Some weeks ago there was a brief exchange of emails on this list about the
two proposed Sector Skills Councils which were both assuming that they would
cover the archives profession - "Creative & Cultural Industries"
(http://www.cciskills.org.uk/site1/welcomePg.asp) and "Information &
Learning Skills" (http://www.isnto.org.uk/documents/proposal.pdf)

A mailing I received from the Yorkshire Museums, Libraries & Archives
Council just before Easter contained a press release about the Creative &
Cultural  Industries proposal, with a covering letter which, inter alia,
implied that this was the proposal "which represents the sector."  The
mailing contained no information about the Information & Learning Skills
proposal.

The C&CI proposal is being backed by Resource, who, of course, also fund the
regional library, archives & museums bodies.  In this instance I do not
think that Resource is adequately representing the range of interests and
employment sectors covered by archives/records management (or libraries) and
that it is proceeding, yet again, from a set of assumptions informed largely
by its dominant public sector museum constituency.

Archives and library *outputs* have overlaps with the cultural & creative
sector, but in terms of skills and training our background is the management
of information and evidence, which serves a much wider constituency.

Last week the Council of the Chartered Institute of Library & Information
Professionals (CLIP) voted to support the I&LS proposal - partly because
they felt that being associated exclusively with arts, crafts, design,
museums and galleries represented "an unacceptably narrow definition of the
library & information community" (full text given below, from the CLIP
website http://www.cilip.org.uk/news/2003/160403.html)

I would urge all archivists to visit the websites for the two proposals and
to formally comment on (and support) the proposal which you think will best
support skills development in our professional area.  I will be copying this
email to Resource and to the Society of Archivists.  I would particularly
like to see the Society representing its members' interests by making a
formal decision to support the I&LS proposal.

Regards

Richard Taylor (an archivist working in a museum, and planning a new
research library building!)

=========================
Richard Taylor
Project Director, Search Engine
National Railway Museum
Leeman Road
YORK YO26 4XJ

Tel: +44 (0)1904 686289
Fax: +44 (0)1904 611112

Email: [log in to unmask]
=========================


<snip>
CILIP BACKS INFORMATION AND LEARNING AS WAY FORWARD FOR SKILLS TRAINING
Information & Learning Communities Skills Council proposal overwhelmingly
preferred over Creative and Cultural Industries alternative
By a large majority, the governing Council of CILIP: the Chartered Institute
of Library and Information Professionals voted today to support proposals
for an Information & Learning Communities Skills Council to encompass the
skills and training needs of the whole library and information sector. Most
Council members showed a clear preference to this approach over one that
would have aligned the library and information profession with the cultural
and creative industries.
Under Government plans, more than 70 National Training Organisations will be
replaced by a much smaller number of new Sector Skills Councils. They will
produce labour market and skills intelligence, to help identify workforce
development needs and to influence the supply of skills education and
training.
CILIP will now make its support for the information and learning approach
known to the Government's Sector Skills Development Agency, the body
responsible for implementing the new infrastructure.
In a debate that recognised shortcomings in both the rival proposals, most
speakers believed that the interests not only of CILIP but also of the
library and information profession as a whole would be better served by not
being associated exclusively with arts, crafts, design, museums, galleries
and heritage. In the view of Council, this represented an unacceptably
narrow definition of the library and information community.
Some Councillors highlighted the synergy that existed between public
libraries and cultural services in many areas of the country, but the
majority view was that the information and learning approach would serve the
needs of actual and potential CILIP members working in industry and
commerce, education, government or health information much better. The
proposed Information and Learning Communities Skills Council will cover the
UK workforce in the areas of: information and knowledge management;
information support to formal learning; community and workforce learning and
development; and informal lifelong learning.
Contact
Tim Buckley Owen
Head of External Relations
Tel: 020 7255 0652
Email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
</snip>



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