CIS Newsletter

No. 165
June 2003

CIS Newsletter celebrates 15 years & still going strong! Bringing news to over 135 countries in the CIS Network

Contents

1. Editorial

2. CIS Meeting reports from speakers and reports from Egypt, Japan, Korea, Poland, Canada, Spain, Tunisia, UK, USA and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work

3. News from around the World

Editorial

Dear CIS Colleagues

We had a wonderful week in London for the 2003 CIS Annual Meeting which took place from 19-23 May 2003. It was good to hear from CIS colleagues who came to the meeting about their activities, developments and future programmes of work.

There were so many presentations and I have included as many as possible in this June 2003 edition and because of the amount there will be more in the July 2003 edition. Because of space and the fact that many of the reports were presented in PowerPoint and I have made summaries and put the full presentation on the CIS Newsletter website www.sheilapantry.com/cis for everyone to see.

If anyone cannot access the website then if you let me know I will get the full PowerPoints printed out and post it. This way I hope I can ensure that everyone has access to the data.

The week began with a number of people visiting the Safety and Health Expo in Birmingham. This Expo had hundreds of stands and was really 5 exhibitions - all interconnected. I know that the CIS colleagues who went came back with lots new information. The visit to see the new British Library and its automated systems and wonderful collections was enjoyed by the delegates.

Two very interesting workshops and the break out groups brought a number of ideas forward. This was followed in the evening by a very noisy get-together party where everyone had lots to say. As Mohammed Allam says in this newsletter it is like a family party!

The Health and Safety Executive staff members gave two very interesting talks on running campaigns (see below).

At the beginning of the formal CIS meeting, which was very ably chaired by Elly Goos, Netherlands National Centre and long-time supporter of CIS meetings welcomed Peter Brannen, ILO London Office Director, who in turn welcomed CIS Members to London and gave a stirring reminder to everyone of the major tasks we all face in securing better standards of health and safety in all the world's workplaces and how the efforts of CIS Centres everywhere were at the sharp end of this work. Peter was followed by a number of CIS colleagues giving their presentations.

On Friday morning we continued with more presentations and had two external UK speakers - Roger Bibbings from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and Dr Sara Lumley, a Director of the National Examination Board for Occupational Safety and Health. (see summaries of their talks below). Dr Jukka Takala and Dr Emmert Clevenstine both gave talks on Worksafe and CIS activities. And there were discussions on what should be the future activities of CIS. Hope to carry summaries of both talks in the July edition.

At present the location of the 2004 CIS meeting has to be finally decided: there is one suggestion from Prevent that it could be linked with a meeting in November 2004, some members felt that this may be too far ahead and that we should meet earlier. Another suggestion was perhaps to have it again in Geneva. CIS HQ are asking for suggestions... IT IS YOUR MEETING make some suggestions NOW and then plans can go ahead and everyone will know what is happening. I have a "template" on how to organise such a meeting - happy to share it with anyone. As usual many thanks to all the contributors to this edition of your Newsletter - all news however small is most welcomed. If you are planning any publications, seminars or training courses, then please send your details to me so that we can share your efforts with others. Don't forget to send me your latest news!

Over 100 individuals and organisations have let me know that wish to receive the Newsletter by email....if you wish to join just let me know and I will send it. CIS newsletters can be found on www.sheilapantry.com click onto CIS Newsletters! Perhaps your own website will want to link to them?

Best wishes to you and your colleagues.
Sheila Pantry, OBE

Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd, 85 The Meadows, Todwick, Sheffield S26 1JG, UK
Tel: +44 1909 771024
Fax: +44 1909 772829
Email: sp@sheilapantry.com
www.oshworld.com
www.sheilapantry.com
www.shebuyersguide.com

CIS NETWORK OF NATIONAL INFORMATION CENTRES.........
WORKING TOGETHER AND HELPING EACH OTHER....

CIS Meeting

Wednesday 21 May 2003 Morning

Creating the electronic OSH information and knowledge service and centre.
Introduced by Sheila Pantry and Peter Griffiths, UK Government Home Office, Director of Information Services and based on their best selling new book "Creating a successful e-information service" see web site for details www.sheilapantry.com/books

To be successful, OSH managers constantly need to reassess the effectiveness of their information services and to ascertain whether they are really delivering the services needed by their users. In doing so it is now essential to take on board the opportunities afforded by new technology. An information service is no longer necessarily defined by the restrictions of a particular physical location or specific opening hours.

For anyone wishing to establish an electronic information/knowledge service, whatever the type or size of organization they work in, and is equally essential for those wishing to convert an existing traditional service into an e-information service. Ideas and examples of how an e-information service can be created, maintained and marketed in a cost effective way. Key issues covered include:

FULL PRESENTATION

Wednesday 21 May 2003 Afternoon

Workshop 2. Promotion and Publicity Ideas for CIS Centres.
Creating the successful OSH Publicity Campaign involving inspectors

a) Vern Anderson - NIOSH, U.S. Vision: Delivering the Nation's promise: Safety and health at work for all people through research and prevention.

FULL PRESENTATION

b) Irja Laamanen, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH), Finland

FULL PRESENTATION

c) Sheila Pantry

The BREAKOUT GROUPS of the delegates brought a number of ideas that could be used in promotion... for example

Workshop Group 2 suggested the following in answer to the Question: "Think of the types of information that could be added to your ideal website to help people gain up-to-date information on dangerous substances and also think of any relevant links"

Why need such information?

Topical subjects

Sources of information

Add a Search engine to the web site to enable searches for

Web site to give Information on:

Information and promotional material tailored to needs of different audience
Educational material
E-mail notification of new additions or changes to standards

Presentations from the Health and Safety Executive

Peter Rimmer, Director of Information Services, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Liz Justice, Senior Press Officer gave some very interesting presentations on the many and various ways of promoting the health and safety message.

Presentations from guest speakers on Friday, 23 May 2003

Roger Bibbings MBE, Occupational Health and Safety Adviser, RoSPA

Roger talked about the role and activities of the UK Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). RoSPA has been in existence for over 80 years and is instrumental through its many activities in being a major "mover and shaker" in the UK OSH scene. CIS Centre staff will be interest to pick up various ideas from RoSPA that have been successful .

FULL PRESENTATION

Dr. Sara Lumley, Director, The National Examining Board for Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH)

Sara talked about the new International Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health which is now being offered across the world. The International Certificate has 16 Units as follows:

Unit

Title

Recommended hours

1

Health and safety foundations

8

2

Setting a Policy

3

3

Organising for health and safety

3

4

Promoting a positive health and safe culture

6

5

Risk assessment

7

6

Principles of control

4

7

Incident investigation, recording and reporting

4

8

Monitoring, review and audit

6

9

Safety of people and transport

4

10

Manual and mechanical handling hazards and control

5

11

Work equipment hazards and control

7

12

Electrical hazards and control

3

13

Fire hazards and control

6

14

Chemical and biological health hazards and control

7

15

Environmental and workplace hazards and control

7

16

Construction, demolition and maintenance hazards and control

7

 

Minimum total tuition time

87

 

Recommended private study time

42

Anyone wishing to have the full syllabus sent them - 27 pages either by email or in paper copy should contact sp@sheilapantry.com

For those who wish to discuss details in full should contact Dr Sara Lumley, NEBOSH, The National Examining Board of Occupational Safety and Health, Dominus Way, Meridian Business Park, Leicester LE19 1QW, UK | Tel: +44 116 263 4700 | Fax: +44 116 282 400 | www.nebosh.org.uk

FULL PRESENTATION

Other presentations

A short presentation from Sheila Pantry OBE

CIS Talk .... From Mohamed Allam, Egypt writes...

Hello Sheila
It was a very nice week in London at the CIS annual meeting. I always feel that it is a family meeting more than any thing else.
I write to inform you about the new cooperation between ILO, WHO and NIOSH Egypt who have recently agreed to strengthened cooperation in the filed of OSH. We have started by establishing a National Profile (NP) on OSH and to try to avoid duplication between the ILO and the WHO and combine the two National profiles if possible. The NP is very well advanced and it should serve as a model for other countries. Last but not least, it will serve as the background document to decide on priority action in the field of OSH where ILO and WHO may take action or provide assistance. I also enclose my CIS report for the year 2001 / 2002 as I promised you.

National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Cairo, Egypt
Report on the activities of the Information Centre in 2001/2002

Major activities of NIOSH

Scientific and Applied Research

The research sector is composed of highly qualified technical staff (physician, industrial hygienist and engineers) in the fields of OSH. They are responsible about running applied researches to solve the major industrial pollution problems and occupational exposure and to prevent and control occupational working hazards in Egypt.

The following research was carried out in 2001/2002

  1. Environmental Studies Of Tin Exposure In Different Industries.
  2. Environmental Evaluation Of Wood Dust In Furniture Industry.
  3. Radioactivity In Building Materials A - Radioactivity and Radon Probabilities In Ceramic Industry.
  4. Environmental Evaluation Of Physical Hazards - Noise & Mechanical Vibrations in Wood Industries.
  5. Spontaneous Abortion & Congenital Malformation Among Women Occupationally Exposed To Organic Solvents.
  6. Auditory Effect Of Noise Among The Egyptian Workers in Wood Working Industry.
  7. Assessment Of Different Environmental And Occupational Health Indicators in solid waste management system. 2nd part: Health Hazards Effecting Workers Engaged In Solid Waste Handling and Composting.
  8. Importance Of Safety In Tourism Sector.
  9. Map Of Environmental and Occupational Hazards In Industrial Areas In U.A.R. (Part 4).

Training in occupational Safety and Health

There are eight Courses for Occupational Safety & Health And Fire Prevention Concerning Different Levels Of Management (Safety Officers, Safety Inspectors, High Management, Middle Management, Safety Committee).

  1. During 2001 / 2002 The Training Department held 139 Training Courses For Safety & Health And Fire Prevention.
  2. 2833 people have been trained in these Courses In 2001 / 2002.
  3. The Following Topics are covered in the Training Courses.
    • Occupational health & safety laws
    • Occupational hygiene
    • Occupational diseases
    • Safety engineering
    • Risk assessment
    • Industrial wastes treatment
    • Toxicology
    • Work physiology
    • First aid
    • Fire Prevention

Also there are High Level Practical Training Courses in Instrumentation Concerning OSH.

Advisory Field Services Department

Information Centre of NIOSH

It aims to serve researchers at NIOSH, Universities, Research Centres , Safety Officers , Safety Inspectors and Trade Union covering Occupational Safety And Health and Fire Prevention Field, by offering the Following Services:

e-mail address: niosh@idsc.net.eg | www.niosh.gov.eg

For further information contact: Mohamed Allam, Director General of Training, Department and information Centre, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Cairo, Egypt

Report from Spain

The National Library of Health Sciences (NLHS) is a department of the Institute Carlos III. Its three centres offer documentation to different research and training centres.

One of them, the occupational Health Library, renders its services to teaching staff and professional consultations with the National School of Occupational Medicine, covering the following areas:

The National Library of Health Sciences is the reference centre of the Spanish National Health System, providing supporting documentation. It further facilitates access and dissemination of scientific production. The centre draws up cooperation programs with other institutions in order to improve the exchange of scientific information between Spanish libraries of health sciences and other national and international networks.

On the basis of an agreement signed with the Latin American and Caribbean Centre BIREME and the Pan-American Health Organization, the National Library of Health Sciences has been integrated in the network of Virtual Health Libraries of BIREME/PAHO/WHO.

It should be highlighted that the selection of the contents are to be followed as strict parameters regarding its sources for establishing common guidelines as defined by BIREME/PAHO/WHO setting previous quality criteria facilitates access.

1. Search system of international bibliographic data bases such as MEDLINE (Data Base developed by the US National Library of Medicine) and LILACS Latin-American data base of Health Science literature, as well as the Bibliographic Index of Health Science data base of Spanish technical journals on medicine, chemistry, veterinary, psychology, dentistry and nursing. The Bibliographic Index of Health Science uses the same methodology as the before-mentioned international data base, thus insuring their compatibility.

2. Access to complete text of electronic publications SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online), by authors, title, centre and descriptors. The third component of the system generates relation terms for use and consultation.

3. Collective Catalogue of periodical publications of Libraries of Health Sciences of the 17 Spanish Autonomous Regions. C 17 provides information on the inventor s.y of Spanish libraries in Hospitals, Universities, Research Centres, Laboratories, Health Department

4. Directories with Spanish Publications of publishers, scientific management and eventually "URL" with more than 400 scientific publications, as well as directories of Spanish Scientific Societies, curses and Conferences.

5. Access to DeCS Thesaurus (Health Science Descriptors) enabling the research in data bases, Medline, Lilacs and Bibliographic Index of Health Sciences, using the same structure and methodology as the one of the National Library of Medicine, allowing thus scientific literature being integrated in Medline.
Virtual Health Libraries network serves as a tool for the scientific and documentary community, providing universal access to information and documentation via Internet and is an ideal mechanism to defuse its contents.

The National Library of Health Sciences offer CIS the Virtual Health Library as a dissemination platform of the CISDOC data base both in Spanish and Portuguese version. The operating system integrated in the network will allow universal dissemination and facilities access to information sources on occupational health and medicine as well as on all professionals of the international scientific community. Highlighting dissemination in Latin America and Caribbean countries means enriching the knowledge of their professionals and paving new ways of research and training and would finally lead to better conclusions on safety and prevention for workers.

INSTITUTO DE SALUD CARLOS III

National Library of Health Sciences - CIS National Centre, Spain
Director: Jorge Veiga de Cabo
CIS Coordinator: Helena G. Goy

La Biblioteca Nacional de Ciencias de la Salud (BNCS) es un Centro de ámbito Nacional del Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Cuenta con tres sedes que prestan apoyo en documentación a los diferentes Centros de investigación y docencia del Instituto.

Una de sus sedes, la Biblioteca de Salud Laboral, se encarga de prestar servicio al personal docente, alumnos y los profesionales del área de consultas de la Escuela Nacional de Medicina del Trabajo, que tiene como funciones:

La BNCS cumple además la función se ser centro de referencia al Sistema Nacional de Salud español proporcionando apoyo documental y dando soporte de acceso y difusión de la producción científica generada en España y se ocupa de establecer programas de cooperación con otras instituciones al objeto de establecer mecanismos que mejoren los sistemas de intercambio de información científica entre bibliotecas de ciencias de la salud españolas con otras redes de ámbito nacional e internacional.

A través de un convenio firmado con el Centro Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Información en Ciencias de la Salud (BIREME) de la Panamerican Health Organization (PAHO) de la World Health Organitation (WHO), la BNCS se encuentra desarrollando la Biblioteca Virtual en Salud de España (BVS-España), integrada en la red de Bibliotecas Virtuales en Salud de BIREME/ PAHO/ WHO.

Uno de los aspectos más importantes a resaltar en la BVS es que la selección de su contenido atiende a parámetros de rigor de calidad de sus fuentes en cuanto a que se establecen pautas comunes en el diseño definidas por BIREME/ PAHO/ WHO y porque los contenidos siguen un riguroso sistema de selección en base a criterios de calidad previamente establecidos, y permite acceder a:

1. Sistemas de búsqueda en Bases de Datos Bibliográficas internacionales como MEDLINE (Base de datos desarrollada por la National Library of Medicine-NLM de EEUU) y LILACS (Base de Datos de Literatura Latinoamericana de Ciencias de la Salud), así como al Indice Bibliográfico Español en Ciencias de la Salud (IBECS), base de datos que recoge registros de publicaciones en ciencias de la salud de revistas científicas editadas en España sobre medicina, farmacia, veterinaria, psicología, odontología y enfermería. IBECS utiliza la misma metodología que las principales bases de datos internacionales anteriormente mencionadas (LILACS y MEDLINE), haciéndola compatible con ellas.

2. Acceso a texto completo de publicaciones electrónicas (Scientific Electronic Library Online, SciELO). por autores, titulo, centro y descriptores. Mediante el tercer componente, el propio sistema genera indicadores de uso y consulta.

3. Catálogo Colectivo de Publicaciones Periódicas en Bibliotecas de Ciencias de la Salud de las 17 CCAA españolas, denominado C17. Facilita información sobre fondos bibliográficos de 546 bibliotecas de ciencias de la salud españolas pertenecientes a Hospitales, Universidades, Consejerías de Sanidad, Centros de Investigación y Laboratorios (Salud Pública y Farmacéuticos).

4. Directorios, entre los que se encuentran los directorios de Publicaciones Españolas (facilita información sobre datos referentes a editorial, redacción, dirección científica y en caso de que exista, dirección URL de más de 400 publicaciones científicas editadas en España), así como los Directorios de Sociedades Científicas Españolas, Cursos y Congresos.

5. Acceso a Thesauro DeCS (Descriptores en Ciencias de la Salud) que permite organizar las búsquedas en las base de datos MEDLINE, LILACS e IBECS, utilizando la misma estructura y metodología que el MeSH, tesauro utilizado por la National Library of Medicine para inclusión de literatura científica en la base de datos MEDLINE.
La red de Bibliotecas Virtuales en Salud constituye un instrumento al servicio de la comunidad científica y documentalistas que permite acceso universal a información y documentación científica a través de INTERNET, constituyendo además un mecanismo ideal de difusión de sus contenidos.

La BNCS ofrece al CIS la posibilidad de utilizar la BVS-España como plataforma de difusión de la base de datos CISDOC en versión española y portuguesa. El sistema de operación en red con el resto de BVS integradas en el proyecto, permitirá la difusión universal de los contenidos de la misma y facilitaría a los todos los profesionales y comunidad científica internacional el acceso a fuentes de información relacionadas con salud laboral y medicina del trabajo. El especial enfoque dirigido hacia la difusión en los países de Latinoamérica y del Caribe, permitiría elevar el nivel de conocimientos en esta materia entre los profesionales de estos países así como abrir nuevas líneas de investigación y docencia, lo que redundaría en mejorar las condiciones de seguridad y prevención en los trabajadores de estas áreas.

Reports from......

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
The Report covers the major campaign for the October 2003 - Working with Dangerous Substances and the various activities. Also includes the extending web site, publications including OSHMail, Facts, FORUM and the work of the Agency in getting the message to small and medium enterprises.
FULL PRESENTATION

Japan
The Report from JISHA covered the various activities during the year, including the training programme and also work internationally.
FULL PRESENTATION

Korea
The Report from KOSHA in Korea covered the various activities during the year, including the training programme.
FULL PRESENTATION

Poland
The Report from CIOP in Poland gives an extensive summary of the various activities during the year, the work of the CIS Centre and the information dissemination activities including the web site.
FULL PRESENTATION

Canada
The Report from collaborating CIS Centre - Industrial Accident Prevention Association your workers campaign.
FULL PRESENTATION

Tunisia
The Report from the Tunisian Occupational Safety and Health Institute (TOSHI) and the CIS Centre includes a preview of the new web site.
FULL PRESENTATION

Other reports will be included in the July 2003 edition

News from the UK

New corporate manslaughter laws could extend to UK office workers, experts claim

Proposed legislation would make companies accountable for deaths caused through gross management negligence.

RiskSmart, a leading provider of online risk assessment solutions, has revealed that proposed new corporate manslaughter legislation could have dire consequences for the thousands of UK business that have yet to meet Health and Safety requirements in the workplace. According to research by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, around 350 people are killed in work-related accidents each year.

"Major accidents such as rail crashes may be the impetus for the proposed offence of corporate manslaughter, but legislation of this kind would almost certainly extend to the traditional office environment," says Peter Wilson, managing director, RiskSmart. 'If you have even a single employee, you are required by law to comply with the Health & Safety at Work Act. Failure to do so could certainly be seen as negligence on the part of the management, and thus could have serious repercussions under this proposed legislation."

RiskSmart is the company behind Health & SafetySmart

(www.healthandsafetysmart.co.uk), an online system that enables companies to comply with Health and Safety legislation, quickly, easily and at a very low cost. This online tool does not require any previous knowledge of health and safety or risk assessment; business owners or managers simply need a PC and an initial 15 minutes to complete the profile section. This introductory stage is used to determine exactly what legal requirements the company needs to meet.

The system has been built using a unique engine that requires the user to respond with either a simple 'yes' or 'no' to a series of questions. The system then analyses the answers and produces a comprehensive, easy to understand report, which can be printed at the end of the process. The entire process is supported by extensive online help and 'jargon busters', as well as 'real live' consultants who can be contacted by email, if extra help is required to complete the assessment, or for any additional questions, that they may have.

Health & SafetySmart also provides a way for companies to prove to their insurance company that they are legally compliant, safe, and that they take a responsible attitude to business, which could lead to a reduction in insurance premiums. To ensure that companies remain protected, Health & SafetySmart will also inform customers if there are any changes to legislation that may affect their business or legal requirements for compliance.

For more information please contact RiskSmart on Tel: +44 (0)1438 791300 or www.risksmart.co.uk.

For further information visit www.healthandsafetysmart.co.uk.

Customer Contact: Peter Wilson, Risksmart | Tel: +44 (0)1438 791318 | email: peter.wilson@risksmart.co.uk

News from Canada

The Canadian Health Network's line-up includes:

People with disabilities

Putting people first is the key to good communication. The best way to overcome barriers is to focus on the person rather than the disability...

Read more: www.canadian-health-network.ca/html/newnotable/may1a_2003e.html

Hand-washing 101

Practising good personal hygiene is key to helping prevent the spread of SARS. Thorough hand-washing - using hot, soapy water and lathering for at least 20 seconds - is the single most important procedure for preventing infections.

Read more: www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/washing_hands.html

West Nile virus

West Nile virus surveillance information: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/dc-ma/wnv-vno-eng.php

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

Find out more at: www.canadian-health-network.ca/html/newnotable/events_e.html

The Canadian Health Network is brought to you by Health Canada and major health organizations across Canada and is just a click away: www.canadian-health-network.ca

All feedback welcomed, please send comments to: chn-webadmin@hc-sc.gc.ca

Message from Uganda

I failed to make it to the CIS meeting in London but I am with all of you in spirit.

Please convey my heart felt greetings to the persons who are attending the meeting this year. I wish all of you good and fruitfull deliberations and safe journey back to your respective countries or locations.

Thank you and God bless all of you.

Paul Obua
CIS National Representative Uganda

News from the European Foundation

Quality is key for a competitive enlarged Europe

If Europe is to meet its target of creating the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy and greater social cohesion by 2010, a more stringent focus on the quality of the labour market as a whole - and more and better jobs in particular - is needed. In an effort to encourage European social policymakers to explore how quality can contribute to achieving better jobs in an enlarged European economy, and how quality can be promoted through strong partnerships (tripartite or bipartite), the Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working conditions co-organised a two-day conference in Alexandroupolis, Greece, on 12-13 May 2003.

The conference, 'Better work and life - towards an inclusive and competitive enlarged Union' will take place in cooperation with the Greek Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Focusing on better quality of work, employment and life the conference will use various experiences and practical examples revolving around employment status, work and non-work time management, and modernisation of work organisation.

'Quality that affects the work and life of the EU citizens is an issue well embedded in the business culture and the challenge today is to introduce it to both the economic and social fields,' says Raymond-Pierre Bodin, the Foundation's Director.

Labour markets, employment relations, and working and living conditions in candidate countries differ significantly from the EU Member States and quality matters are important in their modernisation process in order to ensure a smooth accession to the EU and a normal functioning after accession.

Further information on the event can be downloaded at www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef0389.htm

More information about the Foundation is available on www.eurofound.europa.eu/about

News from Quebec Canada

INFO IRSST

Latest information from IRSST Quebec Canada see www.irsst.qc.ca/media/documents/en/InfoIrsst/Archives/InfoIRSST_v01n3.htm for ...

Jacques Blain, IRSST, Informathèque, 11ième étage, 505, de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montéal, P.Québec, Canada H3A-3C2 | www.irsst.qc.ca | blain.jacques@irsst.qc.ca

Title not to miss

Your Essential Guide to Career Success, Sheila Pantry and Peter Griffiths

Second edition of Your Successful LIS Career: planning your career, CVs, interviews and self-promotion.

How ambitious are you? Do you have a career plan? Are your skills up-to-date? Where do you want to be in three, five or ten years' time? This book is an essential read for any information professional eager to prosper in the global library and information environment of the 21st century. It offers guidance on managing every stage of your career, whether you are a new entrant to the profession wishing to know how to get a foot on the ladder, an information professional in mid-career wishing to progress, or a candidate for a more senior position needing a view of the current state of the profession.

Since publication of the first edition there have been a number of changes in employment law, and in the range of skills - online, linguistic, negotiating and consultancy, for example - required for an information professional to be able to deliver the information services of the future. Making full use of case studies, summaries, further readings and referrals to websites and other sources of practical help, this indispensable guide offers advice on:

This is an essential deskbook to explore if you are an information professional in any sector and at any level wishing to learn the skills and techniques to sell yourself with confidence to current and future employers.

The authors

Sheila Pantry OBE BA FCLIP manages an independent information services consultancy and electronic publishing business including websites. She has a long and varied career in information management in a range of industry sectors and also in government, at the Health and Safety Executive where she set up and ran the world renowned Information Services. She specializes in worldwide occupational health, safety, environment and fire information and is an experienced trainer, writer, editor and lecturer.

Peter Griffiths BA FCLIP is Head of Information Services Unit at the Home Office, and Head of Profession for librarians and information scientists. His responsibilities include the Home Office and Prison Service Headquarters libraries, intranet and internet publication, and an internal reference service. He is an experienced trainer, writer and lecturer. For copies of the book ISBN 1-85604-491-2

Contact: Facet Publishing, 7 Ridgmount Street, London WC1E 7AE, UK | www.facetpublishing.co.uk

News from ARLAC

Farai Mashumba, Information Officer, ARLAC writes that he regretted that he could not be with colleagues at the CIS Meeting, but send the following information....

PROPOSED ARLAC TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR THE YEAR 2004

The Overall goal of the proposed training courses is to build the capacity of Government, workers and Employers organizations to deal effectively and efficiently with employment and labour sector issues in a globalised dispensation. To promote socio-economic justice in the labour market within all the frame work of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), Labour Administration Systems must of necessity mainstream and integrate poverty alleviation strategies in their labour and employment agenda. The proposed training programmes are partly intended to establish the nexus between labour Administration Systems and Poverty alleviation and suggest the way forward in this endeavour. Further, they integrate cross-cutting themes that are relevant during this era of structural transformation and propose a research activity on documentation of materials (training handbooks) for labour inspection to assist member countries in their training programmes.

1. ARLAC Governing Council Meeting and High-Level Forum on Globalisation and Labour Administration. (February, 2004), Harare, Zimbabwe.

Objective

Target Group
Ministers of Labour and Employment, Permanent Secretaries, Director Generals, Labour Commissioners and Directors Responsible for Employment and Labour issues.

2. Training of Trainers in Labour Administration in a Knowledge Economy

Objectives

Target Group
Senior officials and managers from government, employers and workers' organizations who are responsible for training in Labour Administration.

3. Re-engineering Employment Services in a Globalised Labour Market: Charting The Way Forward

Objectives

Target Group
Middle-level officials and managers from Government, Employers and workers organizations who are responsible for employment services.

4. Workers' Compensation and Health Issues in Labour Administration: Re-defining Workers' Compensation Under New Challenges

Objectives

Target Group
Policy makers and senior officials drawn from Government, workers and employers organizations dealing with social protection and workers' compensation.

5. The Role of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Standards and Social Dialogue in Export Processing Zones: Promoting Employment and Wealth Creation Through Best Socio-Economic Practices.

Objectives

Target Group
Policy-makers and senior officials from Government, Employers' and Workers' organizations dealing with labour inspection and employment issues in the Export Processing Zones.

6. International Relations in Labour Administration and Regional Integration

Objectives

Target Group
Senior officials and managers from government, employers' and workers' organizations who are dealing with international relations in the labour Administration system.

7. Re-engineering Human Resources Development, Management and Productivity Improvement in the Labour Market: Towards Promoting a Productivity Culture

Objectives

Target Group
Senior officials and managers from government, workers' and employers' organizations dealing with Human Resources and Productivity issues.

[1] SWOT means Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

8. The Role of Labour Market Information Services in Promoting Effective and Efficient Labour Administration Systems

Objectives

Target Group
Middle-level officials and managers drawn from governments, employers and workers' organizations dealing with information in Labour Administration.

9. The Role of Collective Bargaining in Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in Africa

Objectives

Target Group
Senior officials and managers from government workers and employers organization dealing with Labour/Industrial relations and Collective Bargaining.

10. Research and Documentation

Develop Generic Training Materials and Handbook for Labour Inspection in Africa, which can be used by member countries in their local training arrangements.

Contact: Farai Mashumba, Information Officer AFRICAN REGIONAL LABOUR ADMINISTRATION CENTRE, Postal Address: P.O. Box 6097, Harare, Zimbabwe | Tel.: (Int + 263 4) 21 01 91-5 | Fax: (Int + 263 4) 21 01 97/8, or 79 32 87 | E-mail: arlac@arlac.org.zw | www.arlac.org.zw