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Not Museum Pieces
The Developing Role of Archivists and Librarians in Museums.
London Museum Librarians and Archivists Group (LMLAG)
This was a very inspiring and informative conference.
Keynote speech: New Roles New Partnerships, by Andrew McDonald.
The keynote speech discussed the theme of COLLABORATION. Collaboration is closely linked to workforce development. For example IFLA champions professional training and development for GLOBAL CITIZENS rather than different disciplines. This means that a common skill set and vocabulary are needed for all professionals. As a librarian in a museum I can empathise with this viewpoint, and often question a need for a more joined up professional skills set rather than a focus on librarian or curator or archivist.
A brand and purpose will need to be identified before collaboration can be successful. Online opportunities can now offer exciting ways to collaborate.
The second speaker was Gunter Waibel: From Cooperation to Collaborative Transformation.
“The art museum library is a sideshow, a sideshow that serves to bring out the best of the main attraction.” (Ken Soehner Chief Librarian at the Thomas J Watson Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art 2005)
This quote finally allowed me a context for my place within the museum. Up until this point I had been thinking of myself as an isolated librarian trying to promote MY service. This opened my eyes, I am part of a much larger whole and need to work to enhance the whole experience alongside promoting my services as indispensable to the museum.
The museum librarian has to be efficient and inventive and make sure relevance is recognised in order to survive and flourish. This is especially true for my role now as a few months after the conference I am heavily involved in researching text for a new exhibition and using the libraries resources to enhance this exhibition.
This report shows the collaboration continuum. To collaborate internally you have to depend on others and let others depend on you. To collaborate externally you have to maximise input and reach.
The conference was next treated to presentations about collaborative web technologies from the National Archives and the National Maritime Museum.
The National Archives have set up a wiki- Your Archives. This presentation was very informative on the use of wikis for collaboration. The positives are extra information and an open and collaborative relationship with users. However negatives are the time needed to support the wiki and false information being given. This is an important area to consider as eventually I would like to set up a similar collaborative site for the museum library.
The National Maritime Museum make their images freely available on Flickr The Commons. This provides enhanced access and greater cataloguing knowledge as people can share information.
The National Maritime Museum have a digital strategy. This is best practice and is useful to learn from.
After some presentations about special collections the rest of the conference focussed on answering:
Is Professional Training Meeting our Changing Needs?
A representative from Sue Hill Recruitment stated that there is a gap between courses provided and the skills we actually need. We often need to rely on our own Continuing Professional Development resources.
However: “Diversity and opening up courses should not be a way to cut costs and create a de-skilled, de-professional workforce.” (Andrew Flinn University College London)
After a panel discussion about professional training I reflected on how useful my MSc in Information Studies was and is. Has it helped me practically at work and equipped me with essential skills?
My MSc was a useful and fundamental overview of the profession and most importantly was crucial to me gaining my first and subsequent professional post. However I feel that most essential skills needed have been learnt on the job through day-to-day training, organisational courses and specialist professional courses and conferences.
The MSc was mainly theoretical, the practical aspects with hindsight seem more relevant to working in academic, not public libraries. Skills essential to my work:
Communication
Management
Budget
Training
Marketing
Networking
IT
Enquiry Skills
I have learnt and am still learning in the work environment.
A more vocational MSc with opportunities to specialise would be an ideal way forward.
An evaluation of academic e-book accessibility in a diverse student population- Dr Laura Muir Robert Gordon University Aberdeen.
Dr Muir presented the initial findings of a study to explore the behaviour and attitude of students using e-books for study. The context of the research is the culture of lifelong learning and increased access to higher education. Diverse students have diverse needs and expectations. E-books have great potential to increase access.
Key research questions:
- How do students use academic e-books?
- Do academic e-books meet their study needs?
Previous research on attitudes found barriers to e-books- difficult to read, no ownership, difficult to browse and annotate. There needed to be a move towards “monitoring the actual online seeking behaviour of their users” (CIBER 2008).
Therefore this study is a qualitative study of behaviour and experience. Here are the stages of the study:
- Design an e-book task- relevant and beneficial
- Pre-task questionnaire showing information needs and attitudes
- Direct observation and recording during task- screen capture, video, audio capture.
- Post task interview
Initially the study found that students were more positive about e-books after the session. They were reading up to 60 pages alongside keyword searches, highlighting, scanning, taking notes and paraphrasing. However they were frustrated by a poor search display, a lack of seeing obvious progress and having to scroll.
This is a very valid study. Students study needs are changing and it is important to recognise this and also work with them to assess how they can use new resources and gain benefits. I have never used an e-book but the reader passed around the session was very accessible. E-books and use in Local Studies Libraries is something for me to consider!
Just one world or is it? Information skills for the small museum. Dr Diana Dixon Southwold Museum.
Dr Dixon came from being a Local Studies Librarian to managing a small museum.
Local Studies is at the cutting edge of library and information work and needs many skills and techniques. Unfortunately it has been discontinued in Library courses and has suffered. Libraries, Museums and Archives are driven by a demand stimulated by programmes such as Who Do You Think You Are? and customers have very high expectations.
Local Studies Group- Key skills for Local Studies Librarians:
- IT Skills– FUNDAMENTAL
- Management Skills– Customer care, marketing, promotion, fund-raising, people management, project management
- Preservation– Crucial skill on Museum courses
- Communication Skills- Outreach, education, community profiles, Local Societies
- Local History Knowledge- Have to live in local community and be willing to absorb information.
Dr Dixon spoke of managing her 70 volunteers who are stewards, indexers and cataloguers. She has training for specific tasks and handbooks. She also spoke of the difficulty of cataloguing books onto the museum system.
Ruskin University has an innovative multidisciplinary course for Libraries, Archives and Museums. Dr Dixon spoke about the importance of transferable skills, courses, teaching qualifications, managing and marketing degrees.
I found Dr Dixon’s talk very interesting especially as I am a librarian working in a small museum. I also utilise volunteers so her comments were very useful. Transferable skills are important when working in this environment. It is useful to know about books and objects and also be up to speed with IT- for websites and digitisation. Marketing my resources is an area I want to explore. I found it reassuring that Local History Knowledge was last on the list of essential key skills for librarians as I have only lived in this area for 8 months but it is true that an enthusiasm for history and learning means that you can learn lots, also making good contacts with local people is incredibly useful!
Some brief notes and thoughts about the four lectures I attended at the conference.
The Information Society: Does it need the information professions- John Feather
CILIP’s Body of Professional Knowledge (BPK) underpins the claims of our profession. However Cilip’s strapline:
“CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers.”
juxtapsoes professionals and information specialists.
The Information Society today is a golden age for access to information and “a library is no longer first choice gatekeeper of information”. Therefore why do we need professionals? A professional is more efficient with a greater knowledge of searches and systems and deeper than this, a professional has the ability to help identify a the needs of a client and satisfy them.
The core schema in CILIP’s BPK is generically applicable to other professions and acknowledges overlaps with other professions. However we have a unique roll in relation to other professions. Information Management Programmes don’t seek CILIP’s approval but should they?
The EPSRC website Digital Economy programme does not acknowledge the existence of an Information Profession. The research agenda crosses out boundaries. The Information Society needs the insight, knowledge and skills of the professional BUT we cannot bemoan deprofessionalisation as reconfiguration leads to no boundaries which is the defining characteristic of the Information Society. The focus should shift from qualification to application of professed knowledge.
The World Wide Web has made everyone into an information manager and our knowledge and skills are being lost in a larger domain. We have a unique contribution to make and need to reclaim the domain in an open-minded way. We need to project more about what we can bring to the Knowledge Economy. Research is needed to place our profession within the wider context of society.
The Value of Collaborations and Partnerships: An International Perspective- Maria Cotera and Shane Godbolt
“Africa has a key role to play in the development of the world” Barack Obama 11th July 2009
Maria and Shane talked through their projects in Africa which fall under the strategic context of “Make Poverty History” and the Librarians contribution to international development in the key areas of EDUCATION, HEALTH and INFORMATION. IFLA and Phi are doing some inspirational work through collaboration and partnerships. These projects such as Training Trainers in Africa and the African Prisons Project are innovative, inspirational and allow those involved to gain a wider understanding and context of issues.
These projects illustrate the value of collaboration and emphasise the what is needed to build successful partnerships:
- Appraise local situation and context
- Needs assessment
- Realistic aims and priorities
- Build on what already exists
- Consider culture and religion
- Knowledge and understanding
- Need to work together, value each other and have a positive attitude
- Funding and resources- sustainability
- Advocacy, evaluation and outcomes
When working in collaboration you need to:
- Be flexible
- Locally tailored solutions
- SHARE
- The West can learn from low income country solutions
How can we help?
- Spread the word
- Start collaborations
- Become a friend of Phi
- Become a member of CDG/ ILIG
- Help fundraising
- Become a volunteer host
I found these two talks inspiring. The first made me think- a lot about the different ideas. I do value my Library qualification very highly and am currently going through the Chartership process so I like to believe that these have a worth and contribute to professionalism. However I can fully understand that the boundaries of the job are blurring and we do need to rethink and shout up for our position in this ever-changing Information Society.
The second talk was for me something completely different. It was inspiring to hear about the projects and the work going on internationally. I would highly recommend everyone looking at the websites and thinking about small or large ways to help. Additionally the comments and lessons about partnerships and collaboration were insightful and can be applied to all work daily. Many of the traits listed for a successful partnership are skills we need to employ everyday, for example in partnership with our managers and clients.
girl from the north country 