CILIP | The Skills Exchange

The Skills Exchange

A new forum has been launched called The Skills Exchange, where library and information workers can meet and exchange ideas.

Topics currently being discussed are as varied as the role of the modern library, the best use of the latest Web 2.0 technologies, to electronic copyright and it's implications in the online information age. But The Skills Exchange is your resource - if there is something that you want to talk about and there is no relevant section yet, just ask. The Skills Exchange uses a simple message board format.

There are so many developments in the LIS and although there are plenty of posts going on in the form of blogs, there doesn't seem to be any single place where a range of issues that affect us can be discussed. The idea is for The Skills Exchange to put the topics at the centre of the discussion, rather than the one individual view, as blogs tend to do. This will hopefully allow conversations to develop, rather than a polemic. There are many ways in which The Skills Exchange can be used. For example, are you looking to implement a portal or other new system in your library or institution, and are unsure of which platform to use? Post a question in The Skills Exchange and see what other people's experiences have been. Or unsure of the copyright implications of managing electronic resources? Again, this is the place to ask your questions - or answer someone else's. The Skills Exchange is intended to be a cross-sectoral resource. The aim is for information workers in all sectors - from public to commercial - to exchange ideas and experiences. There is a section to arrange site visits if you want to see how a service you are considering developing has been implemented in another library. Or you can just exchange information online.

Exchange of experience is a valuable way of learning more about your own job. Someone working in the same area as you, but in a different sector, can give you a new insight into your own role. How does an ILL librarian in the NHS and an ILL librarian in the commercial sector run their services? What are the differences and similarities in implementing a repository in the academic sector and the commercial sector? TSE helps you think in new ways too - talking to people across the sectors can help develop existing ideas and generate new thoughts.

Hopefully, The Skills Exchange will become a valuable resource for you in your work - there is much more going on than there is room to mention here, and some of it just for fun, too! Come and sign up at: Visit The Skills Exchange at: http://www.the-skills-exchange.org/ (Registration is free) The Skills Exchange - A place for librarians and information workers to meet and exchange ideas

Updated: 30 March 2008

Community Services Group

The Skills Exchange