The UK Government’s Department of Health has just launched a consultation on its proposals for an Information Revolution. The White Paper and information on how to become involved are available on the DH website.
The focus of the consultation is the transformation of the way information is accessed, collected, analysed and used so that people are at the heart of health and adult social care services. The intended outcome is to give people more information and control and greater choice about their care. Worth looking at and joining in – an opportunity for information professionals inside and outside the health service to influence the NHS future from a professional perspective.
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Zombies in the workplace
BIR author Kevin Desouza's blog The zombie workplace survival guide, has been published in Harvard Business Review.
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Maurice Line
UK Serials News and others have announced the death of Maurice Line during the weekend of 18/19 September 2010.
For those who use the British Library’s Document Supply service and its services to business, science and technology, Maurice’s work at the BL was pivotal to the services we see today and to the development of the BL as a leading international research library. As Librarian at the University of Bath he had directed a study into the scope for automated data processing in the new British Library. He was Librarian of the National Central Library (NCL) from 1971-1973 and a member of the British Library Organizing Committee which undertook preparatory and planning work for the UK's new national library which was to start operating in July 1973. He joined the British Library in 1973, when the NCL was incorporated into the BL, as Deputy Director-General of the Lending Division. He became Director General in 1974, a post he held until 1985. From 1985 until his retirement in 1988 he was Director General, Science Technology and Industry.
For the next 12 years Maurice worked as a consultant specialising in the management of change, and advising organisations in many parts of the world. He was editor of Interlending and Document Supply and Alexandria, the journal concerned with national libraries, their roles and functions and international issues. He also edited, and contributed to, many books in the field of librarianship.
An obituary has also appeared in Times Higher Education.
For those who use the British Library’s Document Supply service and its services to business, science and technology, Maurice’s work at the BL was pivotal to the services we see today and to the development of the BL as a leading international research library. As Librarian at the University of Bath he had directed a study into the scope for automated data processing in the new British Library. He was Librarian of the National Central Library (NCL) from 1971-1973 and a member of the British Library Organizing Committee which undertook preparatory and planning work for the UK's new national library which was to start operating in July 1973. He joined the British Library in 1973, when the NCL was incorporated into the BL, as Deputy Director-General of the Lending Division. He became Director General in 1974, a post he held until 1985. From 1985 until his retirement in 1988 he was Director General, Science Technology and Industry.
For the next 12 years Maurice worked as a consultant specialising in the management of change, and advising organisations in many parts of the world. He was editor of Interlending and Document Supply and Alexandria, the journal concerned with national libraries, their roles and functions and international issues. He also edited, and contributed to, many books in the field of librarianship.
An obituary has also appeared in Times Higher Education.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
New opportunities for LIS skills
Expertise in social media is growing in the LIS profession (watch out for the article by Hazel Hall in the December issue). At the same time, demand for social media consultants is rising in the UK (See PeoplePerHour.com). Twitter is boosting the jobs market, claims Peopleperhour.com. The number of businesses looking for "Twitter consultants" to help them exploit the messaging service has grown by 300per cent this year, says the online recruitment company. Facebook advisors and YouTube experts are also needed to advise business on how to make better use of social media services particularly in sales and marketing. Perhaps this demand will provide new opportunities for information professionals?
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Social activism via social media
In this week’s New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell, author of, among other titles, Blink and The Tipping Point considers the nature of social activism and argues that social media tools are not reinventing activism.
He argues that to compare campaign engagement via social media such as Twitter with the courage of 'true activists', giving the civil rights movement as an example.
"Where activists were once defined by their causes, they are now defined by their tools" he argues.
Naturally, the debate is taken up in the New Yorker's Room for Debate. Well worth a visit to read the full article and the resultant debate.
He argues that to compare campaign engagement via social media such as Twitter with the courage of 'true activists', giving the civil rights movement as an example.
"Where activists were once defined by their causes, they are now defined by their tools" he argues.
Naturally, the debate is taken up in the New Yorker's Room for Debate. Well worth a visit to read the full article and the resultant debate.
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