President's perspective Keeping my head up Christopher Phillips, the new President of CILIPS, looks forward to changes and chellenges. After a recent meeting of the SLIC Board some of us were talking about books we’d read when we were still at school. Hall Green Primary School gave me a good start and even then I read widely and voraciously. However, one book stands out in my memory as it’s the one that got me interested in printing and book production and ultimately in libraries. I’ve still got my copy of the Load of Unicorn by Cynthia Harnett. Although falling apart it even now has the power to capture my imagination (and to distract me from writing this column!). We’re so used to dealing with information day-by-day that we may overlook the impact it has on us and our customers. What to us is routine information may be life-changing to them. We are now looking at outcome measures and are beginning to explore ways of measuring the value that is added by the information we provide. At the heart of this is the need to put our customers first, to research their needs and to skill ourselves to design and deliver services to match. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to develop these themes at our conference which takes place at Peebles, 11- 13 Jun, on the theme ‘Customer First: developing people centred library services’. For those of you who may not know me here is something about what I do and how I’ve got here. My pre-library school experience was at the University of London Library but after qualifying I cut my professional teeth in public libraries as a Reader’s Advisor in Hereford where I also had responsibility for the music collections. From there I went to Northamptonshire for a joint post in the Leisure and Libraries Service promoting concerts and supporting music organisations in the county as well as managing music and audiovisual library services, later taking the responsibility for forming and managing a new Resources Section. From there I migrated north to manage support services for Highland Libraries. My main priority was to automate the library system and it was exciting to be at the forefront of developments in EDI. Since then I have progressed through a number of jobs in Highland, each gaining wider remits. My current job is as Lifelong Learning Manager for the Highland Council where I am responsible for Libraries, Information, Archives, Adult Learning and Adult Literacy. I work within an integrated Education, Culture and Sport Service and so a good deal of my time is spent in partnership working. It’s good to be able to make links across sectors even if breaking out of silos takes more time and effort than I expect! Although I’d worked in rural authorities in England I found the scale something else in the Highlands – a region the size of Belgium or Wales but with a population of 210,000 and with difficult and long journeys to far- flung communities. This remoteness applies also to contact with the wider profession – it takes me more than a normal working day just to travel to Hamilton, Glasgow or Edinburgh and back! Looking back I now realize that every job I’ve done has been about change, whether it’s new services, new processes or new partnerships. I enjoy the challenge of change and even when things are going well I’ve learned to keep my head up to see what’s coming across the horizon. Three things have come to the foreground recently: the consultation on the Draft Culture (Scotland) Bill and Guidance, the consultation on the Lifelong Learning Strategy and the discussions on the future shape and budget of CILIP and the effect this will have on CILIPS. The Culture Bill offers us great possibilities and perhaps a few threats. As long as the Guidance is in place (and not watered down), and we have the Public Libraries Quality Improvement Matrix developed by SLIC, we will have a framework for evaluation that is backed by real money to improve services and which will help to define national standards. It’s important that we use that framework to identify the skills and competencies that we need to develop in ourselves so that we can meet our customers’ ever-changing needs. I am disappointed though that the Bill doesn’t seem to recognise that our library collections, often individually and certainly collectively, are of a national significance that equals or exceeds that of the National Collections. We still have work to show others how well joined up the library landscape is. The consultation on the Executive’s Lifelong Learning Strategy shows that the libraries message has still to reach a number of ears. Neither the original strategy nor the consultation document recognises the contribution that libraries make to learners through the provision of resources and access to learning materials and opportunities, nor the work of librarians in guiding learners. As a profession, we face a number of challenges to ensure that we are fit for purpose in the 21st century. You’ll be aware of the financial pressures affecting CILIP as a whole and of the new structures being implemented. CILIP in Scotland has a focused business plan which it meets within budget. However, in order to plan for the future, CILIP in Scotland must review where our priorities lie. I urge everyone to consider carefully what is important about our professional organisation. As part of our business planning for the future we will be seeking the views of all members and it’s the responsibility of us all to contribute to this process. I can’t end without thanking Ivor Lloyd for his hard work and unstinting representation of us all in his year as President. He has been out and about meeting many of you stimulating lively debate. He will be a hard act to follow. It’s a great honour to be writing as your President. Looking back at the long list of those who have held this position fills me with awe but I will do my best to repay the trust you have put in me. I’m looking forward to meeting as many of you as I can during this year and to listening to your views. Information Scotland Vol. 5(1) February 2007 © Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland Disclaimer Information Scotland is delivered online by the SAPIENS electronic publishing service based at the Centre for Digital Library Research. SLAINTE (Scottish libraries across the Internet) offers further information about librarianship and information management in Scotland. Striking similarities 20 years on Rhona Arthur was at the picket line 20 years ago this month on all-out strike with other Strathclyde Regional Council librarians, protesting against pay and conditions. But how have things improved? Twenty years ago this month, librarians employed by Strathclyde Regional Council, disappointed by the failure of their employer to address their pay and conditions, went on all-out strike. This resonates with present day concerns about pay and conditions in the form of Workforce Pay and Benefits, Job Evaluation and Single Status. In the 1980s, Strathclyde Regional Council employed more than 270 library staff in their secondary schools, colleges and educational resource services. A claim for re-grading was submitted in 1981 but a national agreement prevented local settlements being reached. The national grade was removed in 1984 and NALGO (the trades union representing the library staff) entered in to local negotiations. This post was paid up to GBP 3,000 a year less than a newly qualified teacher. Librarians felt under-valued and wanted a career structure comparable to other professional groups working for the regional council. The claim was for APIV/V for school librarians, the benchmark post upon which all other library posts were graded. In a letter to Scottish Libraries journal, Robert Craig, Chief Executive of the Scottish Library Association, pointed out that there was a lack of understanding about the contribution which librarians could make to support the curriculum and its development. In January 1987, library staff took the decision 2:1 to take indefinite strike action from 2 February, rejecting an offer of API/II, as it was “...clear that the proposal would only perpetuate low salaries and low status for library staff in education, one of the few professional groups with a very high proportion of women employed.” This echoes today’s concerns about equal opportunities and the ‘glass ceiling’. The curriculum change at the time was the introduction of Standard Grade and its focus on investigative learning and the use of primary source material. Librarians found it hard to get a seat at the table to assist in planning the development (eerily like history repeating itself in A Curriculum for Excellence). The reasons for this are varied, but some link back to the status of library staff. Status is inextricably linked with salary and conditions of service, as well as professional expertise. The strike lasted for five weeks. There was a degree of shock that librarians had taken such militant action against the heavy-weight Labour authority. Library staff served time on picket lines, formed a political strategy targeting the regional councillors, haunted council meetings and organised lobbying at councillors’ surgeries. Letters to the press were written, buildings were picketed and discussions were held between key parties. Eventually, a return to work was agreed and an improved offer was made shortly afterwards. The offer was APIII for chartered librarians, with APIII/IV for posts with additional responsibilities.