View from the Hill

Books or no Books?

2009-12-01T15:30:19+00:00

The Changing Landscape of the Information Profession was the topic of an SLA Europe panel discussion session I was asked to facilitate last week. It has been ably reviewed in different blogs and discussion lists.

One question asked the panel whether they thought there will be any future for print books. I chose to split this into two questions and ask for a show of hands from the audience. The first was to ask if there was a future for business books. The majority in the audience felt not. Then we explored thoughts on the future for leisure reading. This time over 50% of the audience felt there was a future. The panel was split 50/50 and to quote Sara Batts 'I suspect that at some point in the future I will own an e-book reader; but unless one is invented that survives being dropped in the bath, I will be hanging on to my paper books too.' I concurred with her which meant the majority panel view was positive for the future of books, at least for leisure.

Today I spotted an excellent animated film for the New Zealand Book Council - of Going West by Maurice Gee - a Film for NZ Book Council, Produced by Colenso BBDO, Animated by Andersen M Studio. I had to watch it two or three times, each time seeing more depth and something new and it just reminded me of why I love to read. I challenge you not to be drawn in.

Off now to borrow the book at our wonderfully refurbished John Harvard Library in Borough High Street, and probably one or two more to boot.

... it's for you

2009-11-30T13:24:41+00:00

I came across this story last night and was struck by the sentiment, as a community revives its book lending, while at the same time observing the mantra Renew-Reuse-Recycle.

Maybe there is a lesson here for all of use to think about what resources we have at our disposal, even those right under our noses.

Enjoy!

- Jeremy Clarke

Breakfast on a cold & wintery morning

2009-11-29T21:16:32+00:00

Does your employer know exactly what you do? Is this a problem or is it just important that they know and acknowledge you add value?

Convincing myself to get out of bed at silly o'clock for our regular breakfast meetings at Roast is getting more and more difficult as winter sets in, but the lure of fine conversation and food still wins every time.

Following the important business of introductions and ordering breakfast, we discussed some of the key factors affecting our industry on a daily basis and those that will have the most impact on the next year. My opening questions were two that were raised over the freshly brewed coffee. I’m not sure I know the answers, but does it also mean the perception of librarians will stay as it is currently if we don’t go about changing that perception from within our workplaces? There is still a need to fight for a level of understanding amongst some users and customers. This manifests itself in the challenge of breaking down organizational silos in some public sector organisations, whilst also battling against the inevitable cost-reductions. But does it make a difference if you’re known as a librarian or is it important to have Information or knowledge in your job title?

Conversation turned to the subject of the ever-changing landscape of the information profession and where we go for support. Our international breakfast guests offered an insight into different cultures, drive and ultimately, I think, perception of information professionals abroad. It was acknowledged that in order for this drive and ambition to take hold here in the UK, we are very much in need of charismatic leadership and cross-sector careers, enabling transference of knowledge and experience.

I shall sign off with questions… it may not matter if your employer knows what you do, but do they know who you are? And does it really matter what you’re called?

- Suzanne Wheatley

Trials and Tribulations of Marketing

2009-11-26T14:00:00+00:00

I spent a very interesting Monday in Swindon - not that the town itself was interesting, I hasten to add, especially as I only saw the perimeter ring road system, but the group I was facilitating was on the fascinating topic of Marketing - either yourself internally to raise your reputation and increase the likelihood of gaining promotion, or your service to raise its profile with managers and increase your user base.

The day's discussions produced some challenging comments and situations:

A corporate firm where a declining budget, consequently aging stock and resulting difficulty in responding effectively to enquiries was leading to a declining reputation for the information service - a self perpetuating downward spiral
An FE/HE college which, under pressure from the larger university with which it had a relationship to have a professional library post, hired someone for a p/t 21 hour a week and then realised their skills could be used more widely - but not within the confines of the hours of the role
An HE organisation where different stakeholder groups had different ideas about what 'the library' was for and how procedures worked, and which didn't communicate effectively, which led to confusing, contradictory and sometime erroneous messages being passed to students
A government agency with a large staff disseminated across the whole of the UK, where web2.0 tools would have been ideal for communication, work collaboration and information dissemination, but where all such tools had been banned 'from on high'

Some great ideas came out of the workshop sessions with suggestions on how to tackle these and other issues:

Work out who your 'audience' group(s) are
Find out what their needs are - what are their goals?
Think about what services you have/could create that would meet those goals

...and only then start thinking about how to tell those groups about the services and how they could benefit from them.

Specific tips included:

Try to get a library representative into as many management meetings, committees, etc as possible - even if you only sit and listen you will find out a great deal about what matters to your users and other departments' managers
Hold library / knowledge centre open days - department moves and relaunches are great for this - offer tea and cakes; use the opportunity to canvass users and potential / non-users to find out what their daily issues are and suggest ways the information service could help
Student or staff inductions were a popular way of communicating library & information services to potential users - however during someone's first week in a new role didn't seem to be the ideal time - keeping a list of new starters and contacting them a few weeks later was a popular suggestion

Marketing is so much more than 'a flashy poster' - what is your service's Value Proposition?

- Nicola Franklin

John West to lighten fine load

2009-11-25T14:57:45+00:00

An initiative I spotted about this time last year but lamented to advocate is the "Food for Fines" program running at the Webster County Library in the U.S. from November 30th to December 5th. During the week library goers can exchange non-perishables or canned food to bring down fines by a buck a pop (not including lost items I'm afraid). Now to me this doesn't look as if it's a new idea but a quick search didn't yield many UK based results. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

I think it's not only a good cause to provide those a little less fortunate with a meal over the colder, wanton months but I also think it can be leveraged as a PR tool for a library service, a way to get those with fines back into the library, as well as providing help towards a global issue.

If only my University was so forgiving. I had plenty of noodles to spare.

Does your local council get involved in such a drive? If you are involved do you think it's a good idea or a burden?

- Cameron Best

Creativity is...

2009-11-17T22:00:42+00:00

a clever way to solve a problem? One definition says it is the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations. I agree with the latter but the former doesn't have to happen. Let me explain...

After a busy day in the office, thoughts of the sofa and last week's The Thick of It on iPlayer were very attractive to me, but no, I had committed to attend the CILIP Career Development Group's (CDG) workshop on Creativity. And I'm so glad I went. It was coordinated by Maria Cotera, CDG President, and Amanda Birungi, committee member, and our speakers were Miranda McKearney and Sandeep Mahal from The Reading Agency.

In a year when resources are stretched and money is limited, how can we develop ourselves, our staff, our services & our businesses? Creative Thinking. This phrase could so easily be seen as a negative... it has connotations of "cooking the books" but it is overwhelmingly positive. Creativity is relevant in all workplaces, not just those of artistic and zany people. By being creative you don't have to "transcend traditional rules" but you can do those same every day tasks a little bit better. There's no need to think about blue skies or even outside a box, but by using a few simple tools you could quickly and easily improve services.

An interesting discussion point was how to manage creativity. How does your manager foster creativity in you? We talked about our current conditions for creativity and what we thought would be ideal. We ended the evening by doing a lift pitch - 3 minutes stuck in a lift with The Boss, what would you say? Sue, I've got some ideas!

Surely the best way is to create an environment where everyone is expected to be creative? Then you also foster recognition, which creates an inspirational environment. It's actually a happy, colourful and achievable circle.

I could write for ages, so inspired am I, but my train is pulling into my station and I'm also fast approaching what I think is a sensible length for a blog post! So, my closing thoughts.

I think creativity is:

passion
imagination
opportunity
inspirational
in all of us - yes, every single one of us is creative, if given the freedom
a very powerful and readily available tool!

- Suzanne Wheatley

From Libraries to the Grave

2009-11-03T12:24:34+00:00

I read with interest a recent article about job opportunities and dead bodies and got me thinking about transferable skills. Companies are often closed to the idea of interviewing someone with a completely different background to the job spec and as a recruiter this often frustrates me, as the candidate often ticks all the skills required. That said, the list of jobs here are not asking for experience of the task in hand but the skills and tenacity to do the job. Okay not everyone wants to be a gravedigger or embalmer but you may just have the right skill set. The one that really struck a chord with me was the Funeral Director. Skills required - a head for business, great people skills, management, being organised, information processing and having the ability to listen - a similar set of skills required for a library manager. So if you were looking to change careers and utilise your skills and you are fed up of getting 'does not have the sector expertise or industry knowledge', here is a career that will embrace your skills - but clearly not for the faint hearted.

- Damon Thomas, Recruitment Manager - Market Research

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;

2009-10-21T16:22:44+01:00

Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
      What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
      Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
      Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
      What's in a name? that which we call a rose
      By any other name would smell as sweet;
      So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
      Retain that dear perfection which he owes
      Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
      And for that name which is no part of thee
      Take all myself.

The passion that a name commands lies dormant until such time as someone acts. SLA (Special Libraries Association) have spent a considerable amount of time, effort and money to carefully research a potential new name to reflect the values of their vast collective store of talent and skill. This comes under the classification (there I've used a library word) of Alignment. Kate Arnold, SLA Board Europe member is one of the Alignment Ambassadors for SLA Europe. She is keen to encourage debate on the suggested name.

The name put forward for a deciding vote is Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals (ASKPro). The blogs are overheating, (SLA blog), the SLA Europe discussion list has woken from a slumber. It is good to see debate and feel that passion of others. We pray a happy ending for all who care and have put such effort in. A thankless task. Or Not? Go have your say.

For never was there a story of more woe

Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

- Sue Hill (and our Will!)

Commonality in Diversity - The Big Issues

2009-10-16T14:50:40+01:00

We all face the same challenges. Who is “we” and what are the challenges? The latest, and very delicious, SHR Breakfast today brought together public and private sectors, knowledge, information and libraries. Despite the external challenges of financial constraints and ever increasing regulation, one of the biggest challenges facing our profession might be summed up in the word “perception”. Does your CEO know what you do? Shouldn’t it be your responsibility to change that? Looking at our guest list today you would perceive that the issues faced by each organisation and company would be wildly different but to our surprise, and pleasantly so, there was a lot of commonality and a lot to be learnt from each other.

In discussion, we learnt that one of the major impacting factors on knowledge and information services is the expectation to do more and do better with less – less funding, less time and less resources. Looking at your existing resources, the most valuable of all, your staff, there is a need to employ the very best. Would it surprise you to hear from employers that job applications have doubled, but the quality hasn’t? Sadly, I suspect not. We not only have to justify our services, but we have to justify ourselves in jobhunting. Simply sending a CV will not work!

What struck me most about our fascinating round-table discussion was the passion to break down the silos, to share, to learn from each other and to cross-fertilise. How do we do this? By networking, joining together to find our voice. Without exception there were nodding heads when Sue Edgar raised the notion of the need for good leadership in business and that it is vital to get a mentor or a coach, it being critical to keep you moving. By getting a role model or mentor outside knowledge & information, you are already well on your way to encourage the move away from silos.

And whilst we didn’t have time to answer the question “where is the future of the profession”, we did agree that we need people who have worked across all silos and that we urgently need to connect our "different" professions. The thought of an Umbrella organisation providing services and a central voice for the many and diverse information groups to rally around was mooted and generally liked.

- Suzanne Wheatley, Recruitment Manager

Networking across government

2009-10-12T16:49:30+01:00

Last Tuesday I attended a 'Getting to know you' day organised by NGLIS (the Network of Government Library and Information Specialists) and I wanted to report on some of the opinions and experiences which the speakers shared with the group.

First off the bat a very entertaining and interesting talk by James Denmead from the MoD whose time in government libraries has provided him the opportunity to become informed on subjects many and varied (from submarines to dwindling global resources), as well as amusing anecdotes as many and as varied.

As the morning went on we also saw talks from Tony Worron and Diane Murgatroyd, both of the FCO, reporting on recent changes undergone by the information department in order to meet changing organisation demands. These very informative talks show us all that while organisational changes can be difficult and at times emotionally charged, the new challenges created can inspire a team to develop their potential, both as a collective and as individuals.

Between these two speakers came a talk from Janet Cockayne which captured the imagination and encouraged us all to always look for a challenge and not shy away from the unknown and the scary. Janet also reminded us to think about how new skills can be transferred from one role to another and how seemingly unrelated roads along a career path can complement each other.

After lunch the group, full of friendly and familiar faces, took part in a panel discussion about skills and competencies in the government sector. This is an interesting and tricky subject which we were guided through by Alison Raisin of BIS (whose substantial knowledge of the subject was evident), me adding my two-pence worth and facilitated by Katharine Schopflin who organised the event. What we learned from this session; CPD is important throughout your career and you must be prepared to drive it yourself as well as seeking support from your manager, the importance of a head of profession or other mentor figure in career development, and much more.

A good day and a great example of a special interest group supporting its members.

- Jeremy Clarke