Libraries and Information Services in the UK and ROI 2009‐2010 (36th revised edition)

Citation

Usherwood, B. (2010), "Libraries and Information Services in the UK and ROI 2009‐2010 (36th revised edition)", Library Management, Vol. 31 No. 4/5, pp. 365-367. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435121011046425

This title, as many readers will know, is essentially a listing of library and information services in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland. It has been around for some time and this longevity is celebrated in the blurb which maintains that, “For over forty years anyone needing information on British and Irish libraries has turned to Libraries and Information Services in the UK and the Republic of Ireland for the answer.” That was certainly true when this reviewer was seeking details of libraries or librarians early in his career, but such a claim is more difficult to substantiate in the age of the internet. Much of what it contains, such as contact names, URLs, print and electronic addresses can be subject to change and even an annual publication can have difficulty keeping up.

In this edition the entry for public libraries in Northern Ireland has suffered as the result of a major administrative change. In April 2009 the separate Library Boards of Northern Ireland were replaced by a single organisation known as Libraries NI. This now has responsibility for all public libraries across Northern Ireland. The Irish Cultural Minister argued that this new arrangement would provide, “a dedicated focus on libraries” with “the bonus of knowledgeable staff to give advice, direction and assistance” (Northern Ireland Executive, 2008). Unfortunately few staff or libraries are listed in an entry contained on a little over a third of a page. This is far less than the three or four page listings of yesteryear. One looks in vain for detailed information, or even an index entry, for major service points such as Belfast Public Library. Libraries and some staff can be found on the Libraries NI web site (www.ni‐libraries.net/) and one trusts that some of this information will be included in the 37th edition. However, it is difficult to know just how many will be included because, as this is being written, there are reported plans to close up to 15 branch libraries in the greater Belfast area. More generally, the promised cuts in UK public expenditure mean that as other library authorities try something similar there may well be rapid changes in patterns of provision.

The editors of this volume obtain their information from a questionnaire sent to libraries so it is difficult to know who is to blame for the occasional error. For example, because it is just down the road from Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, I happen to know that the post code for the West Bridgford Library in Nottingham is NG2 6AT and not NG8 4GP as given in the entry (p. 80). It is perhaps unreasonable to expect the editors to check the accuracy of every post code supplied to them but, they must take responsibility for a grammatical howler in the Preface (p. ix) which states: “The data in this directory is also available to rent in a variety of formats … ” (My emphasis).

This statement also raises questions about the intended audience for the work. The blurb states that it is aimed at those who want to “Target library decision makers with a mailing list you can trust … ”. At the same time the inclusion of a note that informs readers that use of Oxford and Cambridge university libraries “is restricted to members of the college and to bona fide scholars … ” (p.vii) suggests that the work is also aimed at potential users of services. This group is also helped by some interesting notes about the “Specialism(s)” of certain collections although a few of these tend to state the obvious. For example it does not come as a surprise that the service for the Welsh Assembly Government specialises in “Welsh government publications”. On the other hand some notable specialisms in the public library sector are ignored. For instance the collections in Manchester's Language and Literature Library, or the D.H. Lawrence material held in Nottinghamshire Eastwood's library. Many public libraries have special collections on particular subjects and these are not always known by colleagues in other sectors let alone users. The editors should consider including such information, together with the subject index of old, in future editions. This would increase the value of their work.

The publication also provides library professionals with a chance to observe the changing nomenclature of the library and information world. For instance, the titles given to those in charge of professional services now range from Keeper via Librarian to the mildly ridiculous Head of Idea Stores. There is a plethora of Customer Service Managers and Marketing Officers while the titles of those with overall responsibility, especially in public libraries indicate how far the professional librarian has moved down the organizational food chain. Similarly the listing of Schools and Departments of Information and Library Studies reveals how, although some individual and identifiable Departments still remain, a number of the “library schools” of old have been subsumed into an often amorphous academic grouping.

All this is indicative of de‐professionalisation. This depressing trend is further exemplified by how many of the listed senior staff apparently lack professional library qualifications. I say apparently because it is not clear if details of qualifications were requested in the editor's questionnaire or if the decision to provide or not provide these data was left to the person completing it. The researcher in me wanted to see a copy of the documentation sent to libraries to enable the published information to be put into some kind of context. It would also be interesting to know the basis on which LIS were selected for inclusion.

Much of the material in the volume is time sensitive. This is evidenced by the fact that earlier editions of the work are available for a few pence plus postage on Amazon Marketplace. Indeed the same site also offers new copies of the current edition at less than half price! This reviewer has just ordered an edition from five years ago, not because he wants to construct an out of date mailing list but because it offers a different way to compare and contrast the library worlds of then and now. Such considerations were probably not on the minds of the editors but skipping and skimming the text of Libraries and Information Services in the UK … can take the reader on a sideways journey, which provides fascinating and, as suggested above, disturbing fragments of information. Those for whom the book is primarily intended will find much of the information they want, although inevitably it will sometimes be a little behind the changing library times. That said there is, if the editors desire, plenty of scope to increase its value for library users. For these and other reasons we await the next edition with interest and trepidation.