to the community centre, which housed the library, the community police and the housing association. There is, sadly, a perception that library services have not evolved in 40 years. It doesn’t seem to matter how much we attempt to change that narrative, it still persists. Recently I heard of a decision maker who felt that, based on his child- hood experiences, the library would be the boring part of a future community building. I simply wanted to weep. Public libraries currently face many challenges: the lack of security around their future owing to budgetary pressure and a lack of wider understanding of their potential to name but two. However, under the 1964 Act, delivering a compre- hensive and efficient library service is still thankfully a statutory obligation for local authorities.
Advocacy solution
CILIP has a role across all the different library sectors and can support them to work more closely together as the opportunities to support citizens to navigate the complexity of life in the 21st century are huge. Those discussions with the health sector, the academic sector, the national library and with international colleagues revealed that sectoral aims are becoming more aligned. The growth of fake news has foregrounded the need for professional library staff to help people determine accurate information. I should like to see public librarians highlight their ability to do this.
We need to demonstrate continually the innovative practice and flexibility, the understanding of community and the impact that libraries have on so many areas: culture and creativity, economic development, employability, literacy, (including health and digital literacy), critical thinking and approaches to infor- mation retrieval as well as on community cohesion and regrowth. As Lord Bird of Big Issue fame said:
“If you’re going to close libraries, you’d better be prepared to build more prisons” The challenge here is advocating for libraries to be considered as a delivery platform for national agendas and sup- ported to fulfil that role and CILIP has a vital role to play as a key stakeholder in future strategic thinking.
Library leadership evolved The skillsets for library staff at all levels have evolved and the CILIP apprentice- ship programme reflects that. Public Library leaders need to be operationally skilled, professionally competent and to have the business acumen, management skills and political skillsets to grow and develop a thriving service. This is a far cry from the traditional skills associ- ated with librarianship when many of
July-August 2021
Sue (right) at the Fantastic Futures AI Conference.
today’s library leaders were going through training. Some have developed those skills as part of their CPD, but some have been appointed from other sectors, with their roles adjusted to enable a deputy to manage the library service operationally. CILIP has a key role to play in supporting emerging library leaders to develop the necessary skills alongside library skills, ethics and values.
Libraries Connected are currently in receipt of funding from the Arts Council as part of the Transforming Leadership programme to develop a cohort of sector leaders and emerging leaders and is working with CILIP to revise the Public Libraries Skills Strategy. I know that CILIP is in constant contact with library schools and I believe that future skills are a major agenda item.
A bright future?
Librarianship in the public sector has become both less visible and less viable as a career pathway. How to change this
is the $64,000 question. If I could answer it, I would retire happy. Advocacy for and changing the narrative around the profession are major parts of my role and a personal aim and objective. Salary is a major factor; librarians used to have parity with teachers, but sadly no longer do and their status in some local authorities has also diminished. The Head of the Library Ser- vice used to occupy a role at Director level in many, but with rationalisation during austerity, that is now seldom the case. Despite all the challenges, I would still recommend it as a career. The sheer variety and stimulation, the fantastic colleagues, many now friends, the ability to make connections and exploit personal skills, the numerous times I have had a sense of having helped someone, have all made it a fantastic experience. I heartily recommend Chris Paling’s book, Reading Allowed, which brilliantly depicts life working in a busy public library. And of course, there was the icing on the cake: the ability to feed my personal addiction to popular fiction.
I’m now in a role where I can help shape the future for the profession that I love and this is simply the greatest privilege. As the representative of Arts Council England, I chair the English Public Libraries Strategic Working Group, which brings together all the key stakeholders in the profession. This includes CILIP, Libraries Connected, the British Library and Local Government Association. Supported by a Head of Services sounding group, together we are considering and addressing the key challenges that face the profession today. They are indeed profound, but that makes it an exciting time to join public libraries and be an integral part of finding innovative solutions to the issues that face us. One thing we are all certain about is that everybody who works in the sector has a vital role in shaping that exciting future for our public library service. IP
A newspaper clipping of Sue, with guests and celebrities, holding the National Lottery Award. INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL 21
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