Summer returned or Day Two of the CILIPS 2014 Conference

The day has improved, the sun has burnt off the mist and the sky is that clear blue that makes you wish you could just lie in a garden and snooze the rest of the day away. I wont get home until late tonight and I am wishing it was different! well back to catch up time.

The breakfast was very nice, I ate early and enjoyed the peace, and sunshine. The opening was the AGM for CILIPS, which ran for a whole 4 minutes, which is a meeting win for me. Then the keynote speaker to start us off was Rolf Hapel, from Aarhus libraries in Denmark, and digitizing services and their impact as his theme. He was talking of the new build in the centre of Aarhus on the dock front and seeming to float on the water, with trams to a under ground station and buses through the very complex. The whole idea was very interesting, esp in the light of our own local new build. Again we had the theme of big Data, how we use it and how we make it show more value. The vision of a library full of partnership spaces that were designed for the folk who will be in them, with a library at the core.

A very scary view of the future according to him but one again we must take on board. The idea of the community space which he admittedly stolen from the UK ideas. What was also a shock was the extinction timeline, which I am sure many have seen but was new to me. and the end of libraries as we know them. He did end on a challenge he asked us 'To which problems in society are libraries the answer.' Another positive view and optimistic spin on a drech out look otherwise. 

The next sessions had me choosing again but as a mentor I felt I must chose the Professional registration and what you need to know. This was delivered by the always wroth listening to Simon Edwards from CILIP, I am glad I did as it has given me the nudge toward possibly going for Fellowship next time and not just re-validation. He gave a wonderful talk on the positives and how we are adding value to our own profession. I love the PKSB shorter form in the excel and will be downloading it and filling it in soon. also you only need to keep your eye on 6 to 10 areas max and you only need the killer pieces of evidence for them, not the small forest you currently seem to generate. Watch this space for more ideas...

Another fab lunch finally knocked me for six and I ended up sitting in the foyer knitting brain finally full and mind full of things to think about. I would have gone home then but I so wanted to hear Iain Macwhirter speak at the end. So glad I did, as he spoke so eloquently about the decline and demise of printed news papers esp the Scottish press. There are more copies sold of the Mail each day than the Scotsman and the herald combined! which is dreadful! and there are less than 10k sales for the whole of Scotland for the Guardian! Iain Challenged us to become the means of truthful record as the papers could no longer be that resource for us. We must help the public navigate the tidal wave of propaganda from the indy/ref information. This contrasted with the mornings message of citizens and not customers in Denmark, with sources and filters not passive supply for us.

No power points and glossy back drops, no pictures to distract us from his very hard hitting message. Another scary prospect but again another place we must adapt and change to fit what is needed.

The drive home was one of reflection all these new ideas being brought forward, all these views and ideas. we are not broad enough to do all in all places but some will fit in nicely, and may be Scotland will stay the top of the league table for the Carnegie trust for another year.