CILIP is the Chartered Institute representing librarians and information professionals across the UK and in all sectors. Our Ethical Framework and Royal Charter commit us to uphold, promote and defend the principle of universal access to information and the continuity and preservation of knowledge.

CILIP and the Rare Books and Special Collections Group (RBSCG) work together to champion the role of professional librarians in unlocking the richness and diversity of the collections held by knowledge and memory institutions, including Universities, museums, heritage sites, galleries, historic houses, National Libraries and other cultural heritage institutions.

Understanding the past, learning from the accumulated wisdom and experience of the generations that preceded us, charting the development of nations, their culture, language and identity – we believe that these are the foundation-stones upon which a strong and inclusive future can be built.

Collections do not unlock or interpret themselves. A search engine can’t explain causes or effects. Re-casting historic collections through inexpert eyes risks rewriting their history and in the process obliterating their true value.

This is the expert, dedicated and painstaking work of a professional librarian. Our skills and ethics enable us to be the truest and most dispassionate servants of the knowledge contained in our nation’s great collections and of the information needs of our users.

These same skills and values also allow us to reveal issues of social justice, inequity, prejudice and marginalisation in those collections without doing the material itself an unnecessary and costly injustice.

It is the expertise of professional librarians that enables these collections to be catalogued, preserved, interpreted, structured and made available in a way that is sustainable, accountable and attuned to enabling the student, researcher, curator or lay user to gain the greatest possible benefit from them, both in-person and online.

It is also this expertise – in structuring and organising knowledge, forging connections, unearthing hitherto unknown contexts – that enables knowledge and memory institutions to use current and future technologies to their greatest potential. Far from being diminished by technology, the value of a professional librarian is far greater because of it.

We understand the immense financial pressures faced by most knowledge and memory institutions, and that when considering any budget, it is always the people that present the greatest cost and may therefore represent the easiest target for savings. However, it is important to acknowledge that it is also the people that create the greatest benefit.

If you are part of an institution that is considering staffing changes that would either reduce or diminish the complement of specialist and professional librarians, we would strongly encourage you to consider the following:

• A collection without knowledge is simply an accumulation of objects – it is the tacit and explicit knowledge of the professional librarian that brings the collection to life and makes it relevant and useful;
• A collection is a living thing, constantly evolving and adapting as new knowledge is unearthed and new methods are applied to it. When you lose a professional librarian, the collection stops growing and evolving – it becomes frozen at a specific moment, and its value to your user community diminishes rapidly;
• Over time, a professional or subject specialist librarian becomes not only expert in the subject discipline, but in the application of the collection to that discipline. Their specialism is not just in knowing the subject, but in maximising the value of the material in illuminating that subject;
• Specialist librarians are uniquely-placed to use the tools provided by technology to unlock new opportunities and methods for engaging with the material;
• For the same reason, it is important to position Library and Information Services within your structure in such a way that they can interface successfully with other departments, including public engagement, IT & Digital and strategic planning;
• Professional librarians are best-placed to act as the ‘bridge’ between the potential of your collections and the mission and strategy of your institution. The role of our profession is not to resist change, but to ensure that change is successful and delivers maximum impact for your institution and community.

CILIP welcomes any opportunity to engage with employers and to share how professional librarians can help them achieve their mission and purpose for their users. If you would like any further information on the issues raised in this statement, please contact us via the online contact form.

Nick Poole, CEO, CILIP
Sarah Mahurter, Chair, RBSCG

Related news: CILIP RBSCG and ARLIS respond to proposed changes at the Wallace Collection