‘‘ I


CANNOT believe that this is my last Presidential column. Looking back, here are my highlights and takeaways of the last 12 months.


First and foremost, I’ve been so proud to be President and part of many exciting developments at CILIP. It’s been an eventful year, not only for CILIP, but also globally, as 68 per cent of the world’s populations will have elected new administrations by year end.


We said Goodbye to CEO Nick Poole in April and welcomed Louis Coiffait-Gunn a few weeks later. Louis had hardly arrived when the Conservatives called a summer General Election. CILIP responded swiftly, mobilising the advocacy training commissioned from Inflect to help make our case for libraries in fulfilling government missions.


CILIP has produced some ground changing work this year. The document Come Rain or Shine (www.cilip.org.uk/future- libraries), while aimed at public libraries, can be used throughout our profession to develop strategies for these very uncertain times. Based on the principles of Futures Literacy, it encourages library leaders to think differently about the future scenarios that they’ll need to respond to in their work.


Focussed


Supported by Devo Inflect, the work on advocacy, CILIP Connect, (www.cilip. org.uk/CILIP-connect) taught us how to contact government officials in a more structured and focussed way and argue the case for libraries, amplified by the fantastic stories collected across the sector for Libraries Change Lives. New community agreements with CILIP’s special interest groups (SIGs) celebrated in the inaugural Members’ Week, puts them into the mainstream of delivery to members. SIGs play a vital role in the CILIP community by:


l creating a knowledge-sharing platform, across and between sectors


December 2024


I’ve had a wonderful year and can thoroughly recommend getting involved in CILIP, not only to support and influence its work, but also to aid your own professional development and understanding.


l helping to build thought-leadership and best practice across our profession;


l enriching the CILIP member experience with timely and relevant content and insight;


l supporting members with their CPD and skills;


l contributing to a more relevant and impactful CILIP, supporting our professional community and


l identifying opportunities to advance new knowledge, research or methodology in libraries’, information and knowledge management.


Work on digital improvement includes:


l the facility for online peer networks, creating an opportunity for SIGs to develop their own Communities, of Interest and of Practice, or to establish online peer-to-peer communities;


l the development of CILIP Learn, a platform for training that any SIG wishes to develop for its members or the wider sector.


Success


Building on our extremely successful Level 3 Apprenticeship programme, the Level 7 Apprenticeship: Library, Information and Knowledge Management Professional, developed by employers of K&IM professionals, is being finalised and we hope to launch it soon.


Our second tech-focused conference, Rewired, was a huge success. I left even more convinced of the vital role that Librarians and Knowledge and Information Managers play in helping society navigate an increasingly complicated technical landscape and make sense of the reams of information bombarding us daily. As I write, I’m looking forward to speaking at the Green Libraries conference.


I’ve visited Northern Ireland three times, speaking at the CILIP NI and LAI conference, talking to staff from the University of Belfast Library and finally, talking to the Libraries NI Board about


their future strategy for public libraries in Northern Ireland. I also spoke at CILIP Scotland conference.


Ambassador


I’ve acted as an ambassador for CILIP in a variety of forums, including at the Carnegies and our House of Commons event to promote Libraries Change Lives, advocating for work that libraries across the sector can do to support their communities.


I’m delighted to see so much topical activity with librarians and library staff at the heart and have been supporting work on both media and information literacy and combating the decline in reading for pleasure.


Sadly, I missed Conference this year due to illness, but have been promised an invitation to next year’s, so will hopefully see you there. In January, I’ll be joining the Board as a Trustee, so will continue to support the work of this amazing organisation.


I’ve had a wonderful year and can thoroughly recommend getting involved in CILIP, not only to support and influence its work, but also to aid your own professional development and understanding.


Thank you all for your support. IP INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL 13 Sue Williamson is CILIP President.


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