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Tim Buckley Owen (01/12/04 08:54):
>CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
>7 Ridgmount St, London WC1E 7AE.
>
>Tel: 020 7255 0500
>Textphone: 020 7255 0505
>Fax: 020 7255 0501
>Email: [log in to unmask]
>
>News from CILIP
>Wednesday 1 December 2004
>For immediate release (Please copy to online discussion lists)
>
>Libraries turn the key to knowledge, leading information professionals tell MPs
>
>CILIP calls for "well supported workforce" in evidence to Culture, Media and
Sport Committee inquiry into public libraries
>
>Clear vision, additional resources, firm regulation, and a well supported
workforce are the recipe for a successful public library service, says CILIP:
the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. The UK's
leading organization for library and information professionals, CILIP delivered
this uncompromising message to MPs yesterday in its oral evidence to the Select
Committee on Culture Media and Sport Inquiry into Public Libraries.
>
>"The Department of Culture, Media and Sport's 'Framework for the Future' for
public libraries is right to focus on reading, learning and libraries as a
community resource," said the Institute's Chief Executive Bob McKee. "DCMS
needs to work in partnership with the Department for Education & Skills and the
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to champion the value of public library
services and help libraries deliver those cultural, educational and social
policy outcomes."
>
>"It's about turning the key to knowledge and unlocking the social, cultural
and educational benefits," commented CILIP's President Maggie Haines in
response to questions from Gerald Kaufman MP and his colleagues on the
Committee.
>
>Giving evidence alongside colleagues representing the Society of Chief
Librarians (SCL), the Advisory Council on Libraries (ACL) and the Audit
Commission, CILIP's representatives contributed to a powerfully consistent set
of messages to the Select Committee.
>
>Countering the assertion that some public libraries are failing to attract
sufficient users, Bob McKee emphasized the need for increased investment.
"No-one wants to spend their time in a tatty place," he said, urging the need -
also expressed at the hearing by ACL Chair Bill MacNaught - for capital
resources to improve library buildings.
>
>Both CILIP and the Audit Commission supported the need for stiffer regulation
of the service, with the Audit Commission helpfully urging a review of the
regulations surrounding School Library Services. Also highlighted by witnesses
was the important influence of the Government's Comprehensive Performance
Assessment for local authorities on the decisions councils made on service
priorities. "A level playing field for libraries in terms of CPA weighting
would strengthen the case for resources at local level," argued CILIP's Maggie
Haines, with support from SCL President Catherine Blanshard.
>
>The library and information profession needs to be more bullish about the
contribution it makes to society, agreed Bob McKee, promising a more aggressive
approach to lobbying by CILIP in future. He also agreed on the need to build
on the positive brand value of the word 'library'. Committee Chair Gerald
Kaufman MP offered to "lie down in the street" to defend the 'L' word and Dr
McKee offered to join him. "The library is a trusted local institution," Dr
McKee concluded. "What other public service can say that it is trusted as well
as valued by its local community?"
>
>"All the witnesses giving evidence emphasized the need to develop the
workforce," noted Maggie Haines after the hearing. "We need to develop a new
mix of skills, build the capacity for leadership, learn from peer review and
share best practice. We also need to address issues of pay and status, and
apply CILIP's new Framework of Qualifications for information professionals, in
order to help public libraries make their contribution to the shared priorities
of central and local government."
>
>Contact: Tim Buckley Owen, Head of Membership, Marketing & Media.
>Tel: 020 7255 0652. Email: [log in to unmask] <Mailto:tim.
[log in to unmask]>
>
>Notes to Editors
>
>CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is the
leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge
managers, with around 23,000 members working in all sectors, including business
and industry, science and technology, further and higher education, schools,
local and central government, the health service, the voluntary sector,
national and public libraries. For more information about CILIP, please go to
www.cilip.org.uk or visit us on stand 168 at Online Information 2004, which
continues at Olympia on Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 December.
>
>- Ends -
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