Ruby's Library

Phil Bradley's sharp riposte to Bob McKee's blogpost on Twittering has made my Monday; Phil said everything so many librarians have been feeling as regards to CILIP's lack of communication with its members and non-members alike. Bob's point - that microblogging is not officially "sanctioned" space and his doubt that anyone will read his blog entry is borne out by the fact that I, like many others I suspect, found his comments because we read Phil's response first. Phil, in contrast to CILIP, demonstrates leadership and vision within the profession; his words carry weight.
In another blogpost Bob says we must look to government for leadership; in my opinion, this is another of CILIP's critical mistakes. Governments don't lead, they follow. It is up to us, librarians in the field, that have to demonstrate leadership and show our customers, partner professionals and those in authority just what we can do to contribute to a functioning, inclusive and rich society. And we do that everyday, whether we are in CILIP "sanctioned space" or not.
It is time CILIP started engaging with the whole community of information professionals and information users, and crafting a leadership role to take us into the Digital Age.
Read Phil's wonderful comments at http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/
and Bob's blogpost at http://communities.cilip.org.uk/blogs/cesdesk/archive/2009/02/18/all-of-a-twitter.aspx.