Jenny Wright is a cataloguer who creates metadata and develops policies and training materials at BDS, and has been involved with IFLA since 2017.

CILIP is offering members from the UK the opportunity to put themselves forward for 800+ roles across 50+ committees and groups at the International Federation of Library Associations & Institutions (IFLA) 2025 elections.

Jenny has been involved in a number of committees, at CILIP, BIC on national and international levels, as well as at IFLA’s Cataloguing Section.

“I am coming to the end of my second term at IFLA's Cataloguing section standing committee, I am a member of the Advisory Committee on Standards and I am the current Chair of the Bibliographic Conceptual Models Review Group.

Jenny first attended IFLA’s World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) in 2016, and presented a paper in 2018.

“I attended the WLIC in 2016 and after observing section meetings and meeting with other attendees I was interested to participate; I was elected to the Cataloguing section standing committee in 2017.”

“Since then, I have supported the work of the committee by contributing to conference organisation (calls for papers management, and moderating sessions) and working groups such as the Multilingual Dictionary of Cataloguing and the Genre/Form WG.”

Being elected to a committee or section at IFLA is a valuable way to make new connections and explore ideas beyond your day to day work. Jenny found the discussions on esoteric and practical issues in her field with international colleagues particularly rewarding.

“The international conversation is well worth joining. If your employer is not paying expenses then the financial consideration is not insignificant, but don’t be put off as there are grants and other supports available, as well as the potential to attend many events online.”

“The opportunity to visit places I would not otherwise prioritise has also been enriching.”

IFLA is an independent, international, non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation, which advances the interests of library and information associations, libraries and information services, librarians and the communities they serve throughout the world.

Find out more on how to apply