ASLIB
COMMENT ON MEDIA COVERAGE OF LIBRARY IMAGE
(29/08/05)
In the last
few days there have been suggestions that Britain's
libraries may fall permanently silent, because there
is a shortage of new recruits to the profession.
The positive
side of this coverage is that what libraries do is obviously
valued. But they can do much more.
The key to
releasing that potential does not lie in a simple image
makeover, it lies in leveraging the substance, the expertise,
in order to benefit society and business. This press
release explains how, and gives background.
There are
obviously increasing skills shortages in many workplaces
in many UK sectors. But a makeover, while it might be
helpful, isn't by any means a full solution. Libraries
and information management, as career options, don't
offer the high-octane lifestyle of glamour, big expense
accounts, and lots of exotic travel.
Nor do many
other worthwhile professions and jobs which are essential
to our quality of life, safety and survival, such as
medicine, teaching, and food production.
What is on
offer is satisfying and rewarding work, the chance to
contribute to everything that is worthwhile in life,
to make a difference, to help people develop themselves
and realise their potential and ambitions. That's definitely
worth having.
Agreed, more
people need to know what libraries can contribute to
their life and work. However, taking a reinvention too
far towards selling it as glitzy, wild, hip and glamorous,
as has been suggested in some of the recent media coverage,
misrepresents what the profession is about. This brings
the danger of attracting people into the profession
with the wrong expectations, leading to disappointment,
and a failure to deliver the quality of service that
the UK needs from its librarians and information managers
to take it forward successfully in the global marketplace.
To underline
that point consider the teaching profession for example.
Do we want our children to be taught and influenced
by responsible people concentrating on their learning,
growth and development into contented, well-balanced
responsible adults who can handle life with its ups
and downs? Or do we want them taught and influenced
by totally hedonistic party animals changing direction
like weather vanes according to the whimsical winds
of trendiness and fashions?
Libraries
are repositories of knowledge and expertise. The staff
there are researchers and distributors of information,
who make a considered assessment of the information
sources which will best meet the needs of an individual
user. Search engines, however refined and developed
they have become, although convenient because they can
be accessed in the home by those who have access to
PCs, cannot offer the individual advice and guidance,
from a position of expertise and experience, that an
information manager can provide. Reading a book or an
article which can help you improve your life and take
you where you want to be is a very valuable use of your
time. Working in a library might not be as glamorous
as striding the cat walk, but it is potentially very
rewarding - not least in helping individuals get the
right career for them, and developing the quality of
their lives.
Librarians,
for the most part, are probably not the most image conscious
people in the world, but that is an inherent part of
what makes them excel in what they do.
They are
concerned with quality not frippery. They are focussed
on the substance, not the surface gloss. They concentrate
on the depth of knowledge, not a few slick phrases.
In July,
there was a great deal of attention surrounding the
motivations of suicide bombers. The issues highlighted
(under-achievement among some sections of society leading
to economic inactivity thus breeding alienation and
resentment), seem to have receded from the spotlight
now.
These issues
are still there, and they are still festering. It would
be trite and facile to argue that libraries provide
an entire solution, but they can make a strong contribution
towards equipping members of all elements of society
with marketable skills and abilities which will help
them move towards goals that will bring them personal
satisfaction. That work isn't glamorous or attention
grabbing, and it has that in common with many important
jobs which assure our health, welfare, safety and comfort,
but it is crucial to continuing progress towards a fair,
stable equitable society, living peacefully in the future.
Only long
term steady hard work and application will successfully
address the underlying issues.
There are
many examples of the contributions which libraries make
to society, not least to the disadvantaged, and those
with ambitions, and there are many types of library,
other than public libraries. Literacy programmes, background
advice on health, support for continuing education,
the National Library for the Blind with its audio and
Braille books (3). Those in universities support thousands
of students at in the UK and overseas, through physical
collections of books and other materials, and through
virtual libraries accessible remotely.
There is
the National Electronic Library for Health, supporting
the work of the health service (4). Many commercial
companies have information services. Schools have library
services supporting the teaching staff and curriculum,
and the work of many professional bodies and voluntary
organisations is also supported by library or information
services.
Another key
area of the librarian's and information manager's expertise
lies in the field of intellectual property. In the knowledge
age, intellectual property is a crucial asset, and many
rightsholders, particularly large corporations, are
being increasingly assertive about protecting their
rights.
Librarians
and information managers have been collectively very
active in representing the rights of others so that
there is a balance between the rightsholders right to
benefit from their efforts, and the broader interest
so that intellectual property can be used for the common
good, underpinning learning and development.
On a global
level, the issues of UK skills shortages in the library
and information management sector can be addressed,
with internet technologies, by having some of the backroom
work (research, indexing, classification (taxonomy in
business language), web work, newsletters) done in other
parts of the world, bringing income and employment to
those areas where there are jobs shortages rather than
skills shortages, which is mutually beneficial.
Libraries
and information centres support every aspect of modern
life. They deliver on key government policies, on individual
wish lists, on company strategies, on voluntary organisation
objectives. They may not be the most glamorous places
in the world, but they nourish the mind, the intellect
and the imagination. Look at the British Library's 'Turning
the Pages' initiative for example, allowing people around
the world to look at copies of the Qur'an and illuminated
manuscripts without any damage being done to priceless
treasures, even if for whatever reason, are not always
able to travel to the British Library's St Pancras site
in order to see them. The BL provides vital support
to business, education and research (5).
Libraries
deliver substance. They add value, way beyond their
actual cost.
(ENDS)
Notes for editors:
(1) Aslib,
The Association for Information Management, was established
in 1924. Its members are private and public sector companies
and organisations throughout the world, concerned with
managing information resources efficiently. Aslib has
3 branches and 8 Special Interest Groups, covering some
60 SIC areas. Our expertise is in helping and advising
organisations, from SME's to large corporations and
governments, on any of their issues and problems, information
management great and small. http://www.aslib.com and
http://www.managinginformation.com
(2) For a
list of Aslib corporate members with information services
see: http://www.aslib.com/members.html
(3) National
Library for the Blind: http://www.nlb-online.org/
(4) National
Electronic Library for Health: http://www.nelh.nhs.uk/
(5) British
Library: http://www.bl.uk
For more
information, contact Graham Coult:
020 7613
3031 (during normal office hours)
020 7503 0163 (outside office hours).
gcoult@aslib.com (during office hours)
grahamcoult@cognissimo.co.uk (outside office hours)
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