info NeoGnostic: Talking with Talis

: Name: Chris Armstrong; Location: Aberystwyth, Wales, United Kingdom

I am the owner and managing director of Information Automation Limited (IAL), a company that specialises in research, consultancy and training for the information profession. We are particularly interested in all forms of electronic information resources (e-journals, e-books, etc) and I teach a course in electronic publishing at the Department of Information Studies in Aberystwyth. Drilling down still further(!), my interests centre on the quality and evaluation of electronic information, and in the thinking that underpins activities in library and information science.

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Sunday, July 01, 2007

Talking with Talis - the debate continues

In mid-June Talis began a series of 'Talking with Talis' centred on the current debate about Public Libraries in the UK. Do get things off to a good start, Richard Wallis talked to Tim Coates. I summarised the talk here. As I noted in earlier postings the MLA and the recently-closed Laser Foundation, as well as CILIP's Public Libraries Group should be able to respond well. As Richard says:

The debate about the future of public libraries in England is at times a passionate one, with the protagonists often having greatly differing but no less strongly held views. With this series of podcasts I am attempting to provide a balanced view of those opinions and the people behind them. To that end I have approached several people both within and outside the library establishment with an invitation to record a conversation. Whilst awaiting responses and scheduling recordings I would love to hear from others who believe they have something to add. Contact me (richard.wallis@talis.com) if you want to suggest a possible interviewee, or wish to be considered yourself.

He has now interviewed both John Dolan of the MLA - discussing the MLA and they way public libraries serve their communities and moving onto discuss A Blueprint for Excellence document and the public consultation process which has followed its publication - and Francis Hendrix, previously of the Laser Foundation - discussing the state and structure of Public Libraries in England, the current debate on the subject and some options for the future.

I think it would be interesting to hear from a number of Public Librarians, as well as from CILIP. Watch this space!

>>Technorati tags: CILIP; government; MLA; publiclibraries