Dear All

as your ELG representative on CILIP Policy Forum, I will be voting on 
your behalf on whether or not CILIP should accept the following 
proposal from the School Libraries Group:

The resolution is:

"The Policy Forum recommends that CILIP Council endorses the Campaign 
for the Book's call to make school libraries, run by properly 
qualified staff, statutory (in England) and signs the Number 10 
e-petition to that effect."


There has been some debate about whether CILIP should endorce the 
Campaign for the Book's call.  Essentially, the debate centres around

(1) recognised importance of lobbying for the role of school 
libraries, school librarians and school library services;

(2) whether it is more important to prioritise school librarians 
and/or school library services over school libraries themselves, and 
if the Campaign for the Book lobby addresses this;

(3) whether simply lobbying for statutory provision of school 
libraries will itself achieve anything meaningful, [assuming that the 
lobby is successful] without related funding / standards / evaluation 
/ meaningful integration of library into curriculum ...

(4) whether the nature of the Campaign for the Book is itself the 
best way to address these issues for political policy - or whether in 
fact it would be damaging for CILIP not to be on board.


The feeling of the Youth and Schools Consultative Committee, 
including the CILIP interest groups of ELG, SLG and YLG plus 
representation from School Library Association, The Reading Agency, 
MLA , is that

(a) the lobby, as it is currently presented, may not be the ideal way 
forward but it has galvanised interest, comes from outside the 
'school library camp' (and as such perhaps carries more weight than 
if from those seen as having a vested interest) and is a workable 
starting point;

(b) it would be more damaging for CILIP not to be seen to endorse it, 
than to endorse it.


Personally, I would like to commend the proposal to ELG 
members.  This notwithstanding, I would like to have the views of ELG 
members on how you would like me to vote on your behalf. I need to 
know your preferance by the end of August as I will have to cast the 
ELG vote by 2nd September.

Lucy



L Gildersleeves
Lecturer
Department of Information Studies  (formerly known as School of 
Library,Archive & Information Studies)
University College London
Gower Street
LONDON WC1E 6BT

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