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Shakespeare's UnderGlobe is venue for launch of CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals

Representatives of the library and information profession were joined by wellwishers from related fields for a reception at Shakespeare's UnderGlobe on 25 March to launch CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. Formed as a result of the unification of the Institute of Information Scientists (IIS) and the Library Association (LA), the new professional body will have some 23,000 Members working in all sectors, including business and industry, science and technology, further and higher education, schools, local and central government departments and agencies, the health service, the voluntary sector, national and public libraries.

"I have been an advocate of unification for more than a decade," said Sheila Corrall, Director of Academic Support Services at the University of Southampton and CILIP's first President. "I think the case for a united professional organisation is even more compelling now than it was 10 or 15 years ago. We must make CILIP truly representative of our entire constituency."

Echoing Ms Corrall's comments, the LA's retiring President Bernard Naylor added "I strongly supported the move towards merger advocated by the Saunders Report in the 1980s. Perhaps the time was not ripe then. Fifteen years later, we have a profession which has matured strongly through the influence of the information revolution." Peter Enser, retiring President of the IIS, concurred, saying "The expertise, professionalism and goodwill of colleagues in both the IIS and the LA provide CILIP with a firm foundation and a rich heritage. I have every confidence that CILIP will very quickly prove to be the major force in those areas of professional concern and interest which we all have at heart."

CILIP's goals will be to: position the profession at the heart of the information revolution; develop and enhance the role and skills of all its Members; present and champion those skills, together with new ones which will be acquired through continuing professional development; and ensure that individuals, enterprises and not for profit organisations have ready and timely access to the information they need.

"The 'electronic imperative' is affecting us all, and we need to help our respective communities deal effectively with the proliferation of online resources available," Ms Corrall concluded. "Information literacy is critical to contemporary social, educational and professional concerns - to overcome the 'digital divide', to enable independent learning and to support evidence-based policy and decision making." Adding that information skills were also a fundamental requirement for business - to combat information overload, to retrieve information from the 'invisible web', and to manage knowledge and intellectual capital, she affirmed that "CILIP members can now work together to develop this information capability across organisational and sectoral boundaries."

Notes to Editors

CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals formally comes into being in April 2002. It has been formed as a result of the unification of the Institute of Information Scientists (established in 1958) and the Library Association (founded in 1877).CILIP is incorporated by Royal Charter, and is a Registered Charity, no 313014.

To interview any of the speakers at CILIP's launch reception or its Chief Executive Bob McKee, or to obtain photos of the event, please contact: Tim Owen,
Head of External Relations
Tel: 020 7255 0652.
Email: tim.owen@cilip.org.uk