What's New

Following the creation of the Academic and Research Libraries Group (ARLG) on 1 January 2012 (formerly UC&R / CoFHE), we are now looking to form a new national committee to co-ordinate the work of the Group and represent the interests of the sector as a special interest group within CILIP. If you are interested in standing for the national committee, please contact either Christopher Cipkin (c.b.cipkin@reading.ac.uk, tel: 0118 378 5120), or Colin Sawyers (Colin.Sawers@wnc.ac.uk, tel: 01623 627191). All officer positions and ordinary committee positions are available, including: Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, and ordinary members. We are seeking to ensure a fair representation across further education, higher education and research libraries. Those interested in standing should be current paid-up members of CILIP.

Alternatively, if you are interested in standing for your local ARLG committee, please contact either the UC&R or CoFHE representatives in your area:

UC&R http://www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/special-interest-groups/ucr/Pages/default.aspx

CoFHE http://www.cilip.org.uk/get-involved/special-interest-groups/c-of-he/circles/pages/circles.aspx

Over the next year, local UC&R and CoFHE Committees will be coalescing to represent the ARLG group regionally.

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Update on UC&R/CoFHE Merger

Over the summer discussions regarding the proposals to set up a new Special Interest Group for FE, HE and research librarians have been ongoing. As we are sure you can appreciate, this has not been an easy process as we volunteered to be one of the pilots so that any issues that may arise can be ironed out before other groups proceed with similar proposals. Being a pilot we have been able to draw on the experience of CILIP which has been very useful. At our meeting we have discussed in length how we see the new group working, taking on board the feedback that we have had from members. Annie Mauger and Francis Muzzo from CILIP have attended some of these meetings so that we have been able to clarify that we are following the correct procedures.

As we were keen to involve our members in any decision we made about the groups, we were advised by CILIP that we could hold an Extraordinary Special Meeting to vote on the new group. The meeting was therefore set up for the end of September for the vote to be taken so that we could get the request to CILIP Council for November. We realised when we set the date that it might be difficult for people to attend but unfortunately due to the time it took us to reach that point, and the timing of CILIP Council meetings we had little choice. However, as we had anticipated using proxy voting, we did that think that ultimately this would be a problem. Unfortunately when CILIP checked the rules on Extraordinary Special Meetings proxy voting was not permitted, and as it became clear we would not have had a quorum the meeting was cancelled. After this happened we were advised that as an alternative, the two committees could directly ask CILIP Council to dissolve the two groups and form a new group.

During the process, we set up a survey to get an indication of how members felt about the merger, and thus we have still been able to involve members. The survey revealed that 92.3% were in favour of the merger, (with 392 responses in total) and thus we are happy to proceed with the merger based on this. Therefore a paper is being drawn up to be sent to the November Council meeting.

Another aspect of the survey related to the name of the new group. We can now announce that we will be proposing to CILIP Council that the new group should be called "Academic and Research Libraries Group" or ARLG. This is based on the survey with 37.6% voting in favour of this name. The other proposed names were voted on as follows: Academic Libraries Group - 25.9%, College and University Libraries Group - 17.3% and Further and Higher Education Libraries Group - 14.5%.

The survey also gave us some idea as to what members want from this new group and we will use this when the new group is formed as a basis for future planning. We agree that there still needs to be specialist training for each sector as appropriate, as although we have common themes the FE and HE sector do also have their differences. Therefore, there will no doubt still be training events targeted specifically at FE or HE librarians, or those supporting research as well as those with a more broader appeal. This was something echoed by members in the survey.

To ensure that both sectors are equally represented in the new group we have also agreed that the new group should be co-chaired by representatives from FE and HE for the initial year, and that the committee should be made up equally of elected members from both sectors.

We will send out a further update after the November Council, if in the meantime you have any questions or comments, please contact Amanda Poulton, UC&R Vice-Chair

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The sixth CILIP CoFHE and UC&R Joint Conference

Great expectations: what do students want and how do we deliver?

Newcastle University, 25th - 27th June 2012

CALL FOR PAPERS and NOTES FOR WORKSHOP PRESENTERS

Call for papers opens Monday 3rd October 2011. Call for papers closes Friday 2nd December 2011. Notification of acceptance - Friday 16th December 2011. Please send your submission to Leo Appleton (l.appleton1@ljmu.ac.uk) by Friday 2nd December 2011.

We require a 500 word abstract (which will be sent to a panel of reviewers). A PC with internet access and powerpoint will be available to presenters.

All workshop presentations should address one or more of the conference themes:

• Student experience
• Quality Assurance
• Expectations in a digital world
• Marketing and advocacy
• Skilling the workforce for the future
• Measuring impact
• Collaboration and partnership
• Surviving in difficult times

Submissions should include the following:

• Name of author(s)
• Name of presenter(s) at the conference (if known).
• Contact details of author(s) and presenter(s) including email addresses, postal addresses and direct telephone number.
• Audio-visual requirements (e.g. PowerPoint, Internet Access etc)
• Special requirements (i.e. break out rooms, computer suite)
• Abstract - 500 word maximum

Workshop Guidance

Workshops should be an hour in length (maximum). Workshops should involve active participation and discussion with the focus on participants being able to develop skills or practical ideas for future implementation in their own practice. Break-out rooms and/or computer suites will be available for these sessions. Please illustrate if you require these facilities for your workshop.

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Hard Times or time for opportunities? How academic libraries are responding to Tough Economic Times

Date: Tuesday 15th November 2011
Location: Durham University Library,Stockton Road Durham DH1 3LY
Price: £100 plus VAT (CILIP Members)/£120 plus VAT (non-members)

Programme

10.00 Arrive and coffee
10.15 Introduction and welcome to the day
10.30 The Irish Question? How Irish University Libraries have responded to Tough Economic Times and what we can learn from their experience
John Cox (Librarian, Galway University

11.10 Coffee

11.20 Academic library response to Tough Economic Times: results of some recent research
Gareth Johnson. (Repository Manager, Leicester University
12.00 The Journal Usage Statistics Portal
Ross McIntyre. MIMAS Service Manager

12.30 Lunch and networking. (Van Mildert College)

13.40 Process Mapping: doing the right things or doing things right? The Sussex Experience
Grainne MacDermott (Public services Librarian, Sussex University
14.15 Learning and Sharing Workshop (delegates will be asked to identify top ten opportunistic ways of responding to tough economic times
15.00 Plenary and Coffee
15.30 Close

To book please contact: jon.purcell@durham.ac.uk

Jon Purcell, University  Librarian, University Library, Durham University
Stockton Road, Durham DH1 3LY

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CILIP University College and Research Group Awards 2011

CILIP's University College and Research Group is delighted to announce that the following awards were made at its AGM held at Umbrella 2011.

Innovation Award 2011

The University, College and Research Group is pleased to announce that the Innovation Award has been made to Catherine Walsh and her team from the University of East London. Catherine's award proposal was 'to facilitate a day conference to share a new web-based information skills tool developed at the University of East London'

The judging panel found that the submission, based on a sensible dissemination plan, is topical for librarians in HE & FE and potentially other sectors, and had a clear budget.

The innovation award is intended toreward and support an individual, group or team pursuing innovation and excellence in the broad area of learning and teaching, and learner supprt, within academic, national and research libraries. Relevant activity is defined very broadly and might involve one, or a combination of the following;

·         Initiating or developing new services

·         Creating learning materials, packages etc

·         Developing relevant applications of new technology

·         Establishing new partnerships/collaborative relationships

·         Undertaking research into any aspect of learner support

·         Writing or achieving publication of a relevant piece of work

·         Delivering a conference paper

·         Staging a relevant event/promoting an individual initiative

The award is open to any CILIP member employed in academic, national or research libraries in the UK, and to students hoping to work in these institutions.

The judging panel consisted of:

David Errington (Acting Chair of UC&R)
Andrew Walsh (Previous Winner)
Jo Webb (Chair of UC&R)

Simone Okolo and Ella Mitchell receiving the Innovation award cheque on behalf of Cathy Walsh (University of East London). Simone and Ella are also part of the Information Skills Project Team at UEL.

Sheila Corrall Award 2011

This new award, which has been relaunched for 2011 was presented by Sheila Corrall to David Brown and Elizabeth Simpson (both from the University of Reading) for their joint submission entitled: 'Packaged information: how have new means of delivering information affected student's information seeking behaviour?' The panel agreed that this was an original paper drawing on case studies to highlight an emerging trend within the HE sector. It presented a good discussion around the limitations, advantages and risks posed by packaged information.

The Sheila Corrall Award is sponsored by Professor Sheila Corrall (University of Sheffield) and is intended to encourage library and information practitioners in the university, college and research sector who are at the start of their professional careers, or who have not previously published a substantial contribution to the professional literature to write an article for publication. The winner is the author of the article considered by the judges to be the most valuable contribution to professional thinking and/or practice in the univeristy, college and research library sector. In reaching their decision the judges will take account of factors such as the use of evidence, display of insight, clarity of expression and style of presentation. Constructive feedback is given to both the winners and runners up to encourage them to refine their submission ready to publication.

The judging panel consisted of:

Professor Sheila Corrall (Panel Chair)

Dr Susie Andretta (London Metropolitan University)
Christopher Cipkin (UC&R Honorary Secretary)

Helen Fallon (National University of Ireland, Maynooth)
Dr Graham Walton (Loughborough University) 

Elizabeth Simpson (left), co-author of the winning Sheila Corrall Prize article, with Sheila Corrall (right)

Alison Northover Bursary 2011

The University, College and research Group is pleased to announce that the Alison Northover Bursary has  been awarded to Katie Birkwood who works at the University of Cambridge. Katie used her award to attend days at the Librarians' Information Literacy Annual Conference (LILAC) and CILIP Umbrella. The judging panel found that Katie's application showed evidence of an ongoing commitment to CPD and engagement with professional issues. It enabled her to attend her first professional conferences.

The Alison Northover Bursary is awarded to commemorate the contribution to librarianship made by Alison Northover, Deputy Head of Reader Services in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and committee member and Treasurer of the University, College and Research Group of what was then the Library Association. Alison died agaed 48 in July 1997. She was committed to professional development, both for herself and for others.

The bursary is intended to support professional development for qualified library staff in current membership of UC&R by provided for funds to attend a course or conference that they would otherwise be unable to fund.

The judging panel consisted of:

Jo Norry (Committee member of UC&R)
Amanda Poulton (Vice Chair of UC&R)
Joseph Ripp (Previous winner)

Umbrella 2011 Conference & Exhibition

New structures, new technologies, new challenges - How can we adapt to an age of austerity?

Relay 61 December 2010

The latest edition of Relay is now available to CILIP members. Please log in to view the full text, electronic-only issue. 

Our teaser article from the latest issue is:

"Digital asset management in university libraries and information
services". - by Laura Steel,  University of Sheffield.

Applications for UC&R Awards are now CLOSED

Applications for the Alison Northover Conference Bursary and UC&R Innovation award are now open.   The closing date for both awards is 31 January 2011.  Further information about the awards and how you can apply can be found under the Awards section of our website. 

Applications for the Shelia Corrall Publication Award

are now CLOSED