25 January 2019
Helle Lauridsen, Lyngsoe Systems
If you are reading this, your institution is a member of UKSG along with almost 500 other institutions covering the full breadth of the international scholarly information world, from some of the largest and most prestigious academic libraries in world, through publishers and library technology vendors, to FE institutions and sole traders. This eclectic mix of size and focus is brought together by a shared passion for the world of further and higher education and it is unique, bringing together people from both sides of the negotiating table and from all parts of the community.
This is where we need you. To maintain this breadth of functions and interests, our committees need to mirror what is going on among our member institutions – a community which is changing all of the time. Today the question often arises, what is in it for me? Isn’t this just more work? And yes, it is true that being on any of the four subcommittees and the main committee does require engagement and participation (remote or physical) in 2-5 meetings a year plus – and this is the most important part – your considered input from your background knowledge and experience. But in return you get so much more. Not only do you get to know professionals working in areas outside your expertise, you also get to influence the strategic direction of this community organisation. Projects like COUNTER and KBart and Transfer all originated from UKSG.
To be honest, I didn’t know all this when I stood for the Main Committee the very first time, I just loved the Annual Conference and thought it would be cool to be able to give a hand with the planning. I hadn’t thought that it might be a good idea to learn the ropes in a subcommittee first (after all the committee culture in the UK is different from Denmark) or even more crucially, to investigate if anyone knew me well enough to vote for me. No surprise, I did not get in that first time, but soon after I got a call to ask if I would like to go on the Insights editorial board, which I gladly accepted.
For me, serving on various committees has resulted in a gift of knowledge beyond my own often narrow work focus and interests: it has opened up my knowledge of the breadth and scope of this amazing library world we all inhabit and most importantly of all it has extended my network with the most passionate, amazing professionals our industry can offer.
If this sounds attractive you can either fill out the Main Committee nomination form, the Subcommittee self-nomination form, or contact the UKSG Executive Director Bev Acreman bev@uksg.org directly for more information or to discuss in confidence.
We are looking for people at all levels in their career to bring a diverse set of experience and viewpoints to our strategic development. Mentors will be provided to help you settle in and feel supported.
Finally, if you are a student or an early career professional, I would like to draw your attention to the just-published call for Awards and Bursaries. There are six sponsored places supported by Cambridge University Press, Gale and SAGE Publishing plus the UKSG John Merriman Award, supported again this year by Taylor & Francis. This is a great chance to participate in our own Annual Conference and attend our sister organisation, NASIG’s event in the US.
Katherine Rose, now Head of Content and Discovery, Imperial College London, and member of the Main Committee, wrote in 2015:
"Winning the John Merriman Award and attending NASIG 2015 was a wonderful experience. I got the opportunity to meet North American librarians and publishers from vastly different institutions and to share experience, knowledge and best practice. It really opened my mind to a whole new aspect of my profession and yet there were many interesting similarities and parallels. I was able to take a lot of practical ideas back, at least four of which I’ve implemented in my own institution already. Travelling to Washington, DC was also amazing!"