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 December 2005 Volume 3 (6)

Communities of Practice

Aiming Higher

The Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL) as an organisation embodies the phrase ‘Community of Practice’. The website yields pertinent examples of different sectors in the library and information community, primarily – but not exclusively – in Scotland forging intellectual relationships with colleagues working on similar areas of interest. One example is the SCURL Special Needs Group where the members have produced an Audit of Services available within the SCURL member libraries.

If you want to find out if Glasgow Caledonian University offers long loans or if the University of the Highlands and Islands provides assistance with photocopying and printing to their special needs students then check the website. The information audit has been gathered and updated by the Special Needs members to share freely with the community but it perhaps could also be considered as a ‘Goal’ or attainment schedule for other libraries and institutions to share.

There are many groups in SCURL representing different subjects or disciplines. The SCURL Health Group is an example where training has a focus with a recent event, Full Economic Costing, hosted to answer the specific needs of the group members. However, the benefit to the entire SCURL membership was demonstrated when the report of the event was shared and has subsequently assisted some Directors of Library Service to submit their evidence of financial models.

SHERAL (Scottish Higher and Education Research and Acquisitions Librarians Group) was recently tasked by SCURL to review an e-books offer from a publisher who had approached SCURL, as a consortium. SCURL therefore produces information, such as the Audit, for the mutual use of its members and to share the information more widely but is also able to consult with other groups to gain the benefit of their skills, knowledge, and negotiating ability.

Another example of sharing skills, and benefiting from scholarly wisdom, is the current debate on the Terrorism Bill, which, at time of writing, is at the Third Reading in the House of Commons. The item was raised under ‘Any Other Business’ at a meeting attended in October. The subject was the result of communication the previous week from the Consortium of Research Libraries in the British Isles (CURL) and the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL). Clauses 2 and 3 of the Bill could cause potential difficulty to Libraries and an ad hoc group was convened immediately. The membership of the group comprised senior staff of the British Library, CURL, SCONUL, SCURL, CILIP, CILIPS, SLIC, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), and the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL). The Group, on behalf of the library community, has reacted immediately and responded by submitting letters to the Home Secretary clarifying the potential implications to libraries, and to librarians, with the current text of the clauses. The email communication and sharing of developments by the members of this Group is an admirable example of a community of practice where the knowledge and expertise is gathered, shared, produced and submitted within days.

SCURL is well placed in the Scottish library and museum arena to share in the organisation and hosting of training events, seminars, and conferences. The network of colleagues developed in the first few months of my appointment to the Service Development Manager post was simultaneously rewarding, and enriching. Communities of practice are evident in the further education sector with the Librarians’ Network working group, LIBNET, arranging a conference in 2006 specifically titled Communities of Practice, in which, SCURL will assist. LIBNET has representatives on the working group from SCURL and SLIC, University of the Highlands and Islands, Motherwell College, Stevenson College, Stirling College of Further Education and two representatives from the Scottish Further Education Unit.

SCURL, SLIC and the MultiMedia Information Technology group in Scotland, (MmiTS) demonstrated their shared common expertise organising the fifth annual E-Books event recently held in the National Library of Scotland (see report). The outcome of the planning team’s meetings was a document on event organisation which offers a checklist of procedures to follow when hosting an event irrespective of which group, organisation, building, or location is responsible. It is hoped to add the final document to the SCURL webpages to share freely with any potential organiser.

The Confederation of Scottish Mini-Cooperatives (COSMIC) is a confederation of independent organisations, services and projects working together to foster and sustain co-operation between libraries, archives, museums, electronic learning services and others actively engaged in building and developing ‘virtual Scotland’. Its membership includes domain level organisations such as SLIC and the Scottish Museums Council sectoral organisations such as SCURL and regional co-operatives such as the Tayside and Fife Library Information Network (TAFLIN) and the Ayrshire Libraries Forum (ALF)

The COSMIC web-site gives more information about the range of initiatives supported by the group, including links to useful services such as CAIRNS and SCONE.

In conclusion, there is an embryonic, but growing, acronym list on COSMIC’s website so you, the reader, may wish to contribute to this community of practice by sending new acronyms to Gordon Dunsire , Depute Director, CDLR.

Jill Evans is Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL) Service Development Manager.

Information Scotland Vol. 3 (6) December 2005

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