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A Special New Professionals' issue highlighting the 2009 CDG New Professionals' Conference co-edited by Chris Rhodes (Honorary New Professionals' Co-ordinator) and Alison Barlow (Honorary Editor)
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Spring 2010 Volume 13 Number 1 www.cilip.org.uk/cdg/impact Ned Potter Why are we still defined by our buildings? Annette Earl What library school doesn’t teach you Sue Edgar Pick me! Why should an employer choose you? Nicolás Robinson Changing times, changing goals SPECIAL ISSUE: NEW PROFESSIONALS
Transcript
Page 1: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Spring 2010 Volume 13 Number 1

www.cilip.org.uk/cdg/impact

Ned PotterWhy are we stilldefined by our buildings?

Annette EarlWhat library schooldoesn’t teach you

Sue EdgarPick me! Why should

an employer choose you?

Nicolás RobinsonChanging times,

changing goals

SPECIAL ISSUE:NEW PROFESSIONALS

Page 2: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

PRESIDENTJon Scown

Libraries West Development OfficerCultural Services Admin Centre, Mount Street,

Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 3ESTel: 01278 451201.

Email: [email protected]

SECRETARYStella Wisdom

Project Manager Collection Storage NorthThe British Library, Boston Spa, Wetherby,

West Yorkshire, LS23 7BQTel: 01937 546873.

Email: [email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUTTHE GROUP

?Name?Email: ?email address?

ADVERTISE IN IMPACTAdvertise here and reach nearly 4,000

potential customers, it’s so easy!(source: CDG membership, January 09)

If you are interested in advertising in Impact,please contact ?our friendly Advertising Offic-

er Stella Wisdom; by [email protected] or ring her on 01937

546873?

2009/10 charges for advertising in Impact:Full page colour: £330Full page black and white: £230Half page colour: £200Half page black and white: £140 ?Flyers????

20% discount available for non-profitorganisations

VAT will be charged at the standard rate on

ISSN 1468-1625

Impact, the official journal of the CareerDevelopment Group of CILIP: theChartered Institute of Library andInformation Professionals; formerly theAssistant Librarian, the journal of theAssociation of Assistant Librarians.

Views expressed in Impact are notnecessarily those of the CareerDevelopment Group or the Editors.

Material may be reproduced in printed andelectronic formats without permission,provided acknowledgement is made.

Copy can be submitted to the Editors inplain ASCII text format, MS Word format,or in the body of an email message.Accompanying photographs of aresolution of no less than 150dpi (mono)or 300dpi (colour) are welcome.

SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIESJanice McQuilkin

The LibraryUniversity of Ulster

Magee College, Northland RoadLondonderry BT48 7JL

Tel: 028 7137 5299 Fax: 028 7137 5626Email: [email protected]

Annual subscriptions 2010United Kingdom £42.74Overseas £61.22North America $121.28

Impact Copy Dates 2010Issue Articles PublicationSummer 20 May 17 JuneAutumn 19 Aug 16 SeptWinter 28 Oct 25 Nov

Career Development GroupWebsite:

http://www.cilip.org.uk/cdg/

Registered charity number: 313014

Page 3: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 1

CONTENTSNED POTTERWhy are we still defined by our building

CHRISTOPHER RHODESNew Professional activities

NICOLÁS ROBINSONChanging times, changing goals

ANNETTE EARLWhat library school does not teach you

SUE EDGARPick me! Why should an employerchoose you?

AFRICAN PRISONS PROJECT:BURSARY WINNER

VINCENT McDONALDThank you VSO

PREMILA GAMAGE & TRACEY AINSLEYDevelopment of thePrabhavi Organisation library - Sri Lanka

DATES

Guest Editor

Christopher Rhodes(Honorary New Professionals Coordinator)Library ExecutiveHouse of Commons LibraryEmail: [email protected]

Honorary Editor

Alison BarlowInformation LibrarianNottinghamshire County CouncilBeeston Library, Foster Avenue, Beeston,Nottingham, NG9 1AEEmail: [email protected]

Printed in England by Headley Brothers Ltd, Ashford, Kent

Welcome to this special,guest edited, New Professionals’edition of Impact, which showcases

work from last year’s New Professionals’ Con-ference and gives you a taste of our excitingproposals for the year ahead!

In this edition, we bring you the winning paperfrom our 2009 New Professionals’ conference byNed Potter, which acts as good advert for thisyear’s New Professionals’ Conference on Mon-day 5th July at the University of Sheffield. Thisis one of three conferences we are running thisyear, all of which feature in this issue. Theretruly is something for everyone.

Returning to new professionals, Nicholás Robin-son surveys some of their current challengesfrom a Spanish perspective and Annette Earlprovides some of top tips for newly qualifiedlibrarians that you won’t hear at library school.

Sue Edgar from Sue Hill Recruitment then out-lines what it is that makes new professionals sovaluable to employers.

We also include news of the winner of theAfrican Prison Project bursary, an update on theCDG international project in Sri Lanka, and amoving account of Voluntary Services Overseas’(VSO) volunteer Vincent McDonald’s time inPune in India.

We hope this edition of Impact inspires you toembrace some of the opportunities that CDGoffers to new professionals and also to librariansat all stages of their careers.

Christopher Rhodes and Alison Barlow

Spring 2010Volume 13 No. 1

EDITORIAL

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The information pro-fession is full of crea-tive, dynamic and

ambitious people - yet weare still fighting againstfirmly established, damag-ing myths and stereotypes.

Those outside the profes-sion still define us by thebuildings we work in; wecarry with us the baggageof associations with ‘thelibrary’, and it does notmatter how much or howlittle time we actuallyspend in the building itself.

Many of us have escapedthe physical confines of the library, withoutbeing able to escape the preconceptionsthat go with it.

I want to look at what those preconcep-tions are, why they really are importantand what we can do to change them.

What preconceptions?It seems we Information Professionals havebeen preoccupied with this subject for awhile – and why not? No profession hasquite the canon of unfavourable stereo-types from a broad range of sources, aslibrarians.

We are all familiar with the most commonstereotypes. In 2008, Maura Seale (1) ex-plored this in detail and came up with fivemajor categories of librarian in mass media,

popular culture and publicperceptions:

Old Maid Librarian Policeman Librarian Inept Librarian Librarian as Parody Hero/ine Librarian

You may have more of yourown. Seale does capturethe main portrayals well,and it is worth examiningthem in a bit more detail.

The Old Maid librarian isreally the dominant stereo-type; frumpy and sexless,

sitting behind her book-issuing desk wear-ing terrible clothes and oozing unhappi-ness. Seale also points out a ‘Young Maid’derivative of this - we are all familiar with themoment in a film when, perhaps in slowmotion, the Young Maid will shake her hairout of her librarian’s bun, remove herlibrarian’s glasses and affect a miraculousswan-like transformation into the love-inter-est of the hero. (At least you women havethat transformation to look forward to; usmen start off meek, mild and dull, and that’spretty much how we stay…).

The Library Policeman is the person whotakes delight in punishing library users fortheir lateness, their noise-levels, or reallyjust anything at all. The building is veryimportant in this definition – it is becausethe Library is his domain that the policemancan scare and cow people who normally

Why are we still defined by our building?Ned Potter

Winner of 2009 New Professionals’ Conference Best Paper Prize

Reproduced with permission from www.mcphee.com

Page 5: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 3

would not look twice at him in the street.The library policeman is marginalised andignored by society at large, so when he is inhis library building he can finally extractrevenge with a series of petty grievances.

The Inept Librarian, carries on this theme,being not inept at his or her job, but sociallyinept, or out of touch.

The Librarian as Parody takes us into rathermore murky waters. This refers to beingfully aware of the librarian stereotype andeither playing up to it or dismantling it com-pletely to become an exaggerated opposite.An example of the latter is the film TheLibrarian, in which the macho hero is, toquote Seale, “a sexy, adventurous librarianwith two love interests.”

An example of the former is the NancyPearl action figure. Nancy Pearl is a sort ofcult-librarian figure in America, and authorof the well-received 2003 volume BookLust. She has her own action figure (asshown on the opening page) which comescomplete with a stack of books. The mostcontroversial aspect of the figure is thepush-to-shush function. Is this an exampleof librarians reclaiming or appropriatingtheir image for themselves, subverting thestereotypes by embracing them, and under-mining them with a kitsch librarian doll? Oris this simply pandering to, and perpetuat-ing, the stereotype.

Generally I think the shushing-action doll isfunny. But, there is an over-arching issuehere which is that it is perpetuating thestereotype; any librarian-as-parody figuresdraw attention to the stereotypes and fur-ther embed them into popular culture, even

if they try and subvert them or treat themironically.

So is the doll a good thing, a bad thing, orsomething that does not require any kind ofattention at all? I honestly do not know.

The Hero/ine Librarian, as the final stereo-type, is a more positive portrayal, with anexample being Giles from Buffy the Vam-pire Slayer who often saves the world, ap-parently. Unfortunately he does so from asort of Victorian ideal of a library, all woodcabinets, globes on desks, and dusty oldbooks. He has no familiarity with informa-tion technology. As the modern librarianuses technology all the time, even a rela-tively positive portrayal of a librarian suchas Giles is obstructive to our users seeingas we really are.

Why it mattersSome, like Nancy Pearl, would argue thatthese stereotypes do not matter. It is mybelief that the stereotyping issue is signifi-cant enough that we need to confront ithead on, because ultimately it interfereswith our ability to deliver a service.

I surveyed 50 members of staff at the Uni-versity of Leeds library on whether they feltlibrary workers receive sufficient respectfrom outside the profession. Only 8% said‘Mostly’; the largest group (50%) said ‘Not

‘we need to confront it head on,because ultimately it interferes with

our ability to deliver a service’

New York Public Library

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Really’. More than one person commentedthat most people do not know it is a skilledprofession at all, or that you can qualify in it.A lack of respect results in a less successfulinformation provision. A colleague, DanPullinger, found in his 2004 study (2) thatonly 27% of respondents described staff inan academic library as ‘computer literate’.Students do not realise the extent to whichmodern content-delivery methods are driv-en by the library, and many do not come tous for help with IT. And of those that do,many are not inclined to trust our advice.

As well as impacting on our ability to effec-tively influence our users, our image is alsoimportant in terms of recruiting to the pro-fession. In 2006 Alan Danskin (3) noted that33% of the cataloguing workforce in the USwill retire by 2010. In the UK many of thecustomer-facing staff, who made librarywork their career, are close to retirement tobe replaced with younger people for whomthe job is only transitory. Retiring staff willneed replacing – and at the moment, insuf-ficient numbers are being attracted to aprofession wrongly seen as boring. Thisalone is a convincing argument for why ourimage really does matter.

What should we do about it?Cynthia Shamel (4) suggests a coordinatedand highly developed marketing strategy.She makes some excellent suggestions,such as having marketing as a core modulein library school programmes and market-ing ourselves as well as our resources. Shealso emphasises the importance of posi-tioning librarians as ‘the primary conduit forthe transmission of information from wher-ever it exists to wherever it is needed’. Thismay sound like what we already try and do,but Shamel is talking about wider publicperception: in the same way everyoneknows they should contact an accountantfor financial advice or a lawyer for legal

guidance, she says, they must think first ofthe librarian when they want authoritativeinformation.

Ultimately, it is down to us (particularly thenew professionals who will shape the Infor-mation Profession in years to come) to en-sure others recognise the importance ofwhat we do and that the nature of informa-tion provision and information workers ischanging. Those outside the profession arestruggling to catch up with who we reallyare and what we really do in the 21st centu-ry. We must update them whenever we can,using every means available to us.

Our most common and perhaps effectiveopportunity is in the day-to-day interactionwe have with our customers. As in the oldsporting cliché – you are only as good asyour last game. We are only as good as ourlast customer interaction – every singlething we do must be customer focussed,positive, and reflect the role of the moderninformation professional. This really is theprimary weapon we have in our armoury,with which to shake off the old associationsthat cling to our building, and so also to us.

Ned PotterLIFE-SHARE Project Officer,

University of Leeds.A longer version of this paper is available atthewikiman.org/papers.htm. Ned blogs at thethewikiman.org/blog

(1) Seale, M. (2008) ‘Old Maids, Policeman and So-cial Rejects: Mass Media Representations and PublicPerceptions of Librarians’ in Electronic Journal of Ac-ademic and Special Librarianship, 9 (1)(2) Pullinger, D. (2004) An investigation into the exis-tence of a relationship between student perception ofacademic librarians and uptake of the services theyoffer.(3) Danskin, A. (2006) “Tomorrow never knows:” theend of cataloguing? Address to World Library andInformation Congress. Accessible via www.ifla.org/IV/ifla72/papers/102-Danskin-en.pdf , p. 4(4) Shamel, Cynthia (2002) ‘Building a brand: Got li-brarian?’ Searcher, 10 (7). Accessible viahttp://www.infotoday.com/searcher/jul02/shamel.htm

Page 7: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 5

I became CDG New Professionals’ Coor-dinator roughly 12 months ago and I willtake this chance to outline a few high-

lights from the past year and some of theopportunities in 2010.

The first CDG New Professionals’ Confer-ence was held in July last year at LondonMetropolitan University. It was attended bynearly 100 delegates, with nine first timespeakers delivering presentations, on sub-jects ranging from marketing yourself onlineto conceptions of librarianship. The livelydebate which accompanied these presenta-tions will hopefully be repeated at the sec-ond New Professionals’ Conference, to beheld in July this year at the University ofSheffield. The format will be different thistime, with a number of workshops givingdelegates the opportunity to interact withexperts in smaller groups. The plenary ses-sions will again involve first-time speakersand the opportunity to debate issues ofinterest to new professionals.

A graduate day has been held in Londonfor several years, providing a good opportu-nity to present the merits of careers ininformation. For the first time, this year,these days will be extended beyond Lon-don. The New Professional Support Offic-ers will work closely with CILIP’sMembership Support Unit to plan and runthese days at locations around Britain, ex-tending the reach of the profession to peo-ple and places that have not beenapproached in this way before.

The Past President of CDG, Maria Coteraand I attended the launch of CILIP’s En-compass Trainee Scheme. This schemeseeks to place trainees from ethnic minori-

ties in library roles around the country. Thisis the kind of innovative and importantscheme which helps the profession by in-creasing the diversity of the workforce. Italso provides great opportunities for newprofessionals and mirrors some of the coregoals of CDG. I have volunteered to meetwith the trainees and have offered the sup-port of CDG, to ensure that they have everyopportunity to begin successful careers.

One of the biggest opportunities to make atangible difference to the profession, isthrough CILIP’s Big Conversation. Thisconsultation will attempt to ensure the rele-vance of CILIP to LIS professionals in thecoming decade and Biddy Fisher, Presidentof CILIP, has said repeatedly how importantshe considers the views of new profession-als to be. This chance to influence thefuture of our professional body should notbe ignored. I would strongly encourageanyone reading this to take every chancethey have to get their views heard and theiropinions recorded.

Last year CDG succeeded in providing newprofessionals with a stronger voice withinthe profession, provided new opportunitiesfor new professionals from different sectorsto interact, and created the New Profes-sional Support Officer Network that hasenabled people in the early stages of theircareers to receive assistance and guidancefrom other new professionals in their area.

It is my hope that this year will be just assuccessful as the last.

Christopher RhodesHonorary New Professionals Coordinator

[email protected]

New Professional activitiesChristopher Rhodes

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Impact Spring 2010 6

Programme

Plenary presentations from newprofessionals, followed by debate

Bridging the gap: From employability to employment

Building skills on a shoestring:

Unpaid work, making it count

Taking charge of your CPD

Proving the value of peer networks

Attitudes that add value:

Broadening your skills

Traditional skills in a changing world

Unleashing your professional edge

Parallel interactive workshops

Entering the world of blogs led by Ned Potter

Creating effective CVsled by Lizzie Russell(Sue Hill Recruitment)

Taking the twit out of Twitterled by Bethan Ruddock

Creating elevator speechesled by Lucy Marris and Andrew Cox

Proving your worth in challenging timesCareer Development Group New Professionals Conference 2010:

Forum and Debate from a New Professionals PerspectiveIn partnership with the Department of Information Studies,

University of Sheffield

Monday 5th July 2010, at the University of Sheffield

Best paper prize (voted by delegates) sponsored by Sue Hill Recruitment

Delegate ratesCDG members - £55 + 17.5% VAT = £64.63CILIP members - £65 + 17.5% VAT = £76.38

Non CILIP members - £75 + 17.5% VAT = £88.13Students & Unwaged - £35 + 17.5% VAT = £41.13

For more details, a full programme and bookings visit cilip.org.uk/cdg

Opening address: Sheila Corrall, Professor of Librarianship & Information Management, University of Sheffield

Closing remarks: Biddy Fisher, CILIP PresidentConference chair: Maria Cotera, CDG Past President

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Impact Spring 2010 7

Anew year begins and with it comesnew opportunities for new profes-sionals. In a time of many changes –

the economic crisis, climate change, newtechnologies, among others – the key tosuccess lies in providing added value andlooking at these phenomena not as obsta-cles but as a chance to prove ourselves. Toquote Bronowski (1), “at such a moment theman who can direct others, in thought or inaction, can remake the world”.

As is typical at this time of year there are anumber of top tens and predictions in thepress. One of the latter attracted my atten-tion recently. On 28 December, The WallStreet Journal (WSJ) published an articleabout new jobs and promising career pathsexpected in the next few years. The article,entitled “Landing a Job of the Future Takesa Two-Track Mind” (2), gives an interestingperspective on the skills and knowledgeexpected of job seekers.

Though the article does not contain a list offuture jobs and the words ‘library’ or‘librarian’ do not appear, the skills describedmirror those of information professionals,promising news for today’s new profession-als.

What employers are looking for are infor-mation managers. They may not be callingthem that because they do not know whatinformation professionals are capable ofdoing. We must learn to demonstrate ourvalue and not become obsessed with what

has traditionally been our environment:libraries. We have to learn to look outsideour buildings, our books and our shelvesand see the potential we have and make achange.

To quote a phrase from the WSJ article:“Case managers do everything from man-aging the flow of information between prac-titioner and insurance company tomitigating risk to the hospital”. Can we notdo that job? Does that kind of competencenot belong to information professionals? Ifso, then why are employers thinking ofnurses for this role and not us? Maybebecause we still have a lot to prove. Maybeit has not even crossed their minds.

Names don’t matter

As you can see I am not talking here aboutlibrarians, at least, this would not be theproper name for this kind of professional,but who cares what it is called! At the 2009CDG New Professionals’ Conference (3), Italked about new profiles that had arisen inSpain due to technology and to the changeswe are experiencing in our profession. Dur-ing my presentation I described three

Changing times, changing goalsNicolás Robinson

‘There is a huge economic crisis,they are closing libraries, cutting

staff. What can you do?’

Page 10: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 8

Spanish professionals who have developeda unique career profile, which makes themirreplaceable in their respective institutions.Not all of them work in libraries but they stillconsider themselves members of the sameprofession. What I wanted to show then andwould like to emphasise now, is the enor-mous scope of our profession.

Today society needs and demands morethan ever the skills and techniques that theinterdisciplinary nature of our professionprovide us with. Information technologyexpertise, information-seeking techniquesand information management are just a fewof the competencies that we can provide asinformation professionals. Jorge Serrano,who studied Library and Information Stud-ies at the University of Granada, is anexcellent example of an information profes-sional who has successfully applied all hisknowledge and skills in a different contextoutside the library environment. Havingworked in e-commerce, marketing, searchengine optimisation and benchmarking heis currently head of the Contents Depart-ment at MasMedios.com, a companywhose aim is to manage information and“contribute to the future definition of com-munication”. If asked, Jorge Serrano al-ways replies the same way, ‘I don’t carewhat they call me: librarian, informationprofessional or even IT specialist, I alwaysdo the same kind of job and use the sameskills, the only difference is in how I applythem’.

Academic libraries: changing habits,changing services

One of the fields where many changes aretaking place is in academic libraries, wherepatrons’ information behavior is changingrapidly. Researchers do not go to the libraryanymore; they have substituted it withGoogle. What is more, they won’t eventhink about reading anything that hasn’t got

online access (4). To compound this a re-cent OCLC report (5) stated that most re-searchers find library collections poor andprefer to create their own personal collec-tions. As professionals we often struggle tokeep up and rail against change, but what ifwe altered our mindset and looked at this asan opportunity, not an obstacle? This doesnot have to be bad news for librarians, itdoes not mean academic libraries are notneeded anymore; what it means is that ourrole has changed.

Let us look at the OCLC report as anexample. Researchers stated that theywould be happy to share their personalcollections with other researchers. Maybethere is an opportunity there for us to

provide the means to make this happen.Libraries, as physical places, are losingtheir original importance as informationcentres. The Internet has replaced them.But libraries, as information providers andeducating centres are more necessary thanever. Researchers and students are nowoverwhelmed with information; they do notknow how to look for it, how to organise it orhow to share it. We can be their guides anddemonstrate our value by for exampleteaching them how to use RSS feeds, howto share information or just helping themcontrol the multitude of information chan-nels available.

Looking for a job, how to make ithappen?

But, enough of professional challenges: youare a new professional, you have justfinished your studies and are looking for ajob. There is a huge economic crisis, they

‘Society needs and demands theskills and techniques that ourprofession provides us with’

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Impact Spring 2010 9

are closing libraries and cutting staff. Whatcan you do? Where should you look?

Well, first of all let us get our priorities right.Are you aware of the different paths youcan take? Last year, at the Faculty of Com-munication and Documentation, in Grana-da, we organised the second Conferenceon Career Opportunities for Library andInformation Science Graduates (6). Here,one of the speakers suggested three possi-ble career paths, which are perhaps thetraditional routes we think of:

� research� public sector� private sector.

I would suggest different options:� research� public libraries� academic libraries� archives� commercial enterprise� publishing

Of course you can probably think of morecategories that can be added. My purposeis not to describe professional profiles, butto encourage us to widen the view of oppor-tunities we should be considering. If we donot think of jobs in terms of the professionalskills we have and concentrate only on thelibrary sector, without considering otherfields of endeavour we are selling ourselvesshort. This was highlighted recently by Mi-chael Clarke (7) who blogged about theneed for professionals in publishing, em-phasising both scientific publishing andliterary publishing.

Research, for example, is a field of interestthat should, but is often not, considered intoday’s difficult job market. A post in a Uni-versity does not necessarily have to lead toacademia. As I showed at the New Profes-sionals’ Conference (8) new profiles canderive from research. Applied research is

often needed in order to find responses toissues, such as some of the changes thatare happening in the scientific community.

Finally, remember that activism is always away of career development and that net-working is vital in order to find new opportu-nities. It is not just being a goodprofessional, it is telling people who you are.

Nicolás RobinsonUniversity of Granada, Spain.

Nicolás is part of the Science and ScientificCommunication research group, examininginformation behaviour in the scientific communi-ty. Further information about his research can befound at http://ec3.ugr.es

(1) Bronowski, J. (1978) The Common Sense of Sci-ence.(2) Middleton, D. (2009) Landing a Job of the FutureTakes a Two-Track Mind. Available at:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703278604574624392641425278.html?mod=rss_Today%27s_Most_Popular(3) Robinson-Garcia, N. (2009) New Technologies,New Professionals. Available athttp://eprints.rclis.org/16614/.(4) Salo, D (2010) available athttp://scienceblogs.com/bookoftrogool/2010/01/scientists_why_your_access_to.php.(5) Palmer C. L et al (2009) Scholarly Informationpractices in the Online Environment. Available athttp://www.oclc.org/research/publications/library/2009/2009-02.pdf(6) Presentations (in Spanish) available at: us(7) Clarke, M. (2010) Available athttp://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2010/01/20/interested-in-a-career-in-publishing-recruiting-the-talent-we-need-for-the-21st-century.(8) Daniel Torres Salinas, researcher at EC3, haswritten about a new information system designed toincrease research productivity at the University of Na-varra, Spain. One of EC3’s main sources of incomecomes from implementing his information system.

“If we do not think of jobsin terms of the professional skills

we have .... we areselling ourselves short”

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Impact Spring 2010 10

What library school does not teach youAnnette Earl

Knowing that the ‘powers that be’were looking for articles specificallyaimed at those new to the profes-

sion, I suggested that a piece offeringadvice to help settle into a new post mightbe worthwhile.

Then I was asked to write it.

Let that be a lesson to those newbiesamong you who are still paddling at theedge of the CDG waters – ideas are almostinvariably followed by actions!

If only that were true of our daily profession-al lives where theory and practice can be ananathema to each other. This can appearan absolute truth when entering into yourfirst professional post. Resourcing issues,internal politics, children vomiting on thenewly cleaned carpet – library school didnot devote lectures to such things.

I am an expert in precisely nothing, but withseveral jobs now under my belt, I havemanaged to identify five top tips that havehelped me settle into a new post as quicklyas possible; together I call them the‘Pyramid of Professional Perpetuity’ (trustme, all will become clear..). I hope they mayresonate with some of you and provevaguely interesting and/or useful to others.

Top Tip 1: Taxis, Takeaways and ToiletsIt is well known that the strength of anybuilding lies in its foundation and given thatwe talk of ‘building’ our career, the samemaxim holds true. A new post can some-

times mean relocation; new town, new job,new everything. It takes time to adapt to anynew situation but some things can offerconsistency and stability.

For me, these things include knowing thenumber of a local taxi firm (I would alwaysbe able to get home), where the local take-away was (I would not starve) and wherethe public toilets were (vital!). These may allseem like trivialities but knowing whatmakes you comfortable in your personalsurroundings is one of the most effectivemethods of ensuring you settle in to yournew professional surroundings and givesyou a solid foundation upon which to buildyour professional skills.

Top Tip 2: Ignorance is blissIt is really quite simple – nobody expectsyou to be able to carry out all aspects ofyour job by the end of your first week. Wedo not expect it of other people and yet weseem to think it is perfectly reasonable todemand it of ourselves. Frankly, this makesno sense at all because worrying aboutwhat you do not know (but what you thinkyou should know) does not actually helpyou to learn it any faster. Be kind to your-self. Accept that it is going to take sometime before you will feel comfortable with allyour responsibilities and duties and realisethat it is absolutely fine to ‘know that you donot know’. This is probably a blessing ratherthan a curse because, very soon you willknow far more that you ever wanted to!

Top Tip 3: Indulge your inner childThere are many adjectives to describe chil-dren but for the purposes of this article Ishall content myself with just one. Inquisi-

Plugging the gap: top tips for newlyqualified librarians

Page 13: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 11

tive. ‘Why? But why?’ You get the idea.Children constantly question why things arethe way they are – a trait lost to us as webecome adults. Yet questioning the ‘why’ ofany situation only results in an increasedunderstanding of our surroundings. It helpsus to identify the strengths and weaknessesof what we do and asking this in a profes-sional context can often lead to moreefficient and effective ways of working. Ifyou are new to an organisation then askingquestions is often seen to be a useful eval-uation tool by the employer as well as allow-ing you to acquire the context andconstraints of your new role more quickly.

Top Tip 4: Smoke and MirrorsI can still clearly remember my first one-to-one session with my line manager abouttwo weeks after beginning my first profes-sional post. It included the assertion thatwhilst I had not actually done any ‘real’ workto date, I had built up some useful connec-tions and contacts. At the time I distinctlyremember feeling criticised and havingfailed expectation. However, time and ex-perience have allowed me to look back atthat meeting with an ironic smile.

I have since realised that my biggest pro-fessional strength is communication and toact as a ‘bridge’ between various groupsand individuals. I now deliberately spendthe first week of any new job getting to knowthe names and faces of everyone I can andintroduce myself to them. This includes thesenior management team, receptionists,facilities staff and the canteen lady(priorities…). It is much easier to ask for,and accept, help when you know the peopleinvolved.

Introductions and networking may not seemlike ‘real’ work at the time but the dividendsthat are ultimately paid out will prove this tobe one of the most productive and worth-

while activities you undertake at the start ofyour new position.

Top Tip 5: Aesop’s AdviceRemember the story of the tortoise and thehare who raced each other and against allodds the tortoise won? The lesson usuallyassociated with this fable is ‘Slow andsteady wins the race’. The race here is withnobody but yourself; if you pace yourselfyou will settle in to your new role relativelyquickly and with ease. There will always bean unforeseen hiccup or two along the waybut confidence is the key – every measuredstep taken is ultimately a step closer toachieving your professional goals and am-bitions.

Now, I will readily admit that the Pyramid ofProfessional Perpetuity has a ridiculousname but it is also an accurate one. Eachnew tip or skill that is learned may bethought of as another block which can beadded to the structure and therefore thepyramid continues to grow and is neverreally complete. After all, is that not whatCPD is – a continuing commitment to buildon our knowledge and understanding of theworld around us? We each have our ownpyramid in which we choose to arrange theblocks in various combinations until we cre-ate a structure that is right for us. There isno right or wrong and as long as we remem-ber that, each new job becomes a littleeasier to settle in to.

Now, all this writing has given me an appe-tite. Fortunately, I know a takeaway near-by…

Annette EarlProject Manager, Peninsular College

of Medicine and Dentistry.

‘Some people would call me mad - Iwork in a library and volunteer in a

library on my day off’

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Impact Spring 2010 12

Sequels, the reference tool widely used by public libraries and bookshops, formerlypublished by CILIP’s Career Development Group, is shortly to be produced in a newelectronic format under the title ‘sequelsonline.co.uk’.

The content, works of fiction and non-fiction in series, will remain the same with thereaddition of material removed from previous editions. Accessible using author, title orseries searches, data will continue to be edited by Mandy Hicken, with updates on aweekly basis.

The annual subscription will be £200, with no restriction on the number of terminals onwhich the database can be used. Each subscriber will have a unique password with whichto log in.

For further details contact Mandy, [email protected]

Raising the Bar Conference 2010Career Development Group Senior Professionals Conference

In partnership with thePersonnel, Training and Education Group of CILIP (PTEG)

Thursday 10th June 2010, at Newcastle upon Tyne’s impressive new Central Library

Delegate ratesCDG/PTEG members - £120 + 17.5% VAT = £141.00

CILIP members - £150 + 17.5% VAT = £176.25Non CILIP members - £180 + 17.5% VAT = £211.50

Unwaged - £50 + 17.5% VAT = £58.75

For further details contact Conference Chair Maria Cotera: [email protected] Tel: 020 7679 2302 or visit cilip.org.uk/cdg

A New Look for Sequels

Following the success of Raising the Bar 2008, our first joint conferencewith PTEG, we are pleased to announce our new joint conference

specifically aimed at middle and senior managers.

Consisting of a mix of plenary sessions and small-group interactive workshops deliveredby engaging speakers, including CILIP President Biddy Fisher, themes include:

Taking others along with you when implementing change

Combating disillusion

Using Web 2.0 for professional advocacy

Scenario planning - back by popular demand

Page 15: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 13

After completing academic studiesthen comes the scary time of lookingfor that first ‘role’. But in tough eco-

nomic times do you fully understand theskills that employers want? And will yourfirst interview be as daunting as facing Si-mon Cowell on a judging panel?

Academic study and qualifications offer atheoretical approach to how an objectivecan be achieved. A service for all, readilyavailable and non-discriminatory, but inpractical terms what skills and competen-cies are potential employers looking for ?Looking at many advertisements it is clearthat employers are looking for more than aprofessional qualification. Words such asflexible, enthusiastic and committed springto mind. Getting a professional qualificationindicates that sound functional knowledgehas been attained. It is those non-tangibleskills that add a different dimension to yourcandidacy.

The key question is ‘What skills and at-tributes does the 21st Century InformationProfessional need to succeed?’ You willneed to have good functional and socialskills and Emma Illingworth and Sarah Isonof the University of Brighton utilised workdone by Farkas in 2006 (1) which identifiedsixteen such skills when presenting at aForum in 2009 (2) - “Unleashing the poten-tial: new professionals in the workplace”.From embracing change through to diplo-macy and marketing skills, the new profes-sional must be able to develop these skillsand also show flexibility and adaptability in

how they present themselves to a potentialemployer.

When beginning your job search for yourfirst role or first move it is critical to fullyrealise what it was about the profession thatdrew you in and what excites you. Is itservice delivery to your customers be theyin the public, academic, charity or commer-cial sectors? Is it more technical in terms oftechnology being an enabler for servicesand the flow of information? Is it the back-room organisational roles to ensure collec-tions and resources are purchased, man-aged and made accessible? Understandingwhy you chose this path will ultimately driveyour enthusiasm and career development.At Sue Hill Recruitment we are finding thatour clients are seeking new professionalsthat have already picked up some non-tangible skills in concert with the functionalskills they will get from their respectivecourses.

A forthcoming conference in the US hasidentified the following as key elements ofskills/competencies for information profes-sionals: professional etiquette, appropriatebusiness behaviour, a sensitivity to officepolitics and diplomacy, an ability to dealwith conflict and communication skills

But do these resonate with you? Theyclearly show that employers are not onlyexpecting strong functional skills but thatthey want more for their £s. Are theserealistic expectations by an employer forsomeone applying for their first role?

Sue Edgar asks, ‘what do you, anew professional, offer an

employer?

“I want to tell people what I think,not what they think I should think”

Pick me! Why should an employer choose you?Sue Edgar

Page 16: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 14

Are these requirements unrealistic? Notreally and once you delve into your priorexperiences from clubs, societies, schoolactivities, part-time work, student life, in-ternships and paid work during holidays-you will be able identify what competencehas come from what experience. What you

consider implicit in simply naming an em-ployer and stating your job title and dutiesmay not be clear to an HR professionaltasked with screening CV. Your CV musttruly reflect what you are offering to anemployer: it is your personal marketing leaf-let to tempt an employer. At interview it isover to you to ‘sell’ your full range of capa-bilities that are relevant for the role.

Hard skills are important and can be de-scribed as your ‘bread and butter’ skills butthe softer skills are being increasingly em-phasised.

Often many do not see a need to master thesofter skills and assume they cannot belearned. Friends, family or colleagues mayseem to have a natural flair for speaking orpossess bags of confidence. There is not askills gene for talent and we as a speciescan be our own worst critic, not believingthat we can be as good as others. Peoplewe see as having good soft skills have oftenworked at them for years. Speaking inpublic for the first time is terrifying. Goingfor your first interview is scary but at thesame time full of anticipation and excite-ment.

What are skills? Competencies? Abilities?Are they interchangeable? Mutually exclu-sive?

Shiv Khera an Indian motivational speakergave some clarity around these questions

which are often referred to. ‘Intelligence isquickness to learn. Ability is the skill toapply what is learned. Competence is theability and desire to apply what is learned.Desire is the attitude that makes a skilfulperson competent. Many skilful people areincompetent. Ability without the right atti-tude is wasted’.You may encounter interviews that probeyour competencies and questions such as:‘How did you manage an important assign-ment and what were the results?’; ‘How doyou set up the priorities for your day-to-daywork?’; ‘How do you update your knowl-edge and skills?’By giving examples (that may not always befrom a work situation) you make it clear tothe interviewer that you have good projectmanagement skills, good time managementand kept abreast of professional trends andtechnologies.Coming back to the question what have yougot to offer? Lots!!As a new professional entering the industryyou offer knowledge that is current fromyour studies; enthusiasm; strong ICT skillsand sound functional capabilities.Now go and sell your potential!

Sue EdgarSenior Appointments Recruitment Manager

Sue Hill Recruitment.

Sue Hill Recruitment specialises in placing library andinformation professionals at all levels, from graduatetrainees to senior executives.

(1) Farkas, M. (2006) Riding the Shift: On Being a Successful21st Century Librarian. Accessed viahttp://meredithfarkas.wetpaint.com/(2) Illingworth, E., & Ison, S. (2009) Unleashing the Potential:New Professionals in the Workplace. Paper delivered at thefirst CDG New Professionals Conference, July 2009, LondonMetropolitan University.Farkas, M. (2008) Beyond 2018: Transformation and Futureof Academic Libraries. Accessed viahttp://meredithfarkas.wetpaint.com/Shridar, M. S. (1999) Skill Requirements of LIS Profession-als in the new e-world. Department of Library and InformationScience, University of Mysore, Mysore, India 1999

‘Softer skills are beingincreasingly emphasised’

Page 17: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 15

African Prisons Project Bursary winner

In December we advertised a bursary tovisit the African Prison Library project inUganda. Foundations have already been

laid by previous volunteers at the projectand the recipient is to continue on with thiswork.

Thank you to all that applied. We wereamazed at the amount of enquiries and thehigh standard of applications we received.

I am pleased to announce our bursary hasbeen awarded to Susan Mahony.

Having previously worked as a volunteer ina psychiatric borstal, Susan has trained insocial work and has worked as a probationofficer and youth justice worker. Havingretrained as a librarian in 2003, she has

worked as both a health and schoollibrarian.

Susan also has experience working interna-tionally, volunteering in Somalia as acoordinator of a community project and inMalawi taught computer skills and volun-teered with a street children project.

The above is just a snapshot of Susan’swide and varied knowledge and skills, all ofwhich will be valuable assets to the AfricanPrisons Project. I look forward to Susansharing her experience with us in a futureissue of Impact.

Tracey AinsleyCDG Honorary International Officer

For more information see www.africanprisons.org

MSc Records Management– 2 years distance learning

MA/MSc Informationand Library Management– 2 years distance learning

PG Cert. Community Engagement– 1 year distance learning

PG Cert. Information Securityand Governance*– 1 year work based distance learning

BSc Librarianship – 27 monthsor 51 months distance learning

Enhance your career prospects with work-basedor distance learning @ Northumbria

For further information please visit our website at www.northumbria.ac.uk/sd/academic/ceis/ugcses. If youwish to discuss your application please contact eitherDr A. Pickard at [email protected] orDr C. Laing at [email protected]

*Subject to validation

Why Northumbria?

A strong and successful reputation inthe delivery of distance learning

CILIP, Society of Archivists, Skills forJustice National OccupationalStandards accredited courses/modules

Proactive employer engagement in

“Being taught by enthusiastic, dedicatedacademics that know and love the subjects theyteach is a great element to the course.”James Wells

James Wells

Page 18: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 16

ProgrammeMorning

plenary presentations

· How to reduce the hiddencost of meetings

· Training on a budget

· Fundraising

Afternoonparallel sessions

· Marketing on a budget

· Time management skills

· Using volunteers

· Professionalism for success

A range of speakers from across the library and information sectorswill include: Susie Kay, Kathy Roddy and Carol Brooks

Working Smarter: Making More of an Impact With Less

Career Development Group UK National Conference 2010

At CILIP, 7 Ridgmount St, London WC1E 7AE

Monday 17th May 2010, 10.00 am - 4.00 pm

Delegate rates

Career Development Group members: £90 + 17.5% VAT =  £105.75*

Non-members: £105 + 17.5% VAT = £123.37*

An ‘Early Bird’ discount of £10 will be applied tomember and non-member bookings if booked by 31st March 2010

Students & Unwaged: £50 + 17.5% VAT = £58.75* (limited places available)

*Delegate rate includes refreshments and buffet lunch

Artsline access codes: E, G, W, X

Contacts For more details: Nicola Healey (Hon. Events) 01934 647166, [email protected]

To book: Contact Anna Grigson (Hon. Treasurer) by Tuesday 4th May 2010

Post: Honorary Treasurer, Career Development Group, Bedford Library, Royal Holloway,University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX Email: [email protected]

Page 19: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 17

‘The standard of English has risennoticeably here, with my help’

My two years as a Voluntary ServicesOverseas’ (VSO) volunteer in theIndian city of Pune are rapidly

drawing to a close. I have been living herein Pune as a volunteer, rather than in myhome in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, afterbeing made redundant from my job withSuffolk County Council.

Just before this I had taken a diploma inPublic Relations, to help me with theCommunications parts of the job I had beendoing for Suffolk. This qualification helpedwhen it came to applying to VSO, as thereis a demand for people with communicationand PR skills. But, I might equally have gota placement through my general manage-ment skills and experience, or throughknowledge picked up about organisationaldevelopment, or fundraising. All these skillsare in great demand in the developingworld. They are looking for DocumentationAdvisers, a role which any informationprofessional would be suitable for.

If you are wondering whether volunteeringabroad would be something you could do,you might be surprised at exactly howadvanced your skills probably are com-pared to the developing world. For instance,I am something of a computer expert in thisorganisation, not because I have great skills(they are quite modest compared to someof my ex-colleagues in the UK), but simplybecause I have had a good basic training.I have the European Computer Driving Li-cence, so have some knowledge of Word,Excel and so on. I have given tutorials hereon things like password protecting docu-ments, using Track Changes, formattingtext boxes, and downloading and using

Skype. With the help of a volunteer techiefrom a local IT company, we have set up awebsite; www.nmpplus.net.

I have spent a lot of time helping colleagueswith written and spoken English and thestandard here has risen noticeably over mytwo years. Recently, I explained to a localboy, Balaji the difference between ‘a’ and‘an’, and showed him how to split up one ofhis interminable sentences by replacingone or two of the ‘ands with full stops. Iknow he understood, because he latershowed me an email he had written whichclearly demonstrated his new skill.

In the second year, I became more involvedin advocacy, trying to change things. Thebiggest campaign we ran, and our greatestsuccess, was to get free second line treat-ment. Second line is necessary for anyonefor whom the first line drugs fail, becausethey build up a resistance for one of severalreasons. The first line drugs are free, butsecond line are not and the cost is about6,000 rupees a month. With the averagewage in India being about 5,000 rupees amonth, you can see how prohibitively ex-pensive second line is. It drives marriagesto breakup and people into poverty, or theydie because they cannot afford to buy thedrugs. With the help of a group of pro bonolawyers we both won a case in BombayHigh Court and pestered the health author-ities until they implemented the free medi-cines. Other smaller campaigns have beeneither partial or complete successes.

Thank you VSOVincent McDonald

Page 20: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 18

One of our other campaigns involved help-ing HIV positive people in Latur district fightthe exclusion of positive children from avillage school. This was an important battleto win to avoid creating an example that

would spread to other schools, the last thingneeded in trying to defeat stigma againstpositive people being school ghettos. Inconnection with this campaign, I visited anorphanage set up by a benefactor a yearago in Pune, to take in positive children.

The orphanage, which had been open ayear, can take 50 children. Presently theyhave 36, with numbers growing steadily.They take children from two years old whostay after 18 until they find work and areable to support themselves. The older chil-dren help out around the orphanage. Thechildren go to a local school. Though theteachers know about their positive status, itis kept secret. There is no point in risking aLatur - type incident.

After school the children have a sleep, thendrinks and snacks, before evening tuition inmusic, dance, yoga and meditation. Thisidea was introduced by the benefactor, whobelieved it created a more rounded educa-tion but there is also clear evidence thatyoga and meditation help maintain a higher

CD4 count (a measure of the antibodiesavailable to fight the HIV virus). Later thechildren and staff have a communal dinnersitting on the floor. All the food is cooked onthe premises.

Teyjaswini, who manages the orphanage,showed us round. When we got to the sickroom she nodded towards a bed uponwhich was a wrinkled blanket, but no body.Then I noticed poking out from the top of theblanket, the head of a child with large eyesfixed on us. Her tiny fists were clenched,her body bulk so insubstantial it looked likea rumple in the cloth. ‘Namaskar’, I said, intraditional Indian greeting, and reached outmy finger to her fist. There was no move-ment though her eyes followed us. ‘She hasno reaction’, said Teyjaswini, ‘she has Men-ingitis’. ‘How old is she?’ ‘Six’ she replied.She looked no more than two. Teyjaswiniexplained later that curtailed growth is aside effect of the drugs that keep them freeof AIDS. A few weeks later, I heard that thelittle girl had died.

We went into the room where the childrenall sleep in bunk beds in two tiers. At 4o’clock in the afternoon most were havingtheir afternoon nap though few childrengrinned to my whispered ‘Namaskar’. It wasdeeply touching to see them and I cameaway glad. They are pariahs in a societythat often does not understand HIV andAIDS, and regards it with distaste. But herethey are treated with gentleness and love. Iasked Teyjaswini about her background?“Are you a teacher, or a social worker,or…?” “I am a housewife’, she laughed.

These memories will stay with me for therest of my life. I thank VSO for them.

Vincent [email protected]

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Impact Spring 2010 19

The following members have been elected to serve the Career Development Group on the Presi-dential Team and as Honorary Officers during 2010:

Thanks are due to all members who have contributed to the nominations process by proposingand seconding candidates, as well as to all the new and continuing members of the PresidentialTeam and Honorary Officers for their hard work, commitment and willingness to represent andserve the Group.

For enquiries about the nominations process or to read the nomination forms please contactPast President Maria Cotera: [email protected] Tel: (direct line): 020 7679 2302

Career Development Group115th Session: 1st January - 31st December 2010

President - Jon ScownPast President - Maria CoteraVice President - Viki Lagus

Hon. Editor - Alison BarlowHon. Events Coordinator - Nicola HealeyHon. International Relations OfficerTracey Ainsley

Hon. Learning Coordinator - Karen PooleHon. Membership & Marketing Officers (joint)Beatrice CoveneyLouise GordonHon. New Professionals CoordinatorChristopher RhodesHon. Secretary - Stella WisdomHon. Treasurer - Anna Grigson

Notice is hereby given that the Career Develop-ment Group Annual General Meeting, is to beheld at Bromley House, Angel Row, Nottingham,NG1 6HL on Monday 10 May 2010 at 6pm.

Bromley House is one of Nottingham’s hiddengems. Situated in the centre of Nottingham, stepback in time to visit Nottingham’s SubscriptionLibrary which dates back to 1816. Noteableitems include a collection of Victorian fiction anda number of religious sermons.

Any motion of which notice is received by theHonorary Secretary in accordance with Rule 17of the Group Rules will be placed on the agenda.

“Rule 17 – A statement shall appear on thenotice that, if a member wishes to put a motionto the meeting, notice of the motion shall bemade in writing, signed by the member, and shallbe served on the Group Secretary not less thantwenty-one clear days before the date of themeeting.”

The AGM is open to all CDG members and willinclude the awarding of an Honorary Fellowshipto Kath Owen (Service Manager CustomersStaff & Development, Nottinghamshire CountyCouncil) who will speak on CPD.

Refreshments will be available with an opportu-nity to have a look around the library.

Accessibility: E S G

Please contact Stella Wisdom (Hon. Secretary)to notify your attendance by Monday 6th May.Tel: 01937 546873. Email: [email protected]

Notice of 115th Annual General Meeting

Reproduced with permission from C. Barstow

Page 22: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 20

Development of thePrabhavi Organisation library - Sri Lanka

Premila Gamage & Tracey Ainsley

The thirty year long civil war in SriLanka ended in 18 May 2009 allowingpeople to travel around the country

freely. The Lanka Community InformationInitiative (LCII – www.lcii.org) came acrossPrabhavi Community Library quite bychance during their many post-war trips tothe eastern Sri Lanka while working onanother project that they are involved in.

LCII is a not for profit organisation whosemission is to:‘aspire through introducing progressiveknowledge management initiatives to em-power communities to have their voicesheard in the development process at local,national and global level.’

Prabhavi Community Library is managed byan enthusiastic group of young people whoare trying hard to develop the library.Although LCII was very keen on rehabilitat-ing this community library, it was not possi-ble due to lack of funds. Thanks to the kindintercession of CDG International via MariaCotera and monies raised by Career De-velopment Group members, LCII has nowbeen able to secure funds to proceed withthe development of the library.

Despite the fact that the library is function-ing in less than ideal conditions — no prop-er electricity, basic furnishings and limitededucational and recreational materials—thegroup of young volunteers involved have

The Prabhavi Community Library Project is a partnership between the LankaCommunity Information Initiative and Career Development Group International,which is funding the project with £5,000.

The common aim is to develop a community library run by a group of enthusiasticyouths in Weranketagoda, Ampara, a very rural area affected by Sri Lanka's30-year-long civil war which ended on 18th May 2009.

In addition to developing the library, workshops to develop literacy (includingdigital) and digital story telling to help the community to speak about social issuesare planned. The long term objective of the project is to guide and assist thelibrary and information centre to function as a modern library using ICT and tobecome a model library for others. The beneficiaries of the library include thelocal community, including women, children and teachers in the nearby school.

The project will be officially launched on 14th April at CILIP Headquarters afterLondon & South East Divisions AGM (see Dates, p.22).

New Career Development GroupInternational Project

The Prabhavi Community Library Project

Page 23: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 21

demonstrated a genuine commitment to theeducational lives of students and well-beingof their community. This made PrabhaviLibrary an ideal choice for LCII project,because it ensured the local support essen-tial for success.

The long term objective of the project is toguide and assist the library and informationcentre to function as a modern library usingICT and to act as a model library for others.The beneficiaries of the library include thelocal community, women, children andteachers in the nearby school. This is to beaccomplished in two phases.

Phase One will focus on basic infrastruc-ture including:

� Repairs and renovations to thebuilding

� Refurbishment of the library includ-ing suitable furniture for childrenand adult users

� Updating the collection to includebooks/magazines/AV in local lan-guages for education and leisure

� IT equipment� Training for the librarian in manag-

ing the new library� Automating the library service and

providing  training in the use of ICT

LCII firmly believes that the best successescome from providing a range of educationaland recreational experiences which createnew and lasting opportunities for the wholecommunities future. To ensure this thesecond phase will build on these initial sup-plies and will include:

� Implementation programs to enhanceinformation literacy (IL) and lifelonglearning in the community especiallyfor students and women

� Provide workshops on new media toprovide an opportunity for war affect-ed families to express themselvese.g. digital storytelling

LCII will provide their expertise in deliveringIL programmes and digital story-tellingworkshops.

LCII have received 50 percent of the fund-ing to start with phase one of the project. Agroup of LCII members visited Prabhavilibrary in Ampara in December 2009 andmade arrangements to obtain necessaryapprovals from relevant authorities to carry-out renovations. Unfortunately, due to pres-idential elections of Sri Lanka, it looks likethis will take longer than expected.Estimates for the work have been receivedfrom masons, painters and suppliers andhopefully renovations can be started in midFebruary.

Readers will be able to keep up to date withregular articles and photographs on thelibrary’s development from both the webpages of the LCII and Career DevelopmentGroup.

Premila GamageProject Co-ordinator, [email protected]

Tracey AinsleyHonorary International Relations Officer

[email protected]

Page 24: Impact Spring 2010 Volume 13 No 1

Impact Spring 2010 22

DatesDate: Monday 15 March 2010

Event:Deep web by Paula YoungerDivision: WalesTime: 9.00am - 1.00pmVenue: University of Wales, Newport,Caerleon Campus.Cost: £15 (CDG members); £25 (non-members); Discounts forstudents/unwaged are availableFurther Information: Hands-on course.Topics covered will include RSS, Wikis,Blogs, bibliographic databases and librarycatalogues. All delegates will receive acertificate of attendanceContact: Sharon CrossanEmail: [email protected]

Date: Tuesday 23 March 2010

Event: West Midlands CDG & CILIP branchAGMTime: 12.00pm - 1.30pmVenue: Conference Room 4, BirminghamCentral Library, B3 3HQCost: FreeFurther Information: A great opportunityto meet the CILIP president Biddy FisherContact: Jess HumphreysEmail: [email protected]

Date: Friday 26 March 2010

Event: Visit to the National Railway Mu-seum LibraryDivision: Yorkshire & HumbersideTime: 2.00pm - 3.30pmVenue: National Railway Museum LibraryFurther information atwww.nrm.org.uk/ResearchAndArchive.aspxCost: FreeFurther Information: An introduction tothe Museum's Specialist Library servicesand resources

Contact: Joel KerryEmail: [email protected]

Date: Tuesday 30 March 2010Event: Chartership & Certification EventDivision: Joint event run by Sussex andLondon and South East DivisionsTime: 2.00pm - 4.30pmVenue: Crawley Library, Southgate Ave-nue, Crawley, RH10 6HGCost: FreeFurther Information: Portfolio workshopwith Karen Poole (CSO). Michael Martin(CILIP's Qualifications and ProfessionalDevelopment) will talk about the Charter-ship and Certification processes and twosuccessful candidates will present theirexperiencesContact: Abigail LuthmannEmail: [email protected]

Date: Wednesday 14 April 2010Event: AGM and launch of Prabhavi Com-munity Library ProjectDivision: London & South East DivisionsTime: 5.45pm - 7.45pmVenue: CILIP, 7, Ridgemount St, London,WC1E 7AECost: FreeFurther Information: Premila Gamagewill speak about the Prabhavi CommunityLibrary Project. See p. 20 for more details.Contact: Chris RhodesEmail: [email protected]

The Career Development Group has beenawarded the CILIP Seal of Recognition,which recognises high standards in the con-tent and relevance of its training.

For more information see www.cilip.org.uk/cdg.

Regular CDG events bulletins are available.Register now for CILIP ebulletins.


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