Eye spy...

I've just worked my way through my CILIP publications backlog, and the following articles particularly caught my eye:

'Toucan bird' by doug88888 on Flickr

• Like, the London Information and Knowledge Exchange, is organising a masterclass aimed at library and information professionals 'seeking to improve the effective sharing of knowledge and good practice within their organisations'. I thought of the Post That Wouldn't End. (From Gazette 22 July-11 Aug., p. 3.)
• CILIP is having a Member's Day on 14 October. I've no idea what a Member's Day is, but feel I ought to find out as part of trying to cultivate a less cynical attitude towards CILIP. (Gazette 22 July-11 Aug., p. 7)
• Sheila Thomas, who works at TWI and came to the Conversation about CILIP organised by Niamh in June, writes about her week in the regular slot at the end of Gazette.  I really enjoyed reading about what she gets up to, which seems to be the real nitty-gritty of abstracting and indexing relevant publications and conference proceedings - having had no idea before I met her what the 'information professional' bit of CILIP might really mean. (Gazette 22 July-11 Aug, p. 15)
• There's a whole page about and a plug on the cover of the latest issue of Gazette for the recently-launched New Professionals Network, of which I'm already a member. It was nice to feel ahead of the news, although I really must get on and make more use of the network! (Gazette 12 Aug.-1 Sep., p. 11)
• Also in networking news, apparently CILIP group on LinkedIn now has 1,000 members. I was quite sniffy about LinkedIn during 23 Things - maybe I ought to reconsider? (Update Aug. 2010, p.7)
• According to Update, Universities are going to 'talk tough' over big journal deals when they next come up for review. Journals pricing deals just make me grumpy when I think about them - I'm quite pleased that I don't currently have to manage them for work. (Update Aug. 2010, p. 4)
• Funding cuts and community engagement were the most heavily revisted themes, being the cover stories for both issues of Gazette. A Big Lottery report has found that 'community engagement takes time', which isn't a great surprise, but may well be good message to hear as libraries are looking towards the communities for increased support. A report from the Libraries Change Lives conference encourages libraries to create a clear message of what they offer and to make the library a valued place. (Update Aug. 2010, pp. 9 and 16)
• School libraries featured heavily in my reading. Given the work I (try to) do with schools, school libraries are of increasing interest.  I note with alarm that the Cambridge schools library service has been closed, and read with interest tips from former School Librarian of the Year Anne-Marie Tarter on how to convince children that citation is important, and how to market the library and the librarians within a school. (Update Aug. 2010, pp. 6 and 28-30).
• Practical tips were also found in two articles about services for blind and partially sighted people.  This is an area in which I have no experience, but the model of fining out users' needs and then meeting them as best as you can is one that any librarian can learn from. (Update Aug. 2010, p. 49, Sunrise 2010:2, p.5)
• Lastly, there's an article by yours truly in the latest issue of Sunrise, the CILIP East of England regional branch's magazine. Under the title 'The Way to the Stars' I give a brief run-down of the history of astronomy event I ran for the Cambridge Science Festival in March this year and a few tips for those thinking of organising events of their own. It should be available online in due course on the CILIP website.

Not sure if this is of interest to anyone reading, but it's useful for me to record what I've read.