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The cost of further education, cuts in public funding and rising costs are all going to impact eventually on our lives...
President’s View
Coming together to make a difference
N my last column I wrote about We are CILIP and how our ideas and hopes for our profession are coalescing around this, sparked in
part by our Big Conversation pieces with CILIP groups. The conversations I’ve had since then with CILIP North East1 with LIRG2
and brought a real sense
of collective ownership around this approach. Not only by their support and agreement with the principles, but also through being keen to see them translate into successful outcomes.
One example of this was a discussion around whether our current actions and developments around Apprenticeships and Professional Registration will really help us move towards diversifying our workforce and removing barriers. Conversations broadened to what practical steps we all need to take to make a real change and how to evidence this change. These are timely challenges for us all. Changes in the cost of living and the impact that this is likely to have in terms of equitable access to school and public libraries, further and higher education, and equal access to information though digital routes are challenges many of us will seek to address through our work. Listening to Jo Cornish, CILIP Chief Development Officer, talking about this I was also struck by her thoughts around access to our own profession in the coming years and the importance of “robust alternative routes for the individual and the profession”. This led me to thinking about how we demonstrate the value of our profession to others and how we ensure we remain a profession of choice for those considering a new or change of career. Not only opening pathways to enter and to succeed but remaining a highly relevant profession
April-Mayr 2022
that others want to join. Our statement about this in our new strategy is strong: “We are responsible for the world’s leading Sector Skills Standard for information professionals, a vital, living connection between future demand and the supply of skills.” Can we use this standard and our commitment to our own development to really showcase our worth and our skills to employers, to demonstrate and retain our value? It’s clear that for many of the “problems” employers are looking to solve across the sectors they need an Information Professional, but perhaps they just don’t know that yet. I think, though, that there’s a danger of reinvention of our existing skills through employers looking elsewhere if we don’t articulate them and this too is a challenge for a profession which, at its best, can sometimes be invisible to its users as we smooth the path for others to find and use the information they need. We don’t need to work on this alone. As CILIP we are the largest and most diverse cross-sector information professional community outside the USA and China; and we have allies. In April I met with the Special Libraries Association3
to explore
ways to collaborate and to continue to strengthen and support our joint missions. With Seema Rampersad (SLA President-Elect) and Claire Sewell (SLA Europe President) myself and other colleagues discussed common values and initiatives and explored more ways to work together. One area we touched on was equality, diversity and social justice and Seema spoke about how the SLA has been pushing for great Diversity Equity and Inclusion with their DICE caucus, especially as they serve so many specialised communities and global geographical areas. She said: “There is still a lot of poverty, inequalities and lack of representation in the
Kate Robinson (
president@cilip.org.uk) is President of CILIP.
www.cilip.org.uk/
INSIGHT
diverse communities we serve – the profession also needs to advocate for social justice and to be more equitable to encourage and address these inequalities. The cost of further education, cuts in public funding and rising costs are all going to impact eventually on our lives, libraries, communities and professional roles. We need to work together to foster better opportunities and equal access for everyone. This year SLA Europe are celebrating their 50th anniversary with the theme ‘Celebrate a little, Celebrate a lot’ after challenging years in the pandemic”. Do look out for their offer of free bursaries for student membership and Early Career Conference Awards for their Conference in Charlotte USA in July and August 2022.
So, as we face the challenges of an uncertain future, with the likelihood of an inequitable society given economic pressures, and while the future of our profession may rest on us each stepping out of our comfort zones and being robust about what we can do and the skills we have that enables us all to make a difference, the great thing is that we can do this together. IP
References
1 North-east sub-committee – CILIP: the library and information association
2 Library & Information Research Group – CILIP: the library and information association
3 Special Libraries Association (
www.sla.org) INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 15
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