Prospects: a strategy for action

UKOLN prepared the following documents for web access and hosts them on behalf of the Library and Information Commission. The Commission's web site is at http://www.lic.gov.uk/

The Library and Information Commission (LIC) was established in 1995 to provide Government with a national focus of expertise in the field of library and information services. Its core objectives are:

• to provide a single coherent and efficient source of advice to Government on all issues in the field
• to draw the Government's attention to emerging issues and to suggest appropriate responses to them
• to provide all advice on the basis of as full a process of consultation within the library and information community as necessary and as time allows

The Chairman and 13 Commissioners serve on a voluntary basis and are appointed by the Secretary of State. In its central activity , the Commission relates only to England and Northern Ireland, but the Commission's two committees, International and Research, both have a UK wide remit. The LIC's small Secretariat is headed by the Chief Executive who, as Accounting Officer, is responsible to Parliament for the grant-in-aid received from its sponsoring Department, the Department for Culture Media and Sport.

Contents

Summary

Chairman's Foreword

1. The Vision

Connectivity
Content
Competences

2. The Scope

United Kingdom-wide
Sectoral and cross-sectoral collaboration
Library and Information services
Research

3. The Players

People who use library and information services
People who manage library and information services
Research commissioning bodies and other policy makers
Researchers
Government

4. The Research Programme

Framework of priorities for research
Core themes
Connectivity: Access to the information society
Content: Resources for the information society
Competences: Skills for the information society
Fundamental themes:
The impact and value of library and information services
The economics of library and information services

5. The Infrastructure

Forward planning of research
Funding research
Assuring quality of research activity
Communicating information about research
Transferring research into practice
Summary of actions proposed for infrastructure development

6. Roles

The role of the Library and Information Commission
The role of the British Library Research and Innovation Centre
The role of other organisations

7. Consultation

Multi sectoral consultation
Mapping Exercise
Consultation Exercise
Background research reports and data
How to respond

Appendix

The 2020 Vision
Commissioners and members of the Research Committee