Bob McKee   

Biography: Bob McKee has been a prominent member of the UK library and information community for many years. Bob is Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) and was previously Chief Executive of The Library Association, one of CILIP's predecessor bodies. From 1988 to 1999 Bob was a Chief Officer in local government working for Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council first as Director of Libraries and Arts and then as Assistant Chief Executive responsible for economic development and policy coordination. Earlier in his career Bob worked in community libraries, in school and college libraries, and as a lecturer at what used to be the School of Library and Information Studies at Birmingham Polytechnic (now the University of Central England). Until September 2006 Bob was a member of the Board of MLA, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, and Chair of MLA's Finance and Audit Committee. He currently serves on the Public Lending Right Advisory Committee, on the Libraries, Archives and Information Sector Constituency Panel for Lifelong Learning UK, and on the Executive Forum of the “Professionalism in IT” initiative led by the British Computer Society. Internationally, Bob is a member of the Governing Board and Executive Committee of IFLA, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, with an active involvement in IFLA-FAIFE, one of the Core Activities of IFLA covering work on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression. In January 2006 was Bob was appointed to the honorary position of Visiting Professor in the Department of Information and Learning Services at the University of Worcester.

Abstract: Debate – Deprofessionalisation and skills for

21 st Century Librarian

This house believes that holding on to the requirements for library qualifications and chartership stands in the way of public libraries making the transformational change needed for a modern service.