Professor Peter Reid, CILIPS President, 2012

CILIPS President in 2012 is Professor Peter Reid.  I haven’t known Peter for all that long.  It was only during CILIPS’ conference in 2010 that I met him for the first time.  Inevitably, it was in the bar; inevitably, he had a pint of lager in his hand.  He seemed like a pleasant chap.

At that time neither Peter nor I anticipated that he would succeed me as CILIPS’ President in 2012.  Since then I have come to know Peter really quite well.  I know, for example, that two great institutions have forged the man, the professional, the distinguished academic that he is.

The first of these was Portgordon Library.  Peter is, as some of you may know, a native and continuing resident of Portgordon, a former fishing community on the Moray coast.  It was as a regular at his small local library, still in short trousers and Startrite sandals, that Peter took his first steps down the path to his future career.

The other institution which has helped mould Peter is The Robert Gordon University.  As a student there he was awarded BA (Hons) in Librarianship; he followed this with a PhD in historical bibliography; thereafter, he was appointed Lecturer in Librarianship, then Senior Lecturer in Librarianship, becoming Head of Department and Professor of Librarianship.  And despite the suspicion that he’s never had a proper job, you have to be impressed by this pretty unrelenting progress to the top of our profession.

As I’ve mentioned, Peter’s academic research has been in the field of historical bibliography.  He is also very active in that of local studies librarianship; indeed, with his characteristic modesty, he states that he is one of the principal researchers in the field.

And he is, and I know this to be the case because I attended the Get Moray Reading Book Festival last year, at which Peter presented an illustrated talk entitled Adventures in local history that turned out to be the most wonderful account of the great Second World War Portgordon spy mystery.  I have to say that the depth of Peter’s research was very impressive, and his telling of the story was masterful.

So, Peter will bring much to the presidency.  He is a young man, working with and developing other young people as library professionals.  As a teacher and mentor he has a genuine interest and concern for his students.  I remember his great delight when, during last year’s Autumn Gathering, he received a text message from one of his former students to let him know that she had secured her first professional post.  I don’t remember having that sort of relationship with my Professor when I studied librarianship, but I was reminded of Chris Pinder’s 2010 presidential theme Mind the Gap.  Clearly, Peter is well aware of the importance of that in guiding and shaping new library professionals, and in helping to develop our professional community.

In getting to know Peter, however, I have discovered that there is a dark side to his character, revealed in what I can only describe as his over-keenness to get his hands on my chain.  Nevertheless, relinquish it I must, comforted by the knowledge that we are extremely fortunate in having Peter as our President this year.  It will be an interesting one for him; there is much on CILIPS’ agenda.

He has my very best wishes for an enjoyable and successful year.

Presidential Report, 2011: reflections on the year for the benefit of my reader

It has been a busy year!  I’ve reported my movements, not always seriously I admit, in the presidential blog, there’s no point repeating it all, and so I’ll try to pick out the main themes of the year now that the fun, for me at any rate, is over.

Probably the most important aspect of being CILIPS President, certainly the most enjoyable, is the opportunity to meet librarians, CILIP members and other library staff throughout Scotland.  I’m grateful to colleagues in Central Branch, East Branch and North East Branch who organised Meet the President events.

Attendance at these meetings was, by and large, fairly small, but that allowed us to turn them into discussion events, and I think I’m correct in saying that every single person at each meeting participated and had something to say.  There were some highlights – the video link from Aberdeen to Shetland to allow librarians there to take part in the North East Branch meeting was a great idea and proved very successful.  What a lively bunch the Shetlanders were, until they told me that my time was up and they were all off to watch The Apprentice on TV.

The Central Branch one was….., well “frisky” was how I described them at the time.  Downright impertinent at times, if truth be told, but a confident group of librarians who obviously know each other well, enjoy working together and have built a real group strength.

It is such a shame that other parts of the country – particularly the Glasgow and west area, of course, - cannot sustain a CILIPS branch.

The other opportunities I had to meet members were at our conference in Glasgow in June and at the Autumn Gathering.  It was great to meet up with colleagues I hadn’t seen for some time, and also to just introduce myself to complete strangers (although no Scottish librarian is a stranger really).  I enjoyed both occasions very much, as did everyone I spoke to, and this merely confirmed that they are crucial in bringing people together, providing an opportunity for staff at all levels to attend, participate, meet colleagues from other authorities and reinforce our professional community.

In the old days, annual conferences resembled old boys’ networks, pretty much exclusive to chief librarians and their committee chairmen.  Not any longer and all the better for that, and it augurs well for the future to see so many young professionals at these events.

I was also delighted to receive invitations from several individual public library authorities to meet staff and take part in special activities, including joining a staff meeting in Dundee, opening the Moray Book Festival, speaking at the Alan Ball Local History Awards in East Lothian and returning to Midlothian for several events.  There were welcome return visits to meetings of FLAB (Fife, Lothians & Borders chief librarians’ group for the uninitiated) and to the ABC Benchmarking Group.

Another means to communicate with CILIPS members has been the President’s blog.  The new website has been a great step forward, and the listing of the blog on the home page menu has given it a profile which has undoubtedly encouraged access.  I understand that the blog has enjoyed a good hit rate, and I must thank Gillian in the CILIPS office for all her help, and congratulate her on developing such an attractive site.

I was also let off the leash to represent CILIPS at various conferences and other events.  It was a great privilege to fly the Scottish flag at both the CILIP Cymru conference and the joint Irish Conference, as well as at the tripartite conference in Tallinn with Finnish and Estonian librarians.  All were interesting, but that in Tallinn was especially memorable for the good company and mutual support among an excellent team of Scottish librarians.

There were some surprising invitations:

·       I don’t know why CILIPS President was invited to attend the Festival of Politics at the Scottish Parliament, but I was and I did attend, and I did enjoy it and I did meet some interesting people, but why – who knows?

·       The other surprise was the opportunity to take part in interviews for Readers in Residence posts, funded by Creative Scotland and managed by Shetland Arts.

This representational role gives the President opportunities to contribute to CILIPS’ profile and reputation and talk about the importance of libraries. 

I enjoyed all these aspects of the job very much, but perhaps the 3 occasions I enjoyed most were:

·       the Angus Book Award ceremony;

·       the Midlothian Adult Learner Celebration Event for people taking part in The Six Book Challenge; and

·       the Get Moray Reading Book Festival.

These were my favourites because they were about books, encouraging people to read, to stretch their imaginations, to learn and develop skills through reading.

My presidential theme for the year was Imagining the Future, which, as I’ve explained elsewhere, arose from a Christmas night out in 2010 with the school librarians in Midlothian at which I was asked, when too much wine had been taken, Do you think that there is a future for us?  What do you think that future will be?  So, this theme, while reflecting the impact of difficult times on our professional confidence, was one which, I hoped, would challenge us to think and plan strategically, work with key partners and work together as a profession.

Undoubtedly, there remain issues for us to address, particularly in terms of working together as a profession and of CILIPS’ engagement with members:

·       those Meet the President events attracted only a very small minority of members;

·       I was disappointed that so few public library authorities invited me to their areas to meet staff;

·       there were no invitations from the HE, FE, health or other sectors to meet professional colleagues there.

Let’s face it, there are members who have, at best, a pretty tenuous relationship with CILIPS, and, of course, winning non-members back into the fold is something which must be given some sort of priority now that CILIPS’ income from Ridgmount Street is to be an agreed proportion of Scottish membership income. 

Nevertheless, it’s clear that many CILIPS members have a clear understanding of the importance of their services; in many places, partnership working is ingrained; there is an awareness that advocacy isn’t just something to be done by our professional association and chief librarians, but a responsibility for each and every one of us.  So, despite the challenges, wherever I have gone in the last 12 months I have found a confidence and strength in our profession that, often, has surprised and heartened me.

The other main feature of 2011 was the relationship with Ridgmount Street, and the development of the Operational Agreement between CILIPS and CILIP.  I won’t go into the details of the negotiations: they were long, time-consuming and, at times, painful; the process remains to be completed, of course, and so, to a certain extent, remains sub judice so to speak.  I am confident that it will be completed satisfactorily, and that both CILIPS’ ability to represent members in Scotland and our relationship with SLIC will be strengthened.

As President, I assisted in the negotiation process, but I’d like to pay tribute to those in the CILIPS’ negotiating team who brought much energy, skill and commitment to the exercise and gave generously of their time.

Finally, I must extend my very great thanks to CILIPS staff for their tremendous support during the past 12 months.  It’s impossible to properly express my appreciation.    

My Mother, the other Mrs Reid in my life, is now well into her eighties.  Much as I tried to explain, she never really understood what this presidential thing was all about; she knew it had something to do with a chain, but beyond that it was a mystery to her.  I, however, am fully conscious of what a great honour it has been for me to be CILIPS President. 

The future of CILIPS – have your say

The conditions were not ideal for a chap with life-threatening chilblains.  In fact, it was perishing, freezing and downright chilly at Stirling Library Service HQ the other day: the heating system had packed in, but despite that Robert Ruthven, Library Services Manager, and his gallant crew worked on.  I understand that Polar Medals will be awarded by their grateful employer.

Heedless of such adversity, however, five members of CILIPS’ Task & Finish Group gathered en masse, to consider options for the future governance of our professional association.

As agreed by CILIPS’ Policy & Resources Committee (P&R), the remit of this Group is “to consider the governance of CILIPS and make recommendations to Council on the future”, taking into account:

• our relationship with CILIP;
• engagement with CILIPS’ membership;
• the role of CILIPS’ trustees and requirements under Scottish charity law;
• affordability; and
• member consultation.

Ultimately, any proposed changes to the way that we currently operate and take decisions will have to be approved by CILIPS’ members at next year’s AGM or at a special general meeting, so that any new governance arrangements can be implemented in 2013.

If you’re not entirely sure how CILIPS is set up and run at present, have a look at the website http://www.cilips.org.uk/ select “About” from the main menu and then “Governance”.  It’s not as exciting as the cowboy book I’m reading at the moment*, but it’s important to know how your professional association is governed and who’s doing the governing!

Anyway, what the Task & Finish Group has begun to do is consider the role, size and composition of Council and P&R, and, crucially, how to achieve a high level of member involvement, engagement and communication.

To do this successfully, it is vitally important that individual members of CILIPS have an opportunity at all stages to suggest ideas, make comments, contribute thoughts and take part in this exercise.

So, to start the consultation ball rolling, I have been asked to raise this issue in my blog, and I would be really pleased to receive any ideas, comments and thoughts, if only to convince me that someone out there is reading this stuff!  Alternatively, of course, you can get in touch directly with Elaine Fulton, CILIPS’ Director.

I know it’s Christmas and New Year and you’re busy (and if you think you’re busy, please be aware that it’s Mrs Reid’s birthday in a fortnight as well.  How inconsiderate is that!).  Nevertheless, this is an important matter which will help shape the future of our profession in Scotland and ensure that it is properly organised to achieve efficient and effective representation of your interests and advocacy for libraries across all sectors.

Thank you.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

* “Blood Bond” by William W. Johnstone for those who are interested, - on loan from Penicuik Library, an excellent facility for the early retired and others.

The London Tube: an idiot’s guide

“Do you regularly fly this route?” asked the American gentleman seated beside me.  When I explained that I travelled to London only occasionally, he expressed some surprise and said that I seemed to be a confident and well-seasoned airline passenger.  I smiled in modest acknowledgement.

He was on his way, via Heathrow, to New York with his daughter.  I was bound for CILIP HQ in Ridgmount Street in the company of Audrey Walker, CILIPS’ doughty Treasurer.  To be honest, any confidence and well-seasoning on my part probably reflected the fact that Audrey had promised that she would convoy me successfully through the mysteries of the London underground system and some of the posh parts of London to our destination.  I confess it was a bit like being looked after by your Mum – Audrey even paid my tube fare with her Oyster card!

Later that evening we met up with Elaine Fulton in a comfortable London pub to plan our campaign, for the purpose of our visit was to meet with CILIP Council, present a report on advocacy for libraries in Scotland and let them know just what a wonderful job CILIPS is doing in that respect.

Next day, Audrey and I were invited to attend the Council meeting as observers, and so I can report that Elaine’s presentation on advocacy in Scotland went down very well indeed. 

She explained that a strategic, high-level approach to advocacy is pursued, and that, working jointly with SLIC, key stakeholders and policy makers in Scottish Government, local authorities, the education sector and the NHS were left in no doubt as to the key role that libraries have in delivering learning and literacies and in supporting skills development. 

And to sustain the profile that libraries already enjoy and build on the outcomes already achieved, Elaine concluded her presentation with an outline of future advocacy plans.  What a dame!

I am also delighted to tell you that with harmony breaking out all over the place, CILIP Council, later in its meeting, went on to approve new funding arrangements for CILIPS for the next three years (more of that in due course).

So, our trip was a most satisfactory one, the Scottish delegation was warmly received, lunch was excellent and, over pudding, presentations were made to a number individuals retiring from Council, and to me!  Perhaps I shouldn’t divulge what I received in case you conclude that I’m only in this lark for the perks, but suffice it to say that at 40% it’s not the sort of stuff you would give to small children and maiden aunts.

Readers will be pleased to learn that Audrey saw me safely back to Heathrow, and I am now a confident and well-seasoned London underground traveller.

Readers in Residence

A few weeks ago, representing CILIPS, I joined an interview panel charged with appointing Readers in Residence to work with library authorities in Scotland.  The exercise was managed by Shetland Arts Development Agency (SADA).

Readers in Residence is part of Creative Scotland’s Creative Futures programme of residencies and related activities designed to promote the professional development, vision, connectivity and ambitions of Scotland’s creative practitioners and organisations.

There was an amazing response from would-be Readers in Residence and library services - 37 applications from across Scotland.  These were short listed down to 13, and after two and a half days (!) of interviews we finally agreed on and selected 5 “residents”.  In each case the Reader in Residence will divide his or her time equally between developing their own practice and working on behalf of the library service and the communities it serves, in order to encourage reading, support readers of varying ages and abilities, work with book groups, increase access to the library service and enhance the experience of library service users.  Phew!

And now that the selection process has been completed, acceptances received and all the usual checks completed, the successful applicants can be revealed as:

Jen Hadfield who will be resident with Shetland Library.  She has published two collections of poetry, was short listed for the Forward Prize in 2007 and won the T.S. Eliot Prize for poetry in 2008. She lives in Shetland, working as a writer, writing tutor and artist.

Margot Henderson, a poet, storyteller and community artist, who will work with Highland Council Library Service.  She has been storytelling Fellow for Aberdeen and Writer in Residence for The Cromarty Arts Trust.

Maureen Sangster, a writer and poet in Scots and English, who will be Reader in Residence at Carstairs State Hospital Library, having previously worked as a writer, workshop facilitator and tutor in schools, care homes, community centres, art galleries and hospitals. 

Ian Stephen, playwright, poet and short story writer, who will work with Western Isles Library Service based in Stornoway where he was born and still lives.  Ian has been a full time writer since winning the first Robert Louis Stevenson Award in 1995.

Zoe Strachan, born in Kilmarnock, who will work with East Ayrshire Libraries.  She is an award-winning novelist but also writes plays, libretti, short stories and essays, and has held various fellowships.

So, a pretty talented bunch, all skilled communicators, experienced in working with people and bringing a profound understanding of the importance of reading to these residencies.

It’s great that, through this initiative, Creative Scotland acknowledges that reading is an essential skill for learning, life and work, and that it expands knowledge and sparks imaginations.  It’s also significant that the role of the library in fostering reading is recognised, and is vital to the delivery of this project.

This partnership between Creative Scotland and libraries is most welcome and augurs well for future joint working.  So, although these residencies will run only for 6 months, let’s hope that’s enough time for them to make an impact.  If they do prove successful, they may be seen as a pilot, a starting point to extend the programme and develop more and more Readers in Residence across library authorities in Scotland.