Report from the CILIP Umbrella Conference of 2005 James Kay (Graduate Trainee at the University of Bradford)
At the end of June/beginning of July this year, I was very privileged to have been invited by CILIP’s Yorkshire & Humberside group to attend this year’s Umbrella Conference in Manchester. I was one of around 800 delegates over the three-day event, with library and information professionals from nearby Bradford to faraway in the West Indies.
While feeling slightly intrigued about the whole thing, I can also admit a slight nervousness. This was my first time to a library conference of any sort, but more importantly, my first away from home. Though this is probably second nature to many a seasoned professional, I was a little tense to say the least. Nerves were mercifully quashed by my arrival at Manchester Victoria – getting to the conference at a reasonable time and finding the campus was the more pressing priority!
Following registration and a brief look-see around the Renold Building – our nerve centre for the majority of the conference proceedings – I attended the first timers lunch. Surprisingly it was full of first timers like myself, indeed I was amazed to see so many there. It gave me the chance to talk to one or two people, including Margaret Watson (CILIP past president) who told me all about the opportunities for student representatives. In the exhibition, I paid close attention to CILIP’s Info Recruitment service and found the advice sheets they had on offer very useful.
The opening plenary followed, and we saw our president, Debbie Shorley, together with Bob Usherwood and Margaret Watson expanding on the theme of ‘The future for our profession.’ Each had an opportunity to speak and then face questions from the audience. All were well prepared and offered good solutions – particularly with reference to people being at the heart of our mission to provide good service.
Then began the programme of teaching sessions, and I attended a talk about ‘Early public library buildings: origins, conditions & future roles’ – I confess that I’m a stickler for good architecture! We were encouraged to pick and choose between the nine themed ‘tracks’ on offer, and to be selective – although many of my sessions were not in my subject field, they were very stimulating and informative and I arguably learnt more about the sheer scope and history of the profession that I want to pursue a career in.
The CILIP Awards Dinner took place in the evening and again I was able to network with people from around the country and find out more about the profession. The awards themselves reflected the great diversity of the workplace, rewarding colleagues from a range of different ages, backgrounds, races and creeds – this was very welcome for our profession as a whole.
On Friday, following a hearty breakfast, the sessions continued apace. Two speakers gave talks about how to attract key user groups to participate in using their local libraries – travellers and young people respectively. The example of a ‘blind-date’ book service, providing readers with a random book based on their personality and interests was definitely a winner! I also found out about non-traditional roles in the profession, in organisations such as the police, and a session about the potential of marketing a local library service to attract more users, working in partnership with a local adverts agency.
The late afternoon then heralded the arrival of the special guest speaker Michael Gorman, who delivered a fresh lecture on maintaining existing values in the profession, in the face of changing times and technologies. The speech went down very well with the assembled delegates and he was presented with his honorary fellowship of CILIP.
Though the evening social activities were well attended, I took the easier option of a nice meal in the Weston Building, followed by a refreshing if slightly rainy walk around the city centre taking the opportunity to photograph some of the city’s stunning architecture and sights, then retiring for an early night.
You would be forgiven for thinking that the conference was over – but no! There were still two more teaching sessions to attend on the Saturday – a talk on the different attitudes of urban community libraries and rural community libraries, and then a second talk on school librarians and the teaching processes involved – rescued brilliantly at the last minute by Jan Hepworth when our speaker couldn’t make it, and involving some interesting brainstorming and group exercises!
By at 2:00 it was all over, and I returned back to Bradford. For a conference beginner, it was a mixture of interest and bewilderment – simply at the scope of our profession, the work that we do, the unusual places we work in and the skills we transfer to others. I left with a much broader knowledge base then before and the delight of meeting other people in different areas and sharing experiences with them. If you ever get the chance to go to Umbrella – or whatever name it goes under in the future – then go. You will not regret the experience. My own personal thanks to the local CILIP group for giving me this opportunity!