www.cilip.org.uk/empoweringimpact ‘‘ A
CEO
... CILIP empowers professionals across the entire library, knowledge and information sector to develop new knowledge, skills and relationships, to reflect on what you’ve learned and achieved.
Louis Coiffait-Gunn Chief Executive
Louis.Coiffait-Gunn@
cilip.org.uk
S WE emerge from the long, dark (and very wet!) winter it’s a good time for our broad and varied community to reconnect with each other and with our core purpose.
CILIP is uniquely able to connect, empower and champion the whole information profession, enabling every single person and organisation across our sector to visibly inspire, inform and empower their service users. That’s the summary of or our new five-year strategy, Empowering Impact (
www.cilip.org.uk/empoweringimpact) ‘Empowering’ because this profession doesn’t tell people what choices to make but rather gives them the information and skills to make better choices for themselves. And because only CILIP empowers professionals across the entire library, knowledge and information sector to develop new knowledge, skills and relationships, to reflect on what you’ve learned and achieved. CILIP also helps you to think about what’s next, whether that’s through our advocacy work across and beyond Westminster, new training with Google on information & media literacy or with Arts Council England on key leadership skills, or by providing a platform like Members’ Fest for expertise across our community to be shared. Please do check out the amazing programme on 46, sign up to a free event, share the list with colleagues and encourage them to see our inclusive community in action. Last year half the attendees were non-members. And remember CILIP is active both nationally and regionally, do please sign up to get updates from the groups you care about and consider getting involved in a committee. I hope that throughout 2026 you will actively encourage others to join CILIP and talk about what you get out of membership, as the more of us there are together the more we can achieve together. And ‘Impact’ because we’re in a world where
we have to evidence the positive difference we make to people’s lives, with the compelling stats and stories that will unlock further funding and support. This profession obviously delivers far more than economic benefits, but it’s not either/or, we need to be confident demonstrating our positive impact in a range of areas, tailoring our message to the audience and the moment. And even the more holistic benefits we
February-March 2026
deliver to people such as reading, wellbeing, culture and human connection can have a positive economic impact. That’s why, after the packed parliamentary reception on
‘opportunity’, we’ll be back on the terrace at Parliament with partners making the case again for the profession. This time in the House of Lords on 11 March to focus on the whole sector’s economic impact. It’s a great opportunity to show our vital role, including translating research and innovation into economic growth in communities across the UK. This will include sharing with politicians across the spectrum how library services drive cutting-edge research and start-up support. We continue to push for an ambitious new public library strategy for England and greater connections between different types of library service. And the following month we’ll be co-hosting another event, this time as part of the Libraries Alliance. A new library-led umbrella body to help all library sectors and bodies pool resources and speak with one voice to the public, to funders, and to the government of the day. For too long our sector and its messages have been fragmented, it’s time to come together, especially when speaking externally and to those in power. And further ahead, do please think about how you and your employer can get involved with the once-in-a- generation opportunities offered by the World Library and Information Congress (WLIC). There’ll be over four thousand professionals from across the UK and around the world coming to the main event in East London on 8-12 August 2027, as well as to all of the satellite events, visits and meetings across the UK. It’s a chance to showcase UK best practice, learn from others, build international networks, and influence our own UK stakeholders. Put the date in your diary now and speak to colleagues about what you want out of it. We know that this profession is uniquely positioned to help society navigate some of the biggest changes society faces, from how we access trustworthy information to the skills we need to make sense of – and shape – the world around us. We have a vital role to play and CILIP has existed for 149 years to serve this profession, evolving how we support you as you evolve to meet the changing needs of your unique community of users. It’s a daunting but exciting moment given how much change is happening around us but we all need to play our part, thank you for being with us on the journey.
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 3
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