The June 2008 issue of CILIPS East Branch newsletter is now available.
Bookseller.com reports that CILIP is to investigate the extent of police surveillance requests made to libraries. University libraries will be among those surveyed. This investigation will result in the creation of guidance policy for librarians on how to handle the issue.
A hard-hitting report, specially commissioned by CILIP because of rising public concern about the future for local libraries, has been published on 28 May 2008. The Conway Report claims that job losses, outdated attitudes, lack of government scrutiny and absence from the top table of council decision-making are the main reasons for cuts in quality being faced by public libraries in England.
The May issue of the 500 Years of Printing in Scotland newsletter is now available.
Author Kate Cann has won the 2008 Angus Book Award for her novel Leaving
Poppy. Lewis Miller, Chair of the Angus Youth Congress, presented
the winning author with her trophy, a miniature replica of the Aberlemno
Serpent Stone, and £500 prize at a ceremony in Montrose Town Hall on 20
May. Kate Cann said: “The Angus Book Award was an absolute blast! It more
than deserves its formidable reputation. The girls from Arbroath Academy
blew me away with their wonderful report on my book at the ceremony. The
kids ran the show and they did it brilliantly. I am so proud and happy
to have won.” The other shortlisted authors for the 2008 award were: Sherry
Ashworth for Close-up, J. A. Henderson for Bunker 10,
Graham Marks for Omega Place and Anthony McGowan for Henry
Tumour.
The HMIe report for St Margaret's Academy in West Lothian provides further recognition of the contribution which school libraries can make. Inspectors commented on the library several times within the report, noting:"The librarian provided very good support in developing pupils' research skills." ; "The library provision made a positive contribution to the quality of pupils' learning, for example by developing pupils' reading skills and encouraging their enthusiasm for reading for pleasure."; "The well-resourced library provided a very effective service to the school" and "Support staff, including the chaplaincy coordinator, librarian and PSAs, interacted very well with teachers and pupils and made a very strong contribution to the life of the school".
The Board of Special Libraries Association (SLA) Europe has announced the four recipients of their second Student Conference Award, including one student from a Scottish University. The winners will attend the annual SLA Conference in Seattle, Washington 13-18 Jun 2008 as part of the award. This year, the number of awards has increased from one to four due to increased collaboration between SLA divisions and industry sponsors. The winners are Sandy Peterson (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow), Emma Dhesi (Brighton University), Sarah Hammond (University of Sheffield) and Hanna Lewin (University College London). The SLA Europe Student Conference Award is made to European students enrolled in a graduate-level programme in the field of library and information science, who have never attended the SLA Conference. The SLA is a non-profit global organisation for information professionals and their strategic partners.
An early beta release of an Internet Explorer (IE) version of the del.icio.us bookmarks extension was announced on Tue 13 May via the del.icio.us blog. This means that IE users will now be able to enjoy most of the features of the Firefox extension, including the del.icio.us sidebar and toolbar. However, the two versions will not be identical due to differences between IE and Firefox.
The Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) will soon begin updating the 2003 Quality Toolkit and is seeking contributions from members of the FE community. The SLIC working party will be chaired by Charlie Sweeney, former manager of the JISC RSC-SW. The task has been organised into work packages which will look at Web 2.0 and other technological developments, the community’s expressed desire for hard indicators, new terminology and legislation, learning space design, shared service developments, co-location and the recommendations of the Joint Quality Review Group. If you have an interest in any of these areas and would like to participate in the working party please contact Cathy Kearney e: c.kearney@slainte.org.uk by Fri 30 May, indicating which area is of interest to you.
The latest newsletter from JISC Legal has now been published, featuring a round-up of ICT related legal developments which took place during April. The current edition features a call from the Information Commissioner regarding data protection in the public sector, details of a recent ruling on music file sharing and an Ofcom report on social networking. JISC Legal works to ensure the adoption and use of new technologies in further and higher education is not hindered by legal issues.
The Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIPS) have launched a blog as part of the SLAINTE Web 2.0 suite. The blog will be updated regularly with discussion points related to the Scottish library and information sector. SLIC and CILIPS aim to promote debate within the community and welcome comments and contributions via the blog. The SLAINTE Web 2.0 suite, hosted by Pageflakes, has also been extended to include individual sections to collate news and blog feeds and present examples of Web 2.0 in action in Scottish libraries. Links to the Web 2.0 services have also been added to the SLAINTE website navigation to enhance access and integrate online services. To suggest additional content for any part of the PageCast please contact Gillian Hanlon e: slic1@slainte.org.uk.
The SLAINTE digital library has recently been linked to the KIV library and information subject gateway in the Czech Republic. Resources in the SLAINTE digital library will now be retrieved through KIV, which combines database searches through a single user interface. The KIV gateway is part of a newly built network housed under the Uniform Information Gateway (UIG). They KIV gateway was developed as part of the Coordinated Creation of Subject Gateways project involving the National Library of the Czech Republic and Charles University in Prague.
Wikipedia is facing US court action as a result of comments posted by users. According to the IT and e-commerce legal news service OUT-LAW.com, a literary agent is suing Wikipedia after she appeared in a list of the 20 worst literary agents. The Wikimedia Foundation denies that the alleged comments ever appeared but claims that, had they been published, they would have been protected by the US Constitution's guarantee of freedom of speech. Wikimedia also argues that it is protected from liability over user comments by section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA).
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has published a National Study on the Use of Libraries, Museums and the Internet. The study addresses speculation about the impact of the Internet on library and museum visits, concluding that Internet use is positively correlated with the number of in-person visits to museums and public libraries. IMLS is the primary source of federal support for libraries and museums in the US.
Scottish Local History Week was successfully launched in Aberdeen on 21 Apr by Jack Webster, well known journalist and broadcaster. The launch took place in Provost Skene’s House, currently displaying the “Local Word and Image” exhibition as part of the celebration of 500 years of Scottish Printing. Jack entertained an invited audience with anecdotes from his 55 years in journalism, and outlined the many changes that had taken place in the newspaper industry. He spoke highly of the value of newspaper resources held in local studies collections and thanked all staff who had assisted him over the years with his research.
The University of Strathclyde is running a one day course for library staff interested in developing the knowledge and skills to assist with family history research. The course will concentrate on Scottish sources available in public libraries both in print and electronic format. Topics will include the statutory registers of births, marriages and deaths, census records and old parish registers, accessible through the ScotlandsPeople website, and other sources such directories and newspapers. Follow-up materials and exercises will be available online. The course will take place in Glasgow and Perth.
Two projects have been successful in securing funding from the SLIC Innovation and Development Fund (IDF). Virtual Enquiry: Supporting Users changing needs from Napier University and the East Renfrewshire project IT takes 2.0 will receive GBP 9,950 and GBP 8,400 respectively.
Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) has launched a guide to help museums and galleries to develop and maintain digital content about their collections. The Digital Content Action Framework aims to improve retrieval and maximise the use of materials. The Framework's priority themes are creation, delivery, preservation and sharing digital content. MGS, formerly the Scottish Museums Council, is the lead body for the funding, development and advocacy for Scottish museums and galleries.
Scotland's Information
Research Collections Online
Scottish Library and Information Resources
Scottish Distributed Digital Library
Scottish Collections Network
Co-operative Information Retrieval Network for Scotland
© Send comments, suggestions and queries about SLAINTE to Gillian Hanlon. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 UK: Scotland License 11-May-2011
