Leaving aside the issues of revalidation, I regretfully work in a commercial
environment where it is not simply sufficient to quietly and competently get
on with the job. In a rapidly changing economic environment, one has to make
sure you are seen and heard and that you market yourself vigorously. I know
of competent and hard working colleagues that have lost their jobs because
people in higher management didn't know what contribution they were making
to the business. And I'm not talking about librarians here.

Julian Dawson
Senior Librarian
Arup
13 Fitzroy Street
London W1T 4BQ
T 020 7755 3228
F 020 7755 2126
E [log in to unmask]



-----Original Message-----
From: Chartered Library and Information Professionals
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of jones, geraint
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 16:11
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: LIS gazette: Watson



Sorry, No!  I still do not believe that we have to accept that this is the
only way forward.  In common I imagine with most librarians, I have a first
degree and a postgraduate diploma.  In addition I am a chartered member of
Cilip.  My assertion is that I have 'proved' myself by virtue of the fact
that I have these qualifications.  The notion that I have to repeatedly and
continually 'prove' myself again and again by this new 'revalidation'
process that some bright spark has dreamed up merely in order to keep
possession of my professional and chartered status is ludicrous.

Why should we have to 'prove' ourselves again? Logically, if an employer
advertises for a librarian, they must already believe that a librarian would
be an effective employee or would have 'worth'.  They obviously believe that
employing a librarian will enhance their business/service, otherwise why
bother employing one?  He then interviews people like me who have already
'proved' themselves in the way I have described above.  They may also have
experience in varying degrees which will be supported by checkable
references.  If that employee then does not do his job properly they would
be fully justified in fireing him/her.  All the librarian has to do
therefore is to carry out his/her duties to the best of his/her abilities
and in as professional a manner as possible.  Personally I believe that this
DOES actually prove something useful, - something much more useful in fact
than attending a few one or two day courses at Cilip HQ.  I daresay these
course are useful enough for CPD but to force members to attend a certain
number of these (or any other) courses in order to 'prove' themselves fit
for continued possession of status is arrant nonsense.

On this subject perhaps supporters of revalidation could explain who is
going to pay for all this course attendance.  Cilip courses are not exactly
cheap.  My employer certainly won't pay for it and, thanks to the low
salaries 'enjoyed' by librarians due to LA/Cilip's historical and continued
reluctance to dirty its hands with workplace negotiations, I certainly can't
afford to pay for it myself.  Almost all Cilip courses are held in London or
Birmingham.  Most of you would not believe the extra time and expense which
is added on to the basic cost of the course in order for me to get from this
island and stay in London.  I know that Cilip occasionally throws us a few
scraps up here in the north but unfortunately, I have yet to find something
to my taste at their Scotish venues and, at the rate the scraps are thrown ,
it looks like being a long time until I do.  Frankly, if it comes down to a
choice between paying for my wife and I's summer holiday and putting my hard
earned cash in some Information Consultant's pocket by attending a Cilip
course, there's no contest.  I'm a professional trying to earn a living and
better my family's lot.  I work to live, I do not live to work.  Some people
appear to believe that 'professional' is synonymous with 'workaholic'.

Geraint Jones,
Islay, Scotland.


        -----Original Message-----
        From: Burge Suzanne [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
        Sent: Fri 16-Jan-04 14:58
        To: [log in to unmask]
        Cc:
        Subject: Re: LIS gazette: Watson



        Let me try to respond to some of the points which have been raised
in the
        discussion so far.  I'm someone who is active both in CILIP, as a
National
        Councillor, and in her trade union, Prospect, the union which
represents
        professionals and specialists in central government, agencies,
        non-departmental public bodies and the private sector, where I chair
the
        Librarians and Information Professionals' Group of the union.
        The medical professions and bodies like the NFU can act as trade
unions
        because they have, generally speaking, only one employer to deal
with when
        negotiating salaries, terms and conditions, and speak for all or
nearly all
        their members in that single negotiation.  Librarians have thousands
of
        different employers, and are frequently employed in ones and twos.
No
        employer is going to talk to anyone who does not represent a
substantial
        section of their workforce because it's not worth their time, and
equally no
        employer is going to want a small number of their workers to have
completely
        different salary scales and terms to the rest of their workforce -
the
        logical outcome if a separate body were to negotiate on their
behalf, else
        why bother?
        Librarians and information professionals in my union meet together
as a
        group, to share experience and information, and support colleagues,
and the
        union's HQ and its branches draw on the expertise we can provide
when
        negotiating on specific librarian issues - gradings, threats to
services,
        etc.  Equally, we as a group turn to CILIP for advice and support
when we
        need a broader picture or advocacy from the professional body, and
we've
        always had the support we've needed.  CILIP's professional advisers
deal
        with personal cases, but as CILIP doesn't have representational
rights the
        way a union does, in appropriate cases it will suggest members
approach
        their union or join one if they're not already a member.  If your
union
        doesn't have this sort of body, try setting one up formally or
informally to
        raise awareness of librarian issues.
        CILIP nationally can campaign to increase awareness of the
importance of
        employing information professionals (and paying them adequately) and
lobby
        individual employers, and it does.  But as Julian says, it's up to
us to
        "prove our worth (and shout about it) to our employers".

        Suzanne Burge
        Information Manager
        Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman


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