Strategies for Managing the Electronic Future in Public Libraries: : Proceedings of a Seminar Held at Stamford, Lincolnshire, 21 March 1996

Citation

Muirhead, G. (1998), "Strategies for Managing the Electronic Future in Public Libraries: : Proceedings of a Seminar Held at Stamford, Lincolnshire, 21 March 1996", Library Review, Vol. 47 No. 1, pp. 51-52. https://doi.org/10.1108/lr.1998.47.1.51.9

Over the years, Capital Planning Information has acquired a well‐deserved reputation for scratching precisely where it itches. These two publications focus on subjects which are as topical and, in their own ways, as important as anything CPI has published.

Strategies for Managing the Electronic Future in Public Libraries comes at a critical moment in the history of British public libraries. In recent years some public libraries have succeeded in finding novel and innovative ways to fund and make available electronic information resources, but the vast majority are grossly underfunded to the point of being “permanently shellshocked”, to borrow Geoffrey Hare’s phrase from this volume. Of course, investment in new technology alone can never be a substitute for a positive mission and sense of direction, but it is a necessary prerequisite if public libraries are to redefine their role in the “Information Society”. Of the five papers from this seminar ‐ two by leading figures from the public sector, two by representatives from library automation companies, and a report of the recent Library and Information Commission public library Internet survey ‐ only Geoffrey Hare’s really gets to grips with the current problems faced by public libraries. According to Hare’s analysis, the problem is not just lack of investment ‐ there is also a serious shortfall in the areas of IT and management skills. Co‐operation and collaboration are activities in which libraries have always excelled, and Hare sees them as the principal requirement for overcoming the skills and management shortfalls. Similar arguments are being voiced by others in the public library world: “This is the future ‐ to work together beyond any and all boundaries in a genuine co‐operative and collaborative way to share resources, create resources and develop access strategies via a consortium approach” (Frances Hendrix writing in Public Library Journal, Vol. 12 No. 1, January/February 1997, pp. 1‐5). The EARL project, of which Geoffrey Hare is the chairman, is an example of such an approach, using networking technology to facilitate the collaborative effort. John Pluse has recently drawn attention to the need for leadership and ideals, proposing the formation of a “Renaissance Group” made up of “active, committed and vociferous chief librarians” to lead this reborn public library movement (Public Library Journal, Vol. 12 No. 2, March/April 1997, pp. 25‐7). If, like myself, you sometimes feel a sense of quiet desperation at the lack of progress and lack of direction in public libraries in the 1990s, these papers, with the exception of Hare’s contribution, provide few new insights or strategies for the future.

The second set of papers is altogether more encouraging. Anyone who has been involved in the process of migrating to a new computer system will appreciate the need to share information and learn from the experiences of others. Making Choices: The Selection of Library Computer Systems presents two case histories of the selection process (Guenever Pachent, of Suffolk Libraries and Heritage, representing public libraries, and John Matthews, of Aston University, representing the academic sector), and two presentations by library systems consultants (John Ross, of Infologistix, and Dan Holmes) which provide some useful insights into the selection process as seen from the system vendors’ point of view. Migrating to a new computer system is a huge, many‐sided project ‐ I would argue that it is more of an ongoing process than a project ‐ involving most of the staff of an organisation and requiring an enormous financial investment, not only for the system itself but also for the selection and procurement processes themselves. Mistakes can be expensive, and I would recommend this set of proceedings to anyone about to embark on the search for a replacement system.

These two publications are exactly what we would expect from CPI in terms of topicality and relevance, but unfortunately they are also what we have come to expect in terms of editing and presentation which in these days of cheap DTP could surely have been improved at little extra expense.