I take Veronica's point about the bias towards public libraries, but I don't regard this as sufficient reason to vote for a candidate just because s/he is a member of the Health Libraries Group. That said, I have to say that, on its merits, I prefer Ian Snowley's manifesto to the other candidates'.
I agree about LA/CILIP and its HQ (or corporate CILIP, as the Heag report has it). Tony McSean provoked a debate that included this problem earlier in the year.
The sticking point is, can your elected representatives - "here today and gone tomorrow" in Robin Day's memorable phrase - make changes you want against the wishes of an entrenched executive? If the answer is "no" or "unlikely", you have the dilemma of whether you should vote at all.
Sadly, it doesn't seem to matter whether you vote or not.
Gordon
Gordon Smith
The Sally Howell Library
Epsom General Hospital
Dorking Road
Epsom, Surrey, KT18 7EG
Tel. 01372-735688, Fax 01372-735687
NULJ=HOWE, HLN=EP
The Master said, "Look at the means a man employs,
observe the basis on which he acts,
and discover where it is that he feels at ease.
Where can he hide? Where can he hide?"
- Analects of Confucius 2.10 (Slingerland)
>>> Veronica Murray <[log in to unmask]> 15/11/2005 12:00:53 >>>
Bruce, I will vote for you but, to strike a very negative note, I would wonder why you've still got sufficient enthusiasm to want to be mixed up in CILIP HQ. I have a big bee in my bonnet about this. In my opinion CILIP, and the LA before that, is so badly flawed as to be useless when it comes to looking after the interests of its members and the profession as a whole.
We all had a joke about "Tony" of Guardian fame the other week but seriously, the public/political image of the librarian and what s/he does is the single most serious issue librarians and libraries face. In an "Information Age", why don't the bodies who pay us and fund our services know what we do and what our services provide? A common complaint aimed at CILIP is that it focuses too much on the public library sector, but this is probably the most under-paid and under-funded sector of all, so something's going badly wrong somewhere.
An interesting exercise is to go onto Newsbank, or some similar news database, and simply search for CILIP (Chartered Institute... works better) or Library Association with topics of your choice. I find the results very depressing.
I could go on and on and on about the very many things I think are wrong with CILIP. The reason I wanted to post, apart from bile and spite, was to wonder if others concurred. I'm sure it would help Bruce to know our views, just in case...
Good luck Bruce!
Veronica Murray [log in to unmask]
Sub Librarian(Nursing)
University of Paisley
Paisley PA1 2BE
0141-848-3760-------Fax: 0141-848-3761
>>> Bruce Madge <[log in to unmask]> 11/15/05 11:22am >>>
After last year's CILIP Presidential election where I ran against, and
lost to, a public librarian, the current situation has a particular
resonance for me. I would not have the audacity to tell you how to use
your vote but would urge you all to use your vote this year - after all I
only lost by 30 odd votes last year...
Bruce
Bruce Madge
Sub Librarian
The Library
British Medical Association
Tavistock Square
London WC1H 9JP
tel: (+44) 207 383 6184
fax: (+44) 207 388 2544
email [log in to unmask]
mobile 07717537136
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