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 June 2008 Volume 6(3)

Conference: Reviews

Make it happen

At Peebles this year I found the energy and buzz stimulated by an inspirational programme of speakers truly palpable. It was fascinating to hear about developments in libraries in Finland, America, Estonia as well as services closer to home such as Essex. It was incredible to be immersed in the ‘library world’ for three days where it seemed we all ate, slept and breathed (very well it must be said) our professional future, past and present. As well as hearing from the official speakers, it was a great opportunity to put faces to names and meet and chat with colleagues from various sectors and countries.

Much of the focus of the discussions was of the importance of library services developing to meet the demands of new audiences. Colleagues from Finland made a striking point when talking about Helsinki’s fantastically popular Library 10: library staff need to understand and experience the worlds that their users inhabit to truly understand them. It is important to realise that our jobs are never ‘done’ in this regard. In order to be relevant to people’s lives, we need to constantly find out what our communities want and need and find ways to deliver it.

There was also a focus on the need to measure our successes and understand our failures. Alan Hasson, CILIPS President, pointed out that without rigorous performance management we can’t manage our services or deliver our objectives. Various speakers highlighted the value of the Public Library Quality Improvement Matrix and the opportunity it has given library services to ask ‘what’ ‘so what’ and ‘what now’.
The importance of advocacy was evident in every presentation. From getting politicians on side, fighting your corner within larger departments, shouting about libraries from the rooftops, the speakers made it clear that it is the responsibility of everyone in the profession to celebrate libraries and librarianship and make sure we let others know about it. It is clear that our colleagues in our professional bodies are all doing a fantastic job of making sure that governments realise that libraries can and will deliver.

A distinct message was that all this cannot be done in isolation; we must work in partnership with colleagues in other sectors, both public and private, and we must communicate effectively with politicians, publishers, suppliers, designers and systems providers to ensure that we have the tools and the means to make our dreams a functional reality.

I was struck by the real warmth and passion amongst the delegates. There was a genuine feeling of openness and willingness to share experiences, welcome new ideas and learn from colleagues. I was proud to be in this business – a love of people and of life are at its heart. It was clear that librarians over the last 100 years in Scotland and worldwide have been working to make people’s lives better and this has all been done humbly and because “that’s our job”. It was inspiring to say the least to see colleagues awarded and remembered for their hard work and dedication at the Centenary Awards dinner.

Overall the message I took from the conference was for us all to celebrate what has been achieved over the last 100 years, think about what can be achieved over the next 100 and get back to work and make it happen.

Amina Shah is Senior Library and Information Officer, Central Library, Dundee

Information Scotland Vol. 6(3) June 2008

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