifier that was already unique to each student, an identification number that is issued when a child enrolls in CMS and follows them through graduation. That one number could act as a library account number and provide equal access to all that the public library has to offer.
A Memo of Understanding (MOU) between the Library and CMS spelled out the responsibilities of each organization. The MOU also included the legal provisions necessary for secure data sharing from CMS to the Library to allow an upload of student information into the Library’s Integrated Library System, automatically creating a library account for each student. Thus ONE Access, or “One Number Equals Access,” was born.
ONE Access uses students' school identification numbers instead of separate library cards. With their ONE Access account, students can:
Since most students are dependent on an adult for transportation, and may spend time in multiple homes, there are no overdue fines for ONE Access accounts;however, users are responsible for fees on lost or damaged books.
The Library has conducted over 20 training opportunities for CMS staff to assist in information literacy and curriculum support using the Library’s resources. Teachers and students alike have enjoyed and appreciated this expanded opportunity to learn and expolore.
A teacher assistant at Newell Elementary School reported that her first grade class “went on safari” during their media time, using Library resources TumbleBooks (an online collection of animated talking picture books) and PowerKnowledge (an online science resource for learners in grades 3-6).
“They took turns choosing an animal to investigate. They loved the sounds and watching the videos! A volunteer said, ‘you would think they are at a real zoo from all the screams and excitement.’ Thank you for this awesome opportunity!”
ONE Access is in its beginning stages and will continue to grow and evolve as the partnership between the Library and school system strengthens. One of the Library’s goals has been to have active library cardholders in 1 in 3 homes in the community by 2019. ONE Access has enabled the realization of that goal three years early, as over 100,000 students used their ONE Access accounts to interact with the Library in some way between September 1 and December 31, 2015.
CMS Superintendent Ann Clark put it well when she said, "ONE Access is a powerful tool to give students access to the books and materials they need to develop reading proficiency, but ONE Access is also a partnership that brings the resources schools and libraries together in support of students. We are so pleased to see that so many students have benefited from this partnership, and look forward to seeing many more as this collaboration grows."
With such promising early results, it is clear that the Charlotte community has realized the potential of the ConnectEd challenge, and will continue to benefit from this exceptional partnership.
Image credit: Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
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Do you want to know more about building your portfolio for Certification, Chartership or Fellowship? This free event will cover the practicalities of using the VLE to construct an e-portfolio and how to check your evidence meets the assessment criteria. It will be particularly useful for anyone nearing the end of the professional registration process but there will be something for everyone at any stage of the process.
After a short demonstration of the VLE you will have the opportunity to practice putting together your own portfolio (please bring your own device, free WiFi will be available). This will be an informal session with self-help materials on hand to guide you in assessing your own portfolio. There will also be plenty of opportunity to ask questions of your local Candidate Support Officer and recently successful candidates as well as meet and work with current candidates.
There will be a brief CILIP Thames Valley AGM at 18:15 with the portfolio building event beginning at 18:45.
Please note that access to New College is via the Porters' Lodge on Holywell Street, where directions to the meeting room will be provided.
United Kingdom
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In a landmark move for research, AWS is waiving data egress charges for qualified researchers and academics in moving data out of the cloud - making it easier for the sector to use cloud services by offering more predictability in costs. The agreement has been reached through ongoing discussions with Jisc in the UK, GÉANT in Europe, and DLT in the United States.
At Digifest 2016, we spoke with Brendan Bouffler, scientific computing manager at AWS, about how the agreement will benefit researchers.
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Nominations are now being accepted for the 2016 GIG Award.
Visit the GIG Award page for further information. The closing date is 30 June 2016
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Brendan Walker, thrill engineer and Coast presenter, works with the latest technology on the thrill rides he creates for clients as diverse as Alton Towers and the Tate Modern, but he also draws on some of the oldest traditions of the fairground. He explains his theory of thrill and the technology he's currently working with.
You’ve been described by The Times as the world’s only thrill engineer. What does that involve?
"In terms of engineering thrill I'm interested in the design of something very subjective - emotional experience - but I'm also drawing on my engineering background to look at ways in which to build these experiences. So, in a sense, on a practical level, I am a designer of emotional experience but with heavy elements of artistry, objective analysis and construction - that’s where the engineering and thrill come together."
What was your path to such an incredibly cool job?
"I originally trained as an aeronautical engineer working on military aircraft in British Aerospace. Then I wanted to become an industrial designer so I studied an art and design foundation course to get into the Royal College of Art. I went there wanting to design white goods and came out making pirate radio stations. But while there I became very interested in the way technology could enable changes in social dynamics and so I joined the college's interaction design research group.
Watch Professor Brendan Walker's 2014 showreel
Meanwhile, I also started my own private practice making electro-mechanical installations for art galleries and science museums. It was in the making of those very large mechanical installations that I realised people were becoming excited by what I had made, so there was a sort of performance element to it.
I didn't know enough about that kind of highly charged emotional experience so I spent a year on the Chromo11 Engineering The Thrill research project, interviewing people about their thrilling experiences and creating a Taxonomy of Thrill. I coined what became known as the Walker Thrill Factor which links measurable physiological traits of arousal and pleasure to thrill. I realised that I could monitor people in a technological loop and create interactive artwork and, over the last ten years, that has become something of a trademark.
As a thrill engineer I have an understanding of what thrills people, how we can monitor it and can then design new experiences to elicit tightly choreographed thrilling experiences."
One way in which you have done that is with Neurosis - a virtual reality fairground ride that reads passengers’ minds. What happened to the people who went on that ride?
"Neurosis is a brain-controlled thrill ride. It was commissioned by FutureFest and their remit was: we’ve got 5,000 people coming to the Southbank over a weekend and we need a spectacle with the theme "the future of entertainment".
I took the things I was interested in - virtual reality, motion simulation, brain monitoring - and I created a ride where riders were taken up onto a three-metre high, six degree of motion platform facing an audience of about 200 people. There was a gate open in front of them so they could physically fall three metres - meaning that they not only had the anxiety of performing to a crowd but also the real physical jeopardy of falling from height.
They were strapped into the ride, an Oculous Rift headset was put over their eyes, and a brain monitoring cap was fitted. They then saw a tunnel emerging in front of them in virtual space which was generated by the 14 channels of brain data I was collecting. That brain data was interpreted using various algorithms to create the world they were experiencing and, as they went tumbling and falling through this world, the motion platform kicked in to give them a sense of falling through the tunnel.
Professor Brendan Walker introduces Neurosis at FutureFest 2015
I also worked on the brain data with another artist to create a neurogenerative sound track – some kicking bhangra-style music with parameters controlled by the brain data.
The ride lasted for three minutes and, in the middle, the riders were instructed to concentrate and to think about going forward. By doing this they were able to train the ride: if they were successful in concentrating then their trajectory through the tunnel would become more stable and the ride experience smoother."
I’m feeling ill just listening to that! What are the ethics around it? Are you worried about pushing the human mind too far in this kind of thrill seeking?
"It is interesting. With the University of Nottingham, I wrote a paper, Uncomfortable Interactions, that talked about the ethics of my work because it's very much about pushing the boundaries and putting people in awkward social situations.
I see it as being a bit like the kind of unwritten contract you have when you walk through the doors to a theme park. We go to those places for novelty, to be surprised. That is how and where we get our thrills and if we had too much control – if we knew we could stop the ride and get off - then that relationship breaks down. That’s how I think of my installations - it’s framed as entertainment, but we do internally assess what might actually be going on, and evaluate the possible consequences.
For example, the worst thing that might have happened on Neurosis was people having a bout of vertigo, so there were lots of safeguards in place, all built into the performance. I take great care of my riders, particularly when it’s something novel, but I never make them realise that there is such a large amount of care happening. That’s the trick."
Do you see this as the future of thrill rides? It seems we’ve gone as far physically as we can go - you can’t drop people any further or turn them any faster - so are virtual reality and brain monitoring now the way forward?
"One of the successes of Neurosis was that, like lots of rides that have appeared over the last 100 years, I was presenting the trends and intrigue in current scientific frontiers – in this case, neurological monitoring. That was part of the thrill for the audience. If, in two years’ time, we find that mind-expanding biochemicals are currently popular in the public’s mind, then I will probably be making rides based around that emerging technology. So that’s why I’m constantly looking at trends in engineering and technology.
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Rider on NeurosisAll rights reserved
Taking a historical perspective, one of the first places that people experienced electricity was at fairgrounds - most people had never seen a light bulb before they went to a fairground. Historically, they have been places where the public have been allowed to experience emerging scientific and technological advancements before they get brought into popular everyday life. That’s the relationship I’m interested in.
With Neurosis I spotted that the most interesting thing for me was the moment of putting on the virtual reality mask and taking it off – that movement between being in a real world in the presence of an audience and then being immersed in a very insular solitary experience. Both of them have very different social dynamics and the movement between the two creates the thrill.
So the next ride I made was Oscillate, which was a very simple swing with a virtual reality experience attached to it but it played much more on that relationship between the individual experience and the spectator experience.
I’m driven by watching and observing and creating emotional experience and if technology can help me then great."
What new technology is exciting you at the moment?
"Most of my conversations at the moment are around virtual experiences and while we wait for companies like PlayStation or Red Bull to start creating channels of virtual reality (VR) content, no one is entirely sure what that piece of technology will facilitate or support, whether it’s art works, whether its entertainment experiences. I think VR will intrigue me for another couple of years."
Can you see a role for VR in education?
"Whether because of its novelty or because it’s a medium that kids will become familiar with and will happily adopt because it’s the language of computer gaming, of entertainment and of TV, it will become the preferred way to consume and interact with information.
So yes, I think if the technology becomes pervasive and deeply ingrained in other areas of a child’s life then I think VR will be exactly the right platform for education."
To what extent do you rely on the power of the Janet Network for your work?
"I made a piece of work last year called Storm In A Teacup, commissioned by Hastings Pier Charity. It relied on sensors to monitor waves in Hastings, sending data over the web to servers on the Janet network, which were used to analyse and visualise the data, to be viewed by the public in real time.
Creative Commons attribution information
Storm In A Teacup at FACT, Liverpool 2015All rights reserved
This kind of creative use of distributed sensors and servers is central to many pieces of my digital artwork. I choose to work with the university's servers on Janet for their power and dependability."
What are you hoping the Networkshop delegates are going to take away from your talk?
"I am going to showcase some of the thrilling experiences that I’ve made and some of the work that I’ve made that relies on large networks - some are local area networks and some are distributed networks. I really want to show how my knowledge of being able to use those networks creatively has enabled these innovative experiences to evolve.
I can use the idea of networking in a very fluid way, so that they almost become a material in itself that we can configure, reconfigure, put things in, move data around, treat things in unusual ways - it’s having absolute flexibility, reliability, and access to that kind of network that enables the kind of work that I do. So, my message is, be flexible, be accessible and great things will happen."
Networkshop is our annual network and technology event. Networkshop44 takes place between 22-24 March 2016 at the University of Manchester.
Brendan will be speaking at the Networkshop44 conference dinner on Wednesday 23 March.
Find out more, including how you can join online, via the event web pages.
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On 22nd March, the CILIP ILG wll be holding its AGM at the LILAC Conference. In preparation for this, our annual report is now available to download.
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I am really pleased to have just been appointed Deputy Chair of CILIP’s Board of Trustees. It is a leadership role that includes supporting the CILIP Board and Chair, working with the member network and staff, and increasing the Board’s capacity as CILIP introduces its new strategic plan.
I have a burning passion for our profession, its people, and its core values, and I am deeply committed to CILIP, having been a member throughout my professional career, serving on branch committees, project boards and being a mentor.
I am excited about this opportunity to be able to draw on my experience of strategic leadership in the information sector within government to support CILIP in taking forward its Action Plan 2016 - 2020 and helping focus on the priority advocacy causes identified in the Shape the Future Consultation.
I am particularly keen to support the Advocacy and Opportunity; and Developing the Library and Information Workforce outcomes in the Action Plan - helping specifically with the outcomes regarding policy makers and employers better understanding the value of library and information skills; and also the outcome to creating a welcoming and inclusive membership offer.
Both of these outcomes are close to my heart. I am passionate about advocating the value of information skills to organisations and society more generally, and the need for skilled and knowledgeable information practitioners.
In my last role as Head of Knowledge and Information Services in a large government department, I spent a lot of my time advocating the value of skilled information workers in the workplace, and as Government Head of Profession for Knowledge and Information (KIM) I raised the profile of the profession before top managers.
As Head of Profession, I also encouraged the government KIM workforce to see CILIP as the professional body for all aspects of information work and am keen to bring my experience of unifying the many information roles in government to help CILIP progress this aspect of the Action Plan.
I want to help make CILIP a true community of library, information and knowledge professionals.
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An opportunity to learn more about the professional registration process, meet other candidates and network. Optional tours of the Charles Seale-Hayne University Library will be available during the lunch break.
This event is aimed at new, and potential ACLIP, MCLIP, and FCLIP candidates. CILIP Mentors are also very welcome to attend, as this will be a very helpful reminder of what is required under the current regulations.
The event will cover -
CILIP Professional Registration & portfolio building.
An outline the requirements of the process for each level of Professional Registration and what you need to do to make a submission
What the assessors are looking for
A more in-depth look at the criteria, what is expected in terms of reflection, and some of the evidence that might be used.
Discussion Groups
This will be an informal opportunity to meet recently successful candidates, network with other delegates doing the same level of qualification, and ask further questions of the speakers.
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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.
entor Training is a requisite for becoming a CILIP Mentor and this course is suitable for all CILIP members who have recently registered as CILIP mentors or are thinking of registering. Do come along and find out more about the mentoring scheme.
By the end of the day participants will:
· Have an awareness of the function of mentoring in the CILIP CPD process
· Have had the opportunity to explore and experience mentoring
· Be able to make an assessment of their capability as mentors and identify their development needs in this area
The morning session will focus on generic mentoring skills whilst the afternoon will focus on the CILIP regulations.
Members who have previously attended a course on mentoring skills may attend the afternoon only (14.00-16.30) to join in the elements relating to the CILIP scheme.
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If you or your library team ran a successful campaign last year to market all or part of your service, now is the time to shout about it!
Celebrating co-ordinated marketing communication activities of all kinds, the Marketing Excellence Awards recognise successful marketing drives of any scale or type, from digital promotions and storytelling projects, to projects and festival marketing, launch publicity or multi-channel PR campaigns.
Entries will be judged not on the activity size or budget, but on impact, effectiveness and creativity.
The Marketing Excellence Awards are run annually by the Publicity and Public Relations Group (PPRG), a Special Interest Group of CILIP and winners will be invited to share their best practice techniques and ideas with the library community at the group’s conference later this year.
The PPRG Marketing Excellence Awards are free to enter for any library and information service in the UK.
Winning has had an impact in a number of ways, both within the Library and across the University and externally too. All in all both the submission process and the subsequent achievement have been positive and had an impact on both our profile and our service. I would encourage all to go for it. - Past gold winner Emma Walton
Submit your entry by 29 April 2016.
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Entries are open for the CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award 2016
The CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award is the highest accolade a library service in the UK can win. CILIP is seeking applications for 2016 from UK-based library, information and knowledge-based services or initiatives that have a positive and demonstrable impact on their user community.
Entries are welcome from any sector such as education, prisons, health, Government, private companies and public libraries.
Please consider applying if you are a practitioner representing library and information services or initiatives which can clearly demonstrate the value added to their organisation or community and which reflect innovation, intelligent service design or best practice delivery.
Three finalists will be selected and a £4,000 prize will be donated by CILIP to support the continued delivery of the winning service.
Entries are open from 1 March to 30 April 2016. Applicants must be UK based and eligible services or initiatives must be current and ongoing during this year in order for the judges to assess the entries in action.
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Critical literacy is an approach to learning and teaching that has gathered momentum in recent years as it has become widely used in classrooms around the world. Critical literacy is not just important for formal education settings however. It is also relevant for libraries because it is an approach that can engage students (or other users)in more active forms of reading and more creative ways of critiquing texts, as well as equipping them with skills and strategies to challenge social and political systems.
Critical literacy differs from most models of information literacy because it is not simply about the ability to evaluate information for features such as authenticity, quality, relevance, accuracy, currency, value, credibility and potential bias. Instead, it addresses more fundamental questions about the nature of knowledge.
One way of describing critical literacy is as a process that, ‘challenges the status quo in an effort to discover alternative paths for self and social development’ (Shor, 1999). This description highlights two key components of critical literacy. Firstly, it has a focus on practical action and community engagement. Secondly, critical literacy is concerned with the social and cultural contexts in which traditional, digital, multimedia and other types of texts are both created and read. Critical literacy is not about studying texts in isolation, but developing an understanding of the cultural, ideological and sociolinguistic contexts in which they are created and read. It involves an explicit commitment to equity, social justice and inclusion.
A fundamental notion of critical literacy is that all texts are constructed(by one or more authors) and serve particular interests or purposes. As texts are written or created by people, who all have their own views of the world, no text is completely neutral and objective. For example, when they write, an author makes conscious and unconscious choices about what to include and exclude and how to represent the things or people they depict.
However, it is not just the author who has an important role. Just like authors, all readers have their own experiences and knowledge whichthey bring to a text. This means that each person interprets a text differently and multiple ways of reading a single text are not just possible, but inevitable. In contrast to more conventional approaches to resource evaluation, with critical literacy there is no single ‘correct’ way to read and respond to a text.
This means that critical literacy can allow students to move beyond merely retelling information to become actively engaged with texts as they start to exercise their power as readers to interrogate what is written and question the ideological standpoint of the author to form their own interpretations. Critical literacy also helps students to see connections between texts they read and the ‘real world’ as they come to realise how the experiences and opinions of both the author and reader are integral in shaping any text.
Critical literacy is a theory that is highly relevant to the practical work of library and information workers across all sectors including academic, schools, public, workplace, prisons and health. In the case of public libraries, it can support social inclusion activities and offer alternative ways of framing reading promotion. In healthcare settings, critical literacy approaches can empower patients and challenge stigma. When working with young offenders, or at-risk young people, critical literacy can help to improve decision-making skills. In schools, it can have a role both within subjects such as Communication studies and in extra-curricular activities. It can also enhance the school librarian’s role within the school as they become engage in debates around the use of new media and academic honesty. When working with both undergraduate and post-graduate university students, critical literacy can move the librarian’s contribution to the learning process far beyond the simplistic database demonstration session to a more active, questioning approach that can profoundly impact on how students interact with information. Critical literacy can also support librarians’ work with particular user groups. For example, in the case of international students, disabled users; or adult learners, critical literacy can help to reframe difference as an asset rather than a deficit.
There is no doubt that adopting a critical literacy approach in a library setting can be highly challenging. Teaching students that there is no single ‘correct’ way to read a text and that evaluating a resource is not a process which can be reduce to a simple checklist requires considerable time, skill and confidence. However, the potential benefits can be immense.
These are just some brief examples of the ways in which critical literacy can be used within libraries and information services. Is your library using (or planning to use) critical literacy approaches in any way? If so, please let us know.
Critical Literacy for Information Professionals, edited by Sarah McNicol, provides a foundation of critical literacy theory, as applied to libraries, combines theory and practice to explore critical literacy in relation to different user groups, and offers practical ways to introduce critical literacy approaches in libraries.
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CILIPinKent are delighted to invite members on a visit to the Stanley Kubrick Archive. Located at UAL's London College of Communication, the archive is one of the most unique cultural collections of the later half of the 20th century. The collection provides a unique insigt into the extraordinarily rigourous work of the renowned film-maker.
For further information visit http://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at...
Spaces limited
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CILIPinKENT would like to welcome you to this day course open to CILIP and non-CILIP members.
During this day course exploring the topic of leadership, participants will consider the following:
• What makes a good leader?
• What is the difference between managing and leading?
• What is their preferred leadership style
• What values drive them at work?
• What leadership skills do librarians need?
Participants will learn: why leadership is more than management; the main leadership styles; what their personal leadership preferences are; how they might improve their leadership; and what values actually drive them in their working lives. They will also begin to draw up their own Personal Leadership Development Plan to ensure that this day course is a starting point for their continued reflection and engagement with the topic.
It's a highly practical day with many engaging activities and exercises designed to keep participants thinking and reflecting on their personal take on leadership. In addition there are several presentation sections, including the presenter’s own experience of his leadership roles at Cambridge University.
Refreshments and a light lunch will be provided.
About the presenter:
Andy Priestner is an experienced freelance trainer and consultant in the fields of leadership, UX, social media, and teambuilding. He also works part-time as innovation lead for the University of Cambridge Futurelib project. He chairs the annual UX in Libraries conference committee and was formerly President of the European Business Schools Librarians Group and head librarian at Cambridge University’s business school.
For directions, https://www.kent.ac.uk/locatio...
Please contact us regarding accessibility needs and dietary requirements at CILIPinKent@gmail.com
Tickets: £30 - £40
United Kingdom
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