NEWS
CILIP’s manifesto response
CILIP has published responses to the major manifesto announcements released in the run up to the general election. With political parties looking to show what they stand for and what they hope to achieve if they form the next government, the manifestos provide an opportunity to see where and how CILIP can support policies. The responses are all published on CILIP’s website, along with CILIP’s other election activity.
This activity includes handy guidance for any members looking to get involved with the upcoming campaign, available at www.
cilip.org.uk/pre-election-guide and you can find all the latest election activity at
www.cilip.org.uk.
Media and research seminar
UKSG will run a one day online seminar exploring how “societal and media inter- est in research has never been greater”. It said: “Librarians and journalists both work to analyse and deliver factual and timely information, yet that can be undermined by missing out key components that can underpin a news story.” The seminar will take place on 3 July and has speakers from institutions including: Francis Crick Institute, The Guardian, Nature and PLOS, as well as the univer- sities of Cambridge, Essex and LSE. For more information visit
https://bit.ly/4aVtkQD.
Northumbria research
A STUDY of the use and promotion of audio books in public libraries during the pandemic by Northumbria University has set out a number of recommendations for the future of audiobook purchasing promotion and lending practices for public libraries. These include: Improved data – that public libraries should understand what data they can access about audiobooks and what deci- sions should be based on this to avoid mak- ing potentially costly purchasing mistakes. Social media training, a defined promo- tion plan, and ensuring strategic decisions are made, are other areas where the report recommends action. Find the article at
https://tinyurl.com/4cxsja2e.
8 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
Artificial Intelligence report highlights risks and challenges for government
A CROSS-PARTY report from the House of Commons Science, Innova- tion and Technology Committee has highlighted concerns over resources to help ensure the proper governance of AI.
The report is the culmination of an inquiry launched in late 2022 to look at the impact and implications of AI on UK society, and what steps should be taken to ensure it is properly regulated. As well as highlighting areas where AI is likely to have a significant impact (financial ser- vices and cybersecurity), the report looked at challenges that are likely to be faced by people and industry across society. The report highlights the capacity of regulators as a concern, saying: “Ofcom, for example, is combining implementing a broad new suite of powers conferred on it by the Online Safety Act 2023, with formulating a comprehensive response to the deployment of AI across its regu- latory ambit. Others will be required to undertake resource-intensive investiga- tions and it is vital that they have both the powers and resources to do so. “We believe that the announced £10m to support regulators in responding to the growing prevalence of AI is clearly insufficient to meet the challenge, par- ticularly when compared to even the
UK-only revenues of leading AI devel- opers.” With the report published just as the UK gears up for a general election, the com- mittee was keen to ensure that it is “future proof” and any new government would be able to use it to inform future policy. The report also points out challenges with AI itself, and lists 12 areas of concern. These include inbuilt bias, privacy issues, questions over whether some people will be excluded from using the technology, issues around how data is managed and stored, as well as questions around out- puts that could include misinformation, disinformation and inaccuracies. The report includes wide ranging rec- ommendations and conclusions, includ- ing: “The debate over the existential risk – or lack of it – posed by the increasing prevalence of AI has attracted significant attention. However, the government’s initial assessment, that such existential risks are high impact but low probability, appears to be accurate. Nevertheless, given the potential consequences should risks highlighted by the AI Safety Insti- tute and other researchers be realised, it is right for governments to continue to engage with experts on the issue.” The full report is available at https://tinyurl. com/uu5zcmrm.’
Save the date for Eurolis gender
and stereotype seminar THE next Eurolis Seminar is set to take place in November, with a focus on gender roles and stereotypes in children’s pub- lishing. Eurolis, which represents European libraries in the UK, is holding the semi- nar on 24 November at Europe House and will look at the role of librarians in challenging stereotypes. It says: “Chil- dren’s books have a significant place in
children’s development, as they contrib- ute to shape their identity, aspirations and expectations of gender roles in families and society. However, the majority of the books represent a world full of traditional, binary and stereotypical gender roles (boys described as active and domineering, girls described as sweet and conforming, etc.) So, what can librarians do to challenge these?” l
https://eurolis.wordpress.com/
June 2024
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