New library to give children and families better service
12 September 2006
Cafcass, the organisation that looks after children’s interests
in the family courts, has entered into an innovative partnership
with Barnardo’s for the provision of a Library and Information
Service.
Cafcass staff need to make professional
recommendations to family courts on often sensitive and complex
family matters such as divorce, separation and adoption.
Anthony Douglas, Chief Executive comments,
“Cafcass is a knowledge based organisation and the quality of the
assessments and recommendations are dependent on staff keeping up
to date with research and other professional developments.”
Sherry Malik, Corporate Director with
responsibility for Knowledge, Learning and Development, says,
“Cafcass and Barnardo's share the same aim - to provide a
high quality service for children based on the best available
knowledge. I am delighted that the partnership will allow all
Cafcass employed staff to use the extensive Barnardo's Library on
the same basis as their own staff.”
The Barnardo's Library has been built up over
forty years and the catalogue includes approximately 29,000 items,
consisting of books, journal articles, reports and a multi-media
collection. The catalogue is web-based and this allows it to be
user-friendly when doing a search.
Staff will be able to borrow books or order articles via this
online service and will also be able to request,
search and seek advice from a dedicated Cafcass librarian. The
service started on 4th September 2006.