| Editorial:
I Saved the World Today?
No apologies for the reference to the excellent Eurythmics track: I play it so often that my CD glows. Nevertheless, there is no better way to relax after a hectic day at work than with the Eurythmics ‘Peace’ album and a bottle of
campari.
All credit to Dave and Annie - alcohol or no alcohol - they do get you thinking and I have to admit that I find their songs provocative, both on an emotional and intellectual level. One interpretation of the song: ‘I Saved the World Today’ is the juxtaposition of those who luxuriate in positions of comfort, against who suffer due to lack of provision to cover basic needs:
'There’s a million mouths to feed
And I’ve got everything I need
I’m breathing'
Songs such as these can be very sobering - no matter how much campari one has soaked up.
They can make you think about your life and how it contributes to the world around you.
I often ask myself what it was that has made me decide to progress with a career in
library / information work. I have no-burning-love-of-books - I’m quite a selective reader - and I certainly have no truck with the feeble, mousy librarian stereotype. Yet, what drew me to the profession was the opportunity I felt it presented me act as a facilitator to opening other people’s minds to new ideas, to new sources of knowledge and to new avenues towards self development. I view the role of the library/ information worker as an emancipator: helping others help themselves [to help others]. At this point I’m sure some of the more jaded among you may feel that this is just romantic twaddle: it isn’t - look around - librarians are no longer the only ones concerned with ‘knowledge management’.
The year 2000 has seen the UK government examine legislation relating to the freedom we have over access to information about ourselves, our communities and structures that surround these. As I write, Section 28 is still ping-ponging between the House of Lords and the House of Commons and the Freedom of Information [FoI] Bill remains a hot subject for most politicians. The government’s [eventual] repeal Section 28 and it’s crack at ‘freedom of information’ law have an real impact on the lives of each and every one of us in the UK. Traditionally, such concerns were ‘big discussion topics’ within our profession. Not now. Where has our professional body been recently? I’ve not heard it propose debate among members on Section 28 or FoI and I’ve not heard it inform other bodies of LIS perspectives on these matters. Personally, I find it abhorrent that the Library Association has not lifted a finger to support measures to promote the rights of users and professionals on matters related to ‘information freedom’. Is this a case of complacency or a blatant disregard for the needs of others on ‘politically sensitive topics’? Perhaps the politics of LA/ IIS unification is just too engrossing for the LA jet-set, that they forget about the world[s] around them?
Still, we’ll try not to let you down at Impact - almost as a sequel to our successful April issue on Section 28, this month we bring you some perspectives on freedom of information, in association with our friends at Charter88 and other contributors. We hope you find it interesting reading. On our own we can’t say that we ‘saved the world today’, but perhaps we can make a start...
Peter Fairbrother
Associate Editor
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FoI
for Busy People - Isabel Hood
