Trustees Report and Financial Statement
31 December 2015
CILIP: Registered charity number in England 313014
CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals: Inaugurated April 2002 following the unification of the Institute of Information Scientists and the Library Association.
Originally incorporated by the Library Association Royal Charter 1898.
Registered office address: 7 Ridgmount Street, London WC1E 7AE
Website:
Trustees’ Report
1.Objectives and activities
Objects of the charity
CILIP’s charitable status is established by our Royal Charter, which defines our object “to work for the benefit of the public to promote education and knowledge through the establishment and development of libraries and information services and to advance information science (being the science and practice of the collection, collation, evaluation and organised dissemination of information).”
Our strategic plan for 2020
Following sector-wide consultation in 2015, CILIP has replaced its Vision and Mission Statements with a single goal, to be achieved by 2020.
CILIP’s 2020 goal is to ‘put information and library skills and professional values at the heart of a democratic, equal and prosperous society’.
To achieve our goal, we have defined an Action Plan 2016-2020 which sets five core priorities:
- Advocacy
- Workforce development
- Member services
- Standards and innovation
- Operations and governance
These priorities are underpinned by six ‘key enablers’:
- Equality and diversity
- Digital-by-default
- Ethical business model
- Healthy working culture
- Partnership & collaboration
- Learning organisation
CILIP is responsible for maintaining and promoting the Ethical Principles of the information and library profession. We regularly review all of our plans and programmes to ensure that they are compatible with our ethics, values and charitable purpose.
Our public benefits activities
Promoting and representing the library, information and knowledge profession in the public good is a key priority for CILIP Trustees and the organisation. The Trustees have paid due regard to the guidance on public benefit provided by the Charity Commission. Over 2015 we delivered an active advocacy and lobbying programme.
We ran two major campaigns. The “Election Watch” campaign took place in the run up to the General Election to raise the profile of the importance of the library and information sector. We wrote to the major political parties and supported our members to become involved in campaigning at a local level. The approach has been used as a basis for elections across the UK on 5 May 2016.
At the end of 2015 CILIP’s “My Library by Right” campaign was launched. Focused on public libraries in England, the campaign calls for the public’s right to libraries to be recognised and respected; that public libraries should be treated as the statutory services they are; that The Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) should carry out their legal duties under the 1964 Public Libraries & Museums Act; and that statutory guidance should be provided for local authorities setting out their duties under the Act. The campaign followed on from the pro bono legal advice from Human Rights Barrister Eric Metcalfe of Monckton Chambers. This advice highlighted the legal duty of DCMS Secretary of State John Whittingdale to provide clear statutory guidance on the definition of a ‘comprehensive and efficient’ service.
Early success included high profile media coverage; support from internationally renowned authors; backing from partners such as the Society of Authors, Reading Agency and Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society; and 14,000 people signing the campaign petition. This has helped secure constructive dialogue with DCMS official and the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce and raised the profile of the statutory nature of public libraries. The campaign continued into 2016.
CILIP provided a submission to the Spending Review setting out the importance of investing in the UK’s knowledge economy to deliver economic growth, equality of opportunity and to be globally competitive.
We were actively engaged in the Autumn Statement before and after announcements, writing an open letter to the Prime Minister about the importance of publically funded libraries and commenting to the media pre-Statement.
We launched a new partnership with Amnesty International. Based on shared values of the importance of freedom of information and expression, the Amnesty CILIP Honour was launched which, through the CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medal shortlists, will encourage recognition that great children’s books encourage empathy and broaden horizons.
Our work with the Libraries & Archives Copyright Alliance (LACA) saw the launch of the London Manifesto in April that set out the key improvements the libraries and archives community want from the copyright reform programme planned by the European Commission. The manifesto attracted the support of 137 organisations in the UK and across Europe.
2015 also saw a welcome success to the “Free our History” campaign launched in 2014 that highlighted how some unpublished documents from the First World War could not be put on public display because of copyright restrictions. Although the specific provision within the copyright legislation still needs amending, the Intellectual Property Office issued a Copyright Notice, based on new legal advice, clarifying that cultural institutions could display such unpublished documents within the existing law.
CILIP also joined with the Archives & Records Association, The Information & Records Management Society, the Special Libraries Association (Europe) and the Society of Information Technology Management to form the Information Management Alliance. Its role is to provide an advocacy platform for the benefits of good information management to organisations of all types, with senior managers and government its target audiences. It wants its advocacy to be research-based and is in discussion with a potential sponsor to fund such research in a specific sector.
Other partnerships continued to develop. CILIP, with others, organised another successful National Libraries Day in February 2015 with hundreds of events and positive media coverage for the value communities place on library services. A range of cross-party MPs and local CILIP Board Members publically supported the initiative.
We were an active member of the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce, established following the Sieghart Review, to improve public library services in England. The Taskforce reports into DCMS and Department for Communities and Local government(DCLG). We committed to developing a national skills strategy for library and information staff and lobbied for the creation of a strategy to secure a positive long-term future for public libraries in England.
In November CILIP hosted the Speak up for Libraries conference bringing together library campaign activists, trade union members and CILIP members to discuss and debate the position and future of public libraries. This year the focus was on the newly-formed Leadership for Libraries Task Force and both Paul Blantern (chair of the Task Force) and Kathy Settle (Chief Executive of the Task Force) were in attendance.
We responded to government consultations and inquiries on a wide range of issues.Amongst the consultation responses were those on the Spending Review (2015), BBC Charter Renewal, Higher Education Green Paper, the UK Digital Strategy, the Work of Ofsted, a National Reading Strategy (from the Royal Society of Arts), and on a preliminary ruling on e-lending (from the Court of Justice (EU)). Submissions to Select Committee Inquiries included those on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the Digital Economy, and the Digital Skills Gap.
Volunteers
CILIP has an extensive network of regional member networks and special interest groups and a large number of other volunteers who perform a wide range of activities in promoting the value of the library and information profession and showcasing the best of professional practice.
The contribution of volunteers to CILIP is considerable and essential in achieving its charitable objectives. The CILIP Board of Trustees and Presidential Team in 2014 and 2015 gave their time on a voluntary basis. The standing committees, task and finish groups, panels and working parties also included many volunteer members of CILIP co-opted for their experience and expertise.
Member Networks also rely on volunteers to run their activities and manage their resources. Delivery of some core functions, such as Professional Registration, is also heavily dependent on the volunteer activism of members.
Volunteers advise CILIP Board, influence the profession and assist CILIP in producing publications and events to further its charitable objectives as well as providing a network of professional support to other CILIP members.
- Achievements and performance in 2015
The information and library profession continues to experience a period of significant change. Digital disruption, changes in user behaviour, the wider economic agenda and the increasing scope and complexity of knowledge data and information all contribute to a period of significant challenge and equally significant opportunity. Throughout 2015, CILIP has implemented our 2014 key operational plans as evidenced below in sections 2.1 to 2.4.
We have sought to meet the challenges head-on through a combination of more proactive and visible advocacy and building our influence as a credible lead body for the sector. We have also sought to promote opportunity through employer engagement, workforce development and reinforcing the value of professional skills and ethics, while raising the public profile of our sector in the media and with policymakers.
At the same time, we have worked to consolidate our role as the lead organisation for professionals working in the wider Information and Knowledge Management sectors. Reaching out to these professionals and delivering a compelling core offer for them at the heart of our organisation is an essential step in delivering our charitable purpose.
Our Shape the Future consultation provided an opportunity to engage with CILIP members and non-members and to benefit from their ideas about the future of the profession. The resulting CILIP Action Plan 2016-2020 sets a confident new direction both for our organisation and the sector we represent.
Looking ahead, we are set to deliver a bold new Membership Model, enabling CILIP to become a more open and inclusive organisation for everyone who is committed to developing their information and library skills and to upholding our professional ethics. This new model is part of a wider Business Strategy developed by the Board of Trustees to secure our long-term sustainability and growth.
Furthermore, CILIP will develop a set of social, economic, cultural, creative, educational and scientific outcomes and metrics to demonstrate our progress toward this objective and evidence the public benefit we deliver. Currently, we regularly monitor and report to the trustees’ financial information and key performance indicators (KPI) derived from the priorities set out in the corporate plan such as analysing membership by geographical locationto ensure adequate support for members no matter where they live. The results of the KPI’s are in section 9.
2.1 Developing the information and library workforce for the future
Professional Registration
Following the introduction of the new Professional Registration regulations in 2014, a major task of 2015 was to focus on improving these new processes and ensuring they were fit for purpose. The support and guidance provided to members was reassessed and improved where necessary to ensure that the members have the help that they require in assembling their submissions.
Uptake of Professional Registration continued to grow with the total number of enrolments totalling 419 (this compares with a surge of 492 in 2014 when we adopted the new regulations). Revalidation has continued to show an increase in uptake going from 167 to 440.
Member Services staff continued to travel the UK to support and update members. Over Sixty regional events were attended in 2015, supporting members working towards Certification, Chartership, Fellowship and Revalidation.
CILIP Leadership Programme
A pilot CILIP Leadership Programme was launched in July. It has been designed to create additional leadership capacity both within the profession and within the CILIP membership. 19 participants have been accepted on the pilot and have engaged in a positive and impressive way thus far. Sessions have been a combination of face-to-face events, webinars and online discussion boards.
These have been underpinned by the main deliverables from the programme which are: the creation of a personal development plan (with end of programme reflection); and a group project. It is hoped that the pilot will lay the foundations for future programmes.
Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
2015 saw major development on the VLE. The Impact Toolkit was developed, adding 6 new courses to support members in proving the value of their professional skills. It was launched at the inaugural CILIP annual conference.
The Impact Toolkit has been used for workshop sessions on CILIP New Professionals Day, at University of Kent and at CILIP Wales Conference 2016, as well as member network events. Over the year we worked with CILIP Onsite Trainers who produced five new courses on Knowledge Facilitation, Research Skills, and Technology Tools.
Recordings from CILIP Executive Briefings have contributed to a Copyright, Data Protection and Freedom of Information (FOI) course area, and a Privacy course. The CILIP VLE was also used to support the Leadership Programme Pilot, providing a dedicated course area with collaborative working space. The summer saw an upgrade of the VLE software, which also enabled some technical issues to be resolved and enhance the user experience. As part of the upgrade all user documentation was updated and a series of short videos produced.
Accreditation
CILIP’s role in shaping qualifications through accreditation continues to show positive results, particularly through its influence internationally. There were eight submissions in 2015 of which seven were successful. Three new learning providers were added including our first in the Middle and the Far East. We now have 18 accredited providers with 63 programmes and 5 stand alone modules. Two new assessors joined the team and the VLE was improved with the provision of a new submission template to make the process easier for both learning providers and assessors.
Onsite training
We continued to provide bespoke training for CILIP clients from a wide range of professional sectors to support career professional development (CPD) for their staff. The team continues to work closely with the National Offers Group (now the CILIP Professional Development Group), Member Networks, CILIP training colleagues and external partners to review current training provision and to identify additional opportunities for further collaboration.
Programmes on core subjects e.g. copyright, cataloguing/metadata and enquiry handling continued to be in particular demand. The Onsite Training programme continued to provide tailored programmes to clients across a range of sectors and feedback for participants continued to be consistently positive. Eighty-four programmes were available during the year.
CILIP has introduced the CILIP Recognised CPD Provider scheme to recognise providers of CPD opportunities: all applicants map a sample of their CPD provision to the Professional Knowledge and Skills Base(PKSB) and successful applicants receive a range of promotional benefits.
Employer Engagement
Work has also begun to improve workforce development through employers. A new part time Development Officer role was introduced in October 2015 to focus on employer engagement.
An Employer Engagement Strategy has been agreed and will be implemented in 2016. This has allowed more capacity to support relationships already established by Professional Services and also capacity to develop relationships with new priority employers. Engagement has increased or begun with the British CILIP Board, the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence and Health Education England. This activity has generated interest in CILIP’s offer and also in commissioning adapted services. The intention is to convert the interest into an increased uptake of services in 2016.
Workforce mapping
The Workforce Mapping Project was completed in November 2015 following an 18-month partnership project with the Archives and Records Association (ARA). The aim of the project was to create a clearer picture of the size of the Library, Archives, Records, Information and Knowledge Management workforce thatcould be used for both Advocacy and Service Development.
The project was completed on time and within budget and delivered an up-to-date, robust, and in-depth evidence base about the UK Information Workforce thatprovides the most accurate picture of the scope, size and demographics of the workforce obtained so far. The survey attracted an excellent response rate; providing a more robust data set than Labour Force Survey statistics.
The project considered how the data set can be sustained and updated in the future. ARA and CILIP are currently working towards the development and launch of the UK Information Workforce Database – an online tool which members and stakeholders will be able to access to look at the outputs. This data platform will be used to generate income which can be re-invested in running the survey again.