PEOPLE
Professional Registration
My experience of being a Professional Registration Support Officer
Professional Registration Support Officers (PRSO) play a vital role in helping CILIP members navigate their way to Certification, Chartership and Fellowship. They are part of a network of support that is available to Professional Registration candidates at all levels. Here Donna Gundry shares her experience as a PRSO.
I AM the Arts University Plymouth as the Head of Library Services, which is a position that I thoroughly enjoy and I work with a great team of people. As part of the role, I oversee both the library and academic skills, two student-facing departments, that are incredibly well used and liked by our students. In 2023 the library scored 94 per cent in the National Student Survey, which is an outstanding achieve- ment from the library team.
The university covers pre degree to postgraduate, with arts, design and media. Over the last decade, I have completed not only my Chartership and Fellowship with CILIP but most recently also my HEA Senior Fellowship. Having completed my Chartership in 2011, where I worked closely with my mentor, Nicky Forgham Healey, she suggested that after my chartership I should become a mentor with CILIP. Having spent most of my life living in the midlands, then returned to Plymouth, I have been keen to support those within my local area. So becoming a mentor seemed like a great idea, to support people within the South West, though I soon found out that the reach of the role is more widespread, which is great to network across the country. From being a mentor an opportunity arose for me to become a PRSO for the South West, and I worked alongside Nicky on a more formal basis.
Being a PRSO has provided me with opportunities to be involved in external meetings. As I work in a small and specialist University (Arts University Plymouth), working with other PRSO’s has provided me with an additional group of professional individuals to support me, and be able to discuss different elements of my role. The role is a highly important one to CILIP and comes with a certain level of responsibility, which I enjoy.
Equally speaking to others who are undergoing their Portfolio, supports my own understanding of the wider profession. Being able to support those through a process that I have previously been through is very rewarding and satisfying in itself. Working with someone over several months or years builds up a relationship that in many cases
52 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
Donna Gundry, Head of Library Services, Arts University Plymouth.
continues long after the submission. Hearing about other people’s roles and the projects provided an opportunity to reflect on my own department and seek to improve or adapt the service. Across the profession there is such a massive variety and exceptional practice, being able to hear about what other people have done is truly interesting and exciting. Part of this was reflected in my Fellowship, which I completed in 2020 and revalidated in 2022. Being a PRSO hasn’t taken up as much time as I thought it would, there are online meetings to attend, as well as emails to respond to. If anyone was thinking about wanting to become a PRSO I would contact their local PRSO and have an informal chat with them. Being a PRSO has been eye opening and provides those additional skills, including confidence, that you might not be so easily available to build up in your 9-to-5 role. There are opportunities to provide training to other professionals, which linked in to my Senior Fellowship with HEA. Both my professional qualifications have been influenced by my role of PRSO, as well as vice versa, they are both interlinked and intrinsic to each other. Both have led to developments and improvements, which are so interwoven, talking about being a PRSO, needs to be hand in hand with my fellowships. IP
l If you would like to know more about the PRSO role or would be interested in applying please contact
memberservices@cilip.org.uk for more information.
June 2024
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