SHEILA CORRALL

Biography: Sheila Corrall joined the University of Sheffield as Professor of Librarianship & Information Management in January 2004. Her career spans 25 years as a practising information professional, working in public, special, national and academic libraries as an information specialist, library manager and strategic director, in addition to consultancy assignments in the UK and overseas. In her current role, her teaching activities cover academic and special libraries, information resources and services, the management of information organisations and human resource management, including staff development and workplace learning. Her research interests include information strategies, organisational structures, the changing roles of library and information professionals and leadership development. Sheila has served on the committees and working groups of many national bodies. She was founding chair of the Information Services National Training Organisation and convenor of its Knowledge Management Group. In 2002-03 she was the first President of CILIP and in 2003 she received the International Information Industry Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to the information profession. She has spoken and written on a wide range of professional and management issues and her publications include The New Professional's Handbook (Library Association Publishing, 1999, with Antony Brewerton) and Strategic Management of Information Services (Aslib/IMI, 2001).  

Title: Work/life balance workshop

Summary: Do you feel there are never enough hours in the day to do everything you need or want to do? Do you worry about domestic responsibilities when at work and office politics when at home? Do you live to work, or work to live? Is work-life balance compatible with a successful career? Government agencies, charities, trades unions and employers are all getting interested in this subject, but are we moving any closer to achieving a ‘better' balance between work and other areas of our lives? This workshop will explore what ‘work-life balance' means for us as individual professionals and investigate what steps we can take to gain more control and choice over our lifestyles. The approach will be highly participative, involving individual reflection and group discussion. The focus will be primarily on individuals taking action, rather than on reforming organisational policies, but viewed within the context of the LIS workplace.