 |
 |
For me, the essential difference between "workplace libraries" and the rest is that these are libraries and (more often) information units where the service exists just for that workplace,- there is no public, no students, no wider constituency to serve. And the problem, from the profession's point of view, is that these information units are rarely staffed by information professionals, even more rarely by CILIP members. This, in my experience, is because the people making the employment decisions have never heard of CILIP and whose view of librarians is entirely coloured by a perception of public libraries. While their perception may not accord with our own, they do not see the people they need as having the same skill set as "librarians". While I welcome the pack that is being sent out, and other recent efforts by CILIP to get to grips with the problem, it's going to need an ongoing and concerted campaign. Diana Nutting -----Original Message----- From: Katharine Schopflin [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 04 July 2006 11:11 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: CILIP Targets Employers I think that 'workplace' certainly does cover government, NHS and other areas in the public sector (I used to work in a public sector media library). I don't think that the division is public/private - the same concerns are there for anyone delivering a service within an organisation rather than, as you say, to the public or students. And all of us who have worked in the public sector know that these organisations are just as stringent when they look at funding their information services as they are in commercial organisations. If not more so! Special libraries is sometimes used as a synonym for workplace libraries. It can sometimes be confusing because it is also sometimes used to describe small, subject-specialist libraries, which are often public- or academic-facing. -----Original Message----- From: Dobson, Malcolm [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 04 July 2006 11:01 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: CILIP Targets Employers I thought that was roughly it - but it therefore also include people working in what I would call the public sector - eg the NHS, government offices, etc - who provide a service to the people working there, rather than directly to the public, or students. Having re-read the post from Louisa Myatt I see that she did make that point; and the original notice did include 'workplace' in its list of sectors. So presumably there is still a need for a term to specifiy the private/commercial/industrial sector/s. Didn't they used to be called 'special' libraries? (Hmmm - overtones of 'special needs', or are we all special these days?) -----Original Message----- From: Katharine Schopflin [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 04 July 2006 10:40 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: CILIP Targets Employers What a good question - because of course all of us are in the workplace! The general understanding is that it covers those of us who carry out information work for organisations that aren't primarily learning organisations (covering schools, FE and HE), part of a local government public library service (covering both public and prison libraries) or in a national library. Our jobs are to help connect people with the information they need to carry out their job, meaning that our work is an adjunct, rather than central to the primary function of the organisation. I'm sure others will offer improvements on this definition. -----Original Message----- From: Dobson, Malcolm [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 04 July 2006 10:33 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: CILIP Targets Employers What does 'workplace sector' mean? -----Original Message----- From: Katharine Schopflin [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 04 July 2006 10:21 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: CILIP Targets Employers That does sounds good and it's really good to see CILIP taking their advocacy role seriously. For many of us in the workplace sector, being part of the library and information profession is beyond our employers' and users' understandings. We make signs to each other and talk in a secret language when nobody's listening. More seriously though, I know that things aren't easy in the public, HE and FE sectors or in government libraries, but at least these are areas where the employer understands what a librarian or information specialist is. Having 'workplace' tucked in among those areas gave out the (I hope misleading) impression that CILIP doesn't qutie understand the scale of the problem. -----Original Message----- From: Louisa Myatt [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 03 July 2006 18:08 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: CILIP Targets Employers Dear Katharine Approximately half of the packs were sent to employers in the workplace sector, including commercial areas such as law, property management, recruitment, financial services, manufacturing, management consultancy and marketing. This also includes contacts in health, the voluntary sector and government. Louisa Louisa Myatt -----Original Message----- From: Katharine Schopflin [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 03 July 2006 10:08 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: CILIP Targets Employers I think this is a great idea, but I'm a bit confused as to the absence of any mention of the pack being sent to employers in business, industry, the media and the voluntary sector - areas where there is far less understanding of professional skills than in public sector areas like further and higher education. Are these covered by the 'including' or is another pack on its way? -----Original Message----- From: Daniel Sabel [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 03 July 2006 09:27 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: CILIP Targets Employers 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 E-mail: Mailto:[log in to unmask] <Mailto:[log in to unmask]> News from CILIP Monday 3 July 2006 For immediate release (Please copy to online discussion lists) CILIP Targets Employers Human Resource professionals across the country will be receiving a special information pack from CILIP this week. It is designed to help them recruit the best people to information roles by communicating the benefits of employing qualified Library and Information professionals. The packs have been sent to over 4,000 named contacts in eight sectors including: further and higher education, schools, health, law, workplace, prisons, government and public library authorities. It is aimed specifically at Human Resource professionals and senior managers who have responsibility for recruiting staff to information roles, but who may have little understanding of the library and information profession. The high quality printed pack provides them with: * Sample job descriptions and person specifications * The benefits of employing a qualified information professional * Salary guides * Sample job advertisements * A guide to CILIP's library and information qualifications * A customised sector guide The pack is called 'Quality People equals Quality Service' and it emphasises the importance of employers recruiting, retaining and rewarding the best staff to meet the information needs of their organisations. It also promotes Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and explains how CILIP membership and involvement in professional activity can bring real benefits to employers. "We understand the importance of opening a dialogue with employers about the value of using professionally qualified staff", says Kathy Ennis, Senior Adviser at CILIP. "This pack will complement the work already undertaken by CILIP's Advice Team to inform, educate and engage employers on issues such as salaries, job descriptions and grading issues." Notes to Editors Full contents of the pack are available to download on the CILIP website at www.cilip.org.uk//qualitypeople. CILIP members can also request a copy of the pack to pass on to their Human Resource Manager by contacting the Advice Team on 020 7255 0620 or Mailto:[log in to unmask] <Mailto:[log in to unmask]> . CILIP is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers, with around 22,000 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. -Ends- This message has been scanned for viruses at Business Link for London. ============ http://www.businesslink4london.com Winner: Most effective public sector website 2004 ============ This email and any attachments are intended solely for the addressees and are confidential. If you have received this email in error, please delete it and immediately notify [log in to unmask] You are not permitted to disclose the content of this email or attachments unless specifically authorised by the sender to do so. Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender. Business Link for London is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales under registration number 4110283. The registered office is situated at: 3rd Floor Centre Point 103 New Oxford Street London WC1A 1DP Although Business Link for London has scanned this email for viruses, it accepts no responsibility for viruses once this email has been transmitted. This message has been scanned for viruses at Business Link for London. **************************************************************************** ******************************************************************* NHS Lanarkshire Confidentiality and Disclaimer Notice **************************************************************************** ******************************************************************* The information contained in this email may be subject to public disclosure under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. This email is intended only for the addressee named above and the contents should not be disclosed to any other person or copies taken. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of NHS Lanarkshire (NHSL) unless otherwise specifically stated. As Internet communications are not secure NHSL do not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message or responsibility for any change made to this message after the original sender sent it. We advise you to carry out your own virus check before opening any attachment, as we cannot accept liability for any damage sustained as a result of any software viruses. If you have received this email in error, please forward the original email message for the attention of the system administrator at the following address: - [log in to unmask] **************************************************************************** ******************************************************************* This message has been scanned for viruses at Business Link for London. This message has been scanned for viruses at Business Link for London. This message has been scanned for viruses at Business Link for London.