Thursday 23 September 2010

Defining our professional future

Defining our Professional Future – the report presenting the findings of an extensive consultation to inform the development of CILIP - is now accessible.

For BIR readers from Business and Industry, Health, Government and Academia, the report provides a useful insight into drivers for the future, trends in service provision, changes in the working environment and much more. A rapid scan is recommended for useful information for planning – a longer one if you’re a CILIP member or active in another professional organisation and want to peer into the likely future.

Tuesday 21 September 2010

Managing knowledge to improve social care

SCIE, The Social Care Institute for Excellence, has just launched an e-learning resource, Managing knowledge to improve social care.

Developed by a team of KIM experts, the aim is to foster the recognition that using existing knowledge and experience can contribute to improved care outcomes. The e-learning modules set out to help front line social workers (and team leaders and managers) gain a basic understanding of the principles and practice of knowledge management, as well as organise and manage their knowledge and information as effectively as possible. BIR readers may find useful ideas for their own training programmes.

Tuesday 14 September 2010

'Real' books vs. e-books

The historian Lisa Jardine, in her most recent podcast in the Point of View series on Radio 4, considers the fate of public libraries in economically straightened times, particularly as ‘almost two thirds’ of the UK population went nowhere near a public library in the last twelve months.

She then goes on consider the pleasures of reading ‘real books’, and more importantly, keeping and displaying a hard copy book. The success of Oprah Winfrey’s book club in the US in bringing enormous numbers of people to contemporary fiction as well as to literary classics has certainly changed the fortune of many authors, influenced changes in publishing models and may well have created a whole cohort of self educated readers. Winfrey’s readers are quite clear in their demands. Their preferred format is an attractive, hardback book that they can keep and display.

This in itself does not mean that e-versions of books will not find their market too. Jardine is grateful to be reading Blair’s enormous tome electronically, even though it means she does not get to see the previously unpublished photographs of the Blair family to which hard copy readers are treated.

Monday 13 September 2010

Librarians and library users raise their Voices for Libraries – a campaign worth considering

Blog readers can hardly have failed to notice media coverage of the threat of drastic cuts to public library services across the UK. Voices for the Library intends to ensure that the voices of the people who are library users and library professionals and who understand the real value of public libraries are heard.

By setting up a campaigning website to share positive stories from public libraries and librarians, the campaign aims to illustrate the importance of services, why it is vital that they are run well, and how they serve their communities effectively. So if you use a public library and are convinced of their value as local gateways to knowledge, a basis for lifelong learning, as resource providers for independent decision-making and cultural development of individuals and social groups. Do contact them if you have a postitive story to tell - and encourage others to do so.

CILIP has a sector panel which is aiming to communicate the value of information services and libraries in the health, government, commercial and industrial sectors, contact Guy.Daines@cilip.org.uk

Friday 10 September 2010

Free Access to Sage journals

The SJO Global Free Trial runs until October 15th and provides free access to all Sage journals.

This will require you to register here.

You will then have access to content from 1999 to the present day, including Business Information Review, for the next few weeks. BIR’s September issue will be loaded shortly.