Library 2.0 in Southampton

Following Karen Blakeman's presentation in Febrary, some colleagues and I have been looking at ways to use 2.0 ideas in our library in Southampton. We've also put out a call to other members of staff to join in the discussion and I'd like to open the invitation to other library people in the Southampton area. If you're in the area and would like to meet up, maybe for an after work pub discussion please post a comment or drop me an email at sarah.washford@southampton.gov.uk
Sarah

SE Branch AGM at Woking - part 2

I had a very enjoyable evening at Woking Library last week, an opportunity to talk to librarians from other sectors, have a nose around a different library and hear Ian Snowley speak about his presidential themes. This was certainly worth the train trip to Woking! Althought the focus of the evening was the speaker there was also a discussion of the imminent changes to CILIP and possible impact on branch and sub-branch membership. I think just attending the AGM demonstrated how important branches are to CILIP. I've already mentioned meeting people from other sectors and seeing other libraries but we also heard about the activities of some of the other sub-branches and I recommend having a look at some of the other sub-branch pages and thinking about what you'd like to see in our area. Ian Snowley spoke about the changes and also about his 5 Presidential Themes outlined here in his inaugration speech. Under Governance he spoke about the Framework of Qualifications review and the way in which CILIP engages with IT. Activism was about how members need to be active in their organisation, he suggested that we consider moving away from traditional meetings and offer more flexibility in how people get involved such as specific task groups and better use of IT. We also need to show our colleagues the professional benefits to be gained by being involved in CILIP. Professionalism includes promoting the value of skills and qualifications and ensuring that training does not suffer due to financial constraits in our organisations. He also mentioned that we need to recognise and promote the ACLIP qualification as a route to chartership. Advocacy is a theme of great importance locally at the moment and Ian highlighted this as a role not just for CILIP but also for local branches who can engage with their local media and offer a voice on local library issues. I think the HIOW branch are already becoming active in this area! Finally he turned to Professional Mobility and the transfer of skills between sectors. Having the opportunity to meet a variety of library staff at the AGM I wonder if this is something we could promote more at a local level as the more opportunity we have to share experiences with one another I think the less scary the idea of moving between sectors becomes. I had a very interesting and thought provoking evening, certainly not just 'another AGM'! Sarah