Landmark agreement makes it easier for colleges and universities to sign up to Google’s free cloud services such as Gmail, docs and spreadsheets
Janet, part of the Jisc group, whose primary purpose is to provide network infrastructure and related services for schools, colleges and universities in the UK, is today announcing a major framework agreement with Google Apps for Education. The agreement will make it easier for colleges and universities to make the move to Google Apps for Education and open up the free online collaboration and communication benefits it offers to more staff and students.
The framework agreement will mean that colleges and universities in the UK are now eligible to sign up to Google Apps for Education using a contract approved by Janet, as meeting UK legal requirements. This Cloud Services for Education Agreement will give colleges and universities peace of mind in relation to security, resilience, legal and data compliance, cost and functionality.
Speaking to a number of university chief innovation officers (CIOs) at the framework agreement signing event at the Google office in London, Dan Perry, director of product and marketing at Janet said:
“Over the years we’ve had huge interest from our members in moving to Google Apps for Education. Yet these same universities and colleges did not have the time nor resources to explore and understand the contractual complexities of cloud security, safety and data protection. So, we worked closely with Google to create a Cloud Services for Education Agreement. This agreement removes the need for colleges and universities to conduct their own due diligence, saving approximately £20,000 in time and cost for each UK higher and further education organisation.”
Liz Sproat, head of education for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Google, said:
“We’re always looking for ways to make it easier for schools, colleges and universities to take advantage of our free online collaboration and communication tools. One third of all UK colleges and universities already use Google Apps for Education. We hope this new framework agreement with Janet will enable even more students, professors, lecturers and teachers to collaborate and communicate more easily whilst also saving money for their educational institutions.”
There are more than 25 million Google Apps for Education users worldwide and many different use cases. Students working on group projects can work simultaneously in real-time in documents, spreadsheets and presentations, no matter where they are based, making it easier to share ideas and preventing the difficulty of version control. Professors and teachers can comment directly within student assignments, streamlining the faculty feedback process. Lecturers can even run entire seminars on Google Hangouts, meaning that students can catch their classes online, even if they’re not on campus. Student committees can also host their social calendars on easily accessible Google Sites and post pictures of their events on Google+. Google recently signed a similar agreement in the Netherlands and since that time half the country’s universities and colleges have moved to Google Apps.
Visit the Janet website for more information about the framework agreement.
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Jisc is now offering further education (FE) providers’ free subscription to Jisc MediaHub.
It enables direct access to over 130,000 images, films and audio files, licensed for educational use. And also provides a search for over 1 million additional items available in various public collections.
Jisc MediaHub allows cross-searching and exploration of TV news, documentary films, still images and classical music. To gain access to these resources FE providers simply need to sign up to the service through Jisc Collections.
Emily Armstrong, libraries and e-learning manager from Hull College, says:
"I find Jisc MediaHub to be very useful both as a resource for students to study the videos and images, and for them to use to illustrate their assignments. For myself and our teacher education students it allows us to create appealing paper and electronic teaching materials, explain complex ideas more simply and engage visual learners."
Scott Gibbens, service representative at Jisc Collections, says:
“We are delighted to offer Jisc MediaHub free to FE users. We hope this will help users to see the value they can gain from multimedia content and encourage them to share best practice examples. The service is already popular with over 171 FE colleges subscribed. I see it as a source that can allow teachers to use and develop a variety of teaching styles.”
Details of all the collections included are at Jisc Mediahub.
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Oxford University Press (OUP) is joining OAPEN-UK, a collaborative research project exploring open access (OA) scholarly monograph publishing in the humanities and social sciences.
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OAPEN-UK recognises that open access will require changes to current working practices as well as cultural change, and that resistance to change is inevitable. By working with each stakeholder and sharing findings between them, the project promotes understanding and knowledge, and enables stakeholders to make informed decisions based on evidence, rather than assumptions.
OAPEN-UK marks OUP’s first move into the developing world of open access scholarly monographs.
Mandy Hill, publishing director of Global Academic Business at OUP, says:
“We’re excited to join the OAPEN-UK project. OUP has a proud history as a major publisher of scholarly monographs and we are committed to their global dissemination. OAPEN-UK, with its objectives to develop awareness of and data around OA monographs, will play an important part for us in working with the scholarly community to determine the best business models for the future.”
Caren Milloy, head of projects at Jisc Collections, says:
“The participation of OUP in OAPEN-UK marks a significant step in the recognition and acceptance that OA monographs will be part of the scholarly publishing future. The inclusion of the 18 OUP titles will strengthen the usage and sales data we are collecting to compare the performance of open access titles against non-open access titles and will complement the knowledge and expertise feeding into the research.”
The OUP titles cover a range of subjects including law, politics, economics and the early church, and are freely available as PDFs to be read and re-used under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivatives Licence (CC BY-NC-ND). The titles are available via the OUP catalogue, Oxford Scholarship Online, OAPEN Library and in Google Books.
More information on the OUP titles and the OAPEN-UK project can be found on the OAPEN-UK website.
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Learners with disabilities or learning difficulties could enjoy greater independence and improved access to training and education thanks to a Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Technology Strategy Board (TSB) competition, run by Jisc TechDis.
One million pounds worth of funding is being made available for two competitions calling for groundbreaking product designs: ‘Ready steady STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)’ and ‘Good to go’. These are aimed at technology developers and ask designers to invent new products which will help those with disabilities and learning difficulties gain independence and access to work, training and education.
Skills minister, Matthew Hancock says:
“It is important that as many people as possible have the chance to play an active part in society and have access to whatever training they need.
"Competitions like these help to drive innovation and will hopefully produce some very interesting results that will widen access to those with learning difficulties or disabilities."
Stephen Browning, head of Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) says:
“This is another exciting SBRI competition which will give an opportunity for business to bring new ideas to address these important challenges.”
Sal Cooke, director of Jisc TechDis says:
“Equality of opportunity should be available to everyone regardless of circumstance and these competitions are an important part of our support for independent learning, working and living.”
The deadline for applications is 4 November 2013. Competition briefs and application forms are available on the Jisc TechDis website.
For more information please contact Allison Loftfield, online information and communications manager at Jisc TechDis - allison@techdis.ac.uk or 01904 717542.
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Following the very successful period of Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea as chair of its board of trustees, Jisc’s members, the Association of Colleges (AoC), GuildHE and Universities UK (UUK), are now in the process of seeking his successor.
At a time of dynamic and exciting change for Jisc, the person sought will have the qualities and standing to lead the Jisc board. The mission of Jisc is to enable people working in UK higher education, further education and skills to perform at the forefront of international practice by exploiting fully the possibilities of modern digital empowerment, content and connectivity.
The candidate should demonstrate business acumen and significant experience of strategic planning and financial management. They will have experience in a senior role in a UK higher or further education institution with a strong track record of leading boards in large and complex contexts.
Martyn Harrow, chief executive of Jisc, says:
“This is a very important appointment for Jisc to build on the excellent contribution of Sir Timothy and lead Jisc through continuing change and development, whilst ensuring that we sustain exemplary levels of service to our customers.
“Whilst working to embed a new business model for the organisation the successful candidate will also be passionate about progressing our vision to help make the UK the most digitally advanced education and research nation in the world.”
The closing date for this vacancy has now passed, and applications are no longer being accepted.
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Jisc Collections is now offering universities and colleges access to one of the largest sources of online films in the field of engineering and technology - IET.tv from The Institution of Engineering and Technology.
The IET.tv archive includes over 3,000 presentations filmed at lectures, seminars and conferences from 2002-2012. The content is from events that are highly regarded by the global engineering and technology community, and features key academics and practising engineers and technologists who are specialists in their fields from around the world.
Caren Milloy, head of projects at Jisc Collections says:
“This collection of films received top marks from the community in our most recent round of content procurement for multimedia archives. A unique resource, IET.tv makes the teachings and knowledge of engineering and technology experts instantly accessible to students. We hope that this resource will go on to benefit many students and ultimately improve their learning experience.”
Mark Reynard, business manager at IET.tv, says:
"Combining the power of vision with voice and accessible 24/7, IET.tv connects users to one of the largest online resources of learned engineering and technology content available on the internet.”
IET.tv contains eight engineering and technology channels covering a range of skill areas. These channels are aimed at engineering academics and researchers and include - communications; control and automation; electronics; IT; management; manufacturing; power; and transport.
The resource is available on Jisc MediaHub, which delivers access to over 130,000 images, films and audio files licensed for educational use. The service also provides a search for over one million other items available in various public collections. Hosted by EDINA, a Jisc funded national data centre, Jisc MediaHub is free to further education colleges and available via paid subscription to higher education institutions.
For more information or to subscribe to this service visit the Jisc Collections website or contact help@jisc-collections.ac.uk.
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Scotland and Wales have started to undergo work to develop shared library IT systems across their higher education institutions thanks to initial funding and support from Jisc.
Ultimately, this will provide students access to information hosted at all institutions, opening up a wealth of teaching and learning materials. There will also be cost saving opportunities.
Higher education institutions in Wales are currently joining with the National Library of Wales to start development of a joint procurement process for a shared library management system. The shared system will open up potential opportunities for collaboration on other levels – including the possibility of reciprocal borrowing across the libraries and shared cataloguing of collections. They are looking to have these systems in place by summer 2015 – 2016 and a tender for the work will be going out in the New Year.
Tracey Stanley, deputy university librarian and assistant director of information services at Cardiff University has been heavily involved in the work says:
“The Welsh Higher Education Libraries and the National Library of Wales have developed a compelling vision for a shared library system. A shared system will give us the opportunity to work more closely together for the benefit of our users, for example, on sharing content, collections or services. We also have an opportunity to share the costs of development and support, share expertise across Wales and work together to enhance our services."
For more information on the Welsh project visit their blog.
The first phase of the Scottish project, The Benefits of Sharing, has shown the benefits that a shared national IT support system could offer higher education and possibly further education institutional libraries. The key benefits include:
Phase two of the work has now begun and the team are working with a task force at the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL) to bring together a plan of what the service/systems would look like, for example what is included - room bookings, electronic support. They are hoping to have this is place by December and if a clear vision is developed a business plan will then be devised for implementation.
Mark Toole, director of information services at the University of Stirling, who is heavily involved in the project, says:
“In Scotland, current Government policy is encouraging universities to work together, often through grant bids, to maximise overall research outcomes and impact. So the development of this type of national IT service has a lot of support and goodwill behind it.
“We are grateful to Jisc for funding the initial investigations into this work and for supplying us with many tools that we can bring together and build on when we start to look at implementation, such as KnowledgeBase+. It is going to be challenging to ensure that we deliver a service that meets user needs, but the potential is there for a shared service to bring great benefits to all involved.”
Ben Showers, programme manager at Jisc explains:
“The collaboration on the development of library systems and services in Scotland and Wales has the potential to transform the experience of students and researchers who attend university in these countries. It is easy to imagine the possibilities - seamless access to a wide range of content and resources, through to innovative services built on top of this new infrastructure such as powerful recommendation engines and integration with teaching and learning systems.
“By collaborating on the essential infrastructure these universities are creating the resources and space that will enable them to develop the future services and systems that their students and researchers will need.”
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Listen to a podcast from Laure Haak, executive director of ORCID, on the benefits and challenges that universities face in taking up and exploiting ORCID.
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Jisc is today writing to UK universities to outline proposed refinements to the organisation’s funding model.
Since the publication of Sir Alan Wilson’s review of Jisc in February 2011 it has enhanced its integration with the sector to deliver products and services developed around its needs. With the balance of higher education funding moving from grants to tuition fees, the balance of Jisc funding needs to change. This means that Jisc’s existing subscription model for the Janet network will be refined, with the proposed change coming into effect from the start of the academic year 2014-15.
This will ensure that universities continue to benefit from a world class research and education network, negotiated rich and up-to-date online collections, best practice advice on many different areas and targeted research and development.
Explaining the changes, Martyn Harrow, Jisc chief executive said
“Jisc’s funding has decreased over the past few years and will continue to do so. We have made efficiency improvements meaning that Jisc will absorb the majority of these financial reductions without threatening any of the core services on which the sector depends.
“We are currently writing to all higher education institutions setting out details of these changes and the implications for their 2014-15 budgets. There should be minimal change in the further education and skills sectors, and we will be communicating in due course to clarify the position for this sector.”
Commenting on these changes Nicola Dandridge, chief executive, UUK said
"UUK recognises the importance and value of Jisc and the work it does across the higher education, further education and skills sectors to support the use of digital technologies. We are fully supportive of the new sector driven governance model for the organisation and the work that has been done to shape Jisc to be leaner, better value, and even more focused operationally and strategically on the true wants and needs of the sector.”
Each year Jisc saves the sectors it serves around £260m - three times its operating costs - in direct savings and cost avoidance, in effect saving each individual institution many times its own subscription. In addition to these efficiencies, Jisc will minimise the impact of the shift by creating the largest VAT cost sharing group in the UK meaning that institutions will not pay VAT on future Jisc subscriptions.
“We know the financial pressure all our institutions are under, so we will continue to look at the way Jisc works and will constantly strive to improve our services. In his review Sir Alan Wilson described Jisc as a ‘national asset’, these changes will ensure that learners and researchers - both on and off campus - continue to have instant access to an unrivalled research and education network, as well as vital collections and resources that are of immense benefit to them,”
said Martyn.
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This year Jisc Collections is investing £200,000 to provide additional content to the E-books for FE project, which is available on a free subscription to further education (FE) colleges across the UK.
Subscribing colleges can now access 50 new e-book titles in addition to the 3,000 currently offered. New titles cover a variety of the latest BTEC and A-Level qualifications. Subjects from history to business and motor vehicle maintenance to beauty therapy are provided for.
Hilary Richmond, e-resources librarian at Cheadle & Marple Sixth Form College and user of the service tells us:
“The E-books for FE project has given us access to a collection of free e-books that would otherwise have been beyond our means. Having a collection tailor-made for the needs of FE has been welcomed by both staff and students and the e-books are now increasingly becoming established as part of the curriculum.”
Ben Taplin, licensing manager at Jisc Collections says:
“We work closely with our FE members to ensure we add the content they need. In my experience colleges prefer narrower lists which will get the highest usage, which is why many of the titles are text books and course books. These new titles not only help to provide an up to date service, but also offer students to opportunity to access content at any time and from any location allowing them to carry out their work at a time that suits them.”
For those further education providers who do not currently have access to the content that is freely offered by the E-books for FE project, they can subscribe now by placing an order at the Jisc Collections website.
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Respected education academic, Sugata Mitra has been confirmed as a key note speaker at the newly-launched Jisc Digital Festival 2014.
Further and higher education specialists will have the opportunity to hear from the eminent science and educational technology expert, and winner of the TED Prize 2013, at the Jisc Digital Festival. The two day event, which will take place at the ICC Birmingham from 11-12 March 2014, is designed to showcase and celebrate the best in digital talent, as well as explore the technologies of the future.
In addition to Mitra, a range of experts will be speaking on digital technologies for post-16 education. Acclaimed for his ‘Hole in the Wall’ experiment, which delivered ICT to underprivileged and previously under-connected children in Delhi, Professor Mitra is also recognised for establishing India’s first local area network-based newspaper publishing system in 1984.
As the event’s closing keynote speaker, he will be discussing the future of education, and the potential for digital technology to transform education and research. His talk, which will be delivered by video link-up, will conclude two days of discussions, workshops and networking opportunities for experts and providers from the higher education, further education and skills sectors.
Jisc was established to support education institutions in effectively adopting technologies and to help position the UK as the centre of digitally advanced education and research. The Digital Festival, which replaces Jisc’s annual conference, will offer the sector an opportunity to share ideas of best practice and learn and discuss innovative ways to harness digital technology.
Sugata Mitra said:
“It is refreshing to see Jisc hosting a conference like this. Ours is a time when we need to factor in the Internet into every aspect of education. It is time for teachers and lecturers to be ready for change.”
Martyn Harrow, chief executive of Jisc added:
“Sugata Mitra’s level of excellence in his field, positions him as the ideal speaker for the Digital Festival. His presence at the event reinforces our mission to enable people in higher education, further education and skills in the UK to perform at the forefront of international practice by exploiting fully the possibilities of modern digital technology. He will undoubtedly inspire visitors to make a positive change in their colleges and universities and is a great example of the supportive and engaging event we are aiming to deliver for our customers.
“The festival will enable education professionals to collaborate and share real solutions and make the most of digital technology to ultimately enhance teaching and learning. With a wide range of thought-provoking discussions being lined up and plenty of practical advice to take away I’m looking forward to attending and hope to see you there.”
To register your interest in attending the Jisc Digital Festival on 11-12 March 2014, visit the event page on our website.
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This week Jisc entered the top 100 technology experts to follow on Twitter rankings.
Evan Carmichael, a leading US entrepreneur and small business expert, recently published on his blog the list of the Top 100 Technology Experts to follow on Twitter. Jisc was featured at number three.
Evan attracts hundreds of thousands of individuals to his website every month seeking advice from successful businesses and he is regularly featured as an expert in the New York Times, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo, Mashable, PC World and many more. Jisc’s inclusion near the top of the list shows how technology entrepreneurs are looking to the UK for expert advice on technology innovation in education and research.
Tom Mitchell, Jisc’s e-communications officer said:
“Over the past year we have been looking to build our Twitter following whilst sharing best practise, advice and guidance on digital technologies and all aspects of education, research, teaching and learning.
“It is great to see that the advice and links to useful resources is being picked up not only in the UK but being recognised internationally too.”
Follow us on Twitter @Jisc to find out the latest thinking, trends and tools supporting UK education and research digital technologies.
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The British Geological Survey (BGS) is today launching the world’s first 3D virtual fossil collection to the public.
Thousands of 3D digital fossil models, plus several thousand quality images, many in 3D, can now be browsed and downloaded for free on a computer, tablet or phone.
The GB3D Type Fossils Online project, funded by Jisc, has rescued fossils from dusty drawers and made them available for academics, researchers and fossil enthusiasts to enjoy at their leisure.
To celebrate the launch, the BGS are running a free competition for the public at a number of museums around the country, the participating venues are:
Over the next three weeks, visitors are invited to spot 3D-printed fossils among museum displays and enter a draw for VIP behind-the-scenes museum tours. One overall winner, drawn from all of the regional entries, will also receive a tablet computer pre-loaded with 3D fossils.
In the UK, fossil type specimens are stored in a number of locations across the country and there is no easy way to search across the many different catalogues. The GB3D Type Fossils Online project has developed a single database of type specimens, held in British collections, of macrofossil species and subspecies found in the UK. This includes links to photographs and laser scans of the best to produce a selection of 3D digital models.
The BGS has carried out the work in collaboration with its partners: The National Museum of Wales; The Sedgwick Museum Cambridge; The University Museum of Natural History Oxford; and the Curators’ Group, which represents a number of regional museums.
Professor John Ludden, executive director of the BGS, said:
“This work will provide an outstanding resource to geologists at all levels - researchers, university students, school students and amateurs for years to come’’.
Peter Findlay, programme manager at Jisc, said:
“A unified database of type-specimens is useful but, for it to be really useful, people need images of the physical items. 3D-printed models offer the opportunity to engage with a physical facsimile which can really transform someone’s understanding and at the same time reduce access costs and the need to handle originals.
As part of Jisc’s vision to provide simple and fast access to digital content, we’re delighted to fund this project, bringing these artefacts to life and into the hands of those fascinated by fossils”.
The competition closes on Thursday 12 September 2013, competition rules can be found on the project blog.
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Now we are in the new financial year don't forget to factor into your budgets the 2014 Conference which will take place at the University of Sussex from 23rd to 25th June 2014. Bookings will be taken via eventbrite. The call for papers will be put out shortly.
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Now that our blog on the former CILIP Communities site has been archived, we're starting up a new blog at http://lslibrarians.wordpress.com/.
If you'd like to join our team of bloggers, just complete the 'contact us' form on the blog.
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CILIP are delighted to announce details of the New Professionals Day 2013, our annual conference aimed at those library and information professionals who are seeking guidance on their initial steps into their first professional roles. If you are still studying at university, have recently finished your information qualification or are in your first professional post, then this event is for you.
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Update on postnominals, rebranding and Professional Registration from Simon Edwards, Director of Professional Services at CILIP.
We’re currently working towards introducing our new framework of Professional Registration, which we plan to launch on the 1st November 2013. Professional Registration is the new name for our internationally recognised qualifications. The new name is part of wider developments to make sure members get the recognition they deserve for their skills. Developments include new assessment criteria, new handbooks and guidance, improved development plans and a new model for Revalidation.
The Future Skills Project included research that found we need to provide greater clarity on how Professional Registration is different from academic qualifications. One of the questions asked by members is “Why can’t I keep my postnominals if I leave membership?”
Professional Registration is about completing a process that demonstrates that the member has attained a certain level of professional practice - Certification, Chartership or Fellowship - and can be added to the register of practitioners that CILIP maintains under the Royal Charter. As a member being added to the register is recognition of both your achievements and your commitment to continuing professional development and the profession. Postnominals are your way of demonstrating that you are a member on that list.
You need to be a member to be on the register of Registered Practitioners and to use your postnominals.
One of the other issues identified is that at the moment our postnominals don’t neatly translate, which can create some confusion. They currently are:
This lack of clarity will be made worse as it has been decided to end the Affliates membership category and Group; as they have exactly the same status as other members.
The rebranding exercise presents an opportunity to tidy this up. It is proposed that if members vote in favour of changing the name to ‘Information and Library Professionals UK’ we will adopt the following postnominals:
We have run this past the Privy Council and in principal they have no objections with the proposals.
We believe that the new postnominals are clearer, neater and translate better.
We will be working hard to promote the value of Professional Registration to both individual members and employers over the coming months and years; no matter what the outcome of the vote is at the AGM to decide if we change our name.
Find out more about:
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Dr Phil Richards, director of IT at Loughborough University has been appointed chief innovation officer at Jisc.
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Dr Phil RichardsAll rights reserved
Prior to his role at Loughborough University Phil undertook IT roles within other academic institutions, these included head of ICT at Plymouth University and assistant director of information services at Aberystwyth University. More recently, he has become known for his novel approach to data centres: Loughborough’s ‘hybrid cloud’ model has delivered millions of pounds and hundreds of tonnes of carbon savings. It has also won plaudits including the 2012 Times Education Leadership and Management Awards ICT initiative of the year.
Phil, who has a first class honours degree in physics and a doctorate in nuclear structure physics from University of Oxford, was involved early in his career with e-learning. First as a courseware developer in physics at Cardiff University, next as an e-learning advisor working directly with academics at the University of Hull and finally as head of e-learning at King’s College London. Whilst at Hull, he obtained a postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education Teaching, leading to Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
Phil tells us:
“I am really pleased to accept the role of chief innovation officer at Jisc. I share Jisc’s passion for working together with learners, researchers, IT departments, libraries and academic leaders across the sectors to show the potential that digital technologies can have in transforming the learning and research experience. I am looking forward to getting started and seeing what we can achieve for the future of innovation.”
Martyn Harrow, chief executive of Jisc comments:
“We are delighted that Phil is joining Jisc to strengthen our senior team and pursuit of our mission to enable people in UK higher education, further education and skills to perform at the forefront of international practice by exploiting fully the possibilities of modern digital empowerment, content and connectivity.
Phil brings a wealth of knowledge of the needs of our communities and his research background and experience in ICT and e-learning. He is ideally placed to lead our digital futures directorate working with colleagues in Jisc and across the sectors to identify and carry out cutting-edge practical exploration and experimentation that can really make a difference to UK education and research”
Dr Richards will take up his appointment in November 2013.
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More Knowledge and Information Management professionals across the UK Government civil service are being encouraged to build their skills, expertise and demonstrate their professionalism by joining CILIP. The Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals is the UK's leading body representing information specialists, librarians and knowledge managers.
Government Knowledge and Information Management professionals enable the creation, organisation and exploitation of information and knowledge. Roles include Knowledge Managers, Information Architects, Records and Information Managers.
By becoming members of CILIP, KIM Professionals will have access to benefits and support that develops skills, builds knowledge and provides professional recognition. CILIP provides unity through shared values and advocates on behalf of the information professions. A special membership package has been created that includes Continuous Professional Development workshops for civil service staff. The CILIP community will benefit as new members join and bring their expertise and experience.
Annie Mauger, CILIP Chief Executive, said, “I’m delighted that UK Government is investing in the skills, expertise and professionalism of their KIM employees in this way. An effective and efficient civil service must be underpinned by good information and knowledge management. At CILIP we’re proud to be part of the government’s drive to build the capabilities of the KIM profession.”
Karen McFarlane, Government Head of Profession for KIM, said, “I am delighted with this scheme which will support the Civil Service Reform agenda by helping to strengthen KIM professionalism within Government."
-ends-
Press contact:
Mark Taylor, Director of External Relations, CILIP
Tel: 020 7255 0654
Mobile: 07792 635 305
Email: mark.taylor@cilip.org.uk
Notes to editors:
1. CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers. CILIP’s vision is a fair and economically prosperous society underpinned by literacy, access to information and the transfer of knowledge. CILIP is a registered charity, no. 313014. Visit www.cilip.org.uk for more information.
2. More about the Government KIM profession www.civilservice.gov.uk/networks/knowledge-information
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Last month many of you kindly completed a survey to provide the SE Branch with feedback about the ECLIPSE newsletter which gets produced during the year. We wrote a short report about your feedback, with a request for just a bit more feedback, via the link further down to help us move forward with creating a newsletter you wish to read.
The question we asked: The South East Branch produces a newsletter, ECLIPSE. Do you read it?
Thanks for the 65 responses. They break down like this:
Yes, I read it. It’s great = 36 = 55%
No, I don’t read it. It’s not for me = 4 = 6%
ECLIPSE. What’s that? = 14 = 22%
Other = 11 = 17%
View the pie chart here: http://infogr.am/The-South-East-Branch-produces-a-newsletter-ECLIPSE-Do-you-read-it/
Feel free to make any comments underneath the pie chart within the infographic website.
From your responses there are a few things to address, so here we go…
Fourteen of you responded with ECLIPSE. What’s that? Well, ECLIPSE is the South East branch newsletter which features news about what's going on around the region and beyond. We’re always looking for library/information related material for ECLIPSE so if you’ve something you wish to contribute then please send it our way eclipseeditor@gmail.com It could be a report of a visit you’ve been on, an example of CPD, advocacy activities, a reflective piece on a workshop you’ve delivered.
In the ‘Other’ responses we received one asked where to find ECLIPSE. Another comment was that production of ECLIPSE is infrequent. Let’s have a look at those points.
We aim to produce it in PDF format, 3 times a year and it can be downloaded from the Publications page.
Yes, we agree that while we aim to produce the newsletter 3 times a year, the timings have not been consistent. Our intention is to create an issue of ECLIPSE in spring, summer and winter. Unfortunately sometimes we’ve not been able to fulfil that due to the usual life/work things that also occupy our time.
Another couple of comments relate to inactivity in some areas of the South East Branch; namely Bucks and Kent. I’m going to go broad and then narrow down. So, the South East Branch is made up of sub-branches which pretty much do all the work in their respective areas; Sussex, Surrey, Thames Valley, Hampshire and Isle of Wight and Kent (we’ll come back to Kent).
Each sub-branch has an active committee of people organising events and meetings. In terms of where events are held, who is on the committee can often have an impact as sometimes they can use their workplace as a free venue. For Bucks though, I’m sure if you contacted the CILIP in Thames Valley crew they’d gladly work with you to organise something of interest in your area or if you want to go along to one of their regular Wednesday meetings to discuss further you’d be more than welcome. For more information on doing this take a look at the CILIP in Thames Valley webpages:
Kent is the South East Branch sob-story, so violins at the ready! Yes, you’re right, there has been little action in Kent over recent years and that’s down to the fact that there isn’t an active committee there. It’s hard for the South East Branch committee to establish this as representatives are not in or near Kent. The way things have work with the sub-branches means that there are people from those areas, with local knowledge and connections which makes things much more relevant, easier to organise and manage. That said, we know there are people in Kent that would like to get things going there and I know that there is a working group of representatives from the South East Branch committee that are looking to help make things happen. If you are in Kent and would like to be part of the CILIP in Kent revival then please get in touch ebulletinse@gmail.com
The last couple of ‘Other’ comments relate to the content of ECLIPSE in that it’s not relevant or of interest to them and this leads nicely on to the next stage of our investigations. We’d like to know what you want from the South East Branch newsletter not only in content but also in format. So, here are the next round of questions, only a few, by answering them you’re shaping your newsletter. In addition to this we’re doing a scan of what other branches and groups are doing for their newsletters so we’ll pull it all together and summarise in the coming ebulletins.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1XUvPjU1cBkYfg16ziROM8YzoyXUqb19apgkbhuLLdsg/viewform
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Local Studies North West will be holding a study day for Black History Month on Friday 25th October in Preston.
On Monday 11th November (4 pm-6.30 pm) there will be a joint networking event with the Archives & Records Association North West at the revamped Liverpool Central Library. Publicity for these events will come out in due course but you can contact andrew.walmsley@lancashire.gov if you'd like to be emailed with details.
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The Secretary and the Web Editor of the Local Studies Group are standing down from the committee at the end of 2013. We also need someone to take on the roles of editor of the Local Studies Group blog and chief tweeter for @CILIP_LSG.
If you're a member of the Local Studies Group and are interested in joining the committee in any of these roles, please contact the Secretary, Helen Pye-Smith.
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If you are currently undertaking or thinking of doing a CILIP chartership progrmme, this meeting is for you. Come along and meet others doing the chartership programme, and talk to more experienced colleagues who have successfully chartered, in the informal surroundings of the Kings Arms pub in Oxford. We will meet from 6.30, for a 7.00pm start.
The Kings Arms is in the heart of Oxford City Centre, directly opposite the New Bodleian Library on the corner of Broad Street, Holywell Street and Parks Road.
Please book to let us know you will be attending.
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