  Building
for the future
My primary purpose as Chief Executive of The Library Association
is to build a membership association for the library and information
profession which is fit for purpose in the twenty-first century.
This means keeping the Association moving forward towards three
sets of objectives: those in the Corporate Plan, which provides
the strategic framework for the Association’s current activities;
those associated with the process of unification with the Institute
of Information Scientists; and those which will come into play
in the longer term, as we move beyond unification.
We have worked hard in the past year or so to lay the foundations:
a new staffing structure at LAHQ, a balanced budget, and substantial
investment in the headquarters building and in our ICT infrastructure.
In this period Council has made some important decisions which
will also help to shape the future: to endorse the Corporate Plan;
to approve the establishment of Policy Advisory Groups (currently
developing the Association’s position on social inclusion,
on regionalism and devolution, and on national information policy);
and to authorise moves to introduce a scheme of continuing professional
development into our qualifications framework, and to realign
Branches in England so that they are geographically coterminous
with Regional Development Agencies.
Important steps have also been taken towards the six aims outlined
in the Corporate Plan; greater integration and inclusion, not
only through unification but also by paying close attention to
a range of different voices — of Affiliate Members, of black
colleagues, of library suppliers; extending our spheres of influence,
not only through the establishment of Policy Advisory Groups but
also by developing a number of important strategic partnerships;
promoting innovation and a positive image for our profession through
a range of marketing and promotional activities; and developing
our international work — particularly in the build-up to
the IFLA 2002 Conference, to be held in Glasgow, giving many UK
library and information professionals a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to engage with thousands (literally) of colleagues from all over
the world.
At the same time we are busy with the unification agenda —
moving steadily towards the Vesting Day of the new organisation
on 1 April 2002. Much of the groundwork has been done (as Members
are aware from the Implementation Newsletter) and we are now focussing
three key areas of work: governance (the Charter and Byelaws;
and also the Council and Committee Structure of the new organisation);
the corporate identity of the new organisation with work here
very much dependant on the name chosen for our new association;
and communications with the membership of the new organisation
— through a monthly magazine, a website, and other options
in a revised portfolio of print and electronic publications.
It would be easy to devote all our attention to the agenda outlined
above — and understandable, given its breadth, complexity,
and importance. But we also have a responsibility, in terms of
the strategic management of the Association, to look beyond the
short and medium term in order to address a number of issues of
long-term significance. We need to look beyond unification —
and, in doing so, to go back to basic principles. The Association
has two fundamental purposes: to advocate the value of our profession;
and to enhance the employability of our members. To do this effectively
we have to re-engineer what we do in order to invest more time
in authority and less in bureaucracy. We have to redefine the
skills and competencies required by our profession — finding
synergy between the traditional knowledge base of librarianship,
the concepts of documentation and information science, and the
demands of the employment market place.
We have to explore the potential of e-business in all areas of
the Association’s operations. We have to respond to the agenda
of increasing regionalism and devolution - and to the increasing
globalisation our profession. Through all of this we also have
to engage a much wider constituency of interest — involving
more members more actively in the work of the association and
also working with colleagues from other professional domains on
the issues of public concern which are central to our ethics and
values — freedom of expression, freedom of access to information
and knowledge, equality of opportunity, and mutuality of endeavour.
It’s an exciting time for our profession with a real opportunity
to make a positive difference in areas which really matter —
social inclusion, lifelong learning, economic competitiveness,
democratic engagement, neighbourhood renewal. Behind those Big
Words are real people and families and communities. Our mission
as a profession is to give people access to knowledge so that
they can achieve their full potential for themselves and their
communities. Our mission as a professional association is to support
and facilitate that process, through our focus on advocacy and
employability, in order to promote the highest possible standards
of professional practice and the highest possible quality of library
and information service. Working together, we can achieve the
sort of future outlined in this brief paper.
Bob McKee
Chief Executive
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