‘‘ I


recently attended the annual induction day for the CILIP Board where new Trustees are welcomed, the new president (me)


is officially introduced, and everyone is given a state of the nation briefing. As part of the proceedings, I was invited to say a few words and as part of that, I found myself reflecting on my career journey and the role that CILIP had played.


I joined what was then the Library Association in 1997 when I was doing the Telford College course for Senior Library Assistants at Elgin College in Scotland. I did this on the advice of my tutor, herself a librarian. I felt then, as I do now, that I was joining a profession that I profoundly admired and wanted to be part of.


My first job, while doing the course, to help me gain practical experience, was as a relief Library Assistant for Elgin Libraries and then, when we moved back to Huntingdon from Scotland, I went to work for Cambridgeshire Libraries as a Senior Library Assistant in 1999.


Development


At that time, Cambridgeshire still had a training unit and I eagerly asked what I should do next in order to improve my career development prospects, only to be met with a rather blank look. I could apply to do a first degree in librarianship, but correspondence courses at that time were rather thin on the ground and with two growing teenagers and this new job, I was reluctant to take this route.


It wasn’t until CILIP introduced the ACLIP qualification in 2005 that there was any kind of career pathway in public libraries available to someone like me, coming into the profession later in life and with a degree, but not one in librarianship. ACLIP celebrates the professionalism that comes with experience,


March 2024


If someone had told me back in 1997 when I started on this road that this is where I would end up, I would have laughed them out of court!


encouraging that reflection so essential to understanding not only the role but your role.


Supported I was in the first cohort and was so delighted that it had been introduced as I had very definite goals in mind: I felt that professional qualifications alongside management qualifications, were the way to achieving them. The Council supported me to do the ILM Certificate in Management, and as soon as I could, I went on to Charter and I am so proud today to call myself a librarian. I truly believe that I owe my entire career to CILIP and its focus on professional development. Armed with those qualifications, I worked my way up to become Operations Manager for Cambridgeshire Libraries and then Head of Library Services for St Helens. Building on their engagement with the Arts, I was lucky enough to land the role of Director: Libraries for the Arts Council where I had the most amazing five years. And now I am about to embark on my time as president of our professional organisation.


If someone had told me back in 1997 when I started on this road that this is where I would end up, I would have laughed them out of court! As Director: Libraries for the Arts Council, I had a budget to support professional development and one of the things I was very proud to work on with CILIP was the Welcome to Libraries induction pack (www.cilip.org. uk/inductionpack) for new staff to the profession. It outlines the ethics and values of our profession and a clear career development pathway, from CILIP’s fantastic new Apprenticeship programme, through ACLIP, through Chartership to Fellowship, a pathway available to all entering our profession.


Skills


CILIP is currently working on the Level 7 Apprenticeship to offer a further option to those wishing to


Sue Williamson is CILIP President.


progress. I’m also keen to work with CILIP staff on developing the offer for the leaders of the future. What are the skills, competences and behaviours that those leaders will need and how can CILIP help those future leaders to acquire them? How can we work with Library schools to develop an offer that will support those in work to increase their skills and knowledge in an ever- changing environment?


I’m also keen to investigate how partnerships across sectors can support professional development. Current partnerships between the health education sector, and indeed the health sector, the academic sector and public libraries have illustrated how well library sectors can work together and how much they can learn from each other. One consummation devoutly to be wished would be secondments arising from these partnerships which would facilitate moving between sectors, something which is sadly quite difficult to do at the moment.


I want to be able to sell librarianship as a career to young people. I want to show them the wealth of opportunity that joining our profession offers and the variety, which after all, is the spice of life, that it offers, not to mention the job satisfaction. I believe that a really strong professional development offer is key to this and look forward to working with staff at CILIP to drive this forward. IP


INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 15


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