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 April 2006 Volume 4(2)

President’s perspective

Time to make an impact

Can we, as a group of professionals, make an impact? Our success in influencing the Terrorism Bill demonstrates to me that we can effect change, particularly in the organisations in which we operate, although, as the Bill shows, it need not be limited to our immediate environment.

As a profession we’ve got a well earned reputation as effective communicators and facilitators. We are highly adept at liaison and team working. Generally we have excellent customer facing skills, we are approachable, flexible and keen to help. All positive and worthy attributes.

But in terms of marketing ourselves, has the emphasis on the soft skills diminished our reputation as experts in the organisation of knowledge and the management of information? Or indeed, do we still have proficiency in the hard skills associated with information management? Because it is these hard skills, I believe, which are increasingly in demand, and which give us a pivotal role within our organisations, securing and enhancing our professional status.

Are we up for it as a profession? The library service at the University of Abertay Dundee, for example, has been able to punch above its weight for sometime. The development of library & information skills teaching, a new library building and the development of an Information Strategy helped maintain the impact, profile and contribution of library services with our customers and senior management. However, today this level of service is viewed as a commodity, is taken for granted, and is expected to be of high quality. In other words, it no longer has any impact.

We’ve realised we have to redefine our role. In my opinion the future must involve us taking a lead role in all aspects of corporate information. At Abertay Dundee we are slowly getting over the message that if the University is to effectively manage Freedom of Information, if it is to have a portal which actually enhances users’ access information, and if it is to meet the Funding Council’s very detailed requirements for potential students’ access to information about the University, it will need to have a high quality information architecture.

This involves utilising our hard professional skills through, for example, developing robust information taxonomies to support the development of internet and intranet services. Increasingly people are looking to the librarianship profession to help provide solutions to information overload. How can information be organised, presented and indexed to support effective retrieval? Librarians are providing many of these answers.

And to do this you really have to see the bigger picture, the strategic drivers, and develop a deep understanding, of your organisation, how it works and where it’s going. This is really challenging, but true in all our sectors – whether it be school, public, special or higher and further education. It’s also very exciting and rewarding, re-affirming our role as professionals. A good example is the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. This has created many opportunities for the profession. It has heightened the requirement to manage corporate information more effectively.

However it also created a threat. Many organisations now employ records managers, who are making an impression in the management of corporate information. Are we in danger here of losing the professional voice? Are we as a profession equipped to transfer the skills and knowledge established to organise and manage library collections in the corporate sphere?
Colleagues working in industry and special libraries are already exposed to this environment and many are making a telling contribution. Perhaps we should be looking to them to take more of a leading role in advising and influencing the profession. I’m sure we could all learn from their experience at the corporate coal face

The importance for us all to engage in a creative way with professional issues and the future of CILIPS has become obvious in my short period in office. Already I’m starting to appreciate the positive of being President. I’m meeting so many professionals and para professionals from around the country. I’ve given a presentation at an event led by the Scottish Further Education Unit on the value of partnership, welcomed a SCURL group which had organised a seminar on designing library buildings for the disabled, and met with the SCURL Business Committee. The most enjoyable event, however, was a special meeting of the CILIPS Policy and Resources Committee to brainstorm the challenges which lie ahead.

The common theme throughout this stimulating event was the need for all CILIPS members to engage with the profession. What does that mean? We all have our own interpretations, but perhaps the simplest way to put it is to ask ourselves: are we just waiting for our professional body to come up with ideas for us? Or are we trying to come up with the ideas ourselves? The greatest strength of any professional body is the opportunity it gives to network with colleagues. It is the easiest and most enjoyable way to learn by far! There’s a proliferation of opportunities for CILIPS members in Scotland to engage in this way and most of us do, but the health and vibrancy of our professional body needs us all to contribute in a creative way.

Our own individual worlds and Scotland itself would have been a poorer place if library and information professionals had not mobilised to influence the Terrorism Bill. This mobilisation does not happen out of the blue, it emerges through a professional body, made vigorous and confident through its members engaging over many years with its professional body, the issues facing the profession, and each other. We can all play our part.
Ivor Lloyd

Information Scotland Vol. 4(2) April 2006

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