CILIP in Scotland will be marking International Women’s day with a one-day conference of inspirational women from the information professions. Rob Green looks at what to expect and how you can join this year’s #WINspiration on 8 March.

WITH International Women’s Day taking place later this week, CILIP in Scotland (CILIPS) is hosting a one-day conference to celebrate, inspire and mark the contribution of women in the information professions.

Taking a lead from its regular online #Winspiration talks, CILIPS has brought together a range of speakers to deliver an online event that will provide a space to “share insights and inspiration from libraries across every area of our sector, learning more about the myriad of ways in which our profession is championing women’s equality.” The aim of CILIPS’ #Winspiration talks was to highlight the work of women who are making a difference in their roles and sharing their insights and stories.

#WINspiration was launched two years ago, and the inaugural WINspiration Conference will see a number of past speakers returning as part of a packed day. Among those who have already taken part in the series are Dr Adele Patrick, a co-founder of Glasgow Women’s Library (GWL), and Amina Shah, the National Librarian of Scotland.

Adele and Amina will open the conference with a joint keynote speech to welcome delegates to the free, online conference. To mark 2022 International Women’s Day Amina delivered some thought-provoking reflections on the changes for women working in the profession for her #WINspiration talk, which you can watch here. Adele delivered the first ever #WINspiration talk, with a look at the impact of feminist leadership on library services. You can find her talk here.

Conference organiser and CILIPS Membership Officer Kirsten MacQuarrie said: “For over two years, #WINspiration has been bringing women together from every corner of Scotland and beyond, and from every area of our incredible sector. Inspired by two wonderful workshops led by Dr Adele Patrick and Amina Shah – both still available on CILIPS YouTube – this ever-evolving programme has taken us to challenging yet necessary spaces of thought and action: dismantling patriarchal notions of what professional power looks like and giving us the collective courage to envisage a landscape of true inclusion with libraries at its heart.

“It feels deeply fitting as well as a great honour to welcome back Adele and Amina for our opening keynote on International Women’s Day. With 11 similarly WINspiration-al women also joining us to share their insights and ideas as part of the programme, this conference is not to be missed.”

Other sessions for the 8 March conference are Ashley Douglas, giving a keynote on – Marie Maitland, Scotland’s 16th century Sappho, and why libraries are essential to cherishing queer women’s stories; a panel discussion Celebrating the Women of Scotland’s CILIP125 with Markie Deleavey, Emma Grey, Elisabeth Nagy, Sarah Thomson and Toni Velikova; Lightning Talks from Clare Thompson on Children fight to hear her speak: Women working and reading in Glasgow Libraries through the years; Elena Focardi on Archival Advances in Local Herstories at Lanark Library; Fi Johnston on Feminist Networks of Black Librarians in the Harlem Renaissance; and Kirsty Brown and Gill Ryan looking at Perth Women on Wikipedia.

Kirsten adds: “The #WINspiration online conference is free and open to all. We will use the same Zoom link throughout the day, so attendees are welcome to come and go as many times as necessary, joining us for as many sessions as you can (we hope all of them).”

CILIPS WINSpiration Conference takes place online from 10am on 8 March. To register for place and find out more here.