Donate to the Fund

Download a donation form.

You can make a Benevolent Fund donation using a special section of the Direct Debit Form. 

Help the Fund can give

It can help with any unusual or unexpected expenses that may be causing anxiety and hardship. For example, urgent house repairs; the replacement of necessary household equipment; unexpectedly large heating bills which a retired member might find it impossible to cope with; bank overdrafts or other debts that have accumulated unavoidably on account of illness. These are only limited examples from the very wide range of difficulties which the Fund has been able to help resolve.

The Fund's help is given in the form either of grants of money or interest-free loans. Repayment arrangements for loans are agreed individually with recipients to minimise difficulties for them.

The Fund, as a result of its considerable experience, has built up contacts with a wide range of charities and other bodies, and has been able to supplement the help it gives members by additional help from these other bodies.

Help the Fund is not able to give

The Fund cannot provide a regular pension or regularly supplement a member's income, neither can it make very substantial grants as to do so would soon drain its limited financial resources and dispose of its entire capital.

Neither can it help librarianship or information studies students with tuition fees, accommodation or maintenance. However, CILIP has the Mitchell Memorial Fund that may be appropriate for such needs and it can also offer advice on other sources of assistance to students.

Eligibility 

The Fund is a registered charity and as such has a Trust Deed, approved by the Charity Commission, which gives the Trustees authority to assist members and former members of the CILIP and their dependants. This includes former members of The Library Association and the Institute of Information Scientists who may not have chosen to become members of CILIP.

Where the money comes from 

The Fund is a charity in its own right and as such is separate from CILIP, although its Trustees are appointed by CILIP Council. Its income comes principally from donations made by CILIP members, many of whom add a sum for this purpose to their annual membership subscription. The Trustees for their part also from time to time write to members seeking donations. If these donations are gift aided by members, the Fund is able to recover income tax on the sum donated from the Inland Revenue.

Members also make bequests to the Fund in their wills, and this has in recent years become an increasingly important element of its income. A separate leaflet - A Will to Help - giving advice on how this may be done is available from the Secretary.

A large part of the Fund is invested and this brings in further income from dividends and interest.

How to apply for help

The Trustees meet on only three of four occasions during the year, but have made arrangements so that they can act immediately and urgently between meetings.

The usual procedure is for applicants to write to or telephone the Secretary, outlining their difficulties. An address and telephone number is given below. It is important to emphasise that the business of the Fund is conducted with strict confidentiality. With the agreement of the applicant, a visit is arranged to discuss the difficulty with him or her, and the way in which the Fund can best help resolve it. On the basis of this visit and the information derived from it, the Chairman , after consulting fellow Trustees, will take a decision, usually within a few days.

Requests for help should be sent to:

Eric Winter
Secretary
CILIP Benevolent Fund
7 Ridgmount Street,
London WC1E 7AE

Tel: 020 7255 0648

Email: eric.winter@cilip.org.uk

How CILIP members can help

The Trustees ask all members to help them in the work they do, first of course by contributing to the Fund. Without this help from members the Fund would be unable to operate. You may do this by adding a sum to your annual CILIP membership subscription, or by completing the attached form and sending it with your donation to the Fund Secretary.

But we also ask members to look out for colleagues who may need our help, and to encourage them to approach us. Not only older, retired members but many younger colleagues in financial difficulty could benefit a great deal from the Fund, yet may not think of applying to it.

If such members are encouraged to make their needs known, perhaps life can be made a little easier for them.

Even a small sum given as a grant can be disproportionately beneficial.

Download a donation form.

Alternatively, you can make a Benevolent Fund donation using a special section of the Direct Debit Form. 

Below are links to open consultations and completed consultation responses that relate to copyright law.

Open consultations

Consultation on proposals to change the UK's copyright system

Deadline 21 March 2012

In December last year The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) published a consultation paper on amendments to UK copyright law. It is a follow-up to Hargreaves Report, Digital Opportunity, which was published last May. Several of the proposals in the paper would provide some significant benefits to librarians if they were to be implemented into UK law.  These include an orphan works licensing scheme and an extension of statutory exceptions. It is also suggested that such exceptions should not be overridden by the terms of licences, as is often the case currently.  However, these proposals will not be implemented unless the IPO receive responses that provide evidence of the economic, social and cultural benefits to be gained.

LACA: the Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance, which is convened and supported by CILIP, will be submitting a response. 

CILIP is keen to ensure that as many in the LIS community as possible respond as well, especially those institutions that have evidence to support the need for the changes proposed. 

The paper is at:
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/consult-2011-copyright.pdf

Responses are due by 21 March by letter or by email.

The consultation paper is 170 pages long, and there are 114 questions. Please do not be deterred by this, however, as not all of the questions are relevant to libraries and, in any case, you are not required to answer them all.

By way of example, in the digests below I have drawn attention to some of the questions that you might want to consider answering if you work in the academic sector or in public libraries. Whatever sector you work in, however, hopefully these brief summaries will be useful. 

A digest for HE/FE

A digest for public libraries 

Advocacy resources

The value and impact of school libraries and school librarians

•  Key findings from a selection of the evidence

What contribution can effective school libraries make?

• Designed for Learning: School Libraries video

Policy statements

Policy is a core activity for CILIP. We promote a strong CILIP presence on matters of professional policy. We also comment authoritatively on relevant issues of the day. Recent policy statements relevant to school libraries include:

•  School Libraries - A right [Feb 2011]
•  No to age banding on books [Oct 2008]
•  Statement on libraries and learning [Apr 2008]

Consultation responses

CILIP responds to consultations undertaken by Government on matters of professional concern.

•  CILIP's submission to Ofsted: Inspection 2012 - Proposals for Inspection Arrangements for Maintained Schools and Academies from January 2012 [May 2011]
•  CILIP's submission to the Department for Education: National Curriculum Review - Call for Evidence [April 2011]
•  CILIP's submission to the Education Select Committee Inquiry: participation of 16-19 year olds in education and training [March 2011]
•  CILIP's submission response to the MLA and NLT's School Library Commission [March 2010]

Youth and School Libraries Joint Committee

This Committee advises CILIP, develops policy and promotes good practice in relation to library and information services for young people.

• Find out more

Links to partner organisations and further information

• School Libraries Group
• School Library Association
• ASCEL - Association of Senior Children's and Education Librarians
• Heart of the School

Policy areas

We cover a very broad range of policy areas and currently have three priority areas:

• Information society: rights of access to information and knowledge, including censorship and intellectual freedom, privacy, copyright and related rights, preservation and freedom of information
• Learning: Including school libraries, education, continuing education and information literacy
• Healthcare: the contributions library and information services in all sectors make to the promotion of health and patient well-being

Policy statements in 2011

In February 2011 CILIP issued a statement on the role and value of school libraries.

Prepared on Save Our Libraries Day, 5 February 2011, the statement includes the current situation and concern about the level and extent of proposals to cut public libraries.

CILIP responses

In September 2011 CILIP responded to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills White Paper: Higher Education - Students at the Heart of the System.

Read our latest responses

Briefing Papers

The Prevent Strategy: What it means for library and information professionals

February 2012

 The Prevent Strategy

This briefing paper outlines the priorities of the Government’s Prevent Strategy, including its recent revisions. It explores those areas with especial relevance to libraries and existing CILIP policy statements that are relevant to the issues it raises. It also asks CILIP members to contact us if they have concerns about interventions under the Prevent strategy.

Devolved nations

CILIP branches in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland exercise autonomy in policy matters relevant to their own countries.

• CILIP and SCONUL partnership

Policy Department

The Policy Department at CILIP is responsible for supporting and delivering CILIP’s policy objectives.

Contact us

For enquiries about CILIP’s policy work you can email us at: policy@cilip.org.uk or telephone 020 7255 0500.

On hearing of her appointment, Biddy said, “I’m delighted to take up this post and I look forward to working with colleagues to create a dynamic conference that has appeal across and beyond the whole of the library and information sector.”

Biddy has had recent, successful experience in programme design and implementation including the organisation of the Library Theory and Research Section conference, which was part of the IFLA conference in Gothenburg 2010. In her role as programme co-ordinator she helped plan and create a programme comprising of practitioner and academic research to illustrate the impact of libraries and information services. She was also a member of the 2011 Evidence Based Library and Information Practice Local organising committee for the Manchester conference that was held in the summer. 

As Umbrella Programme Director Biddy will be responsible for setting the overall themes for CILIP’s flagship conference and will help shape the final programme. Biddy has vast experience within CILIP; as a member of various Special Interest Groups, Chair of CILIP’s Library and Information Research Group, Chair of CILIP’s Defining Our Professional Future programme, as well as CILIP President in 2010. She has an in-depth understanding of CILIP and the library and information community. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this role.

  December. 

To be included in the 2013 version contact us by the 14th November 2012.

Or if you would like to promote your company, products and services right now, it is still possible to do this online at www.buyersguideonline.co.uk

CILIP's Annual Buyers' Guide Directory is the most comprehensive information source for suppliers' products and services, available to key buyers and users in the Library and Information sector.

Published each year in December, this colour publication is distributed to over 4,000 procurement officers in Universities, Colleges of Higher and Further Education, Local Authority libraries, Specialist and Corporate libraries.

The Buyers' Guide is now accessible in digital format  to all CILIP members on the CILIP website.

The content from this valuable publication is also available online at www.buyersguideonline.co.uk.  If you miss out on the print publication, it is still possible to take a listing on www.buyersguideonline.co.uk.  Contact us for more information. 

The site includes listings on companies and products ranging from book preservation to library management systems. This online and offline combination results in the most cost effective method of reaching the key buyers in the Library & Information Sector, all year round.

If you are a Suppliers' Network member you can simultaneously renew your membership and your entry in the Directory, making significant savings.

To be included in this incomparable resource contact Angela Krzyzanowska or Gary Allman on 020 7255 0553/2.

• Phil Bradley, President
• Lauren Smith, Vice President
• Brian Hall, Immediate Past-President

If you would like a member of the Presidential team to visit your branch or group or speak at a conference, please consult their calendars and contact them with details of your event:

• President Phil Bradley's Calendar
• Vice-President Lauren Smith's Calendar

Lauren has been an active campaigner for libraries and was a founding member of Voices for the Library, a highly acclaimed campaigning group of librarians and others. In 2010 Lauren was awarded the West Riding County Library Annenberg Prize for outstanding performance in public librarianship and in 2011, she received a Library Journal Mover and Shaker Award for her advocacy work (Library Journal Mover and Shaker 2011).

Lauren Smith can be contacted in relation to her role as Vice-President using her CILIP email address:

• VicePresident@cilip.org.uk

If you would like Lauren to speak at or attend an event you are organising, please check her availability before making contact:

• Vice-President Calendar

My main interest is Internet Search, and I've been involved with a number of different search engine companies looking at their product, most notably Microsoft, where I was one of their original 'search champs'.  However, I'm also very interested in Web 2.0 and social media in all of its forms, and I enjoy spending time in libraries, and with librarians looking at how these resources can improve their value.

I have also spent much time writing about the internet and Facet Publishing have published several of my books.  I also write columns for the professional press, including CILIP Update magazine, with my column running for over 10 years.  When I'm not teaching or writing I speak at conferences on various aspects of the role played by the Internet in the development of library services.

When I'm not doing any of that - you'll generally find me playing on the internet - I have never lost my wonder for it, and to be able to link that with my love for libraries is perfection.  I'm always keen to find out new information, to see examples of what libraries and information professionals are doing and to shout these out to the world at large, so please do let me know about anything that you're involved with which you find interesting and exciting.

Away from keyboards and the world of information I like taking photographs, reading science fiction, crime, American and military history.  I also follow Everton Football Club for my sins.

Phil Bradley can be contacted in relation to his role as President using his CILIP email address:

• President@cilip.org.uk

During his Presidential year Phil Bradley will also be blogging regularly:

• President Phil's Blog

If you would like Phil to speak at or attend an event you are organising, please check his availability before making contact:

• President's Calendar

CILIP Regional Branches and Devolved Nations

Main CILIP Accounts

@CILIPinfo   CILIP Facebook   CILIP on Google+

CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards

 Blog

CILIP Chief Executive Annie Mauger

 @anniemauger   Blog

CILIP Events

@CILIPevents

Facet Publishing

@facetpublishing

CILIP Information and Advice

Blog

CILIP Members Blog Landscape

 Blog  

CILIP President Phil Bradley

 @CILIPPresident  Blog

CILIP Qualifications and Professional Development

 @CILIPcpd  Blog

CILIP Update

 @CILIP_Reporter Blog

CILIP Vice-President Lauren Smith

 @CILIPVicePres

CILIP Members

An open Facebook group for members of CILIP. Created by a member and not the organisation. All welcome :)

CILIP on LinkedIn Group

Owners/facilitators: David Byrne, Phil Bradley and Richard Hawkins. This is now an 'open' group. Anyone on the web can read future discussions. To contribute to group discussion you need to be a member.

 Government Information Group

 UKeiG 

Devolved Nations and Regional Branches  

East of England

@cilipeoe   Facebook   Blog

East Midlands Branch

 @CILIPEMBranch   Facebook   Blog

London Branch

 @CILIPLndn   Blog

North East Branch

Blog

North West Branch

 @CILIPNWBranch  

Scotland

@scotlibraries  Facebook   Blog

South East Branch

@CILIPHW  Facebook CILIP in Hants and Wight  Blog - Hants and Wight

@CILIPKent

 @CILIPinSurrey   Facebook CILIP in Surrey

 Facebook CILIP in Sussex

CILIP Cymru Wales

 @CILIPinWales  Facebook  Blog

West Midlands Branch

@cilipwm  Facebook  Blog

Yorkshire & Humberside Branch

 Facebook

Special Interest Groups

Career Development Group

@CILIPCDGEM  CGD East Midlands

CDG Northern Ireland

@CDGWestCountry

CDG Yorkshire & Humberside

Cataloguing and Indexing Group

 Blog

Colleges of Further and Higher Education

@cofhe    CoFHE   Blog - CoFHE

@CoFHELASEC  Blog - CoFHE LASEC

Commercial, Legal and Scientific Information Group (formerly ICLG)

@clsig

Diversity Group

 Facebook

Government Information Group

 @gig_cilip   GIG

Health Libraries Group

 CILIPHLG   Blog

Library and Information Research Group 

Blog

Local Studies Group

@CILIP_LSG  Blog

Multimedia Information and Technology Group

@MultiMediaIT   Blog

 @MmITScotland  Blog

Personnel, Training and Education Group

@cilippteg

Publicity and Public Relations Group

@pprg

Rare Books and Special Collections Group

 @CILIPRareBooks

School Libraries Group

Sign up to CILIP Events' e-bulletin to receive the latest event information.

We are currently planning our 2012 events calendar. These pages will be updated as soon as we have dates and topic confirmed. 

Conferences	Executive Briefings	Showcases
RFID in Libraries November 2012, London	eCopyright Executive Briefing 15 May 2012 CILIP, London   RDA: Resource Description and Access 28 June 2012 CILIP, London	LMS Suppliers Showcase - Spring 09 March 2012 CILIP, London

CILIP Events Archive

For more information email events@cilip.org.uk or phone 020 7255 0540

What's happening? Email campaigning@cilip.org.uk

  Your Campaigning Guide
Your step-by-step guide to delivering a successful campaign.

Defining our professional future highlights key issues for the future of the profession.

The Library and Information Manifesto also provides guidance and key messages to support campaigning activity.

   Your Campaigning Successes
Find out more about Chris Rhodes, winner of Special Libraries Association (SLA) Early Careers Award, and his role as a CILIP activist and an Enquires Executive, Statistics Resource Unit, House of Commons Library. He also advocates for the importance of having 'a forum for new voices and ... a beacon of new ideas in the profession'.

    Your Campaigning Resources
Here are the resources that CILIP members can access and download to support their campaigning activities. 

Organisation members in the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man pay subscriptions based on the organisation's budget providing Library and Information Services.

This should include the amount the organisation spends each year on staff, premises and materials.

Join CILIP as an organisation

Budget	2011 Subscription	2012 Subscription	No. of representatives
Over £1,000,000 p.a.	£675	£700	3
£100,001 - £1,000,000 p.a	£410	£425	2
Less than £100,000 p.a	£225	£234	1
Overseas	£115	£120	1

The number of representatives varies according to the membership category you choose. You can purchase additional representatives (above the number included in the membership) for £215 each.

The annual subscription for overseas organisations is £120. This entitles you to nominate 1 representative.

Benefits of Organisation Membership 
Join CILIP as an organisation

Training events for Chartership, Revalidation and Certification candidates are run by the Candidate Support Officers who are part of the Career Development Group.

Courses may also be run by employers and other professional development groups.  Keep an eye on the Gazette's What's On pages for further details.

2012 Dates 

London and South East Divisions
Chartership and Certification event 
Tuesday 21st February 2012
2pm - 5pm at CILIP
7 Ridgmount Street, London
WC1E 7AE
Contact Karen Poole to book your place Karen.Poole@kcl.ac.uk

This event considers the importance of continuous professional development, both in preparing for either Chartership or Certification, and throughout your career. It is aimed at those who have embarked on the Certification or Chartership process, or who are thinking about it. Michael Martin from CILIP's Qualifications and Professional Development Department will talk about the Chartership and Certification processes. There will be an introduction to the Career Development Group and the work of the Candidate Support Officers (CSOs) and the remainder of the session will consist of a portfolio workshop facilitated by Karen Poole, CSO for London & South East.

 Cost: Free. Booking in advance is essential as places are limited.

Candidate Support Officers are arranging further training days in 2012 so please keep an eye on this page or ensure you have joined the LIS-CILIP-REG (Chartership), LIS-CILIP-REVAL (Revalidation) or LIS-CILIP-ACLIP (Certification) discussion lists to be alerted to coming events as they are arranged.

In the meantime you can view the presentation given in November 2011 here: http://bambuser.com/channel/CILIP.

Information literacy is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner.

This definition implies several skills. We believe that the skills (or competencies) that are required to be information literate require an understanding of: 

•  A need for information 
•  The resources available 
•  How to find information 
• The need to evaluate results
• How to work with or exploit results
• Ethics and responsibility of use
• How to communicate or share your findings
• How to manage your findings

These areas are explored in more detail below.

Understanding a need

Recognising that information is needed; understanding why information is needed, what (and how much; what kind of) information is required, as well as any associated constraints (e.g. time, format, currency, access); recognising that information is available in a wide range of formats in various geographical and virtual locations. The ability to articulate a question and so develop a focus for the research is an important skill.

Note: Information may be available on paper (books, reference works, journals, magazines, newspapers, etc), digitally (on CD-ROMs, over the Internet or the World Wide Web, on DVDs, on your own computer or network, etc), through other media such as broadcast or film, or from a colleague or friend. It may or may not be conveniently close to hand and easily accessible, and quantifying your need and making a decision about the use of an information source may be tempered by the ease and speed with which an answer can be obtained.

Understanding availability

Be able to identify what resources are available for exploitation, where they are available, how to access them, the merits of individual resource types, and when it is appropriate to use them.

Note: As suggested, this requires an understanding of types of resource (paper-based, electronic/digital, human, etc) and when to use each; what are the merits of individual resource types; what are the differences between them.

Examples

• A journal article may be available in print, as a part of an e-journal or as a record in a database of full-text articles
  
• Not all search engines offer the same facilities
  
• A company website, a market research report, or the website of a national statistical organisation may offer differing views
  
• Access channels to information resources may vary according to who or where you are
  e.g. For an 8 year old child, availability is subject to having to go through various gatekeepers such as their parents' views or willingness to buy books, the library’s filtering policy, access to a computer at home or at their friends, etc. Whether the exact same information sources can be reached by different children depends on the local channels available to them
  
• Any resource may be subject to cultural, political, industrial, national or other bias
  e.g. Newspapers are notoriously politically biased and this same bias is continued in web news sources. It is also important to be aware that PR companies are employed to create 'spin' websites. Think, for example, of lobby groups (e.g. animal rights, anti- or pro-abortion, extreme left or right wing political groups, religious groups/sects). The organisation behind the information you are being given may have an ulterior motive

Understanding how to find information

An ability to search appropriate resources effectively and identify relevant information.

Note: Strategies need to be tailored to the resource being used, so as to get the best results from that resource. Users need to respond to search results – possibly because there are too few or too many – and know when to stop searching. An information literate person would also understand that, in addition to purposive searching, information can be acquired by browsing, scanning and monitoring information sources.

Examples

• Searching across several resources
• Using back-of-book indexes
• Using abstracting and Indexing journals
• Scanning RSS and news feeds
• Participating in e-mail, discussion lists, Bulletin boards, etc
• Using hypertext, URLs, bookmarks, etc
• Understanding and using Boolean logic
• Understanding and using truncation
• Understanding and using fielded data
• De-duplicating search results
• Understanding and using relevance and relevance-ranked searching

Understand the need to evaluate results

Be able to evaluate information for its authenticity, accuracy, currency, value and bias. Also, be able to evaluate the means by which the results were obtained in order to ensure that your approach did not produce misleading or incomplete results.

Note: This is not just whether the resource appears to answer the question, but whether it is intrinsically trustworthy.

Examples

Use prior knowledge of author, editor, series, publisher

Examine:

• Relevance to problem/question/task in hand
• Appropriateness of style for users
• Availability of index, notes, bibliography, illustrations, multimedia, etc
• Authenticity and origin
• Authority (ownership, reputation, coverage, scope)
• Bias or point of view
• Error rate/accuracy
• Purpose/audience
• Currency/timeliness
• Consistency
• Design (output, presentation and arrangement)
• Organisation/navigation (ease of use)
• Access and use (documentation, accessibility, comparison with other sources)

Understand how to work with or exploit results

Analyse and work with the information to provide accurate, presentable research results, or to develop new knowledge and understanding.

Note: To understand, compare, combine, annotate, and apply (use) the information found. Recognise and understand a possible need for further information searching.

Examples

• Use of appropriate software (spreadsheet / database / statistical / reference management / etc)

Understand ethics and responsibility of use

Know why information should be used in a responsible, culturally sensitive and ethical (professional, business, personal ethics) manner. Respect confidentiality and always give credit to other people’s work. Understand the nature and uses of bias, in order to report appropriately. Where appropriate, provide a balanced (unbiased) report.

Note: This could include issues of intellectual property, plagiarism, unfair practice, fair use, freedom of information, data protection, codes of practice and ethical principles as set out by your employers, institution or professional body (e.g. CILIP).

Examples CILIP’s Ethical Principles and Code of Professional Practice for Library and Information Professionals

Understand how to communicate or share your findings

The ability to communicate/share information in a manner or format that is appropriate to the information, the intended audience and situation.

Note: This goes beyond analysis to the synthesis, organisation and/or creation of further information in an appropriate form.

Examples

• Understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of different communications channels (e.g. web page, presentation, written report)
• Participating effectively in collaborative writing and publication, including use of collaborative software (e.g. student group report; internal knowledge base; collaborative blog; wikipedia)
• Understanding of appropriate writing styles (e.g. for reports, essays, presentation, etc)
• Knowledge of citation style
• Use of footnotes/end notes
• Use of a succinct and easily understood style when reporting findings verbally
• Use of appropriate style and understanding of conventions when using email

Understand how to manage your findings

Know how to store and manage the information you have acquired using the most effective methods available. Reflect critically on the process and achievement as well as on the sources found in order to learn from the experience of finding and using information.

Note: Continual or ongoing management for yourself and/or others.

Examples

• Consideration of re-finding resources (either locally or in the original) at a later date
• Use of, and relocation in, filing cabinets and/or shelves for physical resources
• Use of folders to organise computer-stored data
• Organisation of email and email attachments
• Use of appropriate software (spreadsheet/database/statistical/reference management etc)
• Security and backup copies
• Tracking changes in documents
• Personal content management

 

In this section you will find:

• A definition of information literacy
• An article giving a short introduction to information literacy
• Skills (or competencies) required to be information literate

Information literacy work at CILIP

Information literacy is a policy priority area for CILIP. A first draft of an information literacy work programme has been prepared (June 2011) and is being considered by the Information Literacy Task & Finish Group. Further details will be available later in Autumn 2011.

In 2009 a meeting was held at CILIP, which agreed a set of recommendations for information literacy. The recommendations state that information literacy needs to occupy a central position in CILIP and that there needs to be a common vision for information literacy.

Read the full recommendations

CSG Information Literacy Group

The Community Services Group Information Literacy Group (CSG ILG) is a Special Interest Group of CILIP. The group aims to provide a forum across all sectors of the profession, which encourages debate and allows the exchange of knowledge in all aspects of Information Literacy.

Good practice in information and library services provision

Ten key aspects of current good practice in ILS provision in the special library and information services sector to help managers and staff reflect on the key question 'Are we delivering value for money to our organisation?'

• Download Good practice points 

Checklist: Are you at risk?

A list of questions to help identify whether your library and information service is a possible candidate for staff and resource reduction (compiled by Sandra Ward of Beaworthy Consulting). The list covers:

• business relationships
• resource planning
• measuring impact
• services
• promotion and communication
  

• Download Are you at risk?
  
  

Resources

We have compiled a selection of resources that demonstrate the value of special library and information services.

• Read the selected resources list

You can also download a PDF of the complete list of resources and a PDF of selected resources.

• Download the complete list
  
  
• Download the selected list
  
  

The resource lists were produced by the CILIP Information and Advice Team in September 2010 (updated May 2011) in collaboration with Peter Griffiths, Sandra Ward and the Special Library & Information Services Sector Panel.

Queries relating to this resource including requests for articles to be added should be sent to the Information and Advice Team at info@cilip.org.uk .

Libraries are important. A good library service provides a positive experience for local people, and demonstrates the value a local authority places on its community. CILIP has produced the guidelines in the public interest to advise portfolio holders in local councils what makes a good library service.

The Guidelines were published in October and revised in December 2010.

 Download the guidelines

A good library service will deliver against key policy objectives and provide:

• A positive future for children and young people
• A fulfilling life for older people
• Strong, safe and sustainable communities
• Promotion of local identity and community pride
• Learning, skills and workforce development
• Health improvements and wellbeing
• Equality, community cohesion and social justice
• Economic regeneration
  
  

Annie Mauger writes to England MPs December 2010

•  Read the letter: Our Public Libraries

Media release

• Sweeping cuts to public libraries threaten a fair society, MPs warned

Further information about public libraries

• Information to support the Guidelines about strategic planning, good practice and performance. Includes links to case studies, reports and strategy documents.
  
  
• Background information on public libraries including statistics, national success stories and information on who uses libraries.

• Annie comments after the Secretary of State, Jeremy Hunt, is quizzed on public libraries
  Read our news story
  
  
• Annie's speech at the Future of Library Services in the Big Society Conference
  Read our news story
  
  
• Women's Institute to campaign to save libraries
  Read our press release
  
  
• National Libraries Day launched

There will a National Libraries day 0n 4 February 2012. Find out more

• Public libraries law under review

The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) launched a review of statutory duties placed on local government, three of these apply to public library services.

Find out more about the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 and what's happening with the review 

•  Open letter to Ed Vaizey: there is a need for the statutory public libraries duties

We have written an open letter to Ed Vaizey, Minister responsible for libraries, urging him to make clear to the DCLG that there is a continuing need for public libraries' legal protection.

• Minister confirms vital role of professional library staff
  
  

Ed Vaizey confirmed at an MPs debate on 28 February 2011 that while volunteers contribute to the public library service, they do not replace professional library staff. He also confirmed that there are no plans to repeal the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964. Mr Vaizey did not address the issue of community managed libraries.

Brian Hall, President of CILIP, commented: "We hope the message gets through to all politicians and journalists loud and clear: public libraries are a statutory service."

• Boris, you're plain wrong, public libraries are a statutory service
  
  

On 21 February 2011, CILIP sent an open letter to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, correcting his wrongly held belief that councils are not obliged to have libraries. Annie Mauger replied:

"Sorry Boris, but this is just plain wrong. Under the Public Libraries and Museums Act (1964) local authorities are required by statute to provide a public library service which is comprehensive and efficient, and available to all who wish to use it."

• Statement on public library service in England 
  

CILIP isssued a statement on 5 February 2011 on the position of the public library service in England. The statement considers the current situation, examines community managed libraries and other proposals and puts forward actiion required by the Secretary of State for Culture.
Read the full statement

Save our Libraries Day  
A day of action on 5 February 2011

CILIP supports Save our libraries day, a day of action to bring greater attention to the cuts and closures facing many public libraries. Everyone who cares about libraries should use their library on the 5th February and encourage as many others as possible to get involved.

• CILIP writes to all England MPs about proposed cuts to public library services
  December 2010
  
  
  
• Library cuts and job losses condemned by leading authors
  Councils are expected to look to volunteers...
  Guardian article, 22 November 2010
  
  CILIP is mentioned in the article. We state that we estimate that the service could lose up to 6,000 jobs over the next four years. Annie Mauger is quoted: (the librarian's role was) "very much under threat".
  
  

• CILIP endorses Voices for the Library

Voices for the Library is a place on the web for everyone who loves libraries to share their stories and experiences of the value of public libraries. It includes information about why public librarians are important and lists details of local campaigns against public library closures.

Voices for the Library has been endorsed by CILIP.

• Read the endorsement statement of CILIP President, Biddy Fisher
  

• What makes a good library service?
   
  CILIP has developed professional guidelines on what makes a good library service (in England) for portfolio holders in local councils.
  
  The Guidelines define what we mean by a good library service and provide a checklist by which portfolio holders can assess their own service.
  
  CILIP published the guidelines in October 2009 and revised them in December 2010. They have been sent to all Heads of Library Services in England.
  
  Read the CILIP Guidelines and find out more

Blogs:

What constitutes a high-quality public library service?
Guy Daines, Director of Policy and Advocacacy, blogs about the public library service guidelines project.

• Putting the case for libraries 

CILIP is taking positive action to put the case for libraries and librarians.

We are producing a series of clear and compelling one-minute messages, read the first two here. We welcome more ideas from CILIP’s 36,000 members and customers so we can create similar short, sharp messages that are clear and compelling to promote all sectors of the library community. You can help CILIP to make the case by sending your best ideas to marketing@cilip.org.uk   

Visit the one minute message page

• Libraries need leadership, CILIP warns Government
  
  CILIP's view is that the announcement of the government’s intention to abolish the Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) (by April 2012) and the Advisory Council on Libraries (ACL) leaves libraries dangerously exposed at this difficult time.

“This government has already caused huge public concern about the likely impact of its cuts programme on libraries,” Biddy Fisher, CILIP President explained, “And now government has compounded that concern by leaving libraries with no clear framework for future leadership.

CILIP says that Ed Vaizey, the Minister, must act quickly to allay public concern, demonstrate commitment to public library provision, and clarify how library leadership at government level will be structured in the future.

• Read CILIP press release

• The Future Libraries Programme
  
  On 1 July 2010 Culture Minister, Ed Vaizey, announced an expert support programme for public libraries in England.

On 16 August details of the first ten projects joining the programme were announced. The programme will undertake intensive, proactive work with the ten projects that represent about 36 local authorities. The projects represent a balance of geographical spread, type of project and rural and urban mix to help ensure the programme shares learning nationally.

The programme work is being led by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and the Local Government Association Group (LGA).

The ten phase one areas are:

• Northumberland with Durham
• Bolton, with Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan
• Bradford
• Lincolnshire with Rutland, Cambridgeshire, North East Lincs, Peterborough
• Suffolk
• Oxfordshire with Kent
• Herefordshire with Shropshire
• Cornwall with Devon, Plymouth, Torbay
• Lewisham with Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Lambeth and Southwark
• Kensington & Chelsea with Hammersmith & Fulham
  
  

More

• Read the DCMS press release with information on each of the projects
• Link to further details of the Future Libraries programme

CILIP welcomes the programme and will be monitoring change proposals and make representations where appropriate. Bob McKee noted that this is not a time for poorly thought out proposals that volunteers should run public library services: "Volunteers already play an important part in enriching library provision and that will increase. However the value of their contribution is dependent on a backbone of knowledgeable and skilled staff, just as the future of the service itself will be."

Read CILIP's response press release

Read all our latest media releases here

See also

Key CILIP resources

Get involved