Information Scotland

The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland

June 2008 Volume 6(3)

Centenary

Talking to London

Brian Osborne looks at structure and the relationship with the UK-wide body in his third article on the history of our professional organisation.

The affiliation with the Library Association that was agreed in 1930 was probably, indeed inevitably, looked at in a different perspective from north and south of the Border. The Library Association tended to see the Scottish Library Association as a valuable addition to its branch network, smaller in size than many of its English regional branches, perhaps slightly more troublesome. On the other hand the SLA continued to have its date of foundation and its date of affiliation to the LA printed on its notepaper and was always very aware of its history, that it was not a creation of the Library Association and that it was an association in affiliation with the LA which could, on giving due notice, disaffiliate.

Although affiliation strengthened both bodies there were to be tensions between the LA and the SLA, most notably in the late 30s when the LA organised a survey of the public library services of the UK. The survey of South West Scotland by Miss A S Cooke was seen by many as inaccurate and misleading and William B Paton, then Burgh Librarian of Airdrie, at the September 1938 SLA AGM, succeeded in having a motion passed calling on the LA to withdraw this survey and have the work done again. Eventually the LA at its 1939 AGM agreed to a new survey on lines approved by a joint panel of LA and SLA members – this panel was due to meet for the first time on 7 September 1939, but events of somewhat greater world significance had intervened and it was not convened.

Writing in SLA News in 1983, on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the foundation of the Scottish Library Association, Robert Craig, unburdened at the time by the restrictions of paid office (though such later restrictions were seldom seen to limit his freedom of expression), observed: “…throughout the 75 years of its life there has existed in the SLA the belief that, despite denials to the contrary, the LA has never really understood the situation in Scotland.”

In the 1950s the Library Association had re-examined its branch and section structure but the Scottish Library Association concluded in its response that it should, because of the differences in legislation between the two countries: “continue as a separate entity affiliated to the Library Association as at present.”

The work in Scotland was in part funded by a capitation grant from London and, in 1963, because of a low credit balance in the SLA’s accounts, the LA was asked to raise the capitation from 10 shillings (50p) per head to 13/4d per head (66p). In that year the SLA turnover exceeded £2000 for the first time. A more stable funding structure was achieved by the end of the decade when the capitation grant was replaced by an annual estimate submitted by the SLA, based on the financial activities of the past year and adjusted for inflation and any special activities it wished to undertake.
In 1970, with local government reorganisation on the horizon, the Council of the Scottish Library Association was faced with the challenge of responding to these changes in an economic climate in which the LA had insisted that only a 7% increase in expenditure could be afforded. The SLA requested the establishment of a full-time office in Scotland and negotiations with London ensued. The outcome was the welcome appointment of W B Paton, former County Librarian of Lanarkshire, and past President of both the LA and the SLA, as temporary Executive Secretary, funded by the LA and with a remit covering both Scotland and Northern Ireland. His appointment was scheduled to run from 1972 to 1975 and the efficient operation of the SLA was further strengthened by the appointment of Mary Barr as Clerical Assistant in September 1973.

The special situation of reorganisation over the temporary Executive Secretary post lapsed but the SLA pressed for a permanent appointment and in October 1984, Robert Craig, then a lecturer at Strathclyde University and who had been Honorary Secretary since 1981, was appointed as full-time paid Executive Secretary and established an office for the Association in Motherwell – the post being later re-designated as Director. The presence of a full-time paid permanent officer allowed the Association to develop its work in many areas although the significant contribution made by Council members and honorary officers should never be underestimated, not least in the negotiations with London and in the development of links with COSLA and other Scottish agencies.

With the Motherwell office established, SLA Council was soon pressing London for additional resources to support the Executive Secretary. By 1992 a professional officer had been appointed to the staff, in the person of Rhona Arthur, who became Assistant Director in 1997.

With the creation of the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) in 1991 an interesting situation had developed. SLIC was very much a creation of the SLA which had long argued for the development of just such an independent advisory body for the sector and had worked towards this with the National Library of Scotland’s Library and Information Services Committee. Having created SLIC, there arose an immediate problem of staffing, in part caused by uncertain funding. There was also the potential problem of overlapping areas of work. A solution was found with the appointment of a Project Manager for SLIC and the secondment of the Executive Secretary of the SLA on a part-time basis to act as Director of SLIC – staffing gaps being filled by hiring freelance staff on a consultancy basis. The Executive Secretary/Director was thus in the potentially embarrassing position of serving two masters who might have diverging priorities or wish for different outcomes – but such things can usually be accommodated in the small world of Scottish librarianship and the pragmatic solution adopted, however odd it might look from the outside, ensured that the two bodies would pull together rather than compete.

In 1993 Council opened up the question of re-negotiating the 1930 affiliation agreement and a series of discussions took place between representatives of the two Associations. An agreement was reached in 1995 which confirmed that the SLA, through its Council and officers, would be responsible for all policy, financial and operational matters relating to its internal affairs and for those professional matters that solely affected the operation, development and promotion of library and information services in Scotland. It was also agreed that the Library Association would meet the full costs of the Motherwell office. In the context of the development of support for Scottish parliamentary devolution, culminating in the 1997 Referendum, such a concordat was both wise and inevitable.

A range of developments flowed from this agreement, which was to be monitored and adjusted by regular joint meetings of the two Associations. By 1995 the SLA had developed a website and email was in place in the office. Project EARL, designed to improve libraries’ provision of information through the Internet, came on stream and a part-time Project Officer was funded to cope with this work. In April 1998 Elaine Fulton was appointed as Assistant Director SLIC/SLA and when Robert Craig retired in 2002 was appointed to succeed him in his joint role.

Tensions may have existed between London and Scotland but the two bodies had many powerful links, not least the succession of Scots who played significant roles in LA affairs. Some of these players have been referred to in earlier articles but in the post-war years this cross-fertilisation has continued with figures like Alan White moving seamlessly through all sorts of corridors of power and becoming in succession President of the Association of Assistant Librarians (1972), the Scottish Library Association (1980) and the Library Association (1989). Nor did it hinder harmonious relations and the development of the Scottish Library Association to have allies like the Scot George Cunningham as Chief Executive of the Library Association from 1984 to 1992.

That there has come to be a better cross-Border understanding of the distinctive Scottish dimension is beyond doubt. Bob McKee, CILIP Chief Executive, wrote in Advocating Libraries – the collection of essays presented to Robert Craig in 2002: “Scotland is different. The different legislative and administrative context of libraries in Scotland is now underpinned by political devolution and the likelihood that, over time, the policy context of library services in Scotland – and in each of the Home Nations – will diverge from the policy context in England.”

Brian D Osborne

Information Scotland Vol. 6(3) June 2008

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Last updated: 16-Jul-2008