Gadget Days’ are events for library and information workers from all sectors.  By sharing experiences, attendees will learn about how technologies are being used in libraries and information settings and to think about how they might be used in their own. 

The event is aimed at people with either a little knowledge who are keen to learn more or those more experienced users who are happy to share what they know in an informal, relaxed atmosphere.

If you’re interested in technology we’d love you to join us! The morning session will be a show and tell so if you’re doing something different with technology or social media, this is your chance to show it off, share your ideas and get involved. Please let us know when you book what you’d like to talk about and be prepared to talk for around 5 minutes.

The National Museum of Computing is a museum dedicated to collecting and restoring historic computing systems developed in Britain. The building was the first purpose-built computer centre in the world, hosting six Colossus computers by the end of World War II. Its exhibits look at code-breaking, punch-card machines and the history of the internet. Our visit will include a guided tour and a chance to spend time looking at the unique collection.

There is a charge of £12.50 (for CILIP members or concessions) or £15 (for non-CILIP members). This includes the admission charge and VAT. For details of how to pay, please see the booking form (below).

This will be an afternoon visit. If you can come early, you may like to visit the renowned Bletchley Park, which shares the site with the NMOC.

Getting to the NMOC

The museum is 400m from Bletchley Railway Station. It is also served by a good bus and coach service. For further details and directions see: http://www.tnmoc.org/visit/getting-here

Booking information

Preferred method of payment is by BACS; alternatively, cheques should be made payable to “CILIP ARLG Eastern Group". Please contact our treasurer, Helene Fernandes, for more details. 

Closing date for bookings: 15 November 2015

Concessions: please tell us if you qualify for a concession in the Comments box on the booking form.

ARLG Eastern accepts firm bookings via the booking form on the CILIP website. Invoices will be sent out before the event and all fees are payable in full prior to the date of the course. Cancellations received after the closing date for bookings will be subject to the full fee. For non-attendance at a course there will be no refunds and the full fee will be payable. 

CILIP ARLG Eastern reserves the right to cancel a course if insufficient bookings have been received; delegates will be offered a full refund of the course fee and will be notified if the course is offered at a later date. CILIP ARLG Eastern will not be liable for any consequential loss of travel or accommodation fees due to cancellation of the course.

The Yorkshire & Humberside Member Network are organising an event aimed at existing or potential candidates for Certification (ACLIP) or Chartership (MCLIP).

Taking place at the Adelphi in Leeds city centre, candidates will have the opportunity to meet with the Candidate Support Officer (Mark Naylor), the Mentor Support Officer (Maureen Pinder), other mentors and fellow candidates.

Candidates will have the opportunity to ask questions and clarify any issues regarding their CILIP professional qualification. The event will also provide an opportunity for networking and will count as a professional development activity. The event is informal and attendees will be able to purchase food and drinks from the bar (at their own expense, if required).

There is no charge for attending the event itself.

In order to assist with planning please let us know if you will be attending by contacting Mark Naylor. 

UKeiG is pleased to announce that the winner for 2016 is Hazel Hall, well-known international teacher and scholar in the multidisciplinary domain of Library and Information Science (LIS). Hazel's nomination noted successes in all of the award criteria! Her major contributions are in both theory and practice. In terms of theory, her main contributions have been in advancing knowledge and understanding of information sharing in online environments, while her contributions to practice are evident in a number of original initiatives, for example, in 2011/12 she led the creation of a UK network for LIS researchers and researcher practitioners. Hazel Hall’s work has also raised the awareness of the value of information in the workplace, as evident in the number of business organisations that have drawn on her research outputs in their own practice. In addition, her contributions have influenced the strategic direction of a number of professional bodies, and research funders. Since the early 1990s Hazel has enjoyed numerous high profile and prestigious appointments, invitations and prizes from research councils, professional bodies, publishers, conference programme committees, and universities worldwide. Her work on information sharing in online environments has led to the generation of new knowledge and understanding across a range of themes including: power relations in knowledge management; the agency of non-human actors in technology implementations; co-operation and collaboration in online communities; knowledge creation processes and innovation; and knowledge management as management innovation. She is committed to sharing her knowledge and expertise and perhaps her strongest legacy is found in those she has generously mentored over the years. These include undergraduate, Masters and PhD students who have benefited from her excellence both as a classroom teacher, and as a research degree supervisor and examiner. This legacy applies equally to the LIS practitioners and academics who have encountered her, whether this be in person or through her published work.

From the earliest of human times, we have told stories and shared information and ideas. Cave paintings, folk tales and old songs attest to that. Stories, clearly, are integral to the human condition. And for hundreds of years, books have been a primary means of expressing them.

Books make a better society

There is a profound affinity between books and concepts of freedom. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims our right to freedom of expression and information. Indeed, few in the world of books could carry out their work if Article 19 were not upheld.

Take a look, too, at Article 26 on our right to education. It says (in clause 2):

‘Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality’. 

There we have it. Books are desperately important to the development of the human personality and thus to civil society, embracing expression, literacy, imagination and progress. We who love them know that those little physical packages contain huge other worlds – worlds of information and ideas, knowledge, other voices and stories that not only influence how we make our personal way through the real world, but have a real impact on our actual chances in life. 

As a first step, storytelling and reading aloud are wonderful provocations for children to learn to read for themselves – to become literate members of society. Books inform, broaden horizons, raise awareness and – through the multitude of diverse characters that stride through works of fiction – they help us develop imagination and empathy.

Through empathy we are able to imagine and care about what it is to be that other person. Empathy is key to humanity’s social side. It empowers people young and old to protest when we see something unjust happening. It inspires us to stand up and make a difference. And it makes it terribly difficult to be a bigot.

At Amnesty we set great store by the power of children’s books. It’s because of this that we and CILIP entered into partnership this year to set up the Amnesty CILIP Honour, an additional commendation for a book on each of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway shortlists.

Creeping censorship

The right to freedom of expression is a ‘qualified’ right. It needs to be considered in the context of other rights and not mis-used to stir up hate crimes, for example.  At present, the UK government doesn’t ban books - unlike overtly authoritarian states. But censorship of the creeping variety can be widespread. It happens under the radar, such as when particular books are removed from schools or libraries by staff worried about parental backlash and negative PR. Reducing access to books is another form of the creeping disease - swingeing cuts in library services means that more children will inevitably lose out, especially in lower income and deprived families. And there can be little doubt that their life chances are likely to be sorely impoverished.

Why does this creeping control happen? Perhaps because books continue to be some of the most powerful instruments of change in the world. In terms of what it can achieve, the pen (or computer) truly is mightier than the sword. American author Judy Blume, whose children’s and YA books have often been censored because of their frank approach to sex, says: 

"I believe that censorship grows out of fear, and because fear is contagious, some parents are easily swayed. Book banning satisfies their need to feel in control of their children’s lives. This fear is often disguised as moral outrage. They want to believe that if their children don’t read about it, their children won’t know about it. And if they don’t know about it, it won’t happen."

Her views would tally with Amnesty’s experience of totalitarian governments, whose usual first tool of control is to censor writers and artists. Why? It’s fear again. Fear of the wonderful, dangerous ideas that books contain and their power to inspire thought – and to challenge a controlling status quo. 

Enabling young people to flourish

For children and young people to flourish in our fractured world, they need the tools to do so. What better toolbox than a pile of books? For those of us who had a good (book) start in life, it is an advantage forever to be cherished and shared. For children just starting on the adventure of life, books offer an endless treasure land of delight, inspiration, insight and knowledge. The future is in our children’s hands: a good book shared widely could help them make a better job of it than we have. 

As refreshments will not be served during the visit, there is the option to meet beforehand (from 2pm) in the Café in the Gardens, Russell Square

The Wiener Library is one of the world's leading and most extensive archives on the Holocaust and Nazi era.  Formed in 1933, the Library's unique collection of over one million items includes published and unpublished works, press cuttings, photographs and eyewitness testimony.

The visit will include: a talk about the history of the Library and its collections and a tour. There will also be an exhibition: http://www.wienerlibrary.co.uk/a-bitter-road which people can view.

The visit is free and has a maximum of 15 people.

Please contact Mary Fisk m.fisk@soas.ac.uk by 14th November to book a place

We've collected together some of the interesting, contentious and important library and information stories that were discussed around the world last month. There were lots of interesting discussions in September, including: 

1. Copyright and hyperlinks
2. Museum funding
3. Data and the role of librarians
4. #InternationalLiteracyDay
5. Data and health
6. Talking tech

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

1. Copyright and hyperlinks

On 8 September, as reported in endgadget and many other publications, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that “posting hyperlinks to unowned content provides tangible profits, which is grounds enough for copyright infringement.” The ruling sparked a range of reactions:

• the Electronic Frontier Foundation called it a "new dark era for hyperlinks" with the "terrible ruling" being hard to fathom
• Andrew Orlowski, writing in The Register, described it in less ominous terms as an evolution of the “EU’s bizarre, home-brewed doctrine of copyright”
• Charles Oppenheim, in a post published on the CILIP website, takes a more measured stance, suggesting that the "decisions help clarify the law, and are particularly relevant to library and information professionals who either hold, or have been considering taking out a licence with the Newspaper Licensing Agency". So perhaps it’s time to update your "Rate my copyright law" checklist!

2. Museum funding

The UK Government has announced a review of museums with new culture minister Matt Hancock saying the “only thing not up for review is free entry to the permanent collections of national museums.”

The Museum’s Association’s policy officer, Alistair Brown, has welcomed the review “as an opportunity to think about the strategic direction that government can provide to museums” and called for:

• "government recognition of and support for the contribution that museums make to communities across the UK"
• "the DCMS must recognise the crisis facing local authority museums and take urgent action to avoid widespread closures".

CILIP President Dawn Finch recently interviewed a volunteer fighting to keep a museum open with little or no funding or support. The interview powerfully illustrates the human impact of the two points above; both the value communities place in museums and how this can be undermined by a lack of funding or support. 

Funding is obviously a critical issue here and some other recent stories of relevance are the Arts Council’s announcement of a change in the way they fund museums from 2018 and the Association of Independent Museum’s report evaluating the impact of charging or not charging for museum admission. 

3. Data and the role of librarians

What is the role of librarians in using, sharing and managing data? It’s a question we’ve asked, in various forms, in quite a few blog posts on the CILIP website... and last month we had some more!

• To boldly go… the librarian's role in text and data mining 
• Why do librarians need to know about ontologies?
• Opening up data in Newcastle Libraries

4. #InternationalLiteracyDay 

Today, September 8th, is International Literacy Day, led by Unesco and the World Literacy Foundation, championing literacy in all its forms as the bedrock of future sustainability. 

To mark the day, Jake Hope shares his top picks from the Kate Greenaway Medal winners and explains how positive associations help with children’s bedtime routines.

The Reading Agency's International Literacy Day blog talks thorough their Reading Ahead programme, which reaches 10,000 adults and young people each year through UK public libraries.  

Meanwhile, the CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award shortlist for 2016 demonstrates why public libraries are an increasingly important channel for tackling the health literacy challenge.

5. Data and health

BBC Technology looks at the application of Google’s DeepMind AI division in targeting NHS head and neck cancer treatment with the aim of making radiotherapy treatment design more efficient and effective.

This week the Telegraph reports that UK NHS patients will be offered the option of diagnosis by smartphone in a bid to reduce pressure on health services, with GP registrations, appointments and service feedback also moving online.

Blogging for Information Age, Ben Rossi calls for patient data to consolidated into a single view, so that healthcare providers get a complete picture and see patients for who they truly are.

6. Talking tech

More from the BBC, this time looking at how chat apps including WhatsApp and Snapchat are taking hold of worldwide conversations.

The Association of College and Research Libraries are Keeping Up With Cybersecurity, Usability, and Privacy, with conclusions for those working in the library and information professions in this this essay by Bohyun Kim.

The Call for Papers and registration is currently open for the 5th International Summit of the Book, which will be held in Limerick, Ireland, November 2-3. The theme of the conference is “Words are all we have. The Book: History, Knowledge & Technology. The Voyage”.

Join CILIP

CILIP is the leading body representing the information professions. 

We build the professionalism of our members by supporting the development of skills, knowledge and excellence. We provide unity through shared values and advocate on behalf of the information professions.

The benefits of CILIP membership include:

• A weekly email containing a top 10 round-up of library and information stories
• A subscription to Update magazine, he leading publication for the library, information and knowledge management community. 
• The option to apply for professional Certification, Chartership, Fellowship or Revalidation, CILIP's internationally recognised qualifications.

Join CILIP

UKeiG members get a 25% discount for Internet Librarian International (ILI): Innovation in Action, which takes place at Olympia, London on 18/19 October. Examples of ‘Innovation in Action’, the theme of this year’s ILI, abound through the conference programme – not least in the presentations of the three keynote speakers who will each give a perspective on the trends and challenges shaping the information landscape.

In her keynote, the British Library’s Mia Ridge will consider the opportunities arising out of new forms of digital scholarship, while IFLA’s Stuart Hamilton will focus on libraries’ important role as catalysts of innovation, with a look at how to achieve a sustainable information environment in the digital age. Jan Holmquist of Denmark’s Guldborgsund Library will describe the creation of a visionary strategy for libraries.

There are six main conference tracks which explore the issues raised by the keynote speakers in greater depth:

The Learning Library, The Learning Librarian highlights include Rafael Ball from ETH Zurich on what big data means for libraries and librarians; Kenn Bicknell from Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority on strategic innovation tools for libraries; and case studies of collaborative library service design from University College Dublin, Cambridge Conservation Initiative and Cambridge Judge Business School. New Tech for a New World features Copenhagen University Library on digital data labs, UWE’s Virginia Power on using open data to teach data literacy skills, University of Sussex’s Johanna Ball on using Wifi to understand library building use, and a look at Denmark’s radical Open Libraries concept. Engagement – Real Impact on Real Communities with user engagement case studies from the Universities of Portsmouth and Hull, University College Cork, and New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. David Parkes of De Montfort University and Jiaxin Low from Singapore Management University discuss new approaches to library orientation. Understanding Users, Influencing Use has case studies from Uppsala University Library on evaluating the needs of different user groups, including digital humanities researchers and university teachers, while other case studies explore successful marketing initiatives at Roche, and Oslo and Akershus University College. Improving Search, Supporting Research covers the latest trends and techniques for search and discovery. Highlights include Utrecht University’s scholarly communication support services,  using social media tools to support research, and the University of Hertfordshire’s experience of moving away from Google Scholar and implementing a Research Discovery Service. Finally, Setting Digital Content Free: the British Library’s Stella Wisdom on a free app that uses GPS to help users encounter open archive collections, customised content from Rijkswaterstaat in the Netherlands and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and tips on digital preservation from the University of London.

A fuller description of the upcoming conference will appear in eLucidate when it is published next week.

UKeiG members are entitled to claim a 25% discount on fees for the main conference (follow the links when registering). Discounts are also available for multiple delegates from the same organisation. www.internet-librarian.com

I write children's books because I believe they're the books that shape us.  The books I read when I was young had a deeper impact on me than anything I've encountered as an adult.  They opened my mind to new ideas, new perspectives on the world and what might be possible in it.

I write in my local public library.  It's inspiring for a writer to work in the home of books, and to imagine that your book might one day join them, and help to shape a new generation.  

Of course, that depends on books finding readers.  And that depends largely on librarians – especially children's librarians.  

I believe there's a book for everyone out there, if you can only find it among the 10,000+ children's books published every year in the UK.  This means we need to enable the widest possible access to literature for young readers, and support anything that helps children find the books that will make them lifelong readers.  

That is what professional librarians do.  They have a wealth of unique, irreplaceable experience and knowledge.  They open gateways and doors every day for young people: to new ideas, new ways of looking at the world, and new worlds altogether.  

I see them doing this every day.  I see parents and carers bringing children into the library to find books, because they know children will be able to make a free choice from a well-stocked selection, with expert help on hand.  I see them coming in for story-time and sing-alongs; or for author visits, reading challenges, and all the other activities the librarians organise.  

These services have a massive and well-documented positive impact on literacy, mental health and well-being. They are genuinely life-changing.  But they cannot be delivered by non-specialists.  They need qualified librarians who are dedicated to working with children and children's books.  

The librarians provide these services at no charge to readers, because we decided some time ago that it was essential to our society for everyone to have this kind of access to books and information.  Libraries are central to democracy, to liberty, to freedom of thought and expression.  They are among the most important things that governments can provide.  Indeed, the public right for these services to be funded by government is enshrined in law, as CILIP's #MyLibraryByRight campaign has pointed out.

Given all this, you'd think our government would be supporting libraries, giving them the resources they need to do their work.  But in the past 6 years, we've seen resources cut to such an extent that 350 libraries have closed, and 8,000 jobs have been lost.

Library cuts and closures limit access to variety, to diversity, to new ideas.  They limit it just as surely as state censorship.  We are fortunate to live in the UK at a time when overt censorship is considered unconscionable.  But doesn't taking away access lead to the same result by different means?  A smaller number of books, a narrower range of ideas and perspectives, an impoverished imagination that is not given what it needs to grow.  

So to me, the idea that library staff and services are being cut is tantamount to censorship.  It should provoke the same feelings of outrage.  And in my case, it has done exactly that, because I have recently learned that children's library services and librarians' positions are under threat in my local library.  I have written to the council three times now, expressing my view that these are the last things they should be cutting.  As yet, I have heard no response.

I know that my voice alone may never be heard.  But I also know I am far from alone in feeling this way, so I'm talking to other local authors about what we can do to support our children's librarians.

And for Banned Books Week, I'd like to encourage everyone out there who cares about freedom of thought to write to their local councils, councillors and MPs about this question.  Tell them how important your library services are to you, especially your children's library services and the librarians who deliver them.  Make sure they know that you do not want your rights and those of your children to be cut; and that if governments do not listen to the public on this issue, they are cutting democracy and liberty just as surely as if they were censoring us.  

If they care about those things, they need to support libraries as a priority – and so do we all.

On Wednesday, 9th of November, we are welcoming Darryl Howes to lead a session on 'Networking: myths and madness'. Darryl helps professional practitioners develop their networking and career management skills. He will talk about a new way to build effective relationships for professional career development and explain why well-known business rules like 'Work the room' and 'Just be yourself' are terrible advice for networkers. The event will be held at CILIP, Ridgmount Street, 6.00-8.00pm. Booking details to follow.

Seventeen years ago 25 people gathered in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to discuss ways in which the growing number of e-print servers and digital repositories could be made interoperable.

As scholarly archives and repositories had begun to proliferate a number of issues had arisen. There was a concern, for instance, that archives would needlessly replicate each other’s content, and that users would have to learn multiple interfaces in order to use them. What was therefore needed was to develop tools and protocols that would allow repositories to work in concert on a distributed basis. Above all, there was a need to make distributed archives interoperable so that their content could be aggregated into a single searchable virtual archive of (eventually) all published research.

The meeting led to the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH), and to the institutional repository movement. Today there are thousands of institutional repositories around the world.

Yet 17 years later the interoperability promised by OAI-PMH has not really materialised, few third-party service providers have emerged to leverage the content in repositories, and duplication has not been avoided. Moreover, to the exasperation of green OA advocates, authors have proved reluctant to take on the task of depositing their papers in these repositories. Some therefore now believe that the institutional repository faces an existential threat. At the very least, they say, it is time to re-think the role and purpose of the institutional repository.

These and other matters are discussed in an interview with Clifford Lynch, director of the Washington-based Coalition for Networked Information and one of those who attended the Santa Fe meeting.

The Q&A (plus introduction) can be accessed here: http://poynder.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/q-with-cnis-clifford-lynch-time-to-re_22.html

Sponsored by Demco Interiors, this event will explore how library and information sector employers and LIS learning providers can work together with CILIP to make sure we are equipping library and information professionals with the skills employers need now and in the future.  The programme includes a presentation, panel discussion and workshop as well the opportunity to build networks and discuss sector and professional issues.

The event is FREE to attend and we welcome employers, leaders, LIS learning providers, and heads of service from across all sectors. Refreshments are provided including a welcome lunch and a post event drinks reception.

Test

You are warmly invited to our students and new professionals social on Wednesday 19th October, from 6.00pm at The Brass Monkey, SW1V 1AU.

The event is open to anyone considering a career in information services, on a LIS or related library course and to all those who have recently joined the profession.

Drinks and light refreshments will be provided. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Architectural Association School of Architecture (also known as the AA) is the oldest independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in the world. The AA Library and AA Archives support the teaching programme in the School and provide a library and information service to AA Members. The visit will be an opportunity to meet staff, learn about the AA’s history, services and facilities, and view highlights from the collections.

Please note that the Architectural Association is based in a historic building with many unavoidable stairs. Step-free access is therefore not possible.

For more information please see http://www.aaschool.ac.uk/AASCHOOL/librariesArchives.php

Congratulations to Fiona Lacey, winner of the Briggs-Washington bursary to attend ILI in October.  Fiona is Library Assistant at McCann FitzGerald Solicitors based in Dublin. She completed a Masters in Library and Information studies at University College Dublin in 2015. Fiona has also worked in academic libraries and in the publishing industry.

We hope you have a great time at the conference Fiona!

http://info.cilip.org.uk/A3G5c...

Congratulations to Fiona Lacey, winner of the Briggs-Washington bursary to attend ILI in October.  Fiona is Library Assistant at McCann FitzGerald Solicitors based in Dublin. She completed a Masters in Library and Information studies at University College Dublin in 2015. Fiona has also worked in academic libraries and in the publishing industry.

We hope you have a great time at the conference Fiona!

The team who run Informed - a neutral blogspace for library and information professionals that is not affiliated with any official organisations - have created the Informed Peer Recognition Award (IPRA) to give due recognition to those colleagues and information professionals who contribute to a substantive benefit for their service or community in the UK. Nominations can fall under one of the following three categories;

• For those who have demonstrated a commitment to, or substantial involvement in activities which will contribute to the development of services and/or resources that will provide a benefit to the public.
• For those who have worked to deliver improvements to a service (be it private, public, or voluntary) for the benefit of users and provide them with a better experience when interacting with the service.
• For those who have worked across the profession to improve an aspect of it for the benefit of others.

At this stage, the team is looking for volunteer judges from all walks of life to participate in the inaugural award. No special experience or knowledge is required, and colleagues from across the information professions are encouraged to apply to take part in the judging process. In particular, theywould like to invite participants from the public sector, school, and specialist library areas, to try and ensure a good mix of professional experience and knowledge in the judging teams. This would be an excellent CPD opportunity.

Training and administrative support will be provided to all judges, and more detailed information on the judging process and stages is available here and here.

FAQs on other elements of the process, including planned timescales, are available on the Informed website.

Applications to take part in the judging process can be made via a simple expression of interest sent to nominations@theinformed.org.uk, by the 3rd of October, 2016.

CIG is pleased to announce that the presentations from our 2016 conference ‘Innovation and Discovery’ are now available on our website. Slides, workshop materials and posters can all be accessed via our Presentations page.

The conference may be over but we are always keen to hear how we could make the experience even better. Whether you attended CIG16 or were unable to please share your thoughts by completing this quick survey.

This is a transcript of the opening remarks Nick Poole gave at "Libraries Pay: Public Libraries Supporting Economic Prosperity", a CILIP Public & Mobile Libraries Group (PMLG) event on 20 September. 

Good morning everyone and it is a real pleasure to be able to welcome you here to CILIP for what promises to be both an informative and important discussion.  I’ve worked in social enterprises and the public sector for nearly 20 years and in all that time I have yet to come across an organisation that doesn’t use money. From the tiniest volunteer-led community organisation to international collaborations like Wikipedia, we all have bills to pay. 

When we issued the call for papers for this year’s conference, we received over 60 submissions – it was our best response yet. People wanted to talk about text and data mining, copyright, Information Literacy, community engagement. But not one of them wanted to talk about money. 

All the social good we deliver needs to be built on a strong foundation of economic strength

There is an idea that ‘money’ is a dirty word for libraries, that it sullies our professional ethics. That libraries live in an idealised world far away from the world of commerce. But if the past 8 years of austerity have taught us anything, it’s that all of the social good we deliver needs to be built on a strong foundation of economic strength. 

There is a world of difference between being motivated by money – making choices that are primarily financially-driven – and seeing money as a means to deliver a social purpose.  I’m a great believer in social enterprise – that we can house income-generation and value-creation under the same roof in order to deliver thrilling services that make a profound difference to people’s lives. 

We can deliver balanced, universally accessible and equitable access to knowledge and literacy and still work in partnership with the private sector – so long as we are transparent and accountable and ensure that those partnerships don’t tip over into product placement. 

One of the things I am most excited about today’s event is that it takes a balanced view of what ‘economic’ activity really means for libraries. We’re going to look at income generation alongside the wider question of the economic value we deliver for our places and our communities. 

Libraries as part of a regenerative economy

There’s a concept called the circular economy which I think is really important to today’s discussions. It’s also called a ‘regenerative economy’. The idea is that we both consume and create value, and the value we create – the social and economic capital – is reinvested into our communities to create a virtuous and sustainable cycle. I think we are a great example of the circular economy. Our communities invest value, money, time, support into us and we generate a huge return on that investment – socially and economically.

I think libraries have a huge amount going for them when it comes to generating both direct revenue and indirect economic impact. I think there are 6 components of our offer which give us a real advantage: 

1. Brand equity – the trust and accessibility of being a library gives us a unique opportunity to develop services that are clearly differentiated from the endless noise of people trying to sell you products – there’s a wonderful line on twitter from Matt Haig which goes, “libraries are the last remaining public spaces that don’t like our wallets more than they like us”; 
2. Buildings – I always argue that we have the best physical infrastructure of attractive, accessible buildings anywhere outside the schools sector;
3. Audience – 265m visits in 2015 with one of the most strongly diversified audiences of any sector, anywhere;
4. People – a profession built on a customer service ethos, with a strong professional ethic;
5. Value-added services – in an age of information overload and white noise, we deliver rich, meaningful experiences that help people fill a genuine need in their lives;
6. Relationships – your libraries are your communities – they’re indivisible. You’re not flying services in from outside, but directly meeting identified local needs

So I’m really interested to learn today about how we take those elements – our brand, locations, audience, people, services and relationships – and use them to build a solid foundation of economic activity and value that ensures those services are sustainable. 

Powerful economic case to make for libraries

I also think that being able to articulate the economic impact of publicly-funded library services is one of the most fundamental elements of our political advocacy in the years ahead. In an unguarded moment, a former libraries Minister referred to libraries looking for ‘handouts’ from the public purse. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got no interest in handouts. I think we have a powerful economic case to make for libraries and it is vital that we make it well. 

We have some really great, credible tools at our disposal. The ALMA UK group have published some extremely simple tools and resources including a simple guide and calculator for libraries to evaluate your economic impact. You can find them for free online. 

This highlights some really innovative ways of thinking about economic value. For example, it invites you to think about your impact as a purchaser on the local supply chain. UK-wide each year, the nation spends around £700m on library services. That gives us a huge economic impact, for example on the publishing sector as well as local economies. 

Other examples including thinking about ways of showing people what they saved by using the library. There’s an innovative example of a library that provides users with a receipt showing what they would have had to spend to buy the books they’re borrowing. 

There’s also important research from the Arts Council England which shows not only the direct economic impact on local economies, but also the indirect, long-term value for the national economy of having access to quality library services. We already know that library services can save money for other public sectors – for example, the £27.5m that public libraries save the NHS each year by reducing dependency on GP’s for frontline information.

So I think this is a real opportunity today both to take a pragmatic and practical look at how economic activity can make your service more sustainable and a broader look at how we embrace economic impact as a great argument for public funding. 

I think it is important to be bold, to be realistic, but also to be opportunistic in how we build a sustainable financial model for our services. I wish you a successful event, I’m afraid I am going to have to dip in and out, but I will look forward to catching up with as many of you as possible through the day. 

The 2016 Lecture will be given by Peter Ingwersen, Professor Emeritus at The Royal School of Library and Information Science, University of Copenhagen, at the Geological Society during the afternoon of Monday 31st October. Professor Ingwersen won the award in 2015.

There will be two speakers: following an introductory paper by Stephen Robertson - Search: then and now -- with particular reference to the web,in which delegates will hear how we have reached the point at which Google is their primary or even sole entry-point to the web, and also (in some sense) is the web, Peter Ingwersen will look at Context in Interactive IR. His paper looks at what influences the framework of both information retrieval and information retrieval research.

The 2016 Tony Kent Strix Award will be presented to Professor Maristella Agosti during the afternoon.

The full programme – including the speakers’ abstracts – and details of the event can be found on the Tony Kent Strix Annual Lecture page - from where you can also book your place.

** Please note that although this is a FREE event, open to everyone, advance bookings ARE required.

The Annual Lecture series is sponsored by Google.