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SCONUL Focus Number 35 Summer/Autumn 2005 Contents ISSN 1745-5782 (print) ISSN 1745-5790 (online) 3 Can only Cat Deeley save us now? 5 The 2005 Frye Institute Richard Wake 7 ‘What would you do if I asked you to shave your beard off?’ Steve Morgan 11 Library and Information Management Employability Skills LIMES Yvonne Hamblin 14 Chartership in partnership Kathryn Kilburn 17 Newcastle University Library and the Charter Mark John Morrow 19 Introducing ESRC Society Today Cormac Connolly 21 The role of Wikipedia in higher education Sonya Lipczynska 22 E-learning at the University of Exeter Library Dr Jessica Gardner, Michelle Allen, Dominic Prosser, Dr Helen Hanson 25 The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon Dr Vanessa Toulmin 29 The ‘Leeds Read’ Liz Waller, Katy Sidwell 32 Freedom of Information at Oxford University Library Services Mike Heaney 35 Current strategic issues for conservation of library collections Chris Woods 41 LibQUAL+ in the UK and Ireland: three years’ findings and experience Selena Lock, J. Stephen Town 45 Developing an emergency control plan for Oxford University Libraries Kristie Short-Traxler 51 Shelving systems for libraries Richard Ryan 53 Cafés in UK higher education libraries Christopher West 55 Life in the fast lane – well nearly: 24 hour opening pilot at the University of Liverpool, Harold Cohen Library Laura Oldham 59 Fines: a survey of SCONUL libraries Graeme Barber 63 Learning and information services support for international students at the University of Hertfordshire Helen Singer 67 It’s good to talk! Karen Jackson, Ann-Marie Ashby 70 Infoteach: developing an online community of practice of librarians who teach Chris Powis 72 WHELF: wherefore, whereto? Elizabeth Kensler, Andrew Green 74 An overview of SCURL’s current activities and projects Jill Evans SCONUL Focus 35 Summer/Autumn 2005 1 77 The Open Rose Group 79 Supporting e-learning: a guide for library and information managers, Hilary Johnson 81 Guidelines for colleges: recommendations for learning resources, Lindsey Martin 82 Valnow goes from strength to strength Julie Hitchen 83 The summer meeting of the Universities Science and Technology Librarians’ Group (USTLG) Frank Parry 84 A report on the ‘Developing an Institutional Repository’ workshop at the University of Glasgow William J Nixon 85 News from SCONUL 88 ‘Move away from SCONUL’s ‘Saga’ image!’ Mary Morley 90 Health strategy for SCONUL Judith Palmer 91 CURL/SCONUL Digest of Scholarly Communication News Fredrick J. Friend 93 News from member libraries 98 New from LISU 99 Online Information 2005 100 Advice for authors Editorial information The next issue will be published in January 2006. Copy date will be 30 November 2005. Please send articles for publication to SCONUL: [email protected] News items should be sent to Toby Bainton: [email protected] or to your usual contact person on the SCONUL Focus editorial team. Editorial team Antony Brewerton, Oxford Brookes University: [email protected] (Chair) Tony Chalcraft, York St John College: [email protected] John FitzGerald, University College, Cork: j.fi[email protected] Carol Kay, University of Liverpool: [email protected] Diane Lindsay, University of Strathclyde: [email protected] Lindsay Martin, Edge Hill College of Higher Education: [email protected] Steve Morgan, University of Glamorgan: [email protected] Steve Rose, University of Oxford: [email protected] Valerie Stevenson, Liverpool John Moores University: [email protected] Ian Tilsed, University of Exeter: [email protected] (Newsletter web editor) Published 3 times per year. Price £23.00 inland, £28.00 overseas. The views expressed in SCONUL Focus are not necessarily those of SCONUL or of SCONUL Focus editorial team. Society of College, National and University Libraries 102 Euston Street Tel: 020 7387 0317 London Fax: 020 7383 3197 NW1 2HA Email: [email protected] 2 SCONUL Focus 35 Summer/Autumn 2005 SCONUL Focus is the journal of SCONUL, the Society of College, National and University Libraries. SCONUL Focus aims to bring together articles, reports and news stories from practitioners in order to generate debate and promote good practice in the national libraries and the university and college sector. As well as the paper copy, the current issue of SCONUL Focus is also available electronically via the SCONUL website (http://www.sconul.ac.uk). Contributions are welcomed from colleagues in all fields and at all levels: we merely request that the items contributed are concise, informative, practical and (above all!) worth reading. Opinions expressed in SCONUL Focus are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of SCONUL. • ‘Life’s too short to sit around looking in books’ Can only Cat • ‘Life’s all about talking, communication -librarians don’t seem to do much of that’ Deeley save us • ‘It’s not really a career –it’s more of a job’ • ‘Once you’re a librarian that’s all you’re now? going to be …you can’t really go anywhere’ • Etc • Etc • Etc Just as we were heading towards the copy dead- line for SCONUL Focus Number 35, I found myself I won’t insult you, dear reader, by throwing in at home pondering what we had to do to tie up loads of exclamation marks (anyway, it would this issue. I was about to jump on my bike to cycle probably bust my ‘!’ key once and for all) but we across Oxford to work (another good thirty min- all know about the recruitment problem. utes to carry on thinking and planning) when I was distracted by an announcement on the BBC’s But what can we do …other than weep into our breakfast television programme. Coming up after cardies? Fear not, the BBC have a solution. A ‘PR the weather would be an item about the recruit- executive’ (who looked like a member of McFly) ment crisis in (public) libraries. was wheeled on to give us hope. How can we make libraries sexy? We need to make them cool Sure enough, we were soon in Liverpool’s Central again, and make the library an appealing environ- Library with a young woman telling us that ment (I hope you are writing this down…). But librarianship ‘is just not seen as a sexy job by most of all we need a champion. And who is the tomorrow’s workforce’. With 29% of library staff obvious choice? Yes, Cat Deeley! I quote (and I’m due to retire over the next ten years, the library really not making this up): ‘she’s approachable, world is worried. she’d give the librarian a persona almost, and an identity’. But why aren’t young people interested in library work? A camera crew was sent out onto the Now don’t get me wrong. I think we do need to streets to find out what their views are of the typi- tackle the image problem for this reason: Lord cal, average librarian and why such a life is not for knows, I’ve written enough articles on this. And them. Comments included: I’ve always had a soft spot for Ms Deeley: good comic timing with Ant and Dec and obviously a • ‘I have high ambitions …I’d like to become a huge Morrissey fan from the way she introduced lawyer’ him the last time he was on CD:UK –all good • ‘Their image –they look quite boring’ points in my book. • ‘They just wear cardigans and walk around quiet’ But surely there are other things we can try? • ‘It’s no life really’ • “It’s fairly boring’ One obvious way forward is to look at profes- sional education. The last few years have seen sev- SCONUL Focus 35 Summer/Autumn 2005 3 eral attacks on the library schools and the skills In the next issue we are keen to report short case gap between what they offer and what employers studies on how past jobs and outside interests aid want. Goulding’s 1999 study, for example, con- us in our day-to-day work. So if your years at the cluded: Co-op are paying off dividends, or your nights on the boards (in amateur dramatics) are assisting ‘The research highlights some key areas of mis- with days spent lecturing on information skills, match between the expectations and percep- or you are an ex-wrestler who has no problems tions of the key players (employers, students, enforcing library regulations, please contact me or educators). Employers appear to believe that one of the Editorial Board and you may appear in educators are not developing the appropriate the next issue. qualities (e.g. flexibility, commitment, reliabil- ity) while educators seem to believe they are Now, that’s given me a good idea. Cat Deeley, and students appear to believe that they do with all that presenting experience and years of actually possess these qualities.’1 dealing with a youthful audience, would be just right on our Freshers’ Fair stall. I’m off to check Similarly, the Information Services National the Radio Times to see if she’s available…. Training Organisation (isNTO) has carried out various investigations into the skills gap. The Antony Brewerton report covering 2000-2007 flagged up marketing SCONUL Focus Editorial Board and promotion, supporting the learner/user and performance management as the big areas on which to focus2. REFERENCES In this issue, Yvonne Hamblin’s excellent article 1 Goulding, Anne, et al. Likely to succeed: atti- introduces the work of the LIMES project which is tudes and aptitudes for an effective information looking to help fill this gap and make professional profession in the 21st century (Library and Infor- education more relevant and hopefully more mation Commission Research Report 8), London: appealing.