View from the Hill

Books? Why bother? Anne Welsh at LIKE35

Anne Welsh’s presentation at LIKE35 last night was an author’s view of book publishing. Her opening gambit was why bother to try writing a book in the digital age, when so many other possibilities are available for making your ideas public. As a professional cataloguer, her next question was why write a niche book on a niche professional area particularly when, as a friend of hers pointed out, the entire career structure of the stereotypical cataloguer is based on being completely ignored by everyone.  Anne succeeded in answering all these questions in a highly entertaining and absorbing manner, and against all my instincts I found myself quite disappointed not to have won a copy of her new book Practical Cataloguing: AACR, RDA and MARC21 (Facet Publishing, March 2012) in the raffle at the end.

Practical Cataloguing co-authored with Sue Batley has been written at a time of transition in international cataloguing.  It aims to provide cataloguers and students with a background in general cataloguing principles, the current code (AACR2) and format (MARC 21) and the new Resource Description and Access standard (RDA). It also aims to provide library managers with an up-to-date overview of the development of RDA in order to equip them to make the transition. 

As an academic (she teaches cataloguing and historical bibliography at UCL Department of Information Studies) Anne has a vested interest in getting her work formally published – both her career progression and the future of her department depend upon an accredited publication stream. Moreover, as those involved in Information Literacy teaching will know, anyone approaching academic/professional research must be aware of the hierarchies and cycles of publishing: books and peer-reviewed articles, with their extended publishing gestation periods have the intellectual authority that more ephemeral media lack. 

Anne has nonetheless written the book with a strategic eye on her audience and her professional community – and this is one of the lessons she had for aspiring authors. She is quite clear that she intends this to become the standard UK textbook in this field, picking up where John Bowman’s Practical Cataloguing left off, and advance orders indicate that it will be taken up widely in teaching and professional practice.

Anne was also keen to address the issue of printed versus digital media.  There is some evidence that undergraduates may still regard printed books as more authoritative than their Kindled equivalents, although portability is one of many factors steering them towards e-formats. Professional textbooks in particular are nonetheless an obvious choice for digital production, the importance of versioning for practitioners being one of many benefits.

This all makes dry work of what was an extremely engaging talk at the Crown Tavern. I still have slightly alarming memories of Tuesday morning Cat.&Class. seminars at UCL in the early 1990s with the McIlwaines. Anne Welsh blows the cobwebs off the subject and makes us laugh in the process – no mean feat.

- Donald.

Synthesising, synergy, scrambled eggs and smoked trout

On a brilliant sunny morning a diverse group of information professionals met this week at Roast Restaurant in London’s Borough Market and talked at length about the two things that are currently having the biggest effect on their working life.

The list, as Val Skelton so aptly summarises in the Information Today blog, was lengthy.  The organisations represented ranged from Central Government, Investment Banking, Charities, NHS, Academia, Digital Content Support and Publishers and yet commonality of interest shone through. 

I am still intrigued at the comment that the Punk generation (now 40-55) are currently running our businesses and that they are generally not inspirational managers.  Is it any wonder given that their 1980-1995 MBAs were written by others who did their MBAs in the 1960s?   One breakfaster deep into his MBA had been asked by his MD what ‘Creativity’ (the title of one his modules) was.  Lateral thinking?  Whatever the name a skill that is either welcomed or stifled depending on management.  Seven years working in Australia was seen as a fast track way to develop skills and push the boundaries as the general attitude is ‘What are you waiting for?  Do it!’

Information workers shouldn’t worry about what they do, where they fit and where they stand on the ‘professionalism’ ladder but more act as consultants, confident they have something unique and special to offer.

Next time I am going to have the pancakes with yoghurt and rhubarb jam.  - Sue

Libraries, ebooks and drunk Kindling

Just been doing a bit of reading around about ebooks in libraries following the Publishers Association's (PA) claims that "untrammelled" remote lending of digital books could pose a "serious threat" to publishers' commercial activities.

The PA has just announced restrictions, informing libraries they may have to stop allowing users to download ebooks remotely and instead require them to come to the library premises, just as they do to get traditional print books – arguably defeating the object of the e-reading concept. The PA says it has developed the new guidelines because of concerns over free e-book lending offered by some libraries to lenders "wherever you are" in breach of publisher contracts. So it seems that the careless activities of a few have spoilt it for the many. Tim Coates also repeatedly points out in his Good Library Blog that libraries have been lending ebooks with no PLR entitlement to any author and asks "Is that inconsiderate or just theft?".

On a lighter note, when looking for more information I came across this in the Guardian about the dangers of choosing ebooks when drunk which quite amused me. The consequences are obviously less horrible than drunk dialling but include buying overly sentimental titles, ordering too many free samples, buying titles that you'd be too embarrassed to at any other time, buying things you'd never actually read and most bizarrely, the writer has developed a passion for drunk-reading Agatha Christie. Takes all sorts...

-Fiona Wheeler

What don't you know, that you don't know?

What you don’t know that you should was brought home to me quite clearly this morning at our regular Roast Breakfast. We operate Chatham House rules so can only make broad statements about the discussions that evolve from having eight or nine senior people with different approaches to and backgrounds in information management talking about what currently concerns them. Today everyone was asked to say in just three words what their three biggest issues of concern were.  The list was interesting:-

• Too much admin

• No budget yet again

• Cloud computing, scary

• What to keep?

• Slow decision making

• Business acumen

• Outsourcing, headcount, law-suits

• Local, national elections

• Lack of mid-range jobs

Thinking of law suits. Three people at the table were quite frank and related stories illustrating the dangers of non 'information ethical' staff abusing copyright and the interesting causes and effects.

One firm's non info team happily shared passwords and the information person present spent an inordinate amount of time trying to educate them about copyright and getting them to desist. Time has a cost which people often forget.

Another was cheerfully using and re-using data that a client had legitimately paid for and illegally passed on. A naïve individual rang the source to ask for some updated input and the cat was suddenly out of the bag. As it was too politically difficult to ask the client to pay up, the firm took a hefty slap in the pocket that could have been avoided, had the information specialist been alerted to what was happening. The partner concerned was forced to take the hit on his budget as a 'subscription' or fine!

And finally at another firm as well as illegal sharing of passwords research reports, that had been bought and paid for, were stored centrally and reused (which was outside the terms of the licensing agreement), resulting in an expensive lawsuit from the vendor. This led to the closure of the central resource and certainly raised the profile of information management and copyright issues within the company!

In each case the information person who worked in the organisation worked hard (pushing water uphill) to try to explain the intricacies of copyright to senior individuals who either didn’t get it or didn’t see it affected them. Having found out that such things went on, their concerns now are what else is going on that they don’t know. Lawsuits have a way of focussing the mind.

Taking responsibility and accountability for not only service strategy, but also staffing decisions and resource purchasing decisions helps move along a strategy. The road block in decision making that can scupper many a new project is management by committee, playing to the inability of managers to take ownership and some would say leadership. 'Common sense is the most underrated attribute' as is presenting and talking in plain English. Being explicit in educating staff and colleagues on the ethics of using and sharing information is vital and necessitates plain language that cannot be open to misinterpretation.

Do you know what you don’t know? If not - what is your plan to find out? - Sue Hill with input from Nicola Franklin and sue Edgar

UKSG and the Gay Gordons

In Scotland in April at the UKSG conference.  Amazingly the sun has shone since Sunday when I arrived, ready for three days of high level discussion about electronic information with a strong emphasis on e-books, digitisation and open access.

 

The second question I asked myself was why, why oh why, do conference centres nearly always have the exhibition hall - where much socialising is done - down in the basement?  No sun down there and because of a minor technical hitch no mobile signal either.  Oh well.  The EICC however scores 10 out of 10 on every other aspect.  Fantastic food, great service and good signposting and guides too.  A nice surprise.

 

But the first question I posed - again to myself - was how on earth could I have been lucky enough to decide to share an apartment with an eclectic mix of publishers and librarians that on the day we arrived was voted in the Top Ten Apartments in Europe by the Observer.  The place is amazing and was the perfect venue for a get together with other delegates and exhibitors that we had planned.  The discussion ranged far and wide, and it was good to hear cautious optimism from most of those present as to the economic climate.

 

Those who are selling products and services to the public sector are sure there is another hard year or two ahead, but can also see that with judicious husbanding of resources and sensible targets there is still a future there for information in its many guises and in particular for those who serve it in our differing ways.

It was good to see deals being brokered as I walked around and chatted to people. I enjoyed the different papers and sessions that I attended.  The technology evangelist from Talis is always good value even if he forecasts the end of cataloguing as we know it; I now know about the aims and objectives of Europeana; I was interested to hear the attitudes of Librarians to digital preservation  (as found in an OUP study) and was impressed by the way Surrey University is working to make e-books easy. 

Off now to another reception, the conference dinner and inevitable Ceilidh. After all it is Scotland. Gay Gordons here I come!

- Sue Hill

Books or no Books?

The Changing Landscape of the Information Profession was the topic of an SLA Europe panel discussion session I was asked to facilitate last week.  It has been ably reviewed in different blogs and discussion lists.

One question asked the panel whether they thought there will be any future for print books.  I chose to split this into two questions and ask for a show of hands from the audience.  The first was to ask if there was a future for business books.   The majority in the audience felt not.  Then we explored thoughts on the future for leisure reading.  This time over 50% of the audience felt there was a future.  The panel was split 50/50 and to quote Sara Batts 'I suspect that at some point in the future I will own an e-book reader; but unless one is invented that survives being dropped in the bath, I will be hanging on to my paper books too.'  I concurred with her which meant the majority panel view was positive for the future of books, at least for leisure.

Today I spotted an excellent animated film for the New Zealand Book Council - of Going West by Maurice Gee - a Film for NZ Book Council, Produced by Colenso BBDO, Animated by Andersen M Studio.  I had to watch it two or three times, each time seeing more depth and something new and it just reminded me of why I love to read.  I challenge you not to be drawn in.

Off now to borrow the book at our wonderfully refurbished John Harvard Library in Borough High Street, and probably one or two more to boot. 

The Apple and The Kama Sutra

Project Gutenberg's most popular download yesterday was The Kama Sutra. Project Gutenberg's free ebooks are available on the iPhone via the Eucalyptus app. Now. But they weren't until very recently. Apple deemed the app to be inappropriate as it would give access to such "objectionable" material. The questions that arise following this, quite rightly, are around censorship. Who is making the decisions that allow applications such as The Baby Shaker but deny readers the chance to explore literature?

This article in The Telegraph made me seethe for a few minutes but then I clicked on to Project Gutenberg and found myself at peace again. It's a collection of over 28,000 free ebooks and is entirely run by volunteers. As soon as I publish this page I'll be emailing my ebook-reading friends to alert them to this great resource.

- Suzanne Wheatley

Lost list discovered in Australia

What treasures await librarians when sorting through boxes in dusty old vaults? Dr Olwen Pryke at the State Library of New South Wales in Australia discovered a carbon typset copy of Oskar Schindler's list. The German industrialist saved Jews from the Nazi death camps during World War II by forcing them into labour.  The newly discovered list was amongst papers acquired from the author of the book Schindler's Ark, Thomas Keneally, and is one of very few surviving copies of the original list, compiled by Schindler in an effort to persuade the Nazis to save his Jewish workers. One copy is housed in Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem, but the whereabouts of the original list is unknown. It is thought that Schindler wrote several lists. This particular copy of the list came into Keneally's possession after a chance encounter with survivor Leonard Pfefferberg, worker number 173 on the list.

It must have been incredible to find such an important historical document. "The original list was hurriedly typed on 18 April 1945 in the closing days of WWII, and it saved 801 men from the gas chambers," said Dr Pryke. "It's an incredibly moving piece of history."

The Torquay effect

The Torquay effect (or The Riviera Centre by day and The Hillcroft Hotel by night)

Am enjoying networking with 750 or more delegates at the United Kingdom Serials Group Conference in Torquay.  The sun isn’t shining today so there is no excuse to go outside and walk along the beach or up and down the incredibly steep hills.

It is a surprise to many that there is such an eclectic mix of people with a vested interest in the many aspects of the fast developing and changing world of e-resources (serials).

Don’t for a minute think that this is about sitting at a desk opening journals.  I have just chatted to someone from a small university with a budget of over a million pounds who has responsibilities to buy print and e-resources, implement and change library systems; for copyright and intellectual property as well as digitisation not to mention institutional repositories.  They described their role very much as business process re-engineering.  I talked to another from the supplier side who is working with clients on a digitisation project worth many millions of pounds.

All around me fellow exhibitors are making deals and planning projects.  Some have even asked us to help with recruitment.

Many delegates and exhibitors here come time and time again but of the 750 over 200 are here for the first time.  Proof that professional development and training budgets are not completely dead.

Topics for discussion range from open access; how technology is changing research; predictions as far ahead as 2020; e-books and their expected impact on education and more.

For the twitterers amongst you #uksg09 is the reference to follow.  At the moment there is quite a lot of concern for font size in presentations.

Tonight we are off to the 12th century Spanish barn – part of Torre Abbey – for more networking and discussion.  Last night even the erudite delegates were unable to cope with the immensely difficult quiz.  Do YOU know the fore names of the following initialled authors – e.e. cummings; A.A. Milne; T.S. Eliot; E.M. Forster; P.D. James; J.K. Rowling; H.G. Wells?  At least Stuart knew the answer to the Status Quo question.

Who do you borrow?

The Public Lending Right (PLR) has released details of the UK's library borrowing statistics for 2007-8, celebrating its 30th year. US write James Patterson remains top of the chart for the most borrowed author and is one of only 4 writers to be borrowed more than 1 million times in this period. The statistics make for interesting reading and also show the influence of TV culture through Richard & Judy's Book Club and JK Rowling's ever popular magical creation Harry Potter.

What was news to me was the money. For each loan, the writer receives 5.98 pence. This goes directly to writers, not publishers or agents. The PLR clearly plays a very important role for authors. Of course the cynical side of me wonders if, as a writer, you would ask your nearest and dearest to continue to borrow your books from their local libraries. The cynical part of me is very small, I might add. But it does bring another question to mind. Do statistics like this help promote the less-borrowed authors? Or does it perpetuate the popularity of the most-borrowed?

Is a popularity poll likely to influence your next choice of library book? Or does it make you shy away from the most-borrowed, picking a book that looks a bit dusty and unread?