“Pleased to see my name in lights but slightly aggrieved at your suggestion that someone who is occasionally paid for possessing expertise is less worthy of hire than the full time salaried members of CILIP’s “skilled community of library and information professionals”.

In my defence (if I need one) I’d like to point out that much of this expertise is in fact freely available on my website, through BIC and via other agencies (including in the past CILIP itself).

Indeed at the height of what I call “RFID mania” (in 2009-10) I wrote best practice guidelines for the MLA (freely available until removed from their website by ACE) and subsequently produced an RFID procurement guide (together with Mark Hughes) for NAG and BIC that now seems to form the basis of most UK RFID procurements (and has even been translated into German!).

One of the greatest obstacles to resource sharing is the continuing use of systems that offer little in the way of interoperability. Certainly there are examples of consortia that have managed to reach agreement on common systems to facilitate co-operation but most of them are effectively separate entities operating in isolation, and for the most part the creation of LMS and RFID suppliers working in partnership.

Whilst I agree that there are plenty of experts in CILIP membership I don’t think that librarians can really afford themselves the luxury of spurning free advice from a fully paid up member of both BSI and the ISO.

It seems to me that some might consider it complacent and possibly arrogant to reject international library standards that have been developed by librarians, commerce and individuals like myself working together to overcome the very problems that currently prevent us from delivering the vision expressed so eloquently in the recent Irish strategy document for their public library service.”

Comment from John Dolan,