| Editorial: Reflecting back and looking forward
First of all this is the first
online-only issue of Impact, this is a
slight experiment (so we’d much appreciate any
feedback) in trying to maintain a quarterly
publishing cycle (three print issues; one
online one) over the duration of the year
while keeping the costs within a budget that can only stretch to three
print issues at this time.
We appreciate that
not everyone has
internet access, that the format may not be
ideal, and that we don’t at this point have the necessary membership
data to be able to set up a completely targeted members-only issue
through our
website. However the intention of this
online issue is to attempt to retain
quarterly publication and to reach who we can through this format
rather than go completely silent to everyone for a significant part of
the year.
The end of the year
is traditionally when people take stock of the year that is ending and
prepare themselves for the new year to come. So it tends to be a time
of reflection, thinking about what was important or interesting, what
was achieved or enjoyed. Equally it’s about drawing up lists of
things we really do mean to do in the year to come (whether this
actually happens of course is, as we wryly acknowledge, often a
slightly different kettle of fish).
Well Winter Impact is
following suit, what follows is largely articles and run-downs on
various things that have affected the profession over the year that
perhaps folk really meant to read up on or get to grips with and never
really found the time to do so e.g. what exactly comprises CILIP and
what’s it been up to this year?; what’s the Copyright Directive about
(is it as horrendously complicated as we think it probably is; how
substantially will it change our day-to-day lives next year?). So
what follows is a look at some of such topics, if anyone feels we’ve
left out anything fundamental feel free to submit an article on it and
we’ll try to publish it next year.
Of course come
Wintertime some of us prefer to think wistfully of warmer climes and
are more likely to head for the holiday brochures than the
professional literature. In which case you
can combine the two (they only sound mutually exclusive!) and read
about our VSO Librarian in Zambia, our former VSO Librarian in Germany
– and the announcement of the itinerary of the CDG Study Tour to
Finland next year.
As a Group with a
local Divisional
structure we’re
also looking at what some of the CDG Divisions got up to in the last
year. When read together these
accounts highlight the sheer variety of
what the Divisions do, a lot of interesting events happened as a
result of their combined activities.
Isabel Hood
Joint Honorary Editor | 
