CILIP 2020 Conference Report by Bursary Recipient Ashleigh Weir

Thanks to a bursary from the CILIP LGBTQ+ Network, I was able to attend the CILIP conference this year. Having recently completed my MA in Librarianship at the University of Sheffield, I was eager to hear from more people in the profession, network and gain a deeper understanding of the current issues within the field.

As with many events this year, due to COVID-19, the conference was moved to an online platform. The conference was hosted on a platform called Pheedloop, and it was clear that the organisers had considered all aspects of the conference when creating this, sending out instructional videos of how to best make use of the website prior to the event. I explored the virtual event platform making sure how to use the different functions of the site, including scheduling and attending sessions, visiting the exhibit hall, CILIP showcase and the networking area.

Having not attended a professional conference before, I was a little nervous about what to expect, however, the fact this was very likely many of the attendees' first online conference put me somewhat at ease. I enjoyed seeing names of other students and lecturers from my course and other library professionals that I had met (or follow on Twitter!) pop up in the attendees list. It was great to be able to speak to people either through personal messaging, on the chat box accompanying sessions and through live Tweeting with the hashtag #CILIPconf20; this really had the social element of the conference that I feared would be missing from it being hosted virtually. In addition to this, I was also reassured that all of the sessions were being recorded and would be available to watch after the event. Being very indecisive about which sessions to attend, this was a big relief!

There were so many exciting sounding sessions to attend! After a lot of deliberation, I decided which sessions to watch live. Being particularly interested in public libraries and social justice, I was drawn to the sessions ‘Public Libraries Change Lives’ and ‘Everyday Activism’ for my first two sessions. In the afternoon I attended the really interesting international panel ‘The role of libraries in crisis and recovery’, hearing from how different libraries from across the world responded to the pandemic. During each of these sessions, it was emphasised how, while the coronavirus pandemic has certainly exposed the digital divide, it has also driven home the point that the library is not just the building, but the services it offers.

The keynote speeches throughout the day were also particularly engaging and inspiring, ranging from the importance of the preservation of knowledge, professional recognition and the socioeconomic divide and information poverty. I also really enjoyed catching up on the session ‘Big Voices - New Ideas’ which heard from five voices from new library and information professionals giving lightning talks about supporting the profession. A talk from this I found particularly pertinent was by Deborah Varenna, chair of CILIP LGBTQ+ Network committee, where she explained that LGBTQ+, BAME and disabled people are experts in more than our suffering. In recent years the push for diversity has greatly improved the field of librarianship, however many people of minority or oppressed groups within the profession are only invited to speak on their suffering, rather than their professional merits and experiences; Varenna puts forward the idea of a series of events where these people are invited to speak on their professional expertise. I loved the idea of this and am excited to see the direction this would go in!

Overall, the theme of the day to me seemed to be focusing on the role that library and information professionals can play in this current age of misinformation and how libraries have responded to the COVID-19 crisis. Keynote speaker, Tracie D Hall, executive director of the ALA (American Library Association) crystalised these themes in her passionate speech on the urgency to close the socioeconomic divide, and how redlining creates pockets of information poverty in the poorest areas. I felt this linked up very well with the talks about everyday activism I had attended earlier in the day; librarians are able to keep communities in the loop and improve health and information literacy of patrons. Throughout the day, I was moved by library and information professionals’ passion, as Jo Cornish, Head of Sector Development at CILIP, said in her speech “the information profession is united by skills and bound to an ethical framework” and this interest in social justice was very clear in each of the sessions I attended.

To conclude, I had a great time at the CILIP conference. The event left me feeling inspired about the role my future career could have in terms of social justice and made me feel much more involved in a professional community that I am still very new to. One thing all of the speakers mentioned was the readiness of people within the field to help others improve; whether this be through formal apprenticeships, mentoring, job-shadowing opportunities or just sharing tips and collaborating, it seems clear that as information professionals, no-one is protective over information that could help others. On this note I really want to encourage anyone who is thinking about applying for bursaries to attend conferences to do so when you have the opportunity! I am really thankful to CILIP LGBTQ+ Network for awarding me the bursary that made my attendance possible and will definitely consider applying to attend other conferences in the future!

Ashleigh Weir
Twitter: @axweir