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Good morning! This has struck a real chord with me, as we are in the final stages of planning for a hospital-based library in part of the new Peterborough City Hospital (to open at the end of the year). We have been occupied in preserving the idea of a physical space, too - for the first few years of planning this had to be the top of the list if we wanted a defined location for some of the things which are concerned to do. However, now the activities are coming to the fore - both the appropriate furniture to facilitate these, and the staff and priorities which we have in place to meet a whole set of new challenges - some of which relate to the physical space we will work out of, but which are also about sharing information sources and knowledge throughout the Trust and the local NHS. We thought we were planning a space, but in fact we are building support for our team and our library users. Dorothy Dorothy Halfhide Library & Information Services Manager Peterborough & Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust ________________________________ From: Information literacy and information skills teaching discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mark Hepworth Sent: 05 February 2010 00:28 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [Potential Spam] Re: UK government response re school libraries Importance: Low Hi, A flurry of discussion has followed a personal post by me to the list reacting to the short and relatively cryptic Prime Minister's Office email response to the school library petition that, in my view, intimated an outdated view of the school library, (see http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page22227 <http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page22227> . An earlier, fuller response, relating to school libraries and outlining positive government initiatives to encourage book reading had in fact taken place. However, it was not radically different; see http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page12263 <http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page12263> ). Involved in the discussion, regarding an appropriate reply, were people from the European Network for School Libraries and Information Literacy (ENSIL), the International Association of School Libraries (IASL), the Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals (CILIP), CILIP's School Library Group, the School Library Association (SLA), the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). Representatives of UNESCO were also approached to lend their voice to the reply. But, although pleased by the degree of interest in the topic I find myself in a dilemma. A conversation over coffee with a PHD student and a visiting scholar from Spain helped to crystallise in my mind this dilemma. When we defend the school library, on the one hand there is a notion of preserving a physical space called a library. The focus here is on the physical aspect of the school library, a repository where information is stored (primarily in book form) and made accessible. On the other hand, in this place, there is a person who is skilled and knowledgeable about the systematic management of information and knowledge. The former conception does not necessarily require a skilled professional. The latter does. And yet without the physical space the other may not exist. To focus on the space suggests old-fashioned ideas of a passive store of hardcopy, text based material, for pleasure reading with a limited core of reference material. These are ideas bogged down in outdated conceptions of a library and, more importantly, the person who runs this space. They are images not connected with the information experience of learners now, and the space alone does not prepare them for the future. Nor are these ideas associated with information and knowledge management in general. A glance at any undergraduate or postgraduate programme in information and knowledge management run by the schools of information science, which educate information professionals, makes this evident. Many of these graduates choose to work in school libraries, as well as government, non-government and corporate organisations. These people are trained to think consciously about all aspects of information and knowledge and people's interaction with them. They are taught how to enable others to think of information and knowledge as integral parts of most learning tasks. They are taught to help others to access, evaluate, use and manage information and knowledge. These people should, therefore, be key to the learning process helping students and teachers ensure this awareness of the importance of information and knowledge, as well as the capability of people to independently, critically, exploit these resources. However, in the United Kingdom this tends to be restricted to pockets of good practice. The school library and the school librarian/information/knowledge managers should be involved in every level of the educational process from primary to tertiary. Therefore we need school libraries. They should be statutory. These may not conform and probably should not conform to many people's idea of the school library. The 'school library' should be a base where information professionals foster people's information literacy, enabling learners to become 'info savvy'. There, an important function would be to create and develop material that would help busy teachers incorporate information and knowledge management in their teaching as well as enabling access to information and knowledge in all its forms. Returning to my dilemma, promoting and supporting school libraries may mistakenly result in emphasising only the space and not the role of the professional. Therefore, as well as arguing for the space i.e. the school library, we should also highlight the significance of the professional. This is particularly important since the majority of people we talk to have no genuine understanding of the full potential of the professionally trained person who runs such a space. It would be good to hear other people's views. Feel free to copy this to others if you think it useful. Best wishes, Mark