Deep cleansing breath… CILIP groups. Here we go.
By dint of geography and the sector within which I work the most relevant CILIP groups are:
Academic and Research Libraries Group (ARLG), which as of the beginning of 2012 is now the focus at national and regional level for my sector. Previous to this both CoFHE (Colleges of Further and Higher Education) and UC&R (University College and Research Group) were relevant. The amalgamation of these special interest groups is ongoing, the ARLG National committee is yet to be decided but the ARLG – London and South East Network committee is in place.
When I look at my membership details on the CILIP website I am in the South East Branch, of which the newly formed Thames Valley is the relevant sub-branch. The Special Interest Groups that I have chosen are: Information Services and the UC&R (soon to be ARLG).
To be brutally honest I struggle with the relevance of these groups, and I have done since qualifying. Why is that I wonder? I enjoy professional engagement but find it difficult to do so via the CILIP group route. I valued Refer in print when it was delivered to me but
Q. Why do I find it hard to remember to read it online?
A. Because, I find it hard to read entire issues online, I don’t want to print out and therefore I resist.
Note to self. Remember to read Refer when you get your email reminder. In the issue (Spring 2012, Part 1) that I you have just read, there’s an interesting section on the promotion of services. Why not have a: ‘You asked… we did’ promotion. This works well with the idea of closing the feedback loop with your customers that was touched upon in the last customer care training session that you attended.
I’m sure that having a robust feedback loop for both customers and staff is a central tenet of the Investors in People standard. It’s mentioned briefly here: IiP Case Study.
Hmm. Final sentence summary. Must try harder with engagement, not helped by re-organisation at regional and Special Interest Group level, follow-up on emails.
pennylibrarian cpd 