Presidential debate: Divided we fall: Are public libraries a national network or a local service?

Public libraries have a transformative impact on the daily lives of millions of people as ‘civic infrastructure’ in communities across the UK. As policy and funding become more fragmented, however, the idea of a ‘national public library network’ is coming increasingly under pressure.

In this second in our series of ‘Presidential Debates’, CILIP President Paul Corney will invite a panel of speakers including award-winning journalist and author Kate Thompson to explore the question “Are public libraries a national network or a local service?”.

The debate will be of interest to library leaders and staff, library users and supporters and people involved in decision-making roles in Local and Central Government.

PKSB headings

This webinar supports the following sections of the PKSB:

• Leadership and Advocacy
• Customer Focus, Service Design & Marketing
• Wider Library Information & Knowledge sector context

This webinar has been sponsored by CILIP North East. CILIP North East represent library and information professionals living and or working in Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne & Wear, and the area of the former county of Cleveland in North Yorkshire. For details about this group and their activities please visit their group website.

Biography

Paul Corney is the current CILIP President. He is Director of Knowledge Et Al, a leading global specialist Knowledge Management consultancy.

Paul has written and co-authored leading texts in Knowledge Management practice, including Navigating the Minefield: A Practical KM Companion (ASQ,2017) and The KM Cookbook (Facet, 2019).

Kate Thompson is a British-Irish writer best known for her children's novels. She has won the Bisto Childrens Book of the Year Award four times and has been shortlisted for both the Booktrust Teenage Prize and the Carnegie Medal.

Kate is an activist and champion for the social and educational value of public libraries, having written a number of prominent articles including a feature for the Guardian on Bethnal Green Library.

Sue Williamson is the Director for Libraries for Arts Council England. A professional librarian in the public sector, she has many years’ experience in a variety of roles in public libraries, her previous role being Head of Library Services for St. Helens Borough Council. She has wide ranging experience of local government and chairs the English Public Libraries Strategic Working Group, the successor to the Libraries TaskForce. Sue is keen to capitalise on opportunities to position public libraries as strong partners in community focussed delivery and in the key areas of Learning and the four Public Library Universal Offers: Reading, Culture and Creativity, Information and Digital and Health and Well-Being.

Isobel Hunter is the first Chief Executive of Libraries Connected. She was formerly Head of Archives Sector Development at The National Archives where she served a national constituency of 2,500 archives. She believes that libraries are central to people’s lives and communities across the country and is committed to working with members to help develop and advocate for the public library sector.

Professor Trower is the Head of Department of the School of Humanities at the University of Roehampton. She led the AHRC-funded ‘Living Libraries’ project which captured the voices of library workers, users and advocates as part of a ‘living archive’ now hosted at the British Library (https://www.livinglibraries.uk/).

This webinar is open to all for free.

Places are limited so register now to avoid disappointment

 Register now