This page contains information about CILIP's:
- Constitutional Documents
- Council
- AGM
- Office of the President
- Task and Finish Groups
- Subsidiary Bodies reporting to Council or the Office of the President
- Branches, Groups and Home Nations
- Policy Forum and its Subsidiary Bodies
Formation of CILIP and Constitutional Documents
CILIP came into being on 1st April 2002, the result of a merger between the Library Association and the Institute of Information Scientists. It was granted its Royal Charter on 21st May 2002 which:
• sets out the raison d’etre of CILIP
• broadly defines Membership structure
• provides a fundamental framework for the governance of the Institute, the latter being refined by Bye-laws and more specific General Regulations.
Council
Clause 6 of the Royal Charter requires the existence of a Council “which may in respect of the affairs of the Institute exercise all such powers and do all such things as may lead to the furtherance of the objects of the Institute....”
The Council:
- consists of twelve individuals (with provision for up to three co-options). Councillors are also the trustees of the Institute
- is elected by the Membership
- meets several times per year.
The Secretary to the Council is the Chief Executive Officer of CILIP. Just one of the ways Council has been exercising its responsibilities is by producing periodically a Corporate Plan which provides a framework for CILIP’s goals for the years ahead.
AGM
Another important institution of CILIP Governance is the Annual General Meeting.
The AGM:
- receives and considers the Annual Report of the Institute
- determines the amount of subscriptions and other fees
- provides an excellent opportunity for members to ask any questions about the running of CILIP.
The AGM is traditionally held in October, concurrent with Members' Day, and Members are actively encouraged to attend and make their voices heard. This year the AGM was held on Thursday 14 October 2010.
Office of the President
The Office of the President consists of the President, Vice-President and, currently, the Immediate Past-President.
The President:
- represents the Institute at functions
- co-ordinates the work of each of the Panels reporting to the Office of the President (see below)
- sits ex-officio on each of these Panels.
The Vice-President:
- is elected by the Membership
- assists the President in the running of the Office of the President and in the performance of the President’s functions
- chairs the Policy Forum (see below)
- sits ex-officio on each of the Committees reporting to the Policy Forum
- becomes President in the following year.
Task and Finish Groups
Council may delegate certain specific deliberations, especially those requiring more detailed discussion and/or those of an investigative nature, to Task and Finish Groups who report their conclusions to Council.
Subsidiary Bodies reporting to Council or Office of the President
These include, but are not limited to:
Council:
- Accreditation Board, which deliberates on CILIP Accreditation for Higher Education courses
- Chartership Board which deliberates on applications for Chartership (MCLIP) and Fellowship (FCLIP) from CILIP Members
- CILIP Assessment Panel (reports to Chartership Board) which deliberates on applications for Certification (ACLIP) and Chartership revalidation from CILIP Members.
Office of the President:
- Audit Panel, which provides independent scrutiny and monitoring of financial matters and other areas of governance within the Institute
- Elections Panel, which oversees, and advises on, the whole election process to CILIP Council from the call for nominations to the declaration of results
- Equal Opportunities and Diversity Panel, which advises CILIP on the policies, strategies and actions necessary to promote an inclusive profession, and supports and encourages CILIP members and others in providing library and information services that reflect good practice with regard to equal opportunities and diversity
- Ethics Panel, which provides confidential advice to Members facing ethical problems at work; promotes a better understanding of professional ethics within the Institute; and keeps the Ethical Principles and Code of Professional Conduct (as approved by Council), and the Institute’s ethics website, under review and recommends changes when necessary.
The current full list of subsidiary bodies can be found here.
Branches, Groups and Home Nations
Part of the remit of CILIP Council under the Royal Charter is to “form and promote the formation of branches, sections or groups of the Institute”. At the time of writing CILIP has 27 Groups - plus Retired Members Guild and Affiliated Members of CILIP - and 12 Branches. Three of these Branches are CILIPS (CILIP Scotland), CILIP Cymru and CILIP Ireland, which represent the Library and Information profession in their respective nations. The English Branches Forum has been reconstituted, and the Devolved Nations Forum meets periodically to discuss, for instance, issues of federalism.
Policy Forum
Pending a forthcoming review of governance, an 'Interim Policy Forum' has been set up to replace the previous Policy Forum. The Interim Policy Forum is the focal point for policy generation. It initiates and commissions policy development and evaluates the effectiveness of policy and advocacy activity. Its membership consists of:
- Vice-President of CILIP (Chair)
- Deputy Chair of old Policy Forum
- three members appointed through an open selection process
- a representative from each of the four devolved nations
The first meeting of the Interim Policy Forum took place on 11 May 2010.
The (Interim) Policy Forum:
- is reported to by four subsidiary bodies, each of which deals with a particular aspect of Library and Information Policy such as copyright and preservation / conservation.