Media Releases

DRIVE TO SHOW DECISION MAKERS HOW LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES CAN SUPPORT LEARNERS

Library Association strategy will champion profession’s role in lifelong learning

Identifying the learner support skills needs of library staff in all sectors, and developing training and professional development programmes to meet those needs, are key actions set out in a new Library Association report, Libraries and Lifelong Learning: a Strategy 2002-4.  Proposing a programme that would extend well beyond the creation of CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, the report sets out the LA’s achievements to date and calls for further advocacy and quality assurance activity over the coming three years.

“Library and information services operate in a range of settings, including schools and colleges, public libraries, industry, commerce, government and the voluntary sector,” says Kathy Ennis, the LA’s Professional Adviser, Academic and Research Libraries, and the author of the report.  “We must be at the heart of the network of institutions and people that help develop the skills, social and cultural potential of individuals in the UK.”

 Placing lifelong learning in the context of wider Government policies and objectives, the report emphasises the importance of informal and self-directed learning and identifies the key issues for library and information services.  Accessibility, a supportive environment, resources and partnership opportunities are among the advantages that they can offer.  However the report also highlights constraints on the contribution they can currently make, including some lack of acknowledgement of their role by the formal education sector, and a need to define the learning support skills that library staff require.

“We will be running a series of roadshows to present the strategy to decision makers and organisations whose actions influence the work of library and information professionals,” says Ms Ennis.  “Our action plan will include steps to influence the 47 local Learning & Skills Councils, as well as researching the contribution of corporate and industrial library and information services to lifelong learning,”

Libraries and Lifelong Learning: a Strategy 2002-2004 (ISBN 0 9537404 4 7) is available direct from the Library Association, and the text can also be found on the LA Web site.

Contact: Kathy Ennis, Professional Adviser, Academic and Research Libraries.
Tel: 020 7255 0633.
E-mail: kathy.ennis@la-hq.org.uk

Notes to Editors

The Library Association is a leading professional body for librarians and information managers, with around 24,000 members who work in all sectors, including business and industry, further and higher education, schools, local and central government departments and agencies, the health service, the voluntary sector, national and public libraries.  On 1 April, the Library Association will unify with the Institute of Information Scientists to form a new body, CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.

CILIP’s goals will be to: position the profession at the heart of the information revolution; develop and enhance the role and skills of all its Members; present and champion those skills, together with new ones which will be acquired through continuing professional development; and ensure that individuals, enterprises and not for profit organisations have ready and timely access to the information they need.

Friday 4 January 2002