I’m sure that you’ll all be aware that the Prime Minster recently made a speech on July 22nd 2013 about ‘cracking down on online pornography and making the internet safer for children.’  It’s worth reading the entire speech if you have time, because he says quite a lot that hasn’t been covered in any detail by the mass media.

I don’t think that it’s helpful for him to conflate three very different issues – child abuse images, legal pornography and extreme pornography. However he has, so I’ll take each of the issues in turn.

Child abuse images

These are of course entirely abhorrent and illegal to view or possess. Each image is its own crime scene and the staff at the Internet Watch Foundation are doing their best to find these images and pass the information they get onto the police. Search engines are also working hard to remove these images and block sites when they find them, and Google for example has said that it has a zero tolerance towards these images. There is an agreement with Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! to deter people searching for these images, but the nature of the campaign is secret, which is rather confusing.

People will be advised about ambiguous searches, so a search on ‘child sex’ should ask if a search on sex education or child gender is being referred to. There is also supposed to be a blacklist of ‘abhorrent terms’ “where there could be no doubt about the sick and malevolent intent of the searcher” (to quote the Prime Minister) – when no search results should be returned. CEOP, the Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre will apparently provide a list of these. In all honesty, I cannot think of what terms those may be – I don’t think that it’s because I’m being particularly naive, but any term can mean a number of different things. I’m perhaps being pedantic here, but the Prime Minster spoke of ‘terms’, not ‘phrases’ which perhaps would make more sense. I would question the value of such a list; as we all know terminology changes remarkably quickly and while a list gives some measure of illusory safety it cannot help in cases where new terms are invented and used. It’s very worrying when we are in a situation that words themselves are essentially criminalised. We also need to remember that words are culturally bound, so what may be a terrible term in the UK may mean something entirely different in another part of the world.  However, if such a list is going to exist and is implemented by Government the terms on the list need to be published to ensure transparency and allow challenge. Otherwise curious people are going to go off and see if they can find them, which is the exact opposite of what the Prime Minister wants to happen.

Having said all of that I think it’s fair to say that all sensible people will support proportionate action to apprehend and prosecute creators and/or possessors of child abuse images. Already child abuse content hosted in the UK is down from 18% of global total in 1996 to less than 1% in 2013 (although the pedant in me is saying ‘known content’) which is a good thing, but surely this needs to be dealt with at a government to government level to deter people in other countries producing this material.

CILIP is keen to work with the many different Government departments such as the DCMS, Education, BIS, Communities, Local Government and so on to further limit the creation and spread of this material. I have also written to the IWF to see if there is value in meeting with them in order to consider any ways that we can work together. Of course, all libraries need to be involved in this work, but some more than others. The staff in public libraries could, and should be trained to help people use the internet more effectively, whether it’s searching, evaluating content, making choices, even applying filters on their own machines if that’s what they want to do; librarians have a key role in supporting and improving information literacy.

Legal pornography

The major part of the Prime Minister’s speech and proposals deals with how people can view legal pornography. The big 6 providers of public wi-fi (covering 90% of provision) have agreed to apply “family friendly” filters across public wi-fi network wherever children likely to be present. From end of 2013 all new home broadband accounts will have default family friendly filtering unless an adult decides to specific opt-out. All devices connected to one internet account will be covered, so that means all home devices going through the household router. The account holder must be an adult and only the account holder can change settings. I have no idea how that is supposed to work, since unless the ISP has a physical copy of your image and you change the settings via webcam confirmation for example, a child could easily get hold of the password or credit card details if they were so inclined.  There is a secondary question here which is that if a parent wishes to view pornographic material, they will have to chose to opt into a system, as there doesn’t appear to be any proposal or suggestion as to how a household can both see and not see pornography. (The answer of course is to put individual filters onto each machine in turn, which would seem to be an adult and sensible course of action.)

There is another issue here which is confusing – if the adult is to be the person responsible for setting a filter or for turning it off, wouldn’t it be more logical to simply provide the adult with the information they need and let them make up their own mind, rather than having a default already set. There is clearly a need to educate parents, and indeed all adults about the issues surrounding the safety of children online, and what better place to do this than in a library by a trained librarian?

All other 19 million existing broadband customers will be contacted by the end of 2014 to specifically decide if they wish a filter to be turned on or off.

We also have to question the efficacy of filtering programmes since they can never catch all dubious material (and I should know, as I have spent considerable time testing child friendly search engines, and I have yet to find one that’s really effective). They also censor the good content, giving a false sense of security and can encourage complacency. We see this all of the time; just because people have virus software installed it doesn’t mean that they won’t get a virus.

As a profession we are in favour of promoting access to information whenever possible, and not installing barriers against access to legally available material, even when we may personally find it unpleasant. The use of filters on library terminals, including those in public libraries is not something to to be encouraged, but obviously in reality many libraries (as do other organisations) filter internet content as they are part of a local authority, and may have no direct control over the parameters of access. There is currently a project taking place at Loughborough University – MAIPLE; Managing Access to the Internet in Public Libraries that both John Dolan and Guy Daines are involved with, and I will be interested to see its conclusions.

However, if filtering is to be promoted more generally at the very least there should be an independent research programme looking at the effectiveness of filtering and publicly reporting on it. We should not rely only on feedback of parents gleaned by UK Council for Child Internet Safety. Everybody should have a right to know when information is filtered and there should be statements to this effect at every terminal or on each use of library computers  detailing filtering used. As suggested earlier the filters used should be the subject of independent research as to their efficacy and impact.

There is also an issue over sites that include both non-pornographic and pornographic material, such as Flickr, a popular photograph sharing website. If people have to opt in to see pornography it’s reasonable to assume that such sites are going to be blocked from normal every day use for people sharing perfectly innocent images with their friends and families. Indeed, since we don’t actually know what ‘pornography’ really means, a whole host of websites could conceivably fall into the same category.

Once again, it would seem that the best approach is education. People need to understand exactly what is involved, and rather than attempt the simplicity of an on/off switch which can in any event never work properly, they should be given the opportunity to make informed decisions. Trained librarians who have no political or commercial bias are in an excellent position to provide information on filtering systems and ways that parents can keep their children safe. Protecting both our children AND our liberty is of vital importance, but it cannot be done on the cheap; trained professional librarians are an obvious way forward.

Simulated rape

The Prime Minister also stated that he wanted to make it a criminal offence to possess pornographic images depicting simulated rape. One has to suppose that would also include films that are freely available at the moment, and which – having had a rating – are perfectly legal. Again, since we don’t know exactly what ‘pornographic’ means in this context this could potentially include films such as Straw Dogs or A Clockwork Orange. Confusingly however, the Prime Minister is quoted as saying ‘what you can’t get in a shop you will no longer to be able to get online’, which is the exact opposite of what may happen here. Our major concern at this point is that organisations may wish to play it safe and not stock such material even though it’s legal, which leads to stricter self censorship than is necessary. Furthermore, if depictions are to be deemed illegal sites that include such material would also be blocked in the opt-in system. This would have to logically include Facebook which has some really rather nasty groups that they chose not to remove, or only do so under extreme pressure, access to the BBC iPlayer, film sites such as LoveFilm and Netflicks and so on. Now, you may feel that I am being too pedantic, but unfortunately with statements from the Prime Minister which are vague and contradictory it’s left to the rest of us to try and work out what he means and to point out inconsistencies.

Points that need clarification

As mentioned above, we need a much clearer definition of exactly what pornography means because without it there will be an inconsistency in approach, with people unclear as to exactly what is acceptable and what isn’t. This, of course, has always been the case. Most famously it includes the Lady Chatterly’s Lover case prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act (see, for instance: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisda...).

Any definition is likely to entail subjective judgement and be open to dispute. It can be added to filtering and banned key terms as another area of inexactitude and not doing the job effectively.

When people choose to opt-in, which they may wish to do for many reasons, not just because they want the option of choosing to view certain material, what will happen to this list? Will it be compiled into one overall list? What assurances can people have that such a list will not be used for other uses? Who will have access to it? How will it be kept secure?

Are ISPs going to work from one list of sites, or are they expected to create their own, which again leads to inconsistency in approach. If they are to use one list, who is to supply it, under what conditions, who can view it, and what rules will be put into place to challenge their decisions? This is going to have to be done on a case by case basis, since a computer is as yet unable to do it. Who is to pay for this increased work, and if it is the ISPs themselves, does this mean that the cost of subscriptions to their services will increase? Since thousands of new website domains are registered every day a blacklist (and it’s difficult not to use such terminology) will still not work. This in turn will lead to people believing that their systems are safe and pornography free, which is far from the case, even if they choose to opt-out of the system.

If a list of search terms or phrases is to be compiled, who will have access to it, and what assurances do we have that future governments will not be able to add in other terms that match their own political agendas?

Digital literacy

It’s quite clear that there are a lot of issues that have not yet been thought through properly, and many questions have yet to be asked. While I don’t have a solution to the issue (because I don’t think that there’s one that will satisfy everyone) there are things which can be done. We should welcome educational initiatives that give parents more information about how to protect their children. Instead of the state attempting to block pornographic content greater emphasis needs to be put onto information and digital literacy programmes. This should be considered an essential part of the Digital by Default programme. Libraries, especially public libraries should be properly funded to provide this across the UK.

As part of its information literacy project CILIP has been discussing digital inclusion and participation with the Carnegie Trust UK and this work is planned to continue. This will include a Digital Participation Summit towards the end of 2013. Everyone in the country deserves to have safe and effective digital participation and our professional community can contribute greatly towards a national education and skilling programme. Scotland and Wales are already well advanced in this with their own respective national information literacy strategies, and we need to build on their excellent work.

Knowledgeable and skilled human beings; both adults and children, need to be aware of the risks and opportunities that the internet brings, and this can only be achieved through education and training, not by Government blocks on legally available material.

The August edition of South Western News is now available to download from the Newsletter page.

Includes articles about Umbrella 2013 and the recent Chartership course in Plymouth.

It’s not too late to enter your successful publicity campaign for the 2013 Marketing Excellence Awards – the deadline has been extended from 31 July to midnight on Tuesday 6 August. Hurry and get your entry in now!

• Marketing Excellence Awards

HLISD is live and constantly updated at www.hlisd.org.    

If you have been helped, inspired and guided by a mentor who has had a positive impact on your personal and professional development, you can now nominate them for 2013 CILIP Mentor of the Year Award.

Advice, support and having a critical friend can make a real difference to your career, from applying for your first job, to taking high-level strategic decisions. The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) mentor scheme also gives those further in their careers the chance to shape their sector and share their wisdom.

As the leading voice of the library and information profession, we are looking to highlight the dedication of those who give their time and knowledge to help others develop.

In a CILIP Mentor of the Year we are looking for somebody:

• Approachable and accessible.
• Committed to aiding personal development.
• Who values and respects their mentees’ professional views.
• Willing to share the breadth of professional knowledge and understanding they have gained from their experiences across the library and information community.
• Helping their mentee to develop the confidence to understand and deal with professional challenges.

All nominees must be current CILIP members, CILIP registered mentors and working with at least one professional registration candidate/candidate working towards Certification, Chartered Membership, Fellowship and Revalidation.

Phil Bradley, CILIP President said:

“Ours is a unique and brilliant profession, but it can be tough to get started in and difficult to navigate once there. The CILIP mentoring scheme is one of the best things that we can do as professionals. It not only helps the sector through the sharing of knowledge and the building of a confident and competent workforce but it also feels great to see somebody develop and grow. I am delighted that the CILIP Mentor of the Year Award is celebrating some of the sector’s un-sung heroes and would urge anyone lucky enough to have a great mentor to nominate them.”

Gil Young, winner of the first ever CILIP Mentor of the Year Award said:

"I was at work when I received the call to tell me that I had won the award. I was thrilled but rather overwhelmed as well. The person who had nominated me was an absolute pleasure to mentor and I genuinely feel that I learnt a lot from her. It was an example of the mentoring relationship at it best with us both getting lots out of it."

Those wishing to nominate their mentor can by writing in 500 words or less on how their mentor meets the criteria above. Entries must be received no later than 6th September 2013.

• Nominate a mentor 
• Further information about the award 

The winner of the CILIP Mentor of the Year Award will be announced at the CILIP AGM in Birmingham on 21st September 2013.

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Media contact: 
Aaron Hussey
Communications & Campaigns Manager
CILIP: The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
Email: aaron.hussey@cilip.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7255 0653

Notes to the editor:
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.

The English-Speaking Union (ESU) and CILIP are delighted to announce Kirsten McCormick as the recipient of this year’s Travelling Librarian Award.

The award, open to CILIP Members, builds the relationship between library and information professionals in the United Kingdom and their counterparts in the United States and across the Commonwealth. The recipient completes a 2-3 week study tour to examine a subject of professional interest, in order to share learnings and good practice with colleagues at home and abroad. For the first time in its history, in 2013 the annual award is open to applications from UK librarians to visit any country in the Commonwealth.

Kirsten McCormick is the General Services Librarian at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. In 2014 the city will host its first ever Commonwealth Games, with Glasgow Life and Glasgow Libraries working on the cultural programme in the lead up to and during the games. Kirsten will use her award to complete a tour of Australia’s key libraries and archives in October 2013 to learn about the process of building and maintaining collections around an international sporting event. On Kirsten’s return, she hopes that her findings will assist Glasgow libraries in designing activities around the Games that focus on reader development, education, and engagement across the community.  

Highlights of Kirsten’s tour will include the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, the Australian Sports Commission in Canberra, and the University of Technology in Sydney.  Kirsten looks forward to meeting with a broad range of library professionals, and enjoying the hospitality of branches of ESU Australia.

Kirsten McCormick says:

“The Travelling Librarian Award offers a unique opportunity to visit the libraries and archives of Australia with its rich Commonwealth sporting history. I hope to gain a wealth of information and first-hand experiences to share with colleagues in libraries and museums back home”

Phil Bradley, CILIP President says:

“Around the globe, colleagues are redefining what it means to be a librarian in the 21st Century and it is vital that we look beyond traditional borders to search out best practise wherever it exists. That is what makes the Travelling Librarian Award so special and important. I wish Kirsten the very best of luck on her trip and look forward to hearing all about her discoveries.”

Mary Greer, ESU, says:

“Kirsten’s research is the perfect example of how professionals across the world strive to learn from one another. English is a tool for communication that brings people together and allows for the sharing of ideas and best practice. We look forward to seeing how Kirsten applies her learnings from Australia to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014”

The Travelling Librarian Award is sponsored by the ESU and CILIP, and run by the ESU’s International Headquarters at Dartmouth House in London. For more information, please visit www.esu.org/travellinglibrarian or contact education@esu.org.

Joy Court has been confirmed as Chair of the Working Party for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals. The Working Party co-ordinates and organises the awards and accompanying shadowing scheme. It includes representatives from CILIP’s Youth Libraries Group, School Libraries Group and CILIP staff. Joy has been involved in the awards as a Judge, Chair of Judges, Chair of the Youth Libraries Group and National Co-ordinator. 

Joy said, “I am absolutely delighted and greatly honoured to be offered this role. Having experienced every aspect of the awards process I am very well aware of the huge amount of personal commitment that so many people devote to making the  judging, awarding of the medals and the shadowing scheme such a high profile success each year. This can only be maintained by a constant vigilance on standards and reviewing processes by the Working Party, and as Chair of that group it will be my responsibility to ensure that this happens. I have had a wonderful role model in the previous Chair Angela McNally and will do my very best to fill the considerable gap she leaves behind.”

The Carnegie Medal is the UK’s oldest children’s book awards, established in 1936. The Kate Greenaway Medal was established in 1955, for distinguished illustration in a book for children. The Medals are awarded by judging panel of children's and youth librarians.

The shadowing scheme engages thousands of children and young people through local groups to read and engage with the books on the shortlist every year. Over ten thousand reviews are posted each year and the shadowing website evolves, using creative responses through blogs, videos and creating homepages to interest and engage young people with amazing books, authors and illustrators.

Joy continued, “The Medals have a long and distinguished heritage, but it is not enough simply to rest on those laurels, we have to keep abreast of developments in publishing, librarianship and education to ensure that they retain their prestige and relevance. We also have to ensure that shadowing continues to grow and is recognised as a powerful tool to promote reading for pleasure. We must also ensure that we maximise the opportunities of these high profile activities to publicise the vital work of children’s librarians in schools and public libraries. I believe that the huge body of work behind these medals represents the very pinnacle of our professionalism and expertise, which is something well worth shouting about and I really relish the opportunity to do so.” 

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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. Attached images are of Joy Court and the CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals logo.

2.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.

Today on the 8th July at a General Meeting of CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals a majority of members voted against the motion that proposed the organisation halt a rebranding project.

John Dolan, Chair of Council said:

“The purpose of this meeting was to provide Council with advice about the proposal to rebrand CILIP. While I am delighted that a majority of members have agreed that the rebranding project continues I acknowledge the concerns that members have raised. The profession is going through a time of huge change and so is CILIP. We are reviewing everything we do to ensure that it has value for members and that in such a changing environment, we can support and equip our members and make a strong advocacy case for their contribution to society. The rebranding is a part of a bigger strategic programme to make sure we appeal to the breadth of the library, information and knowledge professions. Individual members will be able to vote to keep CILIP or adopt the new brand at the AGM in Birmingham Central Library on Saturday 21st September. Members can vote at the meeting or if they can’t attend by proxy. After the AGM, if the name change is agreed, we will test and present the alternative visuals.”

The General Meeting on the 8th July in London was called to discuss the motion:

“This General Meeting believes the current rebranding exercise should be halted, believing it to be a distraction from the urgent tasks of advocacy for the profession, and a waste of scarce resources.”

Votes cast at the General Meeting were combined with proxy votes. 752 were in favour of the motion, 804 were against and 16 abstained. The General Meeting was chaired by CILIP President Phil Bradley and over 94 members attended.

The General Meeting began with a statement proposing the motion by CILIP member Tom Toper, followed by a statement opposing the motion by Chair of Council John Dolan. Members attending the meeting were then invited to make comments and ask questions. After final comments by Tom Roper and John Dolan the vote was counted and confirmed by the Chair of the meeting. The vote was verified by members of the Elections Panel.

Details about the rebranding project: www.cilip.org.uk/rebrand

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*This has been changed to reflect that the visuals for the new branding will be presented after the AGM, if the new name is agreed by members, rather than over the summer – as originally stated.

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:

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.

In a session entitled ‘Where does the internet end and the library begin?’ Rebecca Bartlett, Innovation Manager at the Library of Birmingham; Ben Lewis, Director of the documentary 'Google and the World Brain'; and Creative Director of Running in the Halls Shay Moradi gave their interpretations. Ben Lewis talked about how Google’s attempts to digitise the world’s collection of books is less about unlocking the content for people to use, and more about unlocking it for Google’s own algorithms. However the by-product of Google’s apparent desire to harness the knowledge contained in the books has the benefit of making them freely available.

Gamification and games featured in the debate with both Shay and Rebecca talking through examples of how game play can be used to increase interactions within libraries. Shay’s Running in the Halls company develops apps and games and has a number of library specific tools that bring an element of competition to users. Lemontree, for academic libraries, and the soon to be released public library version, Orangetree, both utilise social media to push people towards increasing their library use. According to Shay, both tools follow the ‘nudge’ model, using subtle gamification to gently guide people into changing their behaviours. He said: ‘Gamification is about making things more interesting by introducing gaming elements.'

He pointed to a range of popular examples where gamification is utilised to some extent, including Nike+ and supermarket loyalty cards where users collect points for rewards. He said that both Lemontree and Orangetree provide users with virtual incentives to carry out functions such as taking out a book or visiting a library, and early research shows it is having a positive effect. Progress can be shown to friends through the interface or via social media including Facebook. At the Library of Birmingham Rebecca has taken the idea of gamification to another level. Less about ‘subtle gamification’ the library is set to introduce a full blown game that puts users in the role of library curator. They are able to create a virtual library using content from the library’s collections. She said this was blurring the lines between physical footfall and people gaining virtual access to collections, adding: ‘We’re having conversations about that digital experience being as valid as the physical experience.’ The work at Birmingham Library is very much user focussed and includes apps that help unlock collections and knowledge of library staff. Users are also being used to help archiving through crowd-sourcing initiatives on the internet, giving people real ownership of local collections.

Judges for the prestigious CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award have rewarded Surrey County Council for their innovative project ‘Domestic abuse -how Surrey libraries can help’.

Now in its 22nd year, the ceremony, organised annually by The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), took place this year at Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) as part CILIP’s flagship conference, Umbrella 2013. The winners were presented with their trophy and a cheque for £4000 by broadcast journalist Fi Glover.

With their award-winning project, Surrey County Council Libraries offers support and guidance to those experiencing domestic abuse and to survivors of domestic abuse, providing vital information and resources in a safe environment. They help those who have experienced sexual, emotional, physical, financial and violent abuse, forced marriage and genital mutilation. They also work with frontline domestic abuse professionals to support their work and jointly develop services to increase awareness throughout the Surrey population of the scale of domestic abuse in the county.

Highlights of Surrey County Council Libraries work includes:

• Information through specialised book stock, covering all aspects of domestic abuse, dispersed across the county for discretion as well as ease of reservation, and dedicated web pages and signposting to other local and national services.
• Events  for residents experiencing domestic abuse, including self-esteem workshops, poetry sessions run with a local survivors support group, and a poetry and art session run with the local youth support group service.
• A domestic abuse survivors reading group.
• ebook readers and ebook downloading training for refuge residents.
• Awareness of the services offered to those experiencing or who have experienced domestic abuse and the professionals working with them, forging links between the library service with the police, borough and district councils, Crimestoppers and the Surrey and Sussex Probation Service.
• Increasing awareness of domestic abuse amongst County Council staff.

Craig Jones, Stream Lead (Health and Wellbeing), Surrey County Council:

“We are thrilled to be given this prestigious award. For us it is a privilege to be working with both professionals in this field and survivors who have had the courage to seek help. We are grateful that they have let us into their world and given us the opportunity of showing the relevance of library services.  Working together to provide support can help empower people in a world of shrinking resources. We hope that by continuing to develop our services we will be able to create a greater awareness of the issues and to contribute in some small way to the aim of decreasing such abuse.“

Philip Wark, Chair of Judges, CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award tells:

“I am delighted that the Surrey County Council Libraries has been awarded this year’s CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award. Despite the increasing pressures placed upon them, our public libraries are still doing vital work and making a real difference. With their dedicated staff, libraries are trusted, safe and much-needed public spaces. Domestic abuse is often ignored or overlooked but that has to stop. This is a very powerful example of how librarians are helping those who need it the most. This really is a fantastic project and one that could and should be replicated across the country. Congratulations to all involved.”

Press contact:

Aaron Hussey

Communications and Campaigns Manager, CILIP

Tel: 020 7255 0653 Mob: 07867 455 070

Email: aaron.hussey@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. The three shortlisted projects were:

Dementia Friendly Libraries in Kent

Kent County Council Libraries, Registration and Archives

In partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia UK, Age Concern and others, Kent County Council, Registration and Archives have developed an innovative offer to help people living with dementia and their carers. These include their ‘Read Aloud’ and ‘Pictures to Share’ sessions, helping to stimulate memory and provide enjoyment. They have worked with Kent Gateways to develop a substantial library offer, to provide information and signposting, to train staff and volunteers and to raise awareness of dementia in Kent and beyond.

Domestic Abuse – How Surrey libraries can help

Surrey County Council Libraries

Surrey County Council Libraries offers supporter and guidance to victims and survivors of domestic abuse, providing vital information and resources in a safe environment. They help those who have experienced sexual, emotion, physical, financial and violent, forced marriage and genital mutilation. They also work with domestic abuse professionals working with people involved in these situations. Additionally, they are increasing awareness throughout the Surrey population of the scale of domestic abuse in the county.

Reading and You

Kirklees Libraries and Information Centres

Bibliotherapy is the use of fiction and poetry to support and increase positive outcomes for people with mental health and wellbeing issues. Reading and You works in libraries, hospitals and community organisation's premises to highlight the value of reading and libraries to inspire and engage with those who may be difficult to reach due to mental ill health. They help those suffering from depression, bi-polar disorder, psychoses such as schizophrenia, dementia and people with drug and alcohol addiction.

Janice trained as a lawyer but has never practised law and says her career has never been defined by the title. Instead it is the skills she learned that have helped her secure roles in a variety of seemingly unconnected arenas – including a stint at the White House as one of Bill Clinton’s inner circle. This acceptance that job title or degree need not be the defining elements of a career is something she urged delegates to take on board.

In a time where jobs are increasingly difficult to come by, Janice pointed out that expertise is a commodity that is always at a premium. Library and information professionals possess vast quantities of expertise and Janice believes that pushing this will help open up a new world of opportunities outside traditional sectors.

Janice’s message focussed on the need for librarians to not only promote the services they are providing within an organisation. She said they must go further and show how the skills they are using meet the needs of organisation and senior leaders. Research and analytical skills that can unlock the value of information are just two areas where traditional library skills can bring about benefits that demonstrate return of investment. She said library and information workers have to think like executives to go beyond the retrieval of information and facts and to look at ways of interpreting them to add value.

Her argument was that the jobs of the future will not necessarily be in a traditional library setting and that the profession needs to look at how skills can be transferred and used elsewhere. Key to that is showing potential employers what those skills will bring to a role and how that will then improve the organisation.

‘If you think of yourself in terms of your degree or job title it will limit your opportunities.’ said Janice. ‘Align your role with the organisation and specifically with the senior executives. Look at the organisation’s needs and weaknesses and look at leaders’ goals. If you adopt this mindset you will become more integral to the success of the organisation, not just your team or department.’

She ended the keynote with three pieces of advice – look for opportunity where you wouldn’t normally look; take risks that stretch your abilities; and believe you can make a difference, not just a living.

She added that employers also have a responsibility to change the way they recruit – focussing on ability and potential rather than experience. Job roles are constantly evolving and employers would be better to attract staff who have the skills and potential to evolve with them.

The Government has just published the outcomes of its Spending Review 2013, setting out its public expenditure plans and capital investment programme. We are facing a continuing period of austerity with a further £11.5 billion of savings in 2015/16 on top of the £81 billion to be achieved from 2011/12 to 2014/15. The expenditure reductions are on top of those already set out in the Comprehensive Spending Review in 2010 and subsequent budgets and autumn statements.

Major areas of expenditure – health, international aid, schools and security services – continue to be protected but this means heavier reductions for all other areas of up to 10% in 2015/16 rather than the average 3% cut overall.

Library and information services across all of the public sector are bound to be adversely impacted by these cuts although the detail will not emerge until much later as decisions are made by organisations, bodies and local authorities. In the case of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland this process will be even longer as the governments in those nations determine how they will address the 2% reductions in their grants from Whitehall.

Cutbacks and radical change are taking place already in library and information services across the public sector. In Government major changes are taking place to library and information services as part of the civil service reform programme – there will be overall cuts of 40% in the costs of running government departments between 2010 and 2016. In NHS (England), a protected budget, £20 billion savings are expected from administration and management and this includes library and knowledge services. Both evidence-based policy-making and evidence-based healthcare rely on properly resourced and managed information services and it is vital that the emerging new structures in government and the NHS provide this.

The future of public libraries has been the focus of intense national and local debate. Public libraries have fared worse than most other local government services under the first two years (2011/12 and 2012/13) of the 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review and commentators predict this will continue throughout the remaining period of austerity. The public library network is a national service that greatly contributes to literacy, learning, skills and employment, citizen engagement and individual and community wellbeing. It is in danger of dismantlement.

“This is grim news” commented John Dolan, Chair of CILIP Council. “There is practically no good news in the Spending Review, although we welcome the protection of the science budget; hopefully this will be reflected in the budgets of university and other libraries that support scientific research and learning. Similarly it’s essential that the new free schools have school libraries and librarians at their heart. Further cuts in grants to Councils are especially unwelcome and the likely impact on public libraries very concerning. We call yet again for national and local political leadership to ensure the public library service is sustainable for the fair and prosperous society that we need. It’s extremely remiss that, unlike in Wales and a growing number of other countries, England does not have a national library strategy embracing libraries and information services in all sectors that optimises the social and economic benefits for the country.”

-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:

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.

• Roly Keating, Chief Executive of the British Library.
• Geoff White, Technology Producer, Channel 4 News TV, ITN.
• Jonathan Bamford, Head of Strategic Liaison, Information Commissioner’s Office.
• Janice Lachance, CEO, Special Libraries Association International.
• Ben Lewis, award-winning documentary film maker whose work includes 'Google and the World Brain'.

• The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan, Bloomsbury
• A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle, Marion Lloyd Books
• Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Hot Key Books
• In Darkness by Nick Lake, Bloomsbury
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio, Bodley Head
• Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick, Indigo
• A Boy and a Bear in a Boat by Dave Shelton, David Fickling Books
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Electric Monkey

• Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb, Macmillan Children's Books
• Again! by Emily Gravett, Macmillan Children's Books
• Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton, Walker Books
• I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, Walker Books
• Pirates ‘n’ Pistols by Chris Mould, Hodder Children's Books
• King Jack and the Dragon by Helen Oxenbury (illustrator) and Peter Bently (author), Puffin Books
• Black Dog by Levi Pinfold, Templar Publishing
• Just Ducks! by Salvatore Rubbino (illustrator) and Nicola Davies (author), Walker Books

• 2012 Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls, Walker Books
• 2011 Patrick Ness, Monsters of Men, Walker Books
• 2010 Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book, Bloomsbury
• 2009 Siobhan Dowd, Bog Child, David Fickling
• 2008 Philip Reeve, Here Lies Arthur, Scholastic
• 2007 Meg Rosoff, Just in Case, Penguin
• 2005 Mal Peet, Tamar, Walker Books
• 2004 Frank Cottrell Boyce, Millions, Macmillan
• 2003 Jennifer Donnelly, A Gathering Light, Bloomsbury Children's Books
• 2002 Sharon Creech, Ruby Holler, Bloomsbury Children's Books
• 2001 Terry Pratchett, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, Doubleday
• 2000 Beverley Naidoo, The Other Side of Truth, Puffin
• 1999 Aidan Chambers, Postcards From No Man's Land, Bodley Head
• 1998 David Almond, Skellig, Hodder Children's Books
• 1997 Tim Bowler, River Boy, OUP
• 1996 Melvin Burgess, Junk, Andersen Press
• 1995 Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials: Book 1 Northern Lights, Scholastic
• 1994 Theresa Breslin, Whispers in the Graveyard, Methuen
• 1993 Robert Swindells, Stone Cold, H Hamilton
• 1992 Anne Fine, Flour Babies, H Hamilton
• 1991 Berlie Doherty, Dear Nobody, H Hamilton
• 1990 Gillian Cross, Wolf, OUP
• 1989 Anne Fine, Goggle-eyes, H Hamilton
• 1988 Geraldine McCaughrean, A Pack of Lies, OUP
• 1987 Susan Price, The Ghost Drum, Faber
• 1986 Berlie Doherty, Granny was a Buffer Girl, Methuen
• 1985 Kevin Crossley-Holland, Storm, Heinemann
• 1984 Margaret Mahy, The Changeover, Dent
• 1983 Jan Mark, Handles, Kestrel
• 1982 Margaret Mahy, The Haunting, Dent
• 1981 Robert Westall, The Scarecrows, Chatto & Windus
• 1980 Peter Dickinson, City of Gold, Gollancz
• 1979 Peter Dickinson, Tulku, Gollancz
• 1978 David Rees, The Exeter Blitz, H Hamilton
• 1977 Gene Kemp, The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler, Faber
• 1976 Jan Mark, Thunder and Lightnings, Kestrel
• 1975 Robert Westall, The Machine Gunners, Macmillan
• 1974 Mollie Hunter, The Stronghold, H Hamilton
• 1973 Penelope Lively, The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, Heinemann
• 1972 Richard Adams, Watership Down, Rex Collings
• 1971 Ivan Southall, Josh, Angus & Robertson
• 1970 Leon Garfield & Edward Blishen, The God Beneath the Sea, Longman
• 1969 Kathleen Peyton, The Edge of the Cloud, OUP
• 1968 Rosemary Harris, The Moon in the Cloud, Faber
• 1967 Alan Garner, The Owl Service, Collins
• 1966 Prize withheld as no book considered suitable
• 1965 Philip Turner, The Grange at High Force, OUP
• 1964 Sheena Porter, Nordy Bank, OUP
• 1963 Hester Burton, Time of Trial, OUP
• 1962 Pauline Clarke, The Twelve and the Genii, Faber
• 1961 Lucy M Boston, A Stranger at Green Knowe, Faber
• 1960 Dr I W Cornwall, The Making of Man, Phoenix House
• 1959 Rosemary Sutcliff, The Lantern Bearers, OUP
• 1958 Philippa Pearce, Tom's Midnight Garden, OUP
• 1957 William Mayne, A Grass Rope, OUP
• 1956 C S Lewis, The Last Battle, Bodley Head
• 1955 Eleanor Farjeon, The Little Bookroom, OUP
• 1954 Ronald Welch (Felton Ronald Oliver), Knight Crusader, OUP
• 1953 Edward Osmond, A Valley Grows Up, OUP
• 1952 Mary Norton, The Borrowers, Dent
• 1951 Cynthia Harnett, The Woolpack, Methuen
• 1950 Elfrida Vipont Foulds, The Lark on the Wing, OUP
• 1949 Agnes Allen, The Story of Your Home, Faber
• 1948 Richard Armstrong, Sea Change, Dent
• 1947 Walter De La Mare, Collected Stories for Children, Faber
• 1946 Elizabeth Goudge, The Little White Horse, University of London Press
• 1945 Prize withheld as no book considered suitable
• 1944 Eric Linklater, The Wind on the Moon, Macmillan
• 1943 Prize withheld as no book considered suitable
• 1942 'BB' (D J Watkins-Pitchford), The Little Grey Men, Eyre & Spottiswoode
• 1941 Mary Treadgold, We Couldn't Leave Dinah, Cape
• 1940 Kitty Barne, Visitors from London, Dent
• 1939 Eleanor Doorly, Radium Woman, Heinemann
• 1938 Noel Streatfeild, The Circus is Coming, Dent
• 1937 Eve Garnett, The Family from One End Street, Muller
• 1936 Arthur Ransome, Pigeon Post, Cape

• 2012 Jim Kay, A Monster Calls, Walker Books
• 2011 Grahame Baker-Smith, FArTHER, Templar
• 2010 Freya Blackwood, Harry & Hopper, Scholastic
• 2009 Catherine Rayner, Harris Find His Feet, Little Tiger Press
• 2008 Emily Gravett, Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears, Macmillan
• 2007 Mini Grey, The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon, Jonathan Cape
• 2005 Emily Gravett, Wolves, Macmillan
• 2004 Chris Riddell, Jonathan Swift's “Gulliver”, Walker
• 2003 Shirley Hughes, Ella's Big Chance, The Bodley Head
• 2002 Bob Graham, Jethro Byrde- Fairy Child, Walker Books
• 2001 Chris Riddell, Pirate Diary, Walker Books
• 2000 Lauren Child, I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato, Orchard Books
• 1999 Helen Oxenbury, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Walker Books
• 1998 Helen Cooper, Pumpkin Soup, Doubleday
• 1997 P J Lynch, When Jessie Came Across the Sea, Walker Books
• 1996 Helen Cooper, The Baby Who Wouldn't Go To Bed, Doubleday
• 1995 P J Lynch, The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, Walker Books
• 1994 Gregory Rogers, Way Home, Andersen Press
• 1993 Alan Lee, Black Ships Before Troy, Frances Lincoln
• 1992 Anthony Browne, Zoo, Julia MacRae
• 1991 Janet Ahlberg, The Jolly Christmas Postman, Heinemann
• 1990 Gary Blythe, The Whales' Song, Hutchinson
• 1989 Michael Foreman, War Boy: a Country Childhood, Pavilion
• 1988 Barbara Firth, Can't You Sleep Little Bear?, Walker Books
• 1987 Adrienne Kennaway, Crafty Chameleon, Hodder & Stoughton
• 1986 Fiona French, Snow White in New York, OUP
• 1985 Juan Wijngaard, Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady, Walker Books
• 1984 Errol Le Cain, Hiawatha's Childhood, Faber
• 1983 Anthony Browne, Gorilla, Julia MacRae
• 1982 Michael Foreman, Long Neck and Thunder Foot and Sleeping Beauty and Other Favourite Fairy Tales, Kestrel and Gollancz
• 1981 Charles Keeping, The Highwayman, OUP
• 1980 Quentin Blake, Mr Magnolia, Cape
• 1979 Jan Pienkowski, The Haunted House, Heinemann
• 1978 Janet Ahlberg, Each Peach Pear Plum, Kestrel
• 1977 Shirley Hughes, Dogger, Bodley Head
• 1976 Gail E Haley, The Post Office Cat, Bodley Head
• 1975 Victor Ambrus, Horses in Battle and Mishka, OUP
• 1974 Pat Hutchins, The Wind Blew, Bodley Head
• 1973 Raymond Briggs, Father Christmas, H Hamilton
• 1972 Krystyna Turska, The Woodcutter's Duck, H Hamilton
• 1971 Jan Pienkowski, The Kingdom under the Sea, Cape
• 1970 John Burningham, Mr Gumpy's Outing, Cape
• 1969 Helen Oxenbury, The Quangle Wangle's hat and The Dragon of an Ordinary Family, Heinemann
• 1968 Pauline Baynes, Dictionary of Chivalry, Longman
• 1967 Charles Keeping, Charlotte and the Golden Canary, OUP
• 1966 Raymond Briggs, Mother Goose Treasury, H Hamilton
• 1965 Victor Ambrus, The Three Poor Tailors, OUP
• 1964 C W Hodges, Shakespeare's Theatre, OUP
• 1963 John Burningham, Borka: the Adventures of a Goose with No Feathers, Cape
• 1962 Brian Wildsmith, A.B.C, OUP
• 1961 Antony Maitland, Mrs. Cockle's Cat, Constable
• 1960 Gerald Rose, Old Winkle and the Seagulls, Faber
• 1959 William Stobbs, Kashtanka and A Bundle of Ballads, OUP
• 1958 Prize withheld as no book considered suitable
• 1957 V H Drummond, Mrs Easter and the Storks, Faber
• 1956 Edward Ardizzone, Tim All Alone, OUP
• 1955 Prize withheld as no book considered suitable

It’s been all change on the CILIP Information Literacy Group committee.

Goodbye!
We would like to thank Debbi Boden-Angell , Ruth Stubbings, Lyn Parker, Cathie Jackson, Bob Glass and Louise Doolan for all their hard work and dedication over the years. Ruth and Cathie will continue their roles on the Journal of Information Literacy.

Welcome!
Our new committee members are:
Nancy Graham – Chair
Andrew Walsh – Secretary
Rowena Macrae-Gibson – Membership Secretary
Dan Pullinger – Website Manager
Nicola Scott – FE Representative
Claire Packham – National Library Representative
Geoff Walton – LIS Representative

Rebecca Mogg, former Membership Secretary, is our new Deputy Chair.

Nancy Graham said “I’m thrilled to be Chairing the IL Group and I look forward to working with a brilliant team of fellow IL advocates, building on the fantastic work done by the previous Committee members.”

For a full list of current committee members and vacancies, please see www.cilip.org.uk/information-literacy-group/committee/committee-members-2013

CILIP Information Literacy Group committee, 25 July 2013
 

• Teaching or Professional Development

•  Leadership in a changing environment

• Delivery of a project

As part of the Branch and Group review, we are running a short survey which will help CILIP, the Devolved Nations, Branches and Special Interest Groups as we further develop our offer to members. We want to know what you have participated in and what more you would like to see from your Branches and Groups.

The survey, which is open until midnight on Sunday 11th August, is totally anonymous and should take no longer than 5-10 minutes to complete.

You can access the survey at: CILIP Branch and Group Survey