CILIP: the library and information association

General discussion

Directory & Features

Special Interest Group: Government Information Group Forum Index » General discussion

Moderator(s):

Forum Actions

Topics		Replies	Author	Latest Post
	Webinar: The more you KNOW(vember): GIG's annual award winners	0	N. Yar	CILIP Government Information Group webinar: “The more you KNOW(vember): sharing the successes of GIG's annual award winners”, Wednesday 12 November, 12pm - 1pm Illustrated by Jasmina El Bouamraoui and Karabo Poppy Moletsane, WP20 Symbol knowledge transfer, CC0 1.0 To coincide with the KNOWvember campaign across government, CILIP's Government Information Group (GIG) are holding a webinar celebrating the joint winners of our 2025 annual awards. Speakers from the winning teams will share stories of the challenges they faced, how they tackled these and the positive outcomes of their projects, as well as taking questions from attendees. The award-winning projects share several themes which will be of interest to the wider community of information and knowledge professionals. Both involved a strong element of raising awareness of good practices in handling information across their respective government departments, and therefore increasing information literacy in their organisations. This was achieved through successfully engaging with staff across their wider departments in ways which were quantifiable, and qualitative impact was also recorded. Both also achieved successful outcomes against a background of resource constraints. Both projects gave rise to lessons which can be transferred to other contexts, and which therefore will be of interest to those working in Government Knowledge and Information Management and other sectors. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Information Management Team were responsible for implementing the Government Security Classification Policy (GSCP) policy in the Department, with drop down sensitivity classification labels/markings for electronic documents. They have clearly shown an impressive technical ability and overcome significant problems to make the project work successfully. The team reacted to initial negative feedback, testing the technology with a diverse group of users and quickly producing tailored guidance for the FCDO. The team delivered more than 200 briefings across all time zones for the benefit of the department's global staff, and secured agreement from Civil Service Learning to make the GSCP e-Learning module available on the FCDO's Oracle system to enable staff to record their learning. There is strong evidence that the team were successful in their approach, with the number of unmarked emails and documents reducing by over 90 percent in eight months. The panel agreed that this project was undoubtedly a major contribution and has wider application. The Welsh Government "Year of KIM" project team developed their initiative to promote better awareness of good practice across the WG. The plan was to re-use or adapt existing guidance where possible, to avoid re-inventing the wheel and save time. With no additional resource available a combination of intranet articles, a Teams site and a series of online events was used to engage and educate staff. Success of the project was measured by positive Teams data, increases in the quantity and quality of enquiries to operational IM teams and qualitative feedback received via a user experience survey. This project could be used and adapted by OGDs and the team are looking to build on this work so that awareness is maintained. The panel agreed that the team should be commended for strengthening working links across KIM roles within the WG, securing senior level support for the initiative, and for the feedback and improved service usage they received. You can register for the session via the webinar's page on the CILIP Events Calendar. by N. Yar 29 September 2025
	Webinar: Prof Reg on the go	0	N. Yar	CILIP / Government Information Group panel webinar: "Professional Registration on the go: maximising your (and others') chances in Government Knowledge and Information Management (and other busy sectors)", Wednesday 22 October, 12pm - 1pm Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay The Government Information Group can announce their second Professional Registration-themed online event this year, delivered in conjunction with CILIP. This panel webinar will feature speakers with first-hand knowledge of Professional Registration, including presenters working in Government Knowledge and Information Management (GKIM), providing practical advice on navigating the process successfully and supporting others to do the same, as well as taking questions. Earlier this year, CILIP and GIG sought the views of Professional Registration candidates working in GKIM about their experience of the process through a roundtable and survey. One of the findings was that some found it difficult to balance the time required to assemble and reflect on their portfolio with the demands of their work and career. With this in mind, Nicki Forgham-Healey will be discussing her experience of ensuring candidates have protected time in her role as Principal Knowledge and Information Manager at Dstl by organising internal versions of CILIP's "Shut up and write" sessions. Furthermore, Head of the Scottish Government Library and Information Service Margaret Gair will be drawing on her experience of successfully completing Fellowship and mentoring other candidates to provide practical tips for those working towards Professional Registration. A further panellist is to be confirmed. Although primarily aimed at current and potential future candidates working in GKIM and managers supporting them, the lessons shared will likely be transferrable to other sectors, particularly those with high working time demands, and information and knowledge professionals working in all environments are welcome. You can register for the session via the webinar's page on the CILIP Events Calendar. by N. Yar 24 September 2025
	Visit: Foreign Office Historical Library Collection, Thursday 10 July	0	N. Yar	CILIP Government Information Group visit: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Historical Library Collection, Thursday 10 July 2025, 2:30pm – 4:30pm Chris Downer, City of London, King's College Library - geograph.org.uk - 865161, CC BY-SA 2.0 CILIP GIG are delighted to announce an in-person visit to King's College London's Maughan Library, focusing on the historical library collection of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The collection was transferred to King’s College London in 2007. This initial transfer of material has been supplemented by later additional transfers and the collection now amounts to over 140,000 items, ranging in date from the 16th century to the present day and covering the history and geography of all regions of the world. On this visit you will be able to see highlights from the collection and to hear from members of the Special Collections team, who have charge of it, about some of the work they do to make it discoverable to students, researchers and the wider public both now and in the future. Topics covered will include cataloguing, teaching and digitisation. The visit will also include a tour of the historic grade 2* listed Maughan Library building (the former Public Record Office) and an opportunity to view the current library exhibition, From streets to the stars: 500 years of maps, which contains material from the FCDO collection. Refreshments will be provided. The Maughan Library is located on Chancery Lane, near the boundary of the Cities of London and Westminster and the Borough of Camden. The area is well served by public transport, with nearby tube and rail stations and bus stops. Maps, plans and further information about the building can be found on its page on the King's College London website. You can register for the session via the webinar's page on the CILIP Events Calendar. by N. Yar 30 April 2025
	Roundtable and survey: Professional Registration in GKIM	0	N. Yar	Online roundtable and survey: “Professional Registration in Government Knowledge and Information Management”, Tuesday 29 April 2025, 2pm – 3:15pm CILIP and its Government Information Group (GIG) invite current and former Certification, Chartership and Fellowship candidates working in Government Knowledge and Information Management (GKIM) to an online roundtable session. If you work as an information or knowledge professional or paraprofessional in government, legislatures, national libraries or defence, or work with government information, we would like to hear about your experience of Professional Registration (PR), any barriers you have faced whilst pursuing it, and any support or guidance that might help. Please note that places are limited to 12 people and advanced booking is required. You can register for the session via its page on the CILIP Events Calendar. The roundtable is being held to enable two-way communication between CILIP and members working in GKIM on the subject of PR, to increase understanding of the experiences of candidates in GKIM, and to raise awareness of sources of support available to candidates. Findings will be used to improve the support provided by CILIP and GIG for PR. The session will feature contributions from CILIP staff working to support professional development, and will be facilitated by volunteers with experience of working as GKIM professionals. Ahead of the roundtable, CILIP and GIG are running a survey on PR and GKIM. The survey is anonymous, and results will inform the running of the roundtable, as well as providing candidates in GKIM who cannot attend with an opportunity to share their views. If you are a current or former PR candidate who works in one of the government-related areas mentioned above, we would appreciate it if you could complete the survey at this link before it closes at midday on Tuesday 22 April. by N. Yar 01 April 2025
	Webinar: Exploring the Welsh Government Publications Archive	0	N. Yar	CILIP Cymru Wales / GIG webinar: “Preserving the past for the future: exploring the Welsh Government Publications Archive”, Tuesday 13 May 2025, 12pm – 1:15pm CILIP GIG are delighted to announce a webinar we are jointly delivering with CILIP Cymru Wales. We will be joined by Welsh Government librarians Maria Nagle and Siobhan McNally, and the event will be chaired by Jamie Finch. This webinar will introduce the Welsh Government Publications Archive and outline recent work undertaken to transform it to a more user-friendly, accessible and compliant government service. The Welsh Government Publications Archive provides access to items published by the Welsh Government, its predecessors and related Welsh public bodies throughout the period of devolution. It’s a real treasure trove of government information, hosting both born-digital and digitised material, as well as metadata for items held only in physical format. Dive into the fascinating range of publications housed within in this vital resource. Discover the efforts that go into maintaining the archive and the driving forces behind ensuring public access and long-term re-use of government information. Hear how Welsh Government Library Services teamed up with their LMS supplier and internal digital team to upgrade the Publications Archive. Learn about the standards required of public sector services and the steps taken to meet them. Maria has worked in the Welsh Government for four years, most of these as Library Collections Manager. Her day-to-day work involves leading on cataloguing Welsh Government publications, collections management projects and LMS oversight. She currently lives in Swansea and has previously worked in public, academic and cathedral libraries. Siobhan has worked for the Welsh Government since 2004. Starting in the Programme Management Office, they transitioned to the library, becoming a librarian in 2012 while studying at Aberystwyth. Currently, they help administer the Library Management System and have contributed to the redevelopment of the Welsh Government Publications Archive. Jamie is the current chair of CILIP Cymru Wales. He is a Chartered Fellow of CILIP, career Business Subject Librarian and International Librarian and was Chair of ILIG 2019-2021 and is now their Digital Champion. You can register for the session via the webinar's page on the CILIP Events Calendar. by N. Yar 24 March 2025
	Webinar - What's it Really Like Working in Government Information in 2024?	0	N. Yar	CILIP GIG’s second webinar of 2024 is now open for booking. Following GIG's successful "What's it Really Like Working in Government Information?" online event last year, one attendee suggested we could repeat it with new speakers. We're happy to oblige. In this panel webinar, civil servants working in librarianship, information management and information rights roles will talk about their work, explaining what they do, how their work fits in wider contexts, and experimenting with innovative approaches to tasks, as well as answering your questions. Against a background of change following the general election, this session will give attendees the opportunity to hear from information professionals working to support government activity across a variety of policy areas, including employment and benefits, housing, regional and local government, and protecting and promoting architectural and archaeological heritage. Belinda Carvalho (Digital Librarian, Department for Work and Pensions): Our library supports the work of Department of Work and Pensions. The library sits within the Central Analysis and Science Strategy Unit divisions (CASS), which is part of a wider Analytical Community (AC). Supporting teams of social researchers, analysts, statisticians has proved a good fit for the library and has helped us to get involved in research projects in the early stages. We're a team of 13 librarians and our work involves literature searches, managing web resources, knowledge management and more traditional library work such as curating and managing a physical collection. We are working to achieve these three breakthrough objectives: Research Excellence: Building our research offering Library without Walls: Identical user experience for those who visit the library or access content virtually Knowledge Management: Developing a world-class evidence base for the AC to support better and faster decision making, problem solving and innovation Our presentation will talk about the type of literature search we perform, how these are delivered and a recent project which trialled AI in the lit searching process. I started out as a graduate trainee librarian in schools and went on to manage several school libraries over a ten-year period. Almost two years ago I needed a new challenge and made the move to government libraries. I also love to implement new technologies. My main interests include user education, information literacy and creating inclusive libraries. I've had good scope to work on these in DWP Library. Following the presentation, Belinda's DWP library colleague Robbie Lumsden will also be available to take questions from attendees. Tim Hayward (Lead FOI Business Partner, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government): Tim will give an outline of freedom of information legislation, discussing exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and routes to appeal decisions. He has worked in his current role for the last eight years and has a MLIB in Library & Information Studies from the University of Wales. Martin Newman (Information and Data Analysis Manager, Historic England): Historic England is a Non Departmental Government body that helps people care for, enjoy and celebrate England's spectacular historic environment. We have a statutory role and advise the DCMS on matters concerning the historic environment including designation. As such data and information are key to delivering our mission. We are an information rich organisation that is currently implementing an internal digital strategy as well as a sector wide Heritage Information Access Strategy. This presentation will explain how we manage our information, carry out analysis to inform policy and assist decision making as well facilitating its use by others. I started out as an archaeologist and drifted into a career in information management by chance through working on the scheduled monument records and then as a manager on the project to digitise and index all the listed building volumes. My current role manages a team responsible for data analysis to support our functions and a, also involved in working on delivering our Digital Strategy and Heritage Information Access Strategy. As part of my previous roles at HE I managed some of our largest information resources (including the National Heritage List for England) and our relationship with the local Historic Environment Records. As well as a chartered member of CILIP I am a member of two other chartered institutes (the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists and BCS), I am also an elected fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Society of Arts. Registration for the webinar is available to CILIP members at the event's page on the CILIP website. by N. Yar 09 September 2024
	You might have missed...	0	E. Powell	If you don't read your Info Pros on a regular basis you might have missed the October 2023 article from the previous Head of the KIM Profession in Government, David Smith, on the Challenges facing KIM in the Civil Service. David talks about the regulatory load, the challenges of the various departmental and agency differences including ministerial oversight and technology challenges. To access digitally, follow the instructions on the Info Pro page, and click reset your password to set a password and gain access. by E. Powell 19 March 2024
	GIG's Awards Presentations and AGM 2024 - Friday 19 April 2024 at 1pm	0	S. Gregory	The 43rd Annual General Meeting of the Government Information Group will be held online, on Zoom, on Friday 19th April 2024 from 1:00 – 2:30pm. The AGM will be preceded by presentations of the GIG Awards 2023-24. Details of the winners of the GIG Awards 2023-24 will be publicized shortly. GIG members are invited to register to attend the Awards and AGM event. Don't miss this opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our GIG Award winners, to learn about the Group’s recent activities, plans for 2024, and our current financial situation. Papers for the AGM will be emailed to members who registered to attend the event. Papers will also be available via the GIG web pages on the CILIP web site . Members are invited to submit motions for consideration at the AGM to secretary.gig@cilip.org.uk to arrive no later than Wednesday 17 April 2024, 12 noon. We hope to see you there! by S. Gregory 16 March 2024
	How to join us in Government KIM (GKIM)	0	E. Powell	Hello! Happy spring to you all. For March, spring, Easter I was thinking new beginnings, so I would write a post about how to join us in Government KIM (GKIM). I sometimes think CS recruitment must be a mystery to eexternal people, so here is a 2 minute dymistification for you. Finding jobs CS Jobs is the main website. Does it have all CS jobs? Nope, but most of them. Many departments / agencies are listed on the site but will take you to another site to actually apply. Searching CS jobs can be done in a number of ways and there are some quite good filters, but they are dependant upon the metadat entered so key works will be your friend. I have posted a couple of filters / searches for you below: Filter by KIM & Library roles Search for library Search for information manager Once you have set up your search(es), if you have a created an account you can set up alerts simply by clicking 'email me jobs like these' at the bottom of the filter, and then manage alerts in the top right. Applying Civil service application are based on the success profiles which you can read here, and they will look at technical experience, strengths and behaviours primarily. Most(?) applications will be done on the CS Jobs website, which means if you do one application it is easy enough (sort of) to copy information from one application to the next. Though fair warning, these days they all ask for slightly different things in terms of evidence length and structure. Use the word count and make you evidence very clear in how it is addressing all the essential criteria. Evidence for behaviours in particular, but also for any evidence presented in a statement, should use the STAR format which is Situation, Task, Action (what YOU did which should be the majority of your answer) and Result (Everything was a massive success and I got loads of positive feedback etc etc). This is how your interview answers should be structured too for bahvioural questions, e.g. 'Can you give me an example of when you have worked on a project with a team?'. Strengths are generally more short sharp answers, technical questions can be more theoretical but always good to base your answer on experience where possible. For general help, search for Jac Williams CS applications videos on YouTube. Waiting Congratulations! You have been offered a role in the CS. Now you just have to get through pre-employment checks and clearance. Clearance could be anywhere from baseline to DV and could take weeks or months to come through. Be prepared to wait and do not quit your current job until you have passed all checks. Once you're in, everything will go smoothly... Anyway hope that was useful to someone, post any questions or comments below. Thanks for reading! Emily Powell GIG Member Secretary by E. Powell 11 March 2024
	Civil Service Live 2024: Support the GKIM Presence	0	E. Powell	Greetings! This post is specifically for GKIM professionals but I would encourage anyone to volunteer in their own organisations / professional areas when the opportunity arises. I have volunteered at CS Live in 2022 and2023 and it is a great experience. It isn't always easy to network across government and volunteering provides you with that plus can be part of your corporate contribution! FOr those outside government, CS Live is the annual conference for Civil Servants, you can find out more on the CSL website. Civil Service Live, the annual UK-wide civil service staff learning conference, is just around the corner! This year, the GKIM profession will be providing sessions as part of the formal program and hosting stands in the exhibitions, with a theme based around preparing for AI. Organisers of the GKIM representation at CSL2024 are seeking volunteers to support each of the locations. If you are interested please contact your Head of Profession or you can find out more in Knowledge Hub. Supporting the GKIM presence at CSL 2024 is a great way to demonstrate and develop your expertise, share and hear about good practice, network with colleagues from a range of government departments and agencies, challenge yourself in a supportive environment, and promote GKIM while honing your “elevator pitches” ready to take back to your organisation. CSL2024 will be a great opportunity for your development and profile. Why not find out more? Thanks for reading, Emily Member Secretary by E. Powell 19 February 2024

Membership Management Software Powered by YourMembership :: Legal

This website uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some of these cookies are used for visitor analysis, others are essential to making our site function properly and improve the user experience. By using this site, you consent to the placement of these cookies. Click Accept to consent and dismiss this message or Deny to leave this website. Read our Privacy Statement for more.