Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal February 2003 Volume 1 (1)

Profile: Elaine Fulton

Cables and connections

Elaine Fulton, new Director of CILIPS and SLIC, reveals her future plans.

I see my main role as Director as to promote and support the aims and objectives of CILIPS and SLIC for the benefit of members and the wider community. A key role is to give strategic direction to CILIPS and SLIC and implement the policies agreed by the governance structures of both organisations. Communication, advocacy and leadership are the challenges of this post, in particular to communicate the value of library and information services and professionals to policy makers at the highest level in government

In the last five years library and information services throughout Scotland have undergone great changes due to the impact of electronic resources and the Internet. However there is still much to be done to ensure the current level of interest in the pivotal role that library services of all kinds is maintained and secured. Consolidation is the key and developing support for the profession will be an immediate priority to ensure that the skills of library and information professionals are recognised by others as relevant and necessary in the 21st Century.

At the same time the profession needs to have a mechanism to make sure their skills and competencies are up-to-date. The creation of digital libraries and the information explosion will mean that professionals will need to demonstrate their understanding of technical issues and have the skills to create robust metadata, which will help to ensure that information can be accessed easily and quickly. In addition I believe the mediation role of the librarian with users will be important. Information literacy and information management and consultancy are areas I hope that CILIPS can develop in the coming years.

The current and developing landscape has five main strands:

Libraries have a long history of working in these areas and more recently the People’s Network and other related initiatives have raised the profile of the profession’s role in encouraging lifelong learning. The sector has key skills which can enable access to information and learning. Librarians have long prided themselves with their work in reaching into communities, encouraging and supporting reading and literature. In the next few years balancing of all of these roles will be crucial to be able to respond to the needs of users.

One worrying trend is the status of library and information services within organisations and the falling number of library professionals who are able to reach executive and senior management level within organisations. This is in spite of a growing acceptance at a central government level that libraries have a role to play in supporting the Information Society. I hope to look at how we can offer our members opportunities to develop management competencies which will help them to progress into more senior roles within organisations. There is also a real concern about securing sustainable funding as libraries develop their information roles further.

The People’s Network gives us a real opportunity to show the range and diversity of what library and information services can offer. The public are responding positively to this investment in the UK’s public libraries – visitor numbers are rising, comments from the public are positive and more importantly people who would not normally have thought that the public library had something to offer them are becoming users. This can only be positive and we need to build on this success ensuring all staff are well trained and that the biggest single investment in public libraries since Andrew Carnegie is not squandered.

2003 is the anniversary of 150 years of public libraries in Scotland we are hoping to run a number of events throughout the year which we hope will attract media attention including a travelling exhibition celebrating the service.

For SLIC and CILIPS working with others has been the key to the successes in the recent past and this will be no different in the future both at a political and organisational level. This involves talking to a range of other organisations about their aims and objectives and “selling” libraries to them. The advocacy role of SLIC and CILIPS is one of the main functions of the Director, which I look forward to, as I have always believed that as a profession we have much to offer but we are not very good at marketing ourselves.

Much of the success in the recent past has come through co-operation and collaboration. It is one of the true strengths of the profession that is not often seen in other professions. This is something we can build on.

As Robert Craig said, it will be a tricky task “...to maintain the momentum of the last dizzy few years.” He is absolutely right. Both SLIC and CILIPS have had many successes recently, but they don’t happen out of the blue, they are as a result of much hard work, lobbying and support from the members. So I am ready to work hard and continue lobbying and I look forward to continued support from the profession.

My life as a techie

Elaine's background is in public libraries with posts including library assistant, Branch Librarian, Audio and Reference Librarian and Systems Librarian. For about 10 years what attracted her interest was the role that electronic systems could play in delivering better and more effective services. That led to a brief sojourn working for a library systems supplier which, she says, “Gave me a whole different view.”

She continues: “I am an anorak – a techie. At one stage in my career I was known to carry cables, connectors and a screwdriver in my handbag! The development of ICT in libraries really inspires me. It’s not a panacea to cure all ills for library services, but with sound investment in resources and staff it can really improve the quality of service.”

Information Scotland Vol. 1 (1) February 2003

Information Scotland is delivered online by the SAPIENS electronic publishing service based at the Centre for Digital Library Research. SLAINTE (Scottish libraries across the Internet) offers further information about librarianship and information management in Scotland.