The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...

ed CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was established in 2002 as a merger of the Library Association (LA, sometimes LAUK) and the Institute of Information Scientists (IIS). CILIP in Scotland (CILIPS) is an independent organisation which operates in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

in affiliation with CILIP and delivers services via a service level agreement. CILIP's 2020 goal is to "put information and library skills and professional values at the heart of a democratic, equal and prosperous society".

History

CILIP was formed in 2002 by the merger of the Library Association (abbreviated as LA or sometimes LAUK) – founded in 1877 as a result of the first International Conference of Librarians and awarded a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

in 1898 – and the Institute of Information Scientists (IIS), founded on 23 January 1958. The first President of the Library Association had been John Winter Jones and other notable Presidents had included Richard Garnett (1893),

Frederic G. Kenyon Sir Frederic George Kenyon (15 January 1863 – 23 August 1952) was a British palaeographer and biblical and classical scholar. He held a series of posts at the British Museum from 1889 to 1931. He was also the president of the British Academy fr ...

(1910),

W. C. Berwick Sayers William Charles Berwick Sayers (1881–1960) was a British librarian and teacher. He was one of a "small but remarkable" group of librarians involved in public libraries in the early 20th century and was President of the Library Association in the ...

(1938), Lionel McColvin (1952) and

Douglas John Foskett Douglas John Foskett OBE (27 June 1918 – 7 May 2004) was a British librarian and library and information scientist, and author of several special faceted classification systems. Foskett was born in London on 27 June 1918. He received his BA f ...

(1976). The jubilee (50th year) of the Association was celebrated in 1927. Library associations from fourteen European countries and the United States signed a resolution at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Library Association of the United Kingdom held in Edinburgh which brought the International Federation of Library Associations into existence. The Library Association offered professional recognition at the level of Associate of the Library Association (ALA), the basic professional qualification, and Fellow of the Library Association (FLA), awarded for a higher level of professional achievement. Membership of the CILIP on unification in 2002 was estimated at around 23,000. Sheila Corrall was the first President of CILIP, succeeded in 2003 by Margaret Watson.

Description

CILIP Headquarters in Ridgmount Street, London

CILIP has its headquarters at number 7 Ridgmount Street, London, in the building purpose-built in 1965 as the headquarters of the Library Association. In 2022 CILIP announced that it would sell the building and relocate. CILIP is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

Activities

CILIP launched a monthly journal, ''Information Professional'' in 2017, providing news, interviews, and analysis. This publication succeeded ''Library & Information Update'' which was published from 2002 to 2017 and the ''Library Association Record'' published from 1899 to 2002. CILIP publications also include Lisjobnet (a recruitment website), and Facet Publishing (professional books). CILIP hosts an annual conference for members and non-members. Past keynote speakers include Dr

Carla Hayden Carla Diane Hayden (born August 10, 1952) is an American librarian and the 14th Librarian of Congress. Since the creation of the office of the Librarian of Congress in 1802, Hayden is both the first African American and the first woman to hold th ...

(Librarian of Congress in the US), Professor Luciano Floridi and Sir Nigel Shadbolt. CILIP works to raise the profile of the work of librarians and information professionals through campaigns, public affairs activity, and awards and medals, as well as promoting best practice. Campaigns have included My Library By Right (publicising local government's statutory obligation to provide library services), Facts Matter (championing the value of quality information during the 2017 UK General Election), and the annual Libraries Week campaign and Libraries Change Lives Award. CILIP awards the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals for children's books. CILIP works in partnership to award the Amnesty CILIP Honour, a special commendation which is part of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals. Special interest groups also make their own awards, such as the Jason Farradane Award and Tony Kent Strix Award of UKeiG. There are over 20 special interest groups for members working with, for instance, rare books and

prison libraries A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, English language in England, standard English, Australian English, Australian, and Huron Historic Gaol, historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention cen ...

and a similar number of 'organisations in liaison' with CILIP, such as Information for Social Change, th
National Acquisitions Group
and the Society of Indexers. CILIP, in its previous incarnation as the Library Association, was a founder member of the

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of people who rely on libraries and information professionals. An independent, non-governmental, not-for-p ...

(IFLA) in 1927. Some specialist groups organise conferences such as the annual LILAC (Librarians' Information Literacy Conference), held since 2005 by the CILIP's Information Literacy Group.

Professional development

CILIP accredits degree courses in library and information science at

universities in the UK Universities in the United Kingdom have generally been instituted by royal charter, papal bull, Act of Parliament, or an instrument of government under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 or the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. De ...

, as well as a number of overseas programmes in China, Germany, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Oman, Thailand and Qatar. There are three levels of professional registration with corresponding postnominal letters: * Certified Affiliate (ACLIP), suitable for paraprofessionals without an accredited qualificationWatson, Margaret; ‘Professional qualifications: a CILIP perspective’ in ''AIDAinformazioni''; Vol. 23, no. 4, (2005), pp. 25-26 * Chartered Member (MCLIP) * Chartered Fellow (FCLIP) Honorary Fellowship (HonFCLIP), akin to an honorary degree, is granted to a small number of people who have rendered distinguished service to the profession. CILIP provides opportunities for continuing professional development and a self-assessment tool, the Professional Knowledge and Skills Base. Registered members may revalidate their registration annually. Membership of CILIP is not compulsory for practice.

Membership

The following information on CILIP membership is taken from CILIP Council reports with the exceptions of the estimates for 2002, 2003 and 2005. Membership numbers for 2004 and 2006 are not available. The method of calculation was changed in 2018 to count 'Life Members' as a separate category in published membership statistics and hence these figures do not represent a continuous series. As at January 2019 there were approximately 1,000 'Life Members' of CILIP.

CILIP in Scotland

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland (CILIP in Scotland, or CILIPS) is a charitable incorporated organisation affiliated to CILIP. All CILIP members working or living in Scotland are automatically members of CILIPS. Policy, finances, operational matters and advocacy are devolved to CILIPS Trustee Board and staff and CILIP services are delivered via a service level agreement. CILIPS works with the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), the advisory body for the Scottish Government on library and information matters. CILIP in Scotland was originally established as the Scottish Library Association in 1908 and affiliated with the Library Association in 1931. When CILIP was established in 2002, the Scottish Library Association voted to change its name to CILIPS. CILIPS published a professional journal, ''Information Scotland'' (), between 2003 and 2009, which subsequently became a newsletter.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals Charities based in London Education in the London Borough of Camden Library associations in the United Kingdom Library-related professional associations Organisations based in the London Borough of Camden Organizations established in 2002 Library and Information Professionals 2002 establishments in the United Kingdom