At the Annual General Meeting of the Institute of Information Scientists (IIS) in September 1996, a motion was presented which sought to authorise IIS representatives to initiate exploratory discussions with The Library Association (LA), with a view to assessing the scope for a formal alliance between the two bodies.

The motion was put to the full membership of the Institute. The result was in favour of the motion by a ratio in excess of 2:1.

At the Annual General Meeting of the IIS in September 1997, a brief report was presented which charted the passage of the discussions held during the previous year. The report announced the establishment of a discussion group, comprising four primary players from the Institute and four from The Library Association, which had held a number of highly positive and forward-looking meetings, culminating in the presentation to the Councils of both organizations an initial joint report in June 1997.

Both Councils warmly accepted the recommendations contained in that report, the main thrust of which was that talks should continue with the aim of developing a framework for a new, single association for information professionals, into which the membership of both the Institute and the Association would be drawn.

Negotiations proceeded by means of a Unification Planning Group (UPG), formed from the original eight members of the discussion group, together with one new member from each of the two bodies. A full list of the membership of the UPG is given in Appendix A.

The UPG held a residential think tank session in December 1997 focusing initially on position papers prepared by Peter Enser, chair of IIS Council and Ross Shimmon, chief executive of the LA. In a spirit of close co-operation a wide range of issues, including constitution, membership criteria, and resourcing were considered, together with the need for a new name for the putative new organisation.

Having arrived at a shared perception of the practical and logistical issues involved, the UPG set up three Task Forces, charged with the detailed assessment of these issues in the particular contexts of constitution, membership and finance. The membership of the Task Forces is set out in Appendix A.

A special meeting of the IIS Council held in April 1998 considered its Director's report on the UPG's Think Tank meeting. IIS Council at that meeting also discussed an alternative vision of an umbrella organisation, hospitable to professional groupings within its membership. Stress was laid upon the need for the new organisation to be forward-looking, projecting a stimulating image, its members perceived to be natural stakeholders in the dynamic employment market for information and knowledge professionals. The UPG considered all of these issues carefully.

Meetings of the Task Forces brought forward a number of detailed recommendations. The model which has emerged clearly from these deliberations is that of an entirely new, single body rather than an umbrella organisation within which the two existing organisations (and, possibly, others) would shelter.

The UPG met again in late September 1998. This consultative document was agreed at that meeting. It was presented to the Councils of both the IIS and the LA at their meetings in October 1998 as the basis of a final consultative document to be distributed for comment to every member of the two organisations. Both Councils agreed that it should be issued, subject to a few minor changes suggested to the Unification Planning Group. This final text incorporates many of those suggestions. The Councils delegated the preparation of this text to the UPG.

The consultation document “Our Professional Future” was issued to all members of both organisations in November 1998 with a deadline for responses of 15th March 1999. An independent firm of consultants, Chambers & Stoll of London, was engaged by the UPG to prepare an analysis of the responses.