tfpl blog

Public Access to Information Conference- 14 April 2011, UCL

Author:  Matt Woods, Contract Recruiter, TFPL

Members of the International Society for Knowledge Organisation (ISKO) met at University College London to hear about the challenges facing people managing, using and requesting information in and from the public sector.

On the panel were the Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, Prof Charles Oppenheim, Carol Tullo of the National Archives and Paul Davidson, Chief Information Officer for Sedgemoor District Council and Director of Standards for the Local e-Government Standards Body.

Previous events at the London Information and Knowledge Exchange and other discussions, have touched on the theme that the boundaries of information sharing and access are now less technological and more likely to be related to human ability and human-imposed legislation.  The ISKO forum developed this idea very well, in terms of the effects and future direction of Data Protection and Freedom of Information legislation. 

While many recent headlines have focussed on the expectation that local councils publish their spending, the panel all took this idea to the next logical step by imagining the possibilities of “innovator” in communities using the released data to present it to others in a useful way.  This could be information on schools, extensions of current initiatives on crime mapping or variations on some of the spending trackers produced by newspapers.

Obstacles to the effective use of this slew of information identified by the panel ranged from Conflicts between Data Protection and Freedom of Information requirements (discussed with great insight by Christopher Graham), practical considerations of handling these requests (Carol Tullo), the pressures of legislation, particularly the Freedom Bill on government bodies to open up their information to the taxpaying public (Prof Oppenheim) and, probably most interestingly of all from a Data Management and Information Processing point of view, a theme developed by Paul Davidson that following an initial focus on releasing financial information, government will move towards not only publishing other information, but setting all information in a context.  Paul Davidson expanded on the potential for using linked data to greatly increase the potential for “innovators” (individuals, businesses, interest groups) to create a plethora of applications and arguments.

A lively panel discussion followed, with ISKO members and guests pressing the panel on issues from DPA/FoI conflicts to the potential uptake of information among different parts of the population.  These issues appear to be changing all the time, with all information and knowledge professionals now looking forward to keeping a keen eye on legislative and industry developments.

A message and request from the LIS Research Coalition

It is now two years since our founding members agreed to establish the LIS Research Coalition and we have initiated a review of the Coalition’s value and impact.  To encourage a wide contribution to this review, an online questionnaire has just been launched.

This will remain open until 17.00 on Friday April 8th 2011.  It  will take no more than 15 minutes to complete. It will ask you to comment on your familiarity the Coalition’s work, your assessment of its activities and achievements so far, its value to your work, and your comments on plans for the next 12 months.

If you can help, please follow the link below and complete the questionnaire.

Click here to participate at the LIS Research Coalition's value and impact questionnaire.

London Information and Knowledge Exchange, 31 March 2011

Matthew Woods, Consultant
TFPL Intelligent Resources

Is mobile information technology really as new as we think? Perhaps not, as Mark Needham, founder of Widget UK explained to the London Information and Knowledge Exchange at the Crown Tavern, Clerkenwell.

Quoting from 1974 science fiction, Mark suggested that much of the information sharing devices we now take for granted have been around in concept and technology for longer than we might think, even if only in the pages of novels. Recent developments coming mainly as a result of improvements to hardware have enabled smaller, faster processors and storage devices that resemble the sleek hardware we all know. Mark drew on his personal experience as a graduate with Psion, makers of the Psion Organiser, the world’s first pocket computer, to his present day role as Chairman of Widget and an i-Phone user.

From the recruiter’s point of view, the ubiquity of mobile technology poses interesting questions in terms of how to keep abreast of required skills and competencies, as well as having to consider the potential changes to traditional Information and Knowledge Management roles in a variety of sectors. How might different sectors respond to the changing face of the way we share information in our work as well as social lives?

Being asked to consider the potential for mobile information sharing in different professions, LIKE members were soon able to come up with all manner of ways in which information sharing on the move could be applied to doctors, teachers, aid workers and business people. What of the limitations of technology? Could it be that we’re heading for some technological asymptote?

Many of the limitations and potential obstacles to the proliferation of this technology suggested by the assembled information professionals were human factors: suspicion, resistance to change, technical ability and data protection fears. This was perhaps a good reminder, reinforced by convivial talk and mingling over dinner and drinks, that the sharing of information and ideas will always be, at its heart, a very social and human endeavour.

Matt Woods attended the LIKE meeting on Mobile Information Sharing. Details of the London Information Knowledge Exchange can be found on LinkedIn