Monday 28 February 2022

Speak at our virtual conference - Beyond the Horizon

CILIP North East Virtual Conference

Monday 16th May 2022 1.00-4:30pm

photo of Newcastle Gateshead Quayside


Beyond the Horizon - Bringing the information world together

Mon 16th May 2022 1:00-4:30pm

Come and tell us something you’re excited about


This annual event aims to showcase work and issues from across the library, information and knowledge professions. We hope it will inspire attendees with new ideas, share knowledge and good practice or just things you’re experimenting and developing. 

You could be involved with a new project, a different way of doing something or just feel you’re already doing something great and think others would benefit from knowing about it. This is your opportunity to share something you’re excited about with other professionals.   So you could talk about something completed as well as work in progress.

The conference will take place online via Zoom.
In terms of attending it is free to CILIP members and £35 for non-members. 

Sessions

There will be two types of session for the conference:

Short papers
There will be five slots available for 20 minute talks, inclusive of Q&A opportunity.

Lightning talks 
There will be six slots available for five minute talks, so we are looking for short and snappy! If you’d like to present and haven’t done so before, or just want to introduce something briefly, then this is perfect for you.

Proposals

To register your interest as a speaker, please complete this form - https://tinyurl.com/yc7ve6zx 

Deadlines

Friday 25th March 5pm Deadline for all talk submissions
Friday 1st April Notification of acceptance: Successful proposers will be informed by email

Details about how to book to attend the conference will be available soon.

If you have any queries, please email Info.NE@cilip.org.uk  

Friday 25 February 2022

AGM & Talk: Inspiring Futures: Apprenticeships, Public Libraries and New Opportunities

 

photo of angel of the north


Thursday 31st March 2022, 5:30-7:00pm

Join us online for our AGM followed by a talk "Inspiring Futures: Apprenticeships, Public Libraries and New Opportunities".

This talk will focus on the contribution that the Library and Information Assistant Apprenticeship can make to workforce development. Mark Freeman will outline why Stockton Library Service decided to take advantage of the opportunities provided by this apprenticeship and the benefits that it is bringing. Marie Brett will describe the content of the apprenticeship, End Point Assessment and how Stockton learning and Skills Service are delivering the off the job training element. Elisha Oakley and Eve Howsden will describe their experience as apprentices”

Learn more about the event, our speakers and book your place:

https://www.cilip.org.uk/event/CILIPNE-AGM22-inspiring-futures

Monday 14 February 2022

Event review: Social Justice – isn’t that political? With John Vincent

Social Justice – isn’t that political? With John Vincent (@JohnCVin) 
by Jennie Hillyard (Library & Archives Manager, The Common Room)

John joined CILIPNE to share his passion for social justice and introduce the work of The Network.  First of all we had to define social justice in a UK context; the standard definition centres around equality – equal citizenship, having access to resources to meet their essential needs, and equality of opportunity, with fair distribution of resources.  Taking it further, it can involve restructuring systems to remove barriers to accessing tools and opportunities to create equity.

Equity itself required a further definition – giving people what they need in order to make things fair – not about giving the same to everyone but giving more to those who need it, proportionately to their own circumstances.

Can a library be neutral?  John’s argument was that nothing in the world can be entirely neutral!  He added that our role as librarians is to understand the local, regional and national climate and be aware of the context in which we’re operating and how the decisions we make impact how the library is perceived.  He argued that the blanket statement “well libraries are neutral” stops us getting on and developing all kinds of things.

There is actually a long history of libraries being involved in social justice; the policies behind it have just changed name over the years.  It was once “serving the disadvantaged” then more recently “social inclusion”.  It’s what is behind many library services – book boxes, hospital and housebound library services and outreach work from as far back as the 1920s.

There are naturally obstacles to doing this kind of work; the political views of your organisation may inhibit some areas.  Funding levels, priorities and decisions all have a massive impact on the work we can do; external funding can be pulled away and services removed.  Staff commitment and interest is also key – getting the wider team on board first can make a huge difference.

In the past, the Library Association wasn’t keen to support this kind of work, then it became something that was seen as a bit “niche” and only relevant for very specific small areas.  However now CILIP is very much on board and has a commitment to proactively advocate for and promote inclusive, participatory and socially-engaged library, knowledge and information services.

Simply saying “well, libraries are for everyone” doesn’t help the people who don’t feel the library is for them.  The solution is targeted services towards specific needy groups and individuals.  Quite often this begins with a project and a trial, but in order to make it long term, they need to be mainstreamed and become part of the core service.  Making it sustainable for the future is the real challenge.  This includes offering long-term support and training for all the staff and also any volunteers involved in the programme.

A critical strategy is working in partnerships with organisations who already have connections in the relevant community.  They can provide links, bring groups into the building and create the connection.  Local community groups are also a way to reach these target audiences.

John also introduced “The Network” (www.seapn.org.uk) who have been working to tackle social exclusion since 1999.  Initially with public libraries, they now also work with museums and archives as well as university and college libraries.  They work on projects like Libraries of Sanctuary.  There is a small membership subscription but many of the resources, including the regular eBulletins are absolutely free and open to everyone. 

The discussion that followed began with questions around stock; and how to strike the balance between providing up to date materials whilst not falling into censorship.  John advocated for listening to the community around you but agreed it was a massive issue.  Having books within the collection but separated for critical appraisal rather than part of general lending was a frequently used solution.   Some staff had used tagging within the catalogue to alert people of a piece of material which has outdated or offensive viewpoints, especially for items in special collections or archives.

We agreed there was a need for access to resources and training for staff to develop their understanding and appreciation of the issues.

Look out for John’s book coming soon from Facet Publishing about welcoming new arrivals to the UK.

 

Contact John: john@nadder.org.uk