New to the RASCAL website are

• featured collection – a random collection will be featured on the home page
• news section
• archive
• additional Browse options, still in the early stages of development.

All these developments add to RASCAL’s significance and usefulness as a source for finding information about special collections in Ireland.

The programme will include a keynote address by a representative of the recently-established UK LIS Research Coalition plus presentations on their research projects by Masters students from the University of Ulster’s Library and Information Management course.

To register for the event and receive a full agenda and papers please contact Linda Houston by Friday 10 September with the following details:-

NAME

ORGANISATION

POSTAL ADDRESS

TELEPHONE

EMAIL

WILL YOU REQUIRE LUNCH?

SPECIAL DIETARY REQUIREMENTS?

WILL YOU NEED A MAP?

Any member organisation wishing to bring forward a motion at the AGM should notify  of me this by the same date.

You can also see plenty of comment, including  from Tim Coates, on Mumsnet Talk. And on BBC Radio 4 next Tuesday at 9.00 am Quentin Letts will be talking to Coates, Andrew Motion and Ed Vaizey on “What’s the point of the public library?”

or http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/haveyoursay/2010/08/do_libraries_have_a_future.html where you can also add your comments

Association of Information Managers (AIM) NI E-news – Issue 10

1. Welcome to aime
2. Committee report
3. Deep Web Searching
4. Records Management Conference: online presentations available
5. Community Media Council seeks Information Officer
6. Advance notice of LISC AGM
7. Follow aimni on Twitter
8. Contacts
9. Join Us

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1. Welcome to aime

This e-update shares with you the activities of AIM NI – your network of information colleagues responsible for maintaining ‘specialist’ information services in the public, voluntary or private sector – and a panel of the Library and Information Services Council (LISC), Northern Ireland. A big welcome goes out to those who are new members of the Association of Information Managers NI.

We hope that there is something in this issue of aime that you will find useful. If there is something you’d like to share (a new policy, resource, technology etc), please contact John at john.mccormick@nicva.org. All feedback is happily received…

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2. Committee update

The AIM committee has met twice since the last issue – in May and July.

Key points of discussion included:

• Evaluations excellent for our E-media seminar
• Discussion on possible visits to other libraries or organisations with information specialists in place
• Discussion on topics for the current year’s seminar(s). Deep web searching/website tagging/developing an e-media strategy were among our ideas. Any other suggestions or expressions of interest in the above topics would be welcome.
• Interest expressed in carrying out research on information workers – eg who employs them? job descriptions? qualifications? etc

If you’d like to become a member of the committee or to find out more, contact any existing committee member – details below – or contact us through the AIM (NI) mailbox.

Report by: Mary Blair, Law Centre

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3. Deep Web Searching

Deep Web, what is it and how do you get there?  Is it scary and how do I prepare myself for the journey?  These are just some of the questions I asked myself when I signed up to a Deep Web Searching Course run by CILIP in March.

Some interesting facts about the Deep Web:-

• Also known as the Invisible Web, these terms are used interchangeably to refer to content which is inaccessible to the majority of search engines.  The term ‘deep web’ is probably more accurate as the information is not really invisible, just hidden from many of the surface search engines e.g Google, Yahoo
• Very occasionally known as the Dark Web
• ‘Completeplanet’, ‘Turbo 10’, ‘Surfwax’ and DeepDyve are all examples of Deep Web search engines and portals
• According to research carried out by Brightplanet in 2006, the visible web contains 20 billion individual documents whilst the invisible web contains 90 billion
• Although narrower in scope, deep web search engines retrieve deeper content than the surface search engines.  According to He, B et al (2007), Deep Web search engines retrieve approximately 70% more information than traditional search engines.
• Over half the content in the Deep Web is in topic specific databases
• Use Deep Web search engines for specialised enquiries; when you can’t find what you need quickly and easily using surface search engines; for authoritative information and for dynamically generated, up to date real-time information

The course didn’t answer all my questions; that would have been a bit of a tall order but it introduced me to the concept of the Deep Web and got me thinking about alternatives to my traditional search engines.

Report by: Claire Killen, VOYPIC

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4. Records Management: The tools, the trade – online presentations available

162 delegates, representing public bodies from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland attended this Records Management conference held by PRONI in conjunction with the Records Management Society Ireland on 11 March 2010 at the Island Valley Conference Centre in Lisburn.

The conference looked at: Technologies and Industry Tools; Applying the Craft and; Managing Records:  Back to Basics and the presentations have been made available to download free of charge on the PRONI website at www.proni.gov.uk/index/professional_information/proni_conferences_and_workshops/proni_rms_ireland_conference.htm.

Submitted by: John McCormick, NICVA

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5. Community Media Council seeks Information Officer

Community Media Council NI (CMC) wishes to engage an Information Officer to work on a freelance contract until 18 March 2011. Flexible working times are essential to reflect the company’s work pattern. An extension to this may be possible, funding permitting. Fee: £3500.00. The successful applicant is responsible for his or her own tax and National Insurance contributions. Fee reflects 56 days work.

Based: Community Media Council (CMC) 5^th Floor, Howard Building, 1-2 Brunswick Street, Belfast, BT2 7GH.

The successful applicant will work closely alongside the CMC’s Administrator, the CMC Executive Committee and the CMC members to deliver on the CMC new information and advice service to the Community Media Sector in Northern Ireland. The CMC is a volunteer led organisation- the Information Officer role is a vital part of the CMC’s advice, information gathering and information assistance to the sectors volunteers/employees/management committee members.
For an application pack including a full service specification and application form please email info@communitymediacouncil.org or follow the link to www.communitymediacouncil.org.

Deadline for submission: 4pm, Friday 20 August 2010

Interviews/selection decision:  Friday 27 August 2010

Project Start Date: 3 September 2010

Project End Date: 18 March 2011 (any extension will be subject to funding)

Submitted by: Emma Mullen, CMC

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6. Advance notice of LISC AGM

This year’s LISC AGM will take place on Wednesday 29 September in Antrim Library, giving you a chance to see this very attractive new library which opened just a few months ago. The AGM will showcase some research currently being carried out in Northern Ireland and there will be a couple of important announcements on how LISC will be supporting research in the future.

Go to the LISC Blog for further information – www.liscni.co.uk/blog/

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7. Follow aimni on Twitter

AIM is spreading its wings into the Twitterverse. You can now follow us for updates on Twitter @aimni.

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8. Contacts

Currently there are six committee members:

- Olive Broderick (Chair) Voluntary Arts Ireland

- Mary Blair (Secretary) Law Centre (NI)

- Claire Killen Voice of Young People in Care

- Nadia Downing Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

- John McCormick Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) - aime editor

- Breda Connolly Mencap

- Margaret Gibson NI Housing Executive

Or email AIM (NI) main mailbox

For membership queries of a financial nature contact Mairead Gilheany of LISC

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9. Join Us

AIM NI is a panel of LISC – The Library & Information Services Council. If you are already a member of LISC and work in a ‘specialist’ or ‘solo’ library or information service you are automatically entitled to membership of AIM NI. Many AIM members may now qualify for free LISC membership, a saving of at least £50 – if their organisation’s library budget is up to £5,000 – another good reason to join us.  Just contact a member of the committee to make sure you are on our circulation list.

To join LISC visit the website to find an application form, contacts for LISC’s finance officer, Mairead Gilheany and the cost, if applicable, of membership.

If you want to become a member of the committee, contact any existing committee member – details above – or contact us through the AIM (NI) mailbox.

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It is our wish that this newsletter contains information that is timely, accurate and pertinent to your work and interests. If you feel that you have received it in error, please request that your address is removed from the circulation list by emailing AIM (NI)

compiled by John McCormick, NICVA

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Bronagh is now a (paid) Assistant Librarian in PRONI and you can find her presentation, which is really about ways for librarians who are trying to get established to develop their career and increase their opportunities, among the interesting posts on her blog, The Shiny Forager.

MLA has already issued a statement pledging “a smooth and orderly transition to deliver the best possible future for museums, libraries and archives across England and for the people and communities who expect to use them”.

For more details see the Ministerial Written Statement and the MLA press release