Analysis and news
Breaking down barriers; building transferable skills The UK needs a strong library and information association to champion the difference we make and build skills, writes Kate Arnold in a new, occasional column on behalf of CILIP
CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) will re-launch in January 2018 with a renewed sense of purpose, a strong and independent voice, and open and inclusive approach. We recently took an important step
towards the re-launch when members voted to introduce a new approach to membership that will be more open to everyone in the information, library and knowledge management sector, more affordable and provide better value (
www.cilip.org.uk/news/new-approach- membership-agreed-cilip-members). I have been impressed by the eloquent points made by several new professionals about the development options offered by the new approach to membership through the new Leaders Network.
This got me thinking about: l The skills I use most in my daily work as
an information professional – facilitation, influencing, relationship management and project management;
l How these skills have changed over the 30 years I’ve been in the profession as we move from gatekeepers to facilitators; and
l How I gain new skills and get a chance to build up relevant experience – attending courses; taking on new roles outside my comfort zone; volunteering in professional associations.
Conference themes Just as I’d started to think about these questions, we hit conference season and I got bombarded on Twitter with hashtags – specifically #lilac17; #UKSG17 and #IFLAGlobalVision. I followed these conferences with interest. Each had a
28 Research Information June/July 2017
different theme, but inevitably some slight overlap. It was interesting to watch each unfold, and at times each appeared to be its own little echo chamber; highlighting how siloed we are as a profession. I was struck by two discussions on skills, initiated at UKSG (shifting sands and skills required by academic librarians, see
https://unlockingresearch.blog.lib.
cam.ac.uk/?author=3) and Lilac (future of information literacy, see https://mobile.
twitter.com/hashtag/lilac17future), and look forward to continuing these as CILIP develops its information skills strategy.
Moving between sectors One of my aims, during my presidential year, is to highlight our transferrable skills and encourage everyone to consider moving between sectors to gain new experience and spread best practice.
are 39 interviews/essays by information professionals in a variety of sectors, providing illustrations of a variety of ways of making transitions. The only criticism is its subjects are largely from North America, so some employment situations don’t apply in the UK. Recurring themes in all the stories are:
l Know your organisation; l By moving jobs and sectors you get a
good idea of what work environments suit you best;
l Be flexible and take up chances to learn new skills; and
l Get involved in professional associations for experience, to find mentors and to build up contacts.
Breaking out of silo land During a workshop on developing a skills strategy when we were discussing barriers to moving between sectors, one person said: ‘Aren’t we the ones preventing this happening? We’re our own worst enemies at reinforcing this siloed mentality.’ They are right and some sectors
“Aren’t we the ones preventing this happening? We’re our own worst enemies”
If you are thinking about moving
sectors, I’d urge you to read this book: Career Transitions for Librarians: Proven Strategies for Moving to another Type of Library edited by Davis Erin Anderson and Raymond Pun (Rowman and Littlefield, 2016). It’s packed full of useful advice and tips: keep a spreadsheet of skills linked to experience with examples; utilise volunteer opportunities to fill skills gaps; reach out to your network to make contacts in sectors you are interested in. There
are difficult to break into (I have recent personal experience of this) as they will only take people with experience in that sector. We’re going to have to break this cycle, if nothing else, to ensure sectors learn from one another, a case in point being academic libraries learning from the experiences of corporate/workplace libraries in facing the challenge of proving their value and evolving services. Research Information is the media
partner for CILIP Conference (5-6 July, Manchester) where information professionals will gather from across the UK for two days of learning and inspiration. The conference celebrates the rich
array of sectors in which information professionals work and includes sessions and workshops covering a range of topics. The keynote speakers are Dr Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress, and Professor Luciano Floridi, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information at the University of Oxford and Faculty Fellow of the Alan Turing Institute.
l For the full programme and to register
http://bit.ly/conf17ri
@researchinfo |
www.researchinformation.info
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