INSIGHT UKeiG
Demystifying disruption – the UK e-information Group
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INCE its inception in late 1978, the UK e-information Group (formerly known as UKOLUG – the UK Online User Group) has successfully wrestled with, embraced, navigated and demystified these technologies as they’ve emerged over five decades. The Group was borne out of the Institute of Information Scientists (IIS) and has always had information systems and retrieval as its core mission, reflected most notably in its publications, CPD programme and international awards (
https://tinyurl.com/HistoryIIS).
Morphing and adapting
As each decade begot these disruptive, but democratising technologies that threatened to pull the proverbial rug out from underneath the role of library and information professionals as consultants and intermediaries, UKeiG morphed and adapted, attracting new audiences, reinventing and extending its resources and services. In many respects the Group is a fine example of the durability and adaptability of the library, information and knowledge community. UKeiG’s current core specialties embrace AI, digital literacy, search technologies, data curation and management, research support, scholarly communication and open access publishing. In previous incarnations the Group’s publications portfolio included ‘current awareness’ updates and hard copy ‘how to’ guides on effective search techniques, research query formulation and the post-processing of outputs using bibliographic software. UKeiG’s current high-profile Diamond Open Access publication is eLucidate, and 16 years of back issues are available on an innovative web platform utilising the Public Knowledge Project’s (PKP) Open Journal Systems (OJS) hosted by the University of Alberta (
https://library.ualberta.ca/publishing).
PKP is a multi-university initiative developing free open- source software and conducting research to improve the quality and reach of scholarly publishing. OJS is an open- source international journal publishing platform that is also integrated with global scholarly publishing discovery services including Google Scholar, Crossref and DOAJ. As eLucidate’s editor I’m delighted to announce that the Autumn 2025 issue (Volume 16 issue 4) is available and includes: ‘Developing a library strategic response to Artificial Intelligence’, ‘A case study on innovative education in scholarly communication’, ‘Celebrating advances in information retrieval’, ‘Conversations with a retired information scientist about the appropriate use of AI’, ‘Changing digital landscapes’, ‘Contemplating an age of computational rationalisation’ and
Winter 2025 Anticipating
The Group’s most radical and impactful response to the transformed information landscape is evidenced in the expansion and development of its practical and affordable CPD programme. It has transitioned from major conferences and face-to-face workshops to our current pandemic-initiated online programme. UKeiG courses attract hundreds of delegates every year (550 in 2024) and are reviewed regularly to reflect technological change and to anticipate emerging skills requirements. Courses include AI and retrieval augmented generation, natural language processing, search usability, research data management and data visualisation. UKeiG also supports the library and information profession through a range of international awards and bursaries. The Tony Kent Strix Award is awarded in recognition of an outstanding practical innovation or achievement in the field of information retrieval and search. The Jason Farradane Award is awarded in recognition of an outstanding, creative and enterprising contribution to the wider profession.
The Group offers bursaries to support students or early-career professionals who want to attend conferences or go on study visits. It also celebrates postgraduate library and information research by enabling MSc/MA students to present their research at a conference and/or to publish an article. The UKeiG dissertation bursaries are open to any postgraduate student registered at a UK school or department of librarianship, information studies, information science, knowledge management or information management running courses accredited by CILIP.
Strength in diversity
UKeiG’s greatest strength is its cross-sectoral diversity. Membership comprises the private, commercial and public sectors, embracing schools, further and higher education, the NHS, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, science, social science, law, finance, arts, humanities, public libraries, archives and museums. CILIP members receive discounts on all UKeiG’s courses. If you haven’t yet joined the Group, you can update your preferences for free on the CILIP website at
www.cilip.org.uk/ukeig. IP
l The evolution of UKeiG –
https://elucidate-ukeig.org.uk/index.php/ elucidate/article/view/4/814
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 55
Gary Horrocks, UKeiG Business Co-ordinator and editor of eLucidate
https://elucidate-ukeig.org.uk info.ukeig@
cilip.org.uk
Modem-driven high-end searching in the hands of a minority of information specialists. End-user empowering CD-ROM. Unwieldy internet protocols like FTP and Telnet transitioning to a transparent web for the masses. The existential dawn of Artificial Intelligence…
‘Are we staring disintermediation down the barrel of an AI gun?’. You can also read more on the evolution of UKeiG here https://
tinyurl.com/UKeiGEvolution.
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