rally modest, and partly it’s about us not having the evidence we need to make our case as firmly as possible, especially robust quantitative data. Again, these are both areas where CILIP will fight for you.
What we’ve done In May, the snap election was called just a fortnight after I started. We quickly devel- oped the Trust Libraries (
www.cilip.org.uk/ election24) election campaign to highlight 10 agendas the sector is already deliver- ing, and what we need to achieve even more. We responded to party manifestos where they mentioned libraries, wrote to all 3,903 Prospective Parliamentary Candidates, and then to all 650 elected MPs. We also sent welcome letters to key appointees – so far that’s the new Prime Minister, Culture Secretary, Tech Secretary, Libraries Minister, Schools Minister, and Justice Secretary. Thank you to the member networks that have inputted, I encourage others to share letter ideas with us. In May, I also got to speak at our Cop- yright Conference focused on AI, with speakers covering the technology’s impact on everything from black creators and the heritage sector to academic research and licensing.
June began with CILIP Scotland’s conference in Dundee, where we heard about countering book bans in the USA with solid institutional processes, and the experience of curating the Women’s Art Library over the decades. I also spoke at a conference on protecting local libraries. Attending the Yoto Carnegie Awards on
the Matilda stage in London’s West End was an amazing experience and had me in tears at points, please do take a look at the two-minute video (https://yotocarnegies.
co.uk/take-part/stream). I got to speak at the CILIP Health
Libraries Group conference too, praising the sector’s work helping practice be informed by evidence and empowering patients. Our week of advocacy just ahead of the General Election saw the Libraries Change Lives campaign showcase 180 case studies across the country to cele- brate the impact of all types of knowledge, data, library, and information services (
www.cilip.org.uk/libraries-change-lives). In July, new analysis found that public library budgets have been almost halved since 2010, explaining why so many face cuts, closures, and reduced services. I’ve written to Nottingham City Council and the commissioners at Birmingham City Council, with further letters and a more public campaigning approach to come. Please do add your own insights about proposed changes to UK public library services into the crowdsourced live Public Libraries At Risk Monitor (
www.cilip.org.uk/ libraries-at-risk).
16 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL Louis delivering a speech at this year’s CILIP Conference.
And if you’re considering making a formal complaint about a decision in England to the Libraries Minister under their ”superin- tendence” duties, do please discuss with us. Our annual conference (
www.cilipconference.
org.uk) included keynotes on digital im- provement and “truth decay”, as well as the launch of CILIP’s updated Intellectual Free- dom policy. It was a great to meet so many different speakers, exhibitors, and attendees from across the sector. Somehow, we even managed to combine the Euros semi-final win over the Netherlands with dinner and dancing.
After the shocking incident in Southport, August started with violent right-wing riots in some communities, fuelled by false and malicious information. We issued a state- ment about the fire at Spellow Hub Library in Liverpool, wrote to members in local institutions, shared media literacy resources, and promoted the inspiring community fundraiser (see pp. 10 and 11). The response from this sector and wider society was reas- suring, emphasising these were the actions of a minority. I encourage all of you working in public libraries to join our new public li- braries online community. If it continues to work well, we’ll roll it out to other member networks (
https://community.cilip.org.uk/login). We’ve also been in the media discussing everything from library closures and school censorship, to what the new government could mean for the sector and “racist build- ings” in Wales.
And finally, we will have seen a debate in the House of Lords about a new public libraries strategy. We’ve collaborated with partners to brief politicians and encourage them to take part.
What we plan to do next As the new government provides more detail about its policy proposals, we’ll be keeping a close eye on opportunities and risks rele- vant to different groups of members. We’ll send out more welcome letters, meeting requests and speaking invites as more key appointments are made, such as to the five new cross-government Mission Board Chairs. This sector knows all about deliver- ing across departmental silos, the challenge will be getting recognition and funding for it. I’m keen for us to work with partners to make a persuasive case for a bigger funding pie, rather than argue over slices. Keep an eye out for the member survey coming your way soon as it will include questions about which policy priorities you want CILIP to pursue and how. But if you have ideas, they are welcome anytime. Given this is such a wonderfully broad and varied profession, CILIP aims to make a positive difference on the key priorities of each group of members. However, the only way we can be effective across such a range of issues is by prioritising and by harnessing the expertise of our members. So, I’m abso- lutely delighted to share that a new member benefit, CILIP Connect, will have launched
September 2024
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