CILIP London AGM Feb 2012

I attended my first ever CILIP branch AGM on 8th Feb 2012. I decided to go along because I want to understand a bit more about how the branch works and what the committee members do and so on. The AGM was also followed by a talk by CILIP's President titled 'Around the world twice on a library degree'.

The AGM itself was very straightforward, going through last year's minutes, looking at the annual report and latest accounts, formally agreeing these and outlining CILIP London's plans for 2012. The one very positive thing is that the branch is in a much better financial position now than it was at the start of 2012. They are hoping to run a program of events similar to those in 2011 (although these events won't be held at the Sekforde Arms anymore).

Phil Bradley gave a very thought provoking talk on how CILIP is involved with the library community all over the world. I had no idea as to how 'global' CILIP actually was. Bradley spoke about how as the President, he is the 'face' for media outlets of the library community. He also speaks at library conferences around the world in this capacity.

It was also interesting to hear about CILIP's work in relation to the 'big' global issues affecting librarianship: copyright, information literacy to name but a few. In terms of copyright, there is legislation pending that will change how all kinds of works are regulated in future. Information literacy focuses on ensuring the internet is used responsibly, but at the same time maintaining a 'free', uncensored internet as well.

The last part of Phil's talk considered the 'globalness' of librarianship, looking at all the many Google+ library pages, and highlighting the importance of CILIP as an organisation within all this. The library community spans the world and this can be seen on Facebook, LinkedIn and every other social network out there.

What I found particularly interesting was the realisation that CILIP qualifications are recognised internationally. I don't think that I quite realised the importance of CILIP to the library community worldwide. Attending this kind of event and listening to Phil's talk was definitely motivating when it comes to completing my Chartership portfolio!

It was also really interesting to actually be present for the branch AGM and learn more about the branch committee and what ways CILIP members can get involved.