January/February

March/April

May/June

January/February

Worldwide Volunteering for Young People

Worldwide Volunteering is a non-profit-making organisation whose aim is to make it easier for young people and others to volunteer by providing instant access to information about the widest range of volunteering opportunities in the UK and overseas. The W.W.VOL.’s completely re-designed website goes live early in the New Year – www.worldwidevolunteering.org.uk.

The WWVol database enables volunteers to build and on-screen profile of their ideal volunteer placement which is instantly matched against the requirements of 800 organisations with over 250,000 annual placements in over 200 countries.
Information can be accessed through subscribers to a CD Rom or through a postal enquiry service for which there is a small administration fee. In association with How To Books, they also publish annually a companion paperback directory Worldwide Volunteering for Young People.

Schools, colleges, universities, libraries and volunteer bureaux are encouraged to subscribe to the database so that more young people can be made aware of the scheme and experience truly life changing opportunities for personal growth whilst giving up their time for worthwhile projects and good causes.

Source: Press release 7/2/02

Further information: Tel/Fax +44 (0)1963 220 036, E-mail: ybf@wolrdvol.co.uk

PORT – Maritime Information Gateway

The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, is pleased to announce the launch of the new-look homepage of PORT, the Maritime Information Gateway. This will enable all users to search and browse the database far more easily and gain faster access to sites of interest.

The portal is the premier UK maritime information gateway to quality websites and resources available on the Internet. Websites accessible on PORT now number over 2800 and range from navigation to maritime art, and adventure at sear to military affairs and naval resources. A team of subject specialists and librarians at the Museum constantly adds new sites and updates existing entries. PORT also includes listings for conferences and events, and links to the Museum’s online Journal for Maritime Research.

Source: Press Release January 2002

Further Information: www.nmm.ac.uk, E-mail press_office@nmm.ac.uk or Tel: 020 8312 6475/6545/6790

RCN Library wins major award

The Library and Information Service at the Royal College of Nursing has received a Library Association PR and Publicity Award for its innovative promotion of new electronic services to RCN members. They were highly commended for their work in the ‘Multi-Media and Web page publicity’ category. Their winning entry included a video shown to hundreds of nurses at the RCN’s annual nursing conference – RCN Congress 2001.

The RCN is working with Blackwell Publishing and Health Communication Network to deliver the new service. It offers all RCN members unlimited personal access to the British Nursing Index (BNI Plus) – a database indexing over 220 core nursing journals. Since its launch at Congress 2001, over 6,000 RCN members have registered for the new service. Initially the service will be piloted for one year.
Source: RCN news Release, February 2002

Further Information: www.rcn.org.uk, Tel: 020 7647 3610


New Tate Research Centre reveals its treasures

The Hyman Kreitman Research Centre opens to readers on Wednesday 1st May, 2002, funded with a 2.2 million donation by the Kreitman Foundation. Fulfilling Tate’s longstanding aim of increased public access to its outstanding research resources, the new centre will enable Tate’s existing library and archive collections to be brought together for the first time and made far more accessible to researchers.
The new centre is designed by John Miller and Partners, the architects of Tate Britain’s Centenary Development. It includes two new reading rooms with more than 40 places for readers and facilities for access to a wide range of electronic and non-book media.

The archive contains such treasures as Turner’s palette, Paul Nash’s paintbox (complete with jam jar for water and dirty paint rags) and the ribbon work by Degas’ celebrated sculpture ‘Little Dancer’. These unique objects are part of a collection of over a million archival items ranging from manuscripts, letters, diaries, sketchbooks, drawings, photographs, audiovisual material and press cuttings.

Source: Tate Press Release, 14th February 2002

Further Information: Ben Luke, Tate Press Office, Tel: 020 7887 8730, www.tate.org.uk

March/April

The Diversity Council marks its first birthday

The Diversity Council celebrated its first birthday with a "Change the World" seminar, held at Hounslow Library on the 15th March. The Diversity Council is an organisation set up to address the issues of library and information services to diversity communities - defined as those communities which suffer discrimination and exclusion on the basis of gender, race, class, disability, sexuality and a range of other factors - as well as the issues of under-recruitment of members of such communities into the profession, their career progression, training, etc. within the public library services, the educational, and other sectors.

The keynote speaker at the seminar was Professor Ismail Abdullahi of Clark Atlanta University, a regular visitor to the UK who has been instrumental in setting up the Diversity Council, Professor Abdullahi congratulated the DC on its first anniversary before saying that there had been 3 black presidents of the American Library Association. Only when the UK had similar role models would real change come about. We had, therefore, as an organisation, to confer status on those who were bringing about progress in this area, he said.

Bob McKee (Chief Executive, CILIP) re-emphasised his personal commitment to diversity and promised that the new CILIP would carry on the work of the LA in this area. Speakers from the Government's Department for Culture Media and Sport, Resource and the Commission for Racial Equality all stressed the importance of encouraging diversity within the library profession and each expressed a wish to work closely with the new organisation.

A number of initiatives to promote diversity within the library and information profession were highlighted, including the Quality Leaders project at Merton and Birmingham, and the Desired Staffing Profile project based at the University of Wolverhampton. Mary Heaney from Wolverhampton, spoke about the latter initiative and stressed the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration needed if academic library staffing profiles were to reflect the gender and ethnic profiles of an academic institution's user groups. As Hendie McNellie from the CRE said, such initiatives as this were justified not only by law and ethics, but by business practice too. While initiatives were taking place at a local level, too often they were taking place in isolation. The Diversity Council offered the chance, Mary Heaney said, of initiatives and individuals learning from each other and pooling their experiences and their growing expertise.

Discussion during the day covered a number of themes: the importance of collaboration in this area between sectors which had a great deal to learn from each other, and the importance of building on the optimism and cohesion gained by the formation of the Diversity Council.

At a meeting the previous day officers were elected to the new organisation and a constitution agreed. Application for the formation of a Diversity Group within CILIP will be put forward in the coming weeks. It is envisaged that this group will be a broad membership organisation within CILIP which will promote a wide range of issues of diversity within the library and information profession covering issues of race and religion, of culture and ethnicity, of social class gender, sexuality, age, disability and a range of other factors. In other words, it may evolve as an umbrella organisation to address this range of issues affecting CILIP members as well the user communities of library and information services.

It is envisaged that the Diversity Council, as a federation of organisations dedicated to addressing issues of racial discrimination and under-representation of black and ethnic minority staff within the profession, will continue to operate as a body independent of CILIP, or as an Organisation in Liaison (OiL). This will give it the independence and flexibility to monitor progress in this field, and to work with other organisations in this area, such as the Commission for Racial Equality, Resource and the Department for Culture Media and Sport.

To join the Diversity e-mail mailing list, please go to: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/DIVERSITY.html

Source: Diversity Council Press Release 4/4/02

Further information: For further details, or to receive the Diversity newsletter, please contact: philip.pothen@kcl.ac.uk

Teaching Technology and the Information Worker
ASSIGN AGM May 9th

Would you like to find out more about the impact of new virtual learning environments and ICT technology on the role of the Librarian/Information worker? Then come along to the 2002 ASSIGN AGM on May 9th at ASLIB headquarters Staple Court (Near Liverpool Street Station)

The afternoon will begin with a buffet lunch from 1.00-2.00pm, followed by the AGM and then the main presentations. It will end at approximately 4.30pm.
Speakers will be:
Sally Patalong from Coventry University who has been involved in the creation of an innovative WebCT system for delivering information skills training Jane Secker (LSE Centre For Learning Technology http://teaching.lse.ac.uk/tech/ ) the librarian member of a specialist teaching technology team which is currently developing innovative online learning courses for LSE academic departments.  The speakers will share their experiences, providing practical examples of teaching technology at work and there will be an opportunity for questions and discussion.

This event is free to all ASSIGN (ASSIG/ALISS) members
Non-members may attend at a fee of £5.00 but cannot vote during the AGM
If you would like to reserve a place please contact.
Heather Dawson. h.dawson@lse.ac.uk

Source: ASSIGN mailing list, April 2002

Further Information: Heather Dawson at h.dawson@lse.ac.uk

LIBRARY AND INFORMATION WELLWISHERS GATHER TO CELEBRATE NEW MEMBERSHIP BODY

Shakespeare's UnderGlobe is venue for launch of CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
Representatives of the library and information profession were joined by wellwishers from related fields for a reception at Shakespeare's UnderGlobe on 25 March to launch CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. Formed as a result of the unification of the Institute of Information Scientists (IIS) and the Library Association (LA), the new professional body will have some 23,000 Members working in all sectors, including business and industry, science and technology, further and higher education, schools, local and central government departments and agencies, the health service, the voluntary sector, national and public libraries.

"I have been an advocate of unification for more than a decade," said Sheila Corrall, Director of Academic Support Services at the University of Southampton and CILIP's first President. "I think the case for a united professional organisation is even more compelling now than it was 10 or 15 years ago. We must make CILIP truly representative of our entire constituency."

Echoing Ms Corrall's comments, the LA's retiring President Bernard Naylor added "I strongly supported the move towards merger advocated by the Saunders Report in the 1980s. Perhaps the time was not ripe then. Fifteen years later, we have a profession which has matured strongly through the influence of the information revolution." Peter Enser, retiring President of the IIS, concurred, saying "The expertise, professionalism and goodwill of colleagues in both the IIS and the LA provide CILIP with a firm foundation and a rich heritage. I have every confidence that CILIP will very quickly prove to be the major force in those areas of professional concern and interest which we all have at heart."

CILIP's goals will be to: position the profession at the heart of the information revolution; develop and enhance the role and skills of all its Members; present and champion those skills, together with new ones which will be acquired through continuing professional development; and ensure that individuals, enterprises and not for profit organisations have ready and timely access to the information they need.

"The 'electronic imperative' is affecting us all, and we need to help our respective communities deal effectively with the proliferation of online resources available," Ms Corrall concluded. "Information literacy is critical to contemporary social, educational and professional concerns - to overcome the 'digital divide', to enable independent learning and to support evidence-based policy and decision making." Adding that information skills were also a fundamental requirement for business - to combat information overload, to retrieve information from the 'invisible web', and to manage knowledge and intellectual capital, she affirmed that "CILIP members can now work together to develop this information capability across organisational and sectoral boundaries."

Source: CILIP Press Release 25/3/02

Further Information: Tim Owen, Head of External Relations
Tel: 020 7255 0652.
Email: tim.owen@cilip.org.uk

Edited by Michelle Perrott of The Open University.

May/June

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT REWARDED

CILIP and Online Information join forces to offer Personal Development Award

Pleased with your CILIP Chartership application? Confident it will get your professional career off to a flying start? Then why not enter the CILIP/Online Information Personal Development Award? That’s the message going out to newly qualified library and information professionals who can demonstrate that they are committed to their continuing personal development.

Jointly promoted by Online Information and CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, the Award is open to anyone who gained their MIInfSc, ALA or MCLIP between October 2001 and September 2002. The winner will be announced at the Online Information 2002 Gala Awards Dinner at the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, on Wednesday 4th December, and will receive not only the Award itself but also Amazon vouchers worth £250, provided by Online Information.

"We’re delighted to be collaborating with CILIP on this Award," says Online Information’s Katherine Allen. "The Online Information Conference and Exhibition are all about being at the cutting edge, so this is the right occasion to encourage new professionals to take charge of their personal development and ensure that they stay equipped for the job throughout their career."

"One of CILIP’s key aims is to promote standards of excellence in the creation, management, exploitation and sharing of information and knowledge resources," comments Marion Huckle, Head of Membership, Careers and Qualifications at CILIP. "Online Information is the ideal forum for demonstrating the part that Chartership plays in achieving this."

To enter, candidates must write a statement of no more than 500 words explaining why they think Chartership is of value for personal professional development. Entries will be assessed by a panel of judges, representing both of the Award partners and also the wider professional community.

The CILIP/Online Information Personal Development Award is open to anyone who gained full Membership of the Institute of Information Scientists or Associateship of the Library Association between October 2001 and March 2002, and to CILIP Members who became Chartered between April and September 2002. Judging will take place during October and November, and the winner and any highly commended candidates will be informed no later than Friday November 22. The winner will be announced and the Award presented at the Online Information 2002 Gala Awards Dinner at the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, on Wednesday 4 December.

Source of Information: CILIP press release

Further Information: Entry details and contacts: Tim Owen, Head of External Relations, CILIP.Tel: 020 7255 0652 Email: tim.owen@cilip.org.uk

Katherine Allen, Online Information
Tel: 01932 730707 Email: kallen@imark.co.uk

Estelle Morris praises new free Internet resource for Further Education

A national Web initiative offering free online training in Internet skills to students and lecturers in further education has been launched at www.vts.rdn.ac.uk.

Building on the success of the 40 higher education tutorials launched last year, the 11 new "teach yourself" Web tutorials in the Resource Discovery Network (RDN) Virtual Training Suite will enable students in further education to find high quality information on the Internet to support their course work.

Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Estelle Morris, said: "The potential of the Internet to support education and work can only be met if people have the skills and inspiration to use it. That is why I am glad that the RDN Virtual Training Suite is now offering 11 new tutorials which will provide a helpful overview of what the Internet can offer for anyone studying or teaching at a college or university".

"The fact that these tutorials can be taken at any time over the Web for free means that they can help anyone learn at a time and a place that suits them. I hope that large numbers will take advantage of this and discover how the Internet can enhance their studying."

The RDN Virtual Training Suite offers self-taught training in Internet information skills. Each tutorial has been written by an expert "tour guide" - a further education teacher or librarian with knowledge of both their subject area and the Internet.

The tutorials offer step-by-step instruction in Internet searching and information skills, such as critical evaluation. Online quizzes and interactive exercises lighten the learning experience and there is a glossary of Internet terms and a "Links Basket" to collect a personal list of useful Web links.

Lecturers, librarians and IT trainers are encouraged to use these tutorials to support subject curricula, student induction, staff development and training in IT Key Skills. The skills covered map on to part of the Key Skills specifications for Information Technology, as defined by the Qualifications Curriculum Authority. Teaching Packs offer case study examples of how these tutorials can be used in different courses at levels 1-3, ranging from A Level to GNVQ and AVCE.

The 11 tutorial titles are:
· Internet for Art, Design and Media
· Internet for Business Studies
· Internet for Construction
· Internet for Engineering (General and Automotive)
· Internet for Hairdressing and Beauty
· Internet for Health and Social Care
· Internet for Hospitality and Catering
· Internet for Information and Communication Technology
· Internet for Leisure, Sport and Recreation
· Internet for Performing Arts
· Internet for Travel and Tourism

Source: RDN Press Release 10/6/02

Further Information:
Dr Philip Pothen, JISC/RDN Communications Manager, JISC Office, King's College London, Strand Bridge House, 3rd Floor,138-142 The Strand, London WC2R 1HH

Tel: 020 7848 2935
philip.pothen@kcl.ac.uk

British Library Public Catalogue accessible from COPAC

Joint Press Release from the British Library and the Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL)

The British Library and the Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL) are delighted to announce that from 17 June 2002 the British Library Public Catalogue (BLPC) will be accessible online, free of charge, from COPAC (http://copac.ac.uk).

COPAC is an online union catalogue, hosted at MIMAS, which gives free access to the merged catalogues of 22 of the largest university research libraries in the UK and Ireland. Now that the British Library has become a full member of CURL and the BLPC has been added to COPAC, COPAC users will have free online access, via a single search interface, to more than 20 million catalogue records, which they can search simultaneously by title, author or subject.

The National Library of Scotland and the National Library of Wales / Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru have also become full members of CURL and their records will be available via COPAC within the next twelve months. Meanwhile their catalogues can be searched simultaneously with the COPAC database, which also includes the BLPC, using the experimental version COPAC V3.

More details about the content of the BLPC can be found at http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/blpc.html

More information about CURL and MIMAS can be found on their respective web sites at http://www.curl.ac.uk and http://www.mimas.ac.uk.

Source: Joint Press Release from the British Library and the Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL), June 2002-07-09

Further Information: Dr Marie-Pierre Détraz , Executive Secretary, Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL) , 12th Floor, Room 1211, Muirhead Tower, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT
Tel: 0121 415 8106
Fax: 0121 415 8109
email: m.detraz@bham.ac.uk